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 NELSON 221 the next day, no steps having yet been taken to carry the capitulation into effect, he ad- dressed a note to the garrisons, stating that he would not permit them to embark or leave those places, and their surrender must be at discretion. On the 26th the insurgents sub- mitted, with full knowledge that the cardinal's conditions had been annulled, and were de- tained as prisoners until the arrival of the king, July 10, when they were given up to the Neapolitan authorities. That Nelson was jus- tifiable in this transaction is now generally ad- mitted ; that he did not act without regard to honor and good faith is apparent from his treatment of the garrison of Castellamare, who having surrendered before his arrival were permitted to go free, although the officer who received their capitulation had no authority to grant them terms. The hanging of Prince Caraccioli, the Neapolitan admiral, who had joined the insurgents and served under the " Parthenopean republic," is another event which clouds Nelson's memory. Caraccioli was accused of being a traitor, and having been captured and given up to Nelson was tried by a Neapolitan court martial, who condemned him to death, and submitted their sentence to Nelson as superior officer for confirmation. It has been charged, though perhaps without suf- ficient proof, that in these transactions the British admiral acted under the baneful in- fluence of Lady Hamilton, with whom his il- licit connection had already commenced. Al- though ordered by Lord Keith to sail with his whole force for the protection of Minorca, he continued in the bay of Naples, and succeeded in restoring the king to his dominions. For his services he received a sword splendidly en- riched with diamonds, and was rewarded with the dukedom of Bronte, with a revenue of 3,000 a year. He soon after assisted Capt. Ball in the siege of Malta ; but, mortified by the appointment of Lord Keith to the chief command in the Mediterranean, he returned to England through Germany in company with Sir William and Lady Hamilton, and landed at Yarmouth, Nov. 6, 1800, after an absence of three years. Honors of every kind awaited him ; but within three months he was separa- ted from his wife on account of his infatuated attachment to Lady Hamilton. His last words to his wife were : " I call God to witness that there is nothing in you or in your conduct that I wish otherwise." In December, 1800, a maritime alliance was formed between Rus- sia, Prussia, Denmark, and Sweden in regard to the rights of neutral nations in war. For the purpose of breaking up this confederacy, a fleet of 52 sail was sent in March, 1801, to the Baltic under Sir Hyde Parker, Nelson con- senting to act as second in command. The squadron passed the Sound on the 30th, and entered the harbor of Copenhagen. To Nelson, at the head of 12 ships of the line and smaller vessels, making 36 in all, was assigned the at- tack; against him were opposed 18 vessels mounting 628 guns, moored in a line a mile in length, and flanked by two batteries. The ac- tion began about 10 A. M., April 2, and lasted five hours. About 1 o'clock Sir Hyde Parker made the signal for discontinuing. Nelson ordered it to be acknowledged, but, putting the glass to his blind eye, exclaimed: "I really don't see the signal. Keep mine for closer bat- tle still flying. That's the way I answer such signals. Nail mine to the mast." By 2 o'clock, the Danish fleet being almost entirely taken or destroyed, he wrote to the crown prince the following note : " Vice Admiral Lord Nelson has been commanded to spare Denmark when she no longer resists. The line of defence which covered her shores has struck to the British flag ; but if the firing is continued on the part of Denmark, he must set on fire all the prizes he has taken, without having the power of saving the men who have so nobly defended them. The brave Danes are the brothers and should never be the enemies of the English." An armistice of 14 weeks was agreed to, and in the mean time the policy of Alexander, the new emperor of Russia, broke up the confeder- acy, and left matters on their old footing. For this battle, which Nelson said was the most terrible of all in which he had ever been en- gaged, he was raised to the rank of viscount. On July 24 he was made commander-in-chief, from Orfordness to Beachy Head, of the squad- ron for the defence of England ; and on Aug. 15 he attacked the flotilla at Boulogne, but was forced to retreat with considerable loss. After the treaty of Amiens he retired with Sir Wil- liam and Lady Hamilton to his seat at Merton in Surrey. But war breaking out again, he was appointed commander of the Mediterra- nean fleet, and set sail May 20, 1803. He im- mediately blockaded Toulon, but in spite of his utmost vigilance a fleet escaped out of that port on Jan. 18, 1805, and shortly afterward joined the Cadiz squadron. Nelson followed in pursuit to the West Indies, and back again to Europe, but being unsuccessful he returned to England. Upon the receipt of the intelli- gence that the combined French and Spanish fleets were in Cadiz, he resumed his command of the Mediterranean fleet, and encountered the enemy off Cape Trafalgar, Oct. 21, 1805. The force under him consisted of 27 ships of the line and 4 frigates ; the force opposed of 33 ships of the line and 7 frigates. On that day he wore his admiral's coat, bearing upon his left breast the insignia of the orders with which he had been invested. To all remon- strance against wearing so conspicuous a uni- form he replied, referring to the insignia : " In honor I gained them, and in honor I will die with them." At 11.40 A. M., while bearing down on the enemy, he hoisted the signal, " England expects every man to do his duty," which was received with tremendous cheering by the whole fleet. At 10 minutes after noon the action began. In the heat of the battle, about li P. M., he was struck in the shoul-