The Washington herald., 1913-06-14
tcoryrisht. IsIs. By A. D. Jacobson.l

ttOfgIlsnt lsA1s W n ~ @eSD-.-'
/ Four Nelson letters. written during the
years 1877 and 1873. to Lady Spencer. the
brilliant wife of the second earl, who
was first lord OF the British admiralty
until 1901, were lately discovered at Al
thorp, and the present Earl Spencer,
grandson OF the lady to whom they were
addressed, has permitted them to be
made public. The letters seem to be
the sole extant remnant of a voluminous
correspondence with Nelson which the
second earl destroyed shortly before his
death. In the first letter Nelson pays
Lady Spencer the graceful compliment OF
presenting her with the sword of a con-
quered Spanish captain which / request
you will do me the honor of hanging
dt) up In your dressing room, and which
will. at least, have the novelty OF being
the first sword ever presented to lady
as an ornamental piece Of furniture for
her dressing-room.
In the second and third letters, Lord
Nelson points out the merits of promotion
Of a young officer named Capel. who
ultimately became a vice admiral In the
third letter. Nelson stated that Capt.
Capel was the bearer of the duplicate
of Nelson dispatches, And l request he
may be one OF your bread and butter
captains l think you will soon again
be troubled with my visits unless you
order the door to be shut against mel,
for these fellows have broke my head
and given me two black eyes, for which
the surgeons say I ought to go home
The reference to the bread and butter
captains" would seem to mean that Mel
son hoped Lady Spencer would include
him among those naval officers whom she
delighted to entertain at the admiralty.
The fourth letter is a long one from
Palermo. 1t is the most interesting and
painful of the series. II belongs TO the
period OF Nelson's moral eclipse when
he made his legitimate concern for the
safety of the two Sicilies and his over
strained loyalty to the queen, a cloak for
his infatuation for Lady Hamilton and
an excuse for his constant sojourning in
the neighborhood Of his two 'enchant-
resses."
II would seem that Lady Spencer had
gently limited that Nelson was suffering
in repute. and that the letter was his
apologize" In il Nelson says:
II am favored with your letter by the
Neopolitan messenger, and feel sensibly
all your Partially for my character.
which i trust no part Of my conduct
either public or private will ever di-
minish. John Bull and all the world may
continue to keep an eye on my conduct,
they may examine mein the field, in the
cabinet, and in my closet. and l am vain
| enough TO believe that / shall be thought
as purer by the ordeal
The Queen of Naples and Lady Hamil-
| ton are described as two of the most
extraordinary women the world at pres
ent possesses" OF the latter he writes:
las to the other enchantresses as you are
pleased TO call them, with beauty and ac-
complishments beyond in both respects
| what falls to the lot of almost any human
being, with so wise a head, that her
councils might safely be followed by the
wisest minister let all these sink 10
nothing when compared with her heart,
there goodness seem to have made his
throne and the distressed people of all
nations join in making their petitions TO
heaven for blessings on her head. but i
must allow even this being has her weak
ness. She shows all who come near us,
that she thinks the scars on my cardcase
more valuable and precious than the
richest diadem that adorned a monarch.
She holds my honor and that of our
country so dear that she would give. j
am satisfied, her hearts blood. sooner
than one or the other should be furnished.
The recent death. at the age of
ninety-two. of that famous old clown,
James Doughty, who, in July, 1911.
added another event to his remarkable
career by taking unto himself wife,
whose age was only twenty-five, re-
calls some remarkable May and De-
cember unions which have proved, in
most cases. exceedingly happy.
In January of this year Sir William
Codrington, who was eighty-three
years of age, married Miss Aimee Jo-
sephine Barber-Starkey. the bride be-
ing thirty-five years of age, the mar
riage taking place at the Chapel Royal.
Savoy. Sir William is one of the sew
eral baronets who have married very
late in life
Sir Hector Maclean Hay, the seventh
baronet of Alderston, at the age of
eishty-five. married, in 1906. a Mrs.