Nelson's Lady Hamilton by Meynell, Esther (surface ebook reader txt) 📕

pleasure at her own importance—it needed more than war, bombardments, executions, endless exertions, and mental unrest to take the freshness and the zest out of Emma Hamilton! She tells Greville, " Everything goes on well here. We have got Naples, all the Forts; and to-night our troops go to Capua. His Majesty is with us on board, were he holds his Councils and Levees every day. . . . The King has bought his experience most dearly, but at last he knows his friends from his enemies, and allso knows the defects of his former government, and is determined to remedy them. For he has great good sense, and his misfortunes have made him steady and look into himself. The Queen is not yet come. She sent me as her Deputy; for I am very popular, speak the Neapolitan language, and considered, with Sir William, the friend of

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the people. The Queen is waiting at Palermo, and she has determined, as there has been a great outcry against her, not to risk coming with the King/'

Then she goes on to inform Greville how active she had been on the Queen's behalf, though she had been on shore but once, when she went to St. Elmo " to see the effect of the bombs! I saw at a distance our despoiled house in town, and Villa Emma, that have been plundered. Sir William's new appartment,—a bomb burst in it! But it made me so low-spirited, I don't desire to go again." She describes all she did before the King's arrival: " I had privily seen all the Loyal party, and having the head of the Lazzaronys an old friend, he came in the night of our arrival, and told me he had 90 thousand Lazeronis ready, at the holding up of his finger, but only twenty with arms. Lord Nelson, to whom I enterpreted, got a large supply of arms for the rest, and they were deposited with this man. ... I have thro' him made 'the Queen's party/ and the people have prayed for her to come back, and she is now very popular. I send her every night a messenger to Palermo, with all the news and letters, and she gives me the orders the same. I have given audiences to those of her party, and settled matters between the nobility and Her Majesty. She is not to see on her arrival any

of her former evil counsellors, nor the women of fashion, alltho' Ladys of the Bedchamber, formerly her friends and companions, who did her dishonour by their desolute life. All, all is changed. She has been very ^mfortunate; but she is a good woman, and has sense enough to profit by her past unhappiness, and will make for the future amende honorable for the past. In short, if I can judge, it may turn out fortunate that the Neapolitans have had a dose of Republicanism. But what a glory to our good King, to our Country, that we —our brave fleet, our great Nelson—have had the happiness of restoring the King to his throne, to the Neapolitans their much-loved King, and been the instrument of giving a future good and just government to the Neapolitans ! . . . We shall, as soon as the government is fixed, return to Palermo, and bring back the Royal family; for I foresee not any permanent government till that event takes place. Nor wou'd it be politick, after all the hospitality the King and Queen received at Palermo, to carry them off in a hurry. So you see there is great management required." Then she declares, " I am quite worn out. For I am interpreter to Lord Nelson, the King and Queen ; and altogether feil quite shattered; but as things go well, that keeps me up." She says that Nelson is wonderful, "he is here and there and everywhere. I never saw such zeal and activity in any

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one as in this wonderful man. My dearest Sir William, thank God, is well and of the greatest use now to the King. We hope Capua will fall in a few days, and then we will be able to return to Palermo. On Sunday last we had prayers on board. The King assisted, and was much pleased with the order, decency, and good behaviour of the men, the officers, etc."

The officers and men of the Foudroyant were themselves " much pleased " at having the beautiful Lady Hamilton on board. Lieutenant Parsons, who was Nelson's signal-midshipman at this time, records jin his "Reminiscences" that " She was much liked by every one in the fleet, except Captain Nesbit, Lady Nelson's son; and her recommendation was the sure road to promotion. The fascination of her elegant manners was irresistible, and her voice most melodious. Bending her graceful form over her superb harp, on the Foudroyanfs quarterdeck each day after dinner, in Naples' Bay, she sang the praises of Nelson, at which the hero blushed like a fair maiden listening to the first compliment paid to her beauty."

Emma's grace and ardour may be believed, but we have doubts about Nelson's blushes ! Lieutenant Parsons was much affected by the stilted sentimentality of his time, and can hardly refer to a woman without calling her " a virtuous and lovely female," or " one of the fair sex," or

some other roundabout and hackneyed expression. But he had also a sense of humour, and gives a very delicious little dialogue between Lady Hamilton and a seaman of the Foudroyant. "The men," he says, "when threatened with punishment for misconduct, applied to Lady Hamilton, and her kindness of disposition, and Lord Nelson's known aversion to flogging, generally rendered the appeal successful. As an instance of which, one