The Life of the Right Honourable Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson, Volume 1Harrison, James
History
The Life of the Right Honourable Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson, Volume 1
Harrison, James
Admirals -- Great Britain -- Biography; Great Britain. Royal Navy -- Biography; Nelson, Horatio Nelson, Viscount, 1758-1805
"The agony of his wound, in the mean time, greatly increasing, he
became satisfied that the idea which he had long indulged of dying
in battle was now about to be accomplished. He desired to see his
chaplain, the Reverend Mr. Comyn, and begged he would bear his
remembrances to Lady Nelson; and, as the last beneficial office
that he conceived he should be able to perform, he appointed
Captain Hardy, of La Mutine, to be Captain of the Vanguard. Having
expressed a wish to see Captain Louis, of the Minotaur, Captain
Berry had hailed that ship, and the commander came on board. The
admiral was desirous of personally thanking him for the assistance
which he had, in the height of danger, been enabled to render the
Vanguard. "My dear Louis," said the admiral, "farewel! I shall
never, should I survive, forget the obligation I am under to you.
Whatever may become of me, my mind is at peace." He, then, with the
most pious composure, seemed resigning himself to death. As soon as
the surgeon had, according to the express injunctions of the
admiral, paid all necessary attention to every person previously
wounded, he came forward to examine the wound of their commander.
An awful silence prevailed; but it was of short duration, for the
surgeon almost immediately pronounced it to be merely superficial,
and of no dangerous consequence. The pleasing intelligence speedily
circulated through the ship, and the excess of sorrow was
instantaneously converted into the excess of joy: nor did the hero
feel less delighted at hearing the grateful expressions of gladness
from his generous crew, than at the unexpected announcement of his
life's being considered, by the surgeon, as in no sort of danger.
This circumstance, indeed, greatly tended to alleviate his
sufferings during the painful operation of dressing his wounded
forehead.
"At this time, it appeared that victory had already declared itself
in our favour; for, though L'Orient, L'Heureux, and Le Tonnant,
were not taken possession of, they were considered as completely in
our power: which pleasing intelligence Captain Berry had likewise
the satisfaction of communicating in person to the admiral.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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