berries from the tree and enjoy as delicious a repose as if they dwelt in some city like Bruges, whence commerce has long since fled, while traces of civic grandeur survive, instead of in London, where commerce is at its height and the moss of decay has not yet begun to grow.

A little way from Basinghall street, the goldsmiths have a magnificent hall, in which the purity of all the gold and silver plate-work of England is attested by the guild and stamped with its mark. Nearly opposite the goldsmiths the haberdashers have dwelt for four hundred and ten years, under the patronage of St. Catherine of Alexandria.

Near the halls of most of the guilds are the churches in which for many centuries the masters and wardens have attended service, and in them are to be seen many monuments of past generations of masters and wardens. Sir Andrew Judd, a great skinner, who died in 1588, kneels in armor with his four sons, his wife, and daughter at perpetual prayer in the

Church of St. Helen's, Bishopsgate. In the same church Sir John Spencer, the great clothworker, who died in 1609, reclines bearded and in state armor, with Dame Spencer at his side and their daughter dutifully kneeling in prayer at her parents' feet. Sir Hugh Hammersley, knight and haberdasher, who died in 1636, kneels with his wife in St. Andrew's undershaft; and there, sitting in an alcove in gown and ruff, with a book before him, is carved the effigy of John Stow, the historian of London, a man proud of her glories, learned in the history of everything within her walls, and acquainted with every church and every guild. He wrote in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, but whoever wishes at this day to study London city will do well to make Stow the companion of his walks.

In spite of the ravages of the great fire and the still greater demolitions of later times, the parish churches and the halls of the ancient guilds of London open a view of past times such as is to be seen in few cities of Europe. Norman Moore.

ROFESSOR J. R. SEELEY, in his recently published "Short History of Napoleon I.," has said that "the heroism of Nelson has always been duly recognized, but the immense greatness of his work seems to have been generally overlooked. He reconquered the Mediterranean for England; he dissolved, at a blow, all Napoleon's dream of Oriental conquest; he broke up the armed neutrality."

It is to the latter achievement that the following letters of Lord Nelson refer. They treat exclusively of the expedition to the Baltic, and range from the beginning of March, 1801, until the end of May in the same year; the first letter having been written before the fleet left Spithead, the last after Nelson had left Revel. The series comprises his own account of a time which, although it eventually turned to his glory, yet, as these letters too plainly and sadly show, was embittered by an undercurrent of suffering, partly from ill health, and partly from the injustice done to his genius and his patriotism. When the moment of emergency came, it was inevitable that Nelson should take the lead and win the battle, which, as is so well

known, he did in defiance of the orders of the admiral under whom he had been placed. Perhaps some additional light may be shed on the details of the expedition to the Baltic by the publication of these letters, which were addressed by Nelson to his long-tried friend and companion in arms, Admiral Sir Thomas Troubridge. In the collection of Nelson's letters printed by Sir Harris Nicolas in 1844 are some written to this officer in earlier days; but the present series of twenty-four has never hitherto seen the light, having been carefully put by and treasured up by his descendants for three generations. They are here given without alteration; every word is fresh, strong, and natural as it fell from the pen of Nelson, inditing his thoughts to his intimate friend. The letters are on quarto paper, in good black ink; the writing vigorous, peculiar, clearly to be read in the main, and written necessarily with the left hand.

The naval officer to whom they are addressed was the first Sir Thomas Troubridge; and a brief reference to his character and career will be requisite to explain how the correspondence came about, and to show what qualities they were which gained for him the confidence of Nelson. Their friend1 They now belong to Sir Thomas Troubridge, fourth Baronet.

ship began on board the Sea Horse, in 1774, where both were rated as midshipmen; and the first world-renowned battle they fought together was that off Cape St. Vincent, under Sir John Jervis (from that time Earl St. Vincent), on the 14th of February, 1797-"the most glorious Valentine's day," as Nelson called it. Captain Troubridge was in the thickest part of this severe engagement. His ship, the Culloden, and Nelson's, the Captain, elicited the remark from Sir John Jervis, "I put my faith in those two ships." It is well known how greatly Lord St. Vincent prized the merits of Troubridge, calling him "the Bayard of the British navy; the ablest adviser and best executive officer in the navy, with honor and courage bright as his sword." The generous heart of Nelson also acknowledged the value of the advice and assistance which Captain Troubridge was well qualified to give; in fact, his character and conduct

NOW IN NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY.)

exactly suited Nelson's ideas. He was a typical specimen of the ideal British sailor; with invincible pluck, animated, impetuous, slightly obstreperous manners, and conversation characterized by all the emphatic plainness of his day and profession. He possessed an unusual amount of knowledge of all that related to the service, an acute discernment (as was often proved), and an excellent judgment. Strong and ready in both mind and body, his handsome face and fine presence were as welcome to his friends as they were distasteful to his enemies. He did good service at the luckless siege of Santa Cruz, when Nelson had intended to wrest Teneriffe from the Spaniards. On that occasion, when the little hero lost his right arm, Troubridge got the English troops, consisting of a body of some three hundred marines and artillerymen, safely off the island-where they encountered eight thousand Spaniards-by threatening the immediate destruction of the

town by fire unless his terms were accepted. A year later, in 1798, when the full stress of Nelson's efforts to baffle the French was directed to the Mediterránean, Troubridge accompanied him and witnessed alas for himself, only witnessed, his ship being aground, and out of "the full tide of happiness," as Nelson expressed it - the first of those three great victories by sea achieved by the fiery spirit and profound skill of one man, without shell, steam, or other modern appliance. After the battle of the Nile the squadron moved towards Naples, and in 1799 Troubridge, who had been told off to seize the islands in the bay of Naples, preparatory to the recapture of Naples from the French, succeeded in taking and investing Procida, Capri, and Ischia, and received as an acceptable present the head of one of the Jacobin officials who had been in possession. "Sir, as a faithful subject of my king, Ferdinand the IV., I have the honor of presenting to you the head of a Jacobin, whom I killed as he was running away." So ran the letter which accompanied the gift, and on the cover are the words, in Captain Troubridge's writing, "A jolly fellow." As the war was pushed on, St. Elmo, Capri, and Gaeta surrendered to Captain Troubridge, whose share in the matter is thus described by Nelson in a dispatch: "The liberation of the kingdom of Naples from the French robbers will not be less acceptable from being principally brought about by part of the crews of his Majesty's ships under my orders, under the command of Captain Troubridge. His merits speak for themselves." The taking of Civita Vecchia and the city of Rome completed Troubridge's services in the Mediterranean, for which he received a baronetcy; and after the return of the fleet to England, in 1800, he became one of the lords of the Admiralty. It was to the Admiralty that the letters in the following series were addressed; and the packets which Lord Nelson so often mentions were letters to and from Lady Hamilton, which Troubridge undertook to convey between these friends. Letters from Nelson to Troubridge on the subject of Lady Hamilton were many, but these have all been recently destroyed.

Sir Thomas Troubridge was returned for the borough of Great Yarmouth in 1802; he became admiral of the "Blue" in 1804, and of the "White" in 1805. It was after he had been appointed to the command of the seas on the eastern coast of India that another command -that of the Cape of Good Hope-was given him; and it was on his way from Madras to the Cape that the fatal shipwreck took place which closed his career before he had attained his fiftieth year. The details are wrapped in VOL. XXXVII.—4.

obscurity. The Blenheim was crazy, and the admiral knew it, but trusted to his own resources. He was accompanied by a frigate and a sloop of war. They sailed on the 12th of January, 1807, and encountered a hurricane which raged in February in the Indian seas east of Madagascar. The captain of a French frigate, the Sémillante, gave information, many years afterward, at Plymouth, that he had sighted the Blenheim near the island of Rodrigues, in a heavy gale of wind, on February the 18th, 1807. News came, more than a year after the event, by way of Calcutta, having been brought thither by a frigate which had touched at the island of St. Mary's, that in the month of February two vessels had arrived in distress at that small island off the coast of Madagascar, had put in for repairs, and had sailed again, the description of the officers exactly answering to Sir Thomas Troubridge and his companions. The inhabitants of Bourbon Island had, according to the same authority, caught sight, after the gale had subsided, of a line-of-battle ship in distress, with an admiral's white flag flying. No other tidings of the unfortunate ship and the brave admiral ever reached England; nor have such slight clues been sufficient to point to the spot, or to fix the date, where and when the Blenheim foundered.

The

It was in February, 1801, that Lord Nelson hoisted his flag on board the St. George, in preparation for accompanying Sir Hyde Parker to the Baltic, under whose orders he was placed. The first letter now printed here is undated, and appears, as has been mentioned, to have been written from Spithead. second was written during the passage from Portsmouth to Great Yarmouth, a long and tedious one, from calms, contrary winds, and thick fog. The third letter begins the series, written after they had sailed for the north. Nelson arrived in Yarmouth Roads on the 6th of March, and the squadron set sail at daylight on the 12th. The expedition to the Baltic was undertaken in consequence of an alliance entered into by Sweden, Denmark, and Russia against England, with the object. of curtailing her naval rights. The point in dispute, which led eventually to the battle of the Baltic, was the principle of "armed neutrality," which denied the right to search vessels belonging to neutral powers in times of war-a right given by the old code of international maritime law. The English, who were masters of the sea, ignored the new principle, and captured, in July, 1800, a Danish merchantman, the Freya, for refusing to allow her cargo to be examined. An embassy was sent from England to Denmark to negotiate the matter; but when the vessels which conveyed it passed

the sound and anchored off the beautiful city of Copenhagen, the ire of the Russian emperor was aroused at the sight of English vessels in northern waters, and he at once seized all vessels in Russian ports belonging to England, and allied himself with Sweden, Denmark, France, and Prussia against England. These allies insisted upon continuing to abolish the right to search neutral vessels, a principle that favored especially the commerce of France. England as firmly desired to retain the right to molest, examine, and search everything afloat. She resolved still to rule the waves, and, in the face of the naval resources of this powerful league, she sent her little hero to the rescue. He succeeded, although second in command, in winning a victory off Copenhagen, destroying the Danish navy, and bringing about a change of policy on the part of the alliance. That alliance was dissolved by Alexander, Emperor of Russia, who succeeded the murdered Paul just before Nelson, with Sir Hyde Parker's squadron, reached the sound.

LETTERS FROM LORD NELSON TO SIR THOMAS TROUBRIDGE.

AYE, my dear Troubridge, had you been here to-day you would have thought, had the Pilot arrived a fortnight hence, there would have been time enough. Fame says we are to sail the 20th, and I believe it, unless you pack us off. I was in hopes that Sir Hyde would have had a degree of confidence, but no appearance of it. I know he has from Nepean the plan of the fortifications of the New Islands off Copenhagen and the intended station of some Danish ship. I have, be assured, no other desire of knowing anything than that I may the better execute the service, but I have no right to know, and do not say a word of it to Lord St. Vincent, for he may think me very impertinent in endeavoring to dive into the plans of my commander-in-chief, but the water being clear, I can see the bottom with half an eye. I begged Domet1 only to use the St. George and we would do anything. The Squirrell will be refitted in two hours tomorrow from a list of complaints of two sides of paper. The Gun Brigs are in wretched order, but they will get on. Poor Domet seemed in a pack of troubles. Get rid of us, my dear friend, and we shall not be tempted to lay abed till 11 o'clock. If the Earl would give Josiah a ship in greater forwardness, and send him abroad, it would be an act of kindness. I feel all your kindness, but perhaps I am now unfit to command, my only ambition is to obey. I have no wish ungratified in the ser1 Sir Hyde Parker' r, and captain of the fleet.

Since the departure of Lieutenant Yule for Nisbet's Ship, neither Hardy or myself can put our finger on a good lieutenant, but Hardy has just recollected one, the present first lieut. of the Aurora, Richard Hockie. If he is still in her, chuses to come here, and the Admiralty to appoint him, he can take a passage and bedding in either Elephant or Edgar if she is still at Spithead. You are right, my dear Troubridge, in desiring me not to write such letters to the Earl. Why should I? as my own unhappiness concerns no one but myself. It shall remain fixed in my own breast, but believe me I shall ever be your faithful NELSON AND BRONTE.

"St. George,” March 4th, 1801. MY DEAR TROUBRIDGE: You will see by my public letter the cause of the Warrior's going on shore. We have a damned stupid Dog on board, and as obstinate as the Devil. He objects to having assistance to carry this ship thro' the Gully although the moment before he complained that having been up all night he could not stay up this night, therefore wanted another Pilot. However I shall have a sharp eye on him. We shall weigh about 11 o'clock. I wrote you last night, but my letter was too late. Ever yours faithfully,

II

NELSON AND BRONTE.

Lt. Layman was very active last night.

"ST. GEORGE," March 11th, 1801. MY DEAR TROUBRIDGE: It is not that I

care what support I may have as far as relates to myself, but the glorious support I am to have marks me; but let jealousy, cabal, and art conspire to do their worst, the St. George is and shall be fit for battle. I will trust to myself alone, and Hardy will support me. Far, far, very far from good health, this conduct will and shall rouse me for the moment, but we cannot get off. My information is, I dare moored when the signal was made to prepare say, better than your's. The London was unfor sea, but now she is safely moor'd. I shall you to forward any letters to me and from me to my friends, and ever Believe me your most affectionate

trouble

NELSON AND BRONTE.

You will make very happy by getting him a ship to go abroad. Hardy has been on board of Domett, who told Hardy to tell me he did not form the order of Battle. By that, he sees as I do. Captn. Otway has not been on board all yesterday or today. Domett hopes to sail tomorrow.