Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 4.djvu/391

 ID* s. iv. OCT. 21,1905.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 321 LONDON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER tl, 1905. CONTENTS.-No. 95. NOTES :-NeIson's Signal, 321-Nelson Recollections-Nel- son's Uoyal Descent. 322—• Klchard II.' and ' The Spanish Tragedy,' 323 — " Tittle ": Its Ktymology — Splitting Fields of Ice— Ducking the Mayor and Constable, 325— Crown Street, Soho—Great Queen Street. 384. QUBKIBS: —Nelson's Uniform-Den: Brice, KM — Chap- books and Broadsides — "Vaulting ambition" — W. K. West—Club Cup—Worlield Churchwardens' Accounts— Registers of St. Kitte — Scalllons, 327 — Duclemore— Ronina Cromwell — Civil War Barthworks — Campion Family—Evans : Symonds : Hering : Garden — Lamb's Grandmother—Tbe Devil and St. Botolpb, 328—Funds for Preaching In New Bngland—Haskoll, 329. EBPLIKS:— Nelson Poems—Brougham Castle,329—'Genius by Counties,' 329—" Italy a geographical expression "— Balnes Family, 330 —"Twopenny for Head—William Lewis, Comedian—Lady Wilde and Swedenborg—Worth— The Screaming Skull—Icelandic Dictionary, 331 — First National Anthem—Trudgen-stroke In Swimming — "Sjambok": its Pronunciation — "Veni, Creator' — Cheshire Words—Sir Francis Drake and Chlgwell Row, 332—Countess of Huntingdon at Hlghgate—Looping tbe Loop: Flying or Centrifugal Railway—Col. Pitt. 1711— Suppression of Duelling In England—An Early Latin- Kngllsh-Basque Dictionary, 333—Authors of Quotations Wanted—Rev. John Durant—Meretlay, Christian Name— Horse-pew = Horse-Mock — ' Book of Loiighscur '—Snaith Peculiar Court—" Knin/ "—Hysker or Hesker, 334 —' The Cloister »nd the Hearth ' — Easter Woods—Touching for the King's Bvil — "The fats of the Trscys "—" Kaba- futoed" — Concerts of Antlent Muilc, 335—George III.'s Daughters—" Fountain " Tavern, 33*. HOTKS ON BOOKS:—'Handbook of Homeric Study'— 'James Hacpberson' — Routledge's "New Universal Library" — Helnemann'a "Favourite Classics " — The Oxford Shakespeare—' Catalogue of the Woodslde District Library* — Jessel's 'Bibliography of Playing Cards' — ' Congregational Historical Society Transactions' — ' Nelson's Homeland'—' What Nelson Bald'—' Sky-Hlgb.' Booksellers' Catalogues. NELSON'S SIGNAL. THE grandest address to fighting men before a battle ever uttered is that of Nelson •at Trafalgar. But the form of it is per- petually olundered over. Now that the •centenary is about to be celebrated with much ado, it is only fit that the true words of the signal should be faithfully given—and yet they scarcely ever are so. A man only a few days ago wrote to the Daily Mail, saying that those who communicated with him on the subject were always wrong; and he laid it down that the right form was, " England •expects that every man will do his duty." Now as this is not the right form, I hope that ' N. <fc Q.' will point out what the words really were. It will be monstrous if the nation mars them on the celebration of Trafalgar Day—though I regret to say it would be very British if it did so. It is worthy of notice that the hero him- self was very near spoiling the signal out of an over-confident vanity. Chance— A lucky chance, that oft decides the fate Of mighty monarchs— as usual in all great actions, and inventions that are really grand, suggested the perfec- tion of this thing. A forgotten fact will make this now apparent. It is a case of private biography illustrating a momentous instant in history. It is intensely interesting, for, as told in the plain simple letter subjoined, it carries us, as it were, on the round lift and swell of a green wave towards Biscay, to the deck of the flagship, and into the very pre- sence of the one-armed sailor-king himself. It places before the eye the whole thing in the very process of the making of it, and it is honourable to every soul concerned in it. The letter appeared in The Standard, 13 October, 1883, and is as follows:— THE FAMOUS SIGNAL. To the Editor of The Standard. SIR,—In reference to a statement in your issue of the 9th inst., relative to the late Admiral Pasco having " acted as Signal Lieutenant at Trafalgar," will you allow me to say that, if the implication is that it was he who had to do with the well-known " Every man to do his duty " signal, the paragraph is not quite correct ? What actually happened be- fore the action was this. The Admiral gave the order to telegraph the whole fleet—"Nelson expects every man to do his duty." This order was given not to the Signalling Lieutenant of the Victory (who had been disabled, I believe), but to my grandfather, the late George Lewis Browne, who was then serving on board the flagship. My father has niore than once heard him relate the incident which then occurred — the young Lieutenant's suggestion, half hint, half request, that "England" should be substituted, as that word was in the signal code-book, and could be run up at once ; whereas " Nelson " would require six sets of flags, displayed one after the other; and Nelson's prompt and hearty reply was, "Right, Browne; that's better." This officer was paid off, as were so many others, in consequence of the war being virtually ended, as far as naval operations were concerned, by the victory of Trafalgar; and it was whilst he was practising as a barrister at the Western Circuit that he got his promotion as Com- mander. Long after he was given post rank. I have once or twice seen a curiously garbled version of this little bit of history, in which Nelson is made to have carefully adapted his words on this occasion to the requirements of writers of popular songs. I am, sir, your obedient servant, J. WILLIAM THOMPSON. Cardiff, Oct. 11. Here we have the real form authenticated, England expects every man to do his duty. If this were not exactly the true form, its strength would recommend it in preference ; for " that" and " will " in the other form, in place of " to," takes half the pith out of the sound of the thing. Now sailors are par- ticularly strong in the vernacular. A great judge in style ought to know that of the two forms this would probably be the true one.