Young Folks' History of EnglandYonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary)
History
Young Folks' History of England
Yonge, Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary)
Great Britain -- History -- Juvenile literature
At last the French grew weary of this horrible bloodshed; but, as they
could not manage themselves, a soldier named Napoleon Bonaparte, by
his great cleverness and the victories he gained over other nations,
succeeded in getting all the power. His victories were wonderful. He
beat the Germans, the Italians, the Russians, and conquered wherever
he went. There was only one nation he never could beat, and that was
the English; though he very much wanted to have come over here with a
great fleet and army, and have conquered our island. All over England
people got ready. All the men learnt something of how to be soldiers,
and made themselves into regiments of volunteers; and careful watch
was kept against the quantities of flat-bottomed boats that Bonaparte
had made ready to bring his troops across the English Channel. But no
one had ships and sailors like the English; and, besides, they had the
greatest sea-captain who ever lived, whose name was Horatio Nelson.
When the French went under Napoleon to try to conquer Egypt and all
the East, Nelson went after them with his ships, and beat the whole
French fleet, though it was a great deal larger than his own, at the
mouth of the Nile, blowing up the Admiral's ship, and taking or
burning many more. Afterward, when the King of Denmark was being made
to take part against England, Nelson's fleet sailed to Copenhagen,
fought a sharp battle, and took all the Danish ships. And lastly,
when Spain had made friends with France, and both their fleets had
joined together against England, Lord Nelson fought them both off
Cape Trafalgar, and gained the greatest of all his victories; but it
was his last, for a Frenchman on the mast-head shot him through the
backbone, and he died the same night. No one should ever forget the
order he gave to all his sailors in all the ships before the battle--
"England expects every man to do his duty."
After the battle of Trafalgar the sea was cleared of the enemy's
ships, and there was no more talk of invading England. Indeed, though
Bonaparte overran nearly all the Continent of Europe, the smallest
strip of sea was enough to stop him, for his ships could not stand
before the English ones.
All this time English affairs were managed by Mr. Pitt, Lord Chatham's
son; but he died the very same year as Lord Nelson was killed, 1805,
and then his great rival, Mr. Fox, was minister in his stead: but he,
too, died very soon, and affairs were managed by less clever men, but
who were able to go on in the line that Pitt had marked out for them:
and that was, of standing up with all their might against Bonaparte--
though he now called himself the Emperor, Napoleon I., and was treading
down every country in Europe.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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