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MEMOIRS 
 
 LADY HAMILTON; 
 
 "WITH 
 
 fillustrattbt Sitertrtftes 
 
 HOEATIO ? LORD VISCOUNT NELSON, 
 
 MANY OTHER OF HER FRIENDS AND CONTEMPORARIES. 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 LONDON : 
 PRINTED FOR HENRY COLBURN. 
 
 1835. 
 
JPA4-S3 
 •HofY\3. 
 
$r*foct* 
 
 Though the introductory chapter con- 
 tains an explicit statement of the views of 
 the writer, and an ample apology for a 
 biographical memoir of this description, it 
 may be necessary to apprize the reader that 
 the facts here related are brought forward 
 merely as illustrative of character, and not 
 to indulge a splenetic disposition, or to gra- 
 tify an idle curiosity. 
 
 It is possible, however, that some per- 
 sons will be offended with what is here 
 narrated, and the reflections to which the 
 incidents have given rise; while others, 
 perhaps, may feef resentment at the disclo- 
 sure of circumstances that have a tendency 
 to weaken their admiration of men of emi- 
 nence: but, in justification of the Author, 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 let it be considered that morality is of greater 
 value than genius, and that the precepts 
 and institutions of religion are of infinitely 
 more consequence than temporal glory. 
 
 When, therefore, any of those, who have 
 risen above their contemporaries by their 
 performances, are found remarkably defi- 
 cient in those duties which constitute the 
 only points of efficient example, the causes 
 of their errors, and the consequences of their 
 follies, ought to be plainly related, that his- 
 toric truth may not be injured by partial 
 representations, nor the power of virtue 
 weakened by the influence 15f splendid 
 names. 
 
 But if, after all, any reasonable objection 
 shall be made to what is detailed in these 
 sheets, or the slightest wound be inflected 
 thereby on the feelings of those who have a 
 claim to respect, for their connexions and 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 their virtues, the Author will be the first to 
 condemn the offensive page, and to remove, 
 by retractation, the impression which it may 
 have made ; being herein animated by the 
 sentiment of the greatest of poets, 
 
 — Esror y EJTreg n @sfioixTa.i 
 
 Asivov, a(pǤ to Qsgoisv avapzralja<yai cccKhai. 
 
 If any words offend the candid mind, 
 
 Far, far away those words, ye whirlwinds, bear, 
 
 And scatter them, ye storms, in empty air. 
 
 Homer, 
 
 The favourable reception which this vo- 
 lume has experienced from the public, ma- 
 nifested by the sale of a large impression in 
 a few weeks, and by the most honourable 
 testimonies in its behalf, expressed in dif- 
 ferent periodical publications, has enabled 
 the Author to fulfil the promise made in 
 the preface to his first edition, of making 
 such corrections in the narrative as should 
 be called for by the communication of 
 
VI PREFACE, 
 
 authentic facts and specific information. 
 But while he returns his thanks to se- 
 veral obliging correspondents for some 
 friendly hints and additional circumstances, 
 of which he has not failed to avail himself 
 in the present impression, he feels a honest 
 satisfaction in finding that the integrity of 
 his memoir remains unaffected. 
 
 August 1st, 1815. 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 LADY HAMILTON. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Rome must know 
 The value of her own : 'twere a concealment 
 Worse than a theft, no less than a traducement, 
 To hide your doings. 
 
 Shakspeare. 
 
 THE maxim, that "nothing should be 
 said of the dead, but what is good," though 
 it has become proverbial by the frequency 
 of repetition, and the benevolence which 
 it seems to inculcate, is too often made 
 an excuse for error, and an apology for 
 depravity. But whatever may be the 
 nature or the extent of the rule, it never 
 could have been intended to operate as an 
 act of indemnity, to cover the deeds of those 
 
 B 
 
2 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 who have endeavoured to loosen the foun- 
 dations of morality by their principles, or 
 to render vice attractive by their example. 
 The precept must be regarded as equiva- 
 lent to the duty of doing strict justice to 
 all concerning whom we may be called to 
 give the testimony of our knowledge, and 
 of adhering strictly to truth, in what we 
 relate of the conduct of others, whether 
 they are in the capacity of speaking for 
 themselves, or are placed beyond the pos- 
 sibility of being affected either by praise or 
 censure. Were the doctrine otherwise, 
 and did it lay survivors under the immu- 
 table obligation of concealing the obliquities 
 of those who have been removed from this 
 busy stage, where every action of the 
 humblest individual has some connexion 
 with his contemporaries, and effect on pos- 
 terity, history would be no better than ro- 
 mance, by depriving mankind of the lessons 
 for the regulation of life, which are afforded 
 by the contemplation of human infirmity. 
 Coloured by the partiality of friendship, 
 and shaded by an excess of liberality, the 
 examples, even of the most upright men, 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 3 
 
 would lose much of their efficacy for the 
 want of being rendered familiar by those 
 peculiar touches of character, which can 
 alone enable the mind to form a correct 
 estimate of those qualities which are the 
 object of admiration. Active virtue is 
 most brilliant in the resistance of tempta- 
 tion, and in that conflict which brings the 
 passions under the dominion of reason : 
 but the nature of this trial, and the value of 
 the conquest, cannot be appreciated, with- 
 out inspecting human nature in the va- 
 rieties of public and private life. In this 
 study, the whole of man must be investi- 
 gated, if any improvement is expected from 
 the enquiry ; but that will be looked for 
 in vain, unless the ruling principle of the 
 mind be distinctly marked, the favourite 
 pursuits clearly exhibited, and all the cir- 
 cumstances relating to $em faithfully de- 
 tailed. No judgment is to be formed of 
 men from particular incidents, and it would 
 be as useless to think of obtaining a cor. 
 rect knowledge of their real character In 
 the bustle of the world, as it would be 
 idle to leave the completion of our own to 
 B2 
 
4 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the meditations of a cloister. Virtue and 
 vice are often so confounded, through the 
 ignorance and weakness of mankind, that 
 to be guarded against the artifices which 
 are used to pass off the one for the other, 
 it is necessary to examine both as they ap- 
 pear recorded in the lives of those who 
 have distinguished themselves by their 
 merit, or become notorious by their crimes. 
 There is such a mixture of different quali- 
 ties in every person, that no exact idea of 
 any one can be obtained from a representa- 
 tion, ill which only the general outline of 
 character is given, without a discrimination 
 of excellences and defects. Where these 
 are not stated with fidelity, and balanced 
 with judgment, the reader is misled, and 
 the interests of truth are violated. 
 
 History is said to be philosophy teach- 
 ing by example ; and this definition is par- 
 ticularly just, when applied to that branch 
 which is devoted to the memoirs of per- 
 sons who have been conspicuous in their 
 day, either by their own actions, or by the 
 influence which they possessed over those 
 of others. The efficiency of every such 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 5 
 
 nar ative for a moral purpose, consists in 
 the truth with which it is told, and the 
 lesson it is intended to impart. Hence it 
 is obvious, that the historian must relate 
 facts as they happened, with their causes, 
 and trace actions to their motives and con- 
 sequences. This cannot be done without 
 delineating the primary movers and agents 
 of the transactions, exactly as they were 
 known to the most intimate of their asso- 
 ciates. Any other mode of depicting hu- 
 man life, as it may have been remarkable 
 in the conduct of those who now cease to 
 affect the world, except as warnings or 
 examples, would have the effect of pro- 
 ducing false ideas of the faculties of man, 
 and the most pernicious notions of his 
 duties. Of those persons who have raised 
 themselves above their contemporaries, we 
 should be able to form no other conception 
 than what is excited by the report of won- 
 ders, which are magnified and distorted by 
 not being distinctly beheld. The mistake 
 of describing the fair side of human nature 
 only, has a direct tendency to contract the 
 mind within a sphere wherein little ex- 
 
O MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ertion will seem requisite to become emi- 
 nent either in knowledge or virtue. The 
 voyage of life abounds with difficulties and 
 dangers, which, to be overcome, must be 
 encountered with that resolution which is 
 the effect of diligence, and the confidence 
 that results from caution. 
 
 Such is the wise order of Providence, 
 that the very errors and crimes of men are 
 often subservient to the general good, as 
 beacons and landmarks to warn other pas- 
 sengers, in this probationary course, 
 against falling by those delusions which 
 have proved fatal to so many of the human 
 race. Thus it is, that the best of all books 
 exhibits numerous instances of the lapse 
 of men, who, on other accounts, are set 
 forth as bright examples of fortitude and 
 self-denial. In the volume of immortality, 
 where piety is exemplified in all the rela- 
 tions which man can be supposed to fill, 
 we are taught how to imitate the virtues we 
 admire; and to practise the duties en- 
 joined, by the minute relation of the evils 
 attending an occasional departure from the 
 path of rectitude. It would seem, then, 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 7 
 
 as if no apology could be necessary for the 
 practice of describing men as they truly 
 were, when they lived among us, and of 
 reporting their actions with impartiality; 
 since, in this, we do no more than what is 
 recommended by the highest of all autho- 
 rity. For the purposes of moral edification, 
 this delineation of the human character is 
 essentially necessary ; and, with a view to 
 the formation of an exact judgment of 
 mankind, it is indispensible. Memoirs, 
 written with a studied intention to render 
 the subject pleasing, are like pictures, in 
 which likeness is neglected for the sake of 
 beauty. 
 
 If any excuse should be deemed requi- 
 site for the introduction of remarks, the 
 justice of which must be self-evident, 
 even to those who feel more delight in the 
 elegance of diction than the simplicity of 
 truth, that excuse will be found in the un- 
 certainty which is spread over the real cha- 
 racters of distinguished persons, by the de- 
 sign or carelessness of their biographers. 
 
 An evil practice has of late years pre- 
 vailed, of eulogizing persons of note, in- 
 
8 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 stead of giving a detailed account of their 
 pursuits and sentiments, the habits which 
 they acquired, and the errors into which 
 they occasionally fell. This method of 
 substituting panegyric for history has be- 
 come so general, that it would not be sur- 
 prising to see a justificatory memoir of Guy 
 Fawkes, or an apology for the conduct of 
 Nell Gwyn. 
 
 To such a height of paradoxical extra- 
 vagance has this spirit been carried among 
 us, that men of genius have laboured with 
 diligence in searching for imaginary causes, 
 or in devising sophistical arguments, to 
 defend the criminal conduct of those who 
 never were able to vindicate themselves. 
 The bloodiest regicides of ancient and 
 modern times have been canonized as pa- 
 triots ; men who trampled upon every prin- 
 ciple of humanity, and women who cast 
 aside all the traces of modesty, have had 
 their respective advocates; even the lust- 
 ful prophet of Mecca has had more than 
 one apologist ; and some of the most furious 
 persecutors, who armed themselves with 
 the Bible in one hand and the sword in the 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 9 
 
 other, have found writers to maintain their 
 principles, and to justify their actions. 
 
 But in nothing has this violation of lite- 
 rary justice been more notorious, than in 
 the ordinary practice of sacrificing historic 
 cal verity at the shrine of public opinion, 
 or to gratify the feelings of private friend- 
 ship. 
 
 We have seen men of great name and of 
 brilliant talents, celebrated, not merely on 
 account of their transcendent powers, but 
 as objects deserving of esteem and imita- 
 tion by their virtues ; though, at the same 
 time, the encomiasts, who have so incon- 
 siderately ventured beyond the legitimate 
 boundaries of praise, were driven to the 
 necessity of suppressing facts, for fear 
 of exposing themselves, and of injuring 
 the reputation of those whom they had so 
 extravagantly commended. On one occa- 
 sion, we have seen female libertinism jus- 
 tified as the assertion of freedom ; and an 
 author of another character has deliberately 
 ascribed the cruel abandonment of a wife 
 and infant family to an excessive seusibi- 
 
10 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Jity, and the ambition of professional ex- 
 cellence. 
 
 Thus it is, that a description of writing, 
 which, of all others, perhaps is the most 
 impressively adapted for moral purposes, 
 instead of being rendered, as it ought to be, 
 one of the noblest instruments of virtue, 
 becomes a vehicle for palliating vice. 
 
 They who so grossly impose on the 
 curiosity of the public, by perverting that 
 to flattery, which should be solely devoted 
 to the interests of truth, are always ready 
 to avail themselves of the language of the 
 poet, in drawing a veil over the actions of 
 the dead : 
 
 No farther seek his merits to disclose, 
 
 Or draw his frailties from their dread abode. 
 
 But however just this monition may be in 
 private life, where the disclosure of infir- 
 mities would only serve to sharpen malice, 
 and to inflame the passions, without an- 
 swering any instructive end, it cannot be 
 admitted in the exercise of that judgment 
 which we have a right to form and express 
 concerning the character of those persons 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 1 I 
 
 who have borne a leading part in the 
 theatre of the world. There, surely, if the 
 memoirs of men are to be noticed at all, 
 they must be related with a scrupulous 
 regard to truth ; though, by so doing, the 
 fame of the dead should be affected, or the 
 feelings of the urvivors be hurt by the 
 exposure. 
 
 Some have supposed that no good can 
 result to society from the publication of 
 human imperfections, and that the moral 
 interest of the age is little concerned in the 
 private pursuits of men in high stations. 
 This wretched conclusion is refuted by the 
 consideration that many of the most im- 
 portant events of history have originated in 
 circumstances, the particulars and effects 
 of which could not be properly known or 
 justly estimated, without an exact ac- 
 quaintance with the ruling dispositions, and 
 favourite connexions, of the primary agents. 
 Great revolutions may sometimes be traced 
 to occurrences of trivial moment; it is, 
 therefore, necessary that these should be- 
 carefully examined, and faithfully stated, 
 to. prevent the establishment of false prin- 
 
12 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ciples, or the application of unjust censure. 
 Nations are taught wisdom as much bv 
 errors and misfortunes, as by great achieve- 
 ments; for though the latter may prove 
 powerful incentives to good actions, they 
 are often instrumental in fostering ambi- 
 tion, and generating prodigality. But 
 neither, on the one hand, would splendid 
 actions operate effectually as objects of 
 imitation, nor could failings be rendered 
 beneficial as warnings, if the private history 
 of the parties immediately interested in 
 them were disregarded. 
 
 If these observations are just, and they 
 have for their support not only the sanction 
 of the best writers of antiquity, but the 
 manifest advantage of checking the pro- 
 gress of fiction, an ample justification will 
 be found in them for the publication of a 
 memoir, the subject of which will perhaps 
 be deemed by many too insignificant for 
 such a distinction, and of too light a cast 
 to be made subservient to any purpose of 
 moral improvement. 
 
 To the fastidious critic, no reasons 
 assigned for the undertaking will prove con- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 13 
 
 vincing; and to the prejudiced reader, no 
 apology for the freedom of discussion, or 
 the minuteness of detail, will be satisfac- 
 tory. But while the author disclaims the 
 intention of dragging failings to the light, 
 the existence of which is to be lamented, 
 he wishes it to be seriously considered, 
 that those failings have been attended with 
 awful consequences, and some too that 
 have deeply affected the honour of the 
 country. 
 
 Though hardly any thing can be more 
 odious than the depraved appetite, which, 
 delighting chiefly in secret history, makes 
 no scruple of rending off the cerements 
 of the dead, to the annoyance of the living ; 
 still there are some occasions, when the 
 paramount interests of mankind demand 
 the detection of hypocrisy, and the ex- 
 posure of folly, that the young and inex- 
 perienced may be guarded against the error 
 of substituting accomplishments for duties, 
 or of supposing that the admiration of vir- 
 tue is equivalent to the discharge of its 
 obligations. 
 
 Passion and prejudice have too long pre- 
 
14 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 vailed over the public mind with respect 
 to circumstances, concerning which poste- 
 rity will demand a honest report. It is, 
 therefore, time that the voice of justice and 
 humanity should be calmly heard, and that 
 Reason should take her seat, to record 
 facts, before they shall have faded from the 
 memory, and before the tongue shall be 
 sealed up in silence, or the hand be moul* 
 dered into dust, that may have the power 
 of communicating them to the world. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 15 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Honour and shame from no condition rise : 
 Act well your part; there all the honour lies. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 One of our greatest moralists, who owed 
 more to himself than to his relations, has 
 said, in his strong manner, that there is a 
 " scoundrelism about persons of low birth/' 
 No man knew better than he did how to 
 appreciate worth in all stations, and no 
 man ever acted with less servility to the 
 great, or with more kindness to the poor. 
 His observation, therefore, must be taken 
 in a qualified sense, as expressing only 
 what he had commonly met with, and 
 proving that the influence of pristine mean- 
 ness will, more or less, continue through 
 life. Of the truth of this remark, we shall 
 meet with some striking proofs in the fol- 
 lowing memoirs, throughout the whole of 
 
16 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 which, the want of early instruction and 
 example will be seen, and the force of low 
 habits and improper connexions will be 
 completely understood. 
 
 The person whose adventures we are now 
 to report, as far as they can be traced, and 
 with every allowance for the uncertainty in 
 which the early history of such characters 
 is always involved, owed her origin to a 
 couple that lived together in a menial capa- 
 city, in the county Palatine of Chester. 
 The man, whose name was Lyon, survived 
 this marriage only a short time, leaving, 
 in 1761, a young widow, and an infant 
 daughter, named Emma, wholly without 
 support. In consequence of this melancholy 
 change in her circumstances, the poor 
 woman retired to Hawarden, in Flintshire, 
 which was her native place, and where she 
 was now enabled by her industry, and the 
 kindness of friends, to maintain herself and 
 this child, whose education was such as 
 might be expected from the poverty of her 
 mother's circumstances, and the little time 
 that could be allowed from domestic occu- 
 
LADY HAMILTON.. 17 
 
 pations. In an account of herself, however, 
 which the subject of this narrative thought 
 proper to dictate at the request of an enter- 
 prizing bookseller, for a collection of what 
 he called " Public Characters/' it is stated 
 that she received an education superior 
 to damsels of her condition, at the expense 
 of the late Earl of Halifax. This was one 
 of those instances of deception in which she 
 was too apt to indulge, and by which she 
 foolishly hoped to impose upon the credu- 
 lity of mankind. The truth is, that all 
 the instruction which she ever obtained 
 in childhood consisted in the simple article 
 of reading, and that so very imperfectly, 
 as to be unaccompanied by correctness 
 in spelling, a qualification which she 
 never properly acquired to the end of her 
 days, though she mixed so much with 
 polished society, and had an extensive 
 correspondence. 
 
 Yet, in justice to the energies of her 
 mind, it should be observed that she 
 supplied the defects of her original condi- 
 tion by voluntary application and uncom- 
 mon diligence, at that period when gaiety 
 c 
 
18 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and business may be supposed to furnish 
 plausible excuses for neglecting the labour 
 of intellectual improvement. 
 
 At the age of twelve or thirteen she was 
 received into the family of Mr. Thomas, 
 a respectable medical practitioner at 
 Hawarden, who was the brother-in-law of 
 the late Alderman Boydell, and father of 
 the eminent surgeon in Leicester Square. 
 Her situation in this place was that of a 
 nursery-maid; and it is worthy of remark, 
 that in her subsequent changes, she ever 
 preserved a grateful sense of the kindness 
 which she had experienced from the friends 
 of her youth, who were well disposed to 
 give her the instruction that was suited to 
 her condition in life. 
 
 One of the ordinary topics of complaint 
 in most of the higher circles, is that of the 
 folly or ingrati tude of servants ; and we may 
 often hear persons of good sense and libe- 
 rality lamenting the sudden change which 
 takes place in those domestics who have 
 ,.J?een taken by them with the best inten- 
 tions from small families and distant cot- 
 tages. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 19 
 
 f 
 
 But were the entire circumstances pro- 
 perly considered, and thoroughly investi- 
 gated, it would in all likelihood appear that 
 the objects so strongly stigmatized, as in- 
 considerate and extravagant, capricious and 
 insolent, are in reality the parties most in- 
 jured. Without justifying the weakness 
 or palliating the conduct of servants, we 
 may safely advance thus much in their 
 favour, that they are for the most part 
 unprepared by monition and practice for 
 the line of life in which it is their chance to 
 be placed. The manners of the country are 
 widely different from those of the capital, 
 and the restraint necessarily produced there 
 by observation has such a constant effect on 
 the mind, as frequently to preserve even the 
 volatile within the bounds of decorum. It 
 is not to be wondered, therefore, that when 
 the pleasures and freedom of London chance 
 to be mentioned, uneasiness should be pro- 
 duced, and desire created to exchange a 
 life of obscurity and labour for one of com- 
 parative ease and splendour. The disap- 
 pointment which such persons naturally ex- 
 perience, is to be attributed to their erro- 
 c 2 
 
20 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 neous impressions, and to the facilities 
 that have been held out to draw them from 
 that humble privacy in which they were 
 born, and where they might have enjoyed 
 calm and virtuous content, if the delusion 
 of seeing the world had not been thrown in 
 their way. 
 
 Happy certainly would it have been for 
 Emma, had she been suffered to remain in 
 her original state of servitude, but still more 
 so if she had never been transplanted from 
 her native mountains, to breathe the con- 
 taminating air, and to witness the licentious 
 manners of an overgrown and luxurious 
 city. 
 
 At sixteen she visited London, where she 
 obtained a place with a tradesman in St. 
 James's Market: and it is said, that when 
 some years afterwards she moved in a sphere 
 of splendour, she called in her carriage at 
 this shop, and expressed a strong sense of 
 gratitude to her old master and mistress. 
 
 In her next situation, which was with a 
 lady of fortune, she had ample opportunities 
 of gratifying her love of reading, by the 
 books obtained from the circulating library 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 21 
 
 for the amusement of her mistress : but the 
 information derived from these volumes was 
 ill adapted to moderate the ebullitions of 
 vanity, to mortify the impetuosity of pas- 
 sion, to chasten the mind, by a consider- 
 ation of the duties of life, or to point out 
 the dangerous rocks and hidden shoals, 
 which are certain of proving destructive to 
 those who are impelled by emotions, instead 
 of being directed by the sense of religion. 
 
 Novels and romances, in rapid succession, 
 without reflection or discrimination, con- 
 stituted the chief delight of this young per 
 son, who had been sent out into the world 
 unarmed, either by prudent counsel or 
 parental example. Here it would be wrong 
 to omit the very remarkable and feeling 
 censure which was passed on this perni- 
 cious waste of time, by the very person of 
 whom we are speaking, and who, as we 
 shall find, suffered so much from the evil. 
 Adverting to what had been her own prac- 
 tice in early life, she used to condemn very 
 pointedly those who, from design or care- 
 lessness, threw such allurements in the 
 way of their domestics. So strong, indeed, 
 
22 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 was her sense of the mischievous tendency 
 of those productions on the minds of the 
 giddy and uninformed, as to declare that if 
 the had the choice, her preference would 
 be given to a servant that could not read 
 at all, to one that was so qualified. This, 
 to be sure, was carrying matters to the 
 utmost extremity ; and the reason she was 
 pleased to assign for her opinion, though 
 ingenious enough, cannot be admitted as 
 a sufficient justification of the decision 
 founded upon it. " Wherever," she would 
 observe, " a female servant, especially if 
 she is young, and has a turn for reading, 
 can indulge her inclination by the books 
 which lie in the apartments of her mistress, 
 the business in which she should be em- 
 ployed will surely be neglected, and her 
 mind be raised, by the perusal, above the 
 sphere in which it is her province to move." 
 The truth of this remark can hardly be 
 denied, and yet the purpose to which it was 
 applied must be condemned, as a pitiful 
 endeavour to license that folly in superiors, 
 from which their dependants should be de- 
 barred by ignorance. The proper refutation 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 23 
 
 of such sophistry, when offered as an apo- 
 logy for an arbitrary distinction, is that 
 which transfers the culpability from the ser- 
 vants to their employers ; since, if the one 
 were properly mindful of their duty, and 
 took care not to place such allurements in 
 the way of their domestics, the other would 
 neither idle away the time which should be 
 better employed, nor poison their minds, 
 which ought to be otherwise exercised. 
 
 Novels and the theatre have, perhaps, 
 ruined more than ever they instructed ; yet 
 it would be an act of vandalism to consign 
 all works of fiction to the flames, or to pro- 
 nounce a decree of proscription against all 
 dramatic representation, instead of regu- 
 lating both by the iavvs of morality, and 
 teaching the use to which alone they ought 
 to be applied. 
 
 An inordinate attachment to books, ex- 
 hibiting the falsest pictures of human nature, 
 and to the playhouse, where the passions 
 are inflamed rather than corrected, had 
 the most baneful influence on the mind of 
 this giddy adventurer on the perilous ocean 
 of life. That which commenced at the out- 
 
24 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 set in the laxity of discipline, became 
 habitual by the want of monition in the 
 progress; and this being confirmed by the 
 total absence of example in the heads of 
 the household, had the effect of lessening 
 that delicacy of sentiment, and dread of 
 shame, which will ever prove an adaman- 
 tine shield to the female heart, and the 
 most powerful guard of its honour. 
 
 The next place to which she removed 
 was one that flattered her vanity, and gave a 
 latitude to her inclinations. Her appearance 
 became almost as powerful a recommenda- 
 tion as her character to a lady who figured 
 in the fashionable world, and whose house 
 was the resort of gay persons, among whom 
 were some writers for the stage, and others, 
 who stood high in the public esteem as 
 singers and performers. This was exactly 
 the place that best suited the peculiar incli- 
 nation of the lively Emma, whose heart was 
 but too susceptible of the allurements which 
 were now most amply spread before her by 
 the folly of the vain, and the designs of the 
 vicious. 
 
 The family into which she thought 
 
LADY HAMILTON. £5 
 
 herself happy in being admitted as house- 
 maid, presented to her view a perpetual 
 round of bustling activity, which had no 
 other object than to provide luxury for 
 those who thought only of indulging their 
 love of pleasure, by pampering the senses 
 with new supplies of extravagance. The 
 day was occupied in preparations for the 
 festivities of the evening; and those hours 
 which should have been devoted to rest and 
 reflection, were sacrificed to scenes of dis- 
 sipation. One part of the week was nearly 
 the same as the other ; and there was hardly 
 any thing to mark the return of that day 
 which human and divine authority have 
 combined to render sacred, except in the 
 selection of company, and the change* of 
 amusements. The servants were under the 
 necessity of pursuing their ordinary avoca- 
 tions, instead of enjoying that rest which 
 the law enjoined, and their improvement 
 required. la this whirlpool of hurry and 
 pleasure, the domestics had neither time for 
 serious meditation, nor opportunities allow- 
 ed them to learn their duty. From those 
 who should have established order by their 
 
26 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 authority, and recommended temperance 
 by their example, no rules of sobriety were 
 received, nor any useful knowledge gained 
 for the regulation of the conduct, and the 
 improvement of the mind. So long as the 
 respective business of each servant was dis- 
 charged, entire satisfaction was given, and 
 no attention was paid to the manner in 
 whch the residue of time was employed, 
 or to the company that they kept. 
 
 In such a place, the dangers attending 
 youth and beauty were multiplied by the 
 facilities now offered of indulging that love 
 of theatrical amusement which had already 
 been too strongly excited; by the inces- 
 sant flatteries which were addressed to a 
 credulous ear, and the arts that were con- 
 tinually adopted to charm away all appre- 
 hension of future misery, in the desire of 
 present gratification. It was impossible 
 that in a house like this, the charms of 
 Emma should pass unobserved by the nu- 
 merous visitors who were on terms of inti- 
 macy with the family. To a figure of un- 
 common elegance were added features per- 
 fectly regular, with a countenance of such 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 27 
 
 indescribable sweetness of expression, as 
 fixed the beholder in admiration. The 
 airiness of her form gave a peculiar grace to 
 her movements, and such was the flexi- 
 bility of her limbs, that she might have 
 been considered as a mountain nymph. 
 Her agility, however, though light and 
 sportive, had nothing in it of boisterous 
 activity; nor in the gaiety which she sup- 
 ported did there appear any of that levity 
 which seems to court instead of repelling 
 temptation. Among the many attractions 
 which at this period distinguished the female 
 of whom we are speaking, that of a very 
 musical voice was one which could hardly 
 fail, in the situation where she was placed, 
 to excite attention and inflame vanity. 
 Having the advantage of a good ear, aided 
 by a retentive memory, she was enabled to 
 sing popular airs with considerable effect; 
 and the opportunities which she enjoyed 
 of frequenting places of public amuse- 
 ment, served to increase the passion for 
 dramatic entertainments. The effect pro- 
 duced by these exhibitions, was that of 
 adding to her love of singing a strong turn 
 
28 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 for mimicry, which was encouraged by her 
 companions to such a degree, as to become 
 the subject of general conversation. 
 
 By the folly of those who should have 
 checked this propensity, instead of giving 
 it countenance, that which was at first a 
 playful act of occasional humour, produc- 
 tive of a little harmless amusement, settled 
 into habit, and drew off the mind from those 
 occupations, which, diligently followed, 
 might have rendered this young person a 
 much more useful though a less brilliant 
 member of society. Hereby she acquired a 
 boldness which proved the leading feature of 
 her character through life, to which her 
 ruin was owing in the first instance, and 
 which confirmed her in the habits of in- 
 trigue and extravagance, so completely 
 as to render her the deceiver of her own 
 heart, while she was imposing on the cre- 
 dulity of others. 
 
LADY HAMILTON'. 39 
 
 CHAP. II 
 
 Ah, turn thine eyes 
 Where the poor houseless shiv'ring female lies. 
 She once, perhaps, in village plenty blest, 
 Has wept at tales of innocence distrest ; 
 Her modest looks the cottage might adorn, 
 Sweet as the primrose peeps beneath the thorn; 
 Now lost to all, her friends, her virtue fled, 
 Near her betrayer's door she lays her head, 
 And, pinch'd with cold, and shrinking from the show'r, 
 With heavy heart deplores that luckless hour, 
 When, idly first, ambitious of the town, 
 She left her wheel and robes of country brown. 
 
 Goldsmith. 
 
 The female who hesitates on the 
 threshold of temptation, by stopping to 
 listen with inquisitive delight to the tale 
 of flattery, is lost. She betrays her virtue, 
 by giving encouragement to the voice of 
 praise, when she should be employed in ex- 
 amining her conduct, to discover what it 
 is that renders her an object of admiration. 
 
30 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 Thus it was in the present instance; and 
 more could not well have been expected, 
 considering the circumstances in which 
 this young person was placed, the gifts with 
 which she was furnished, the graces she 
 possessed, and the companions with whom 
 she daily associated. Her first lapse from 
 the path of virtue was occasioned by an act 
 of good nature ; for in the early part of the 
 American war, a friend or relation having 
 been impressed and sent on board the 
 Tender off the Tower, she had the courage 
 to wait upon the late Admiral John Willet 
 Payne, then a captain, and employed in the 
 regulating service, with a request that he 
 would cause the man to be liberated. This 
 gallant officer was so much struck with the 
 appearance of the petitioner, that he granted 
 her prayer, and became a suitor in return. 
 These attentions were far from being unac- 
 ceptable to one whose principles were 
 already weakened, and she soon became 
 the mistress of her new admirer, who 
 spared no expense in setting off her charms 
 to the best advantage. 
 
 But after some time, the late Sir Harry 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 31 
 
 Featherston having declared his passion for 
 Emma in warm terms, her protector con- 
 sented to yield up the fair one to the opu- 
 lent baronet, who conducted her tojiis seat 
 in Sussex. Here for some months she led 
 a life of fictitious grandeur, as the nominal 
 mistress of a noble mansion, though she 
 soon had the mortification of seeing that 
 her real character was known, and despised, 
 even by those who were under the neces- 
 sity of obeying her commands. The fond- 
 ness of her lover, the extravagant adu- 
 lation of his sporting companions, and the 
 continual succession of riotous amusements, 
 could not prevent the intrusion of some 
 bitter recollections, and an inward feeling 
 of resentment at the occasional marks of 
 contempt which were betrayed by the honest 
 rustics, who were as yet far from exchang- 
 ing their reverence of the institutions of 
 their ancestors, for the frivolous distinctions, 
 and shameful customs, of the fashionable 
 world. 
 
 Emma, during her residence at Up Park s 
 displayed her agility in various festive 
 scenes, and she particularly obtained great 
 
32 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 applause on account of her equestrian 
 powers, sitting her horse with uncommon 
 elegance, and rivalling in speed the bold- 
 est of her acquaintance. But this course 
 of dissipation was of short continuance; 
 and though roses appeared scattered in 
 every path, the pleasure which they 
 yielded faded quickly away, leaving no- 
 thing but thorns behind. 
 
 After spending the summer and part of 
 the autumn in the country, the baronet 
 removed with his prize to London, where, 
 for many reasons, he avoided exhibiting her 
 in a public manner, and she was accord- 
 ingly placed in private lodgings. For some 
 time the condition was easy and agreeable 
 enough to prevent the suspicion of its 
 having any insidious object; but when 
 neglect and indifference became too appa- 
 rent to escape observation, the keen sense 
 of wrong produced remonstrances, which 
 were received with a coolness that only 
 served to aggravate resentment, and to 
 hasten a separation. 
 
 Thus abandoned in her utmost need, 
 without either friend, property, or character, 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 33 
 
 this hapless victim of vanity and deceit 
 was driven to encounter the ruthless storm, 
 dependant upon charms which had already 
 deprived her of peace, and which were now 
 to provide her a guilty support. Of the 
 variety of scenes through which this daugh- 
 ter of vicissitude passed, after experiencing 
 that treachery which most commonly fol- 
 lows the sacrifice of virgin innocence, it is 
 impossible to give an account; and even 
 were the particulars most exactly remem- 
 bered, or easily collected, still the rela- 
 tion could hardly be attended with any 
 better effect than that of ministering to an 
 idle spirit of curiosity, which seeks amuse- 
 ment in tales of misfortune, and derives a 
 wretched kind of pleasure even from the 
 follies of mankind. 
 
 The gradations from splendid distinction 
 gained by the loss of virtue, to the extremity 
 of want and misery, were so rapid, that in a 
 few months she was nearly an outcast in 
 the metropolis, when one of those casual 
 occurrences, which sometimes produce a 
 complete turn in human affairs, may be 
 said to have restored her again to society. 
 
 D 
 
3*§ MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The encouragement afforded in this land 
 of credulity to every species of empiri- 
 cism, never fails to stimulate the genius 
 of new adventurers, whose claims to pub- 
 lic support have the greater chance of 
 being successful, in proportion as they are 
 removed from decency, or are at variance 
 with probability. At the period of which 
 we are speaking, one of those impudent 
 pretenders to superior wisdom, who are 
 continually taking advantage of the national 
 thirst for wonder and novelty, contrived to 
 fill his pockets at the expense of the 
 thoughtless and the ignorant, by an exhibi- 
 tion, which, in any other country than 
 England, would have subjected the inventor 
 to exile or imprisonment. This man, who, 
 in point of education and abilities, ranked 
 above the general description of quacks, 
 affected to explain the inmost secrets of 
 nature, and to unfold all her mysterious 
 operations in the continuance of each spe- 
 cies of animal being, while to his hearers he 
 ventured to hold out the infallible charm 
 that was to insure the enjoyment of health, 
 pleasure, and longevity. The lectures of 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 35 
 
 Dr. Graham, however, would hardly have 
 answered his purpose, in a lucrative point 
 of view, if he had not enlivened them by 
 descriptions and illustrations, which served 
 to excite sensations, and to provoke desires 
 that rather stood in need of a restraint than 
 a stimulant. When the popularity of these 
 licentious discourses began to fail by re- 
 petition, the orator had recourse to a bold 
 device, to awaken the public attention, and 
 to draw around his rostrum crowded au- 
 diences of the weak and the wicked, con- 
 sisting of those who, from inexperience, 
 could see no deformity in vice, and of habi- 
 tual debauchees, who had no higher enjoy- 
 ment. To gratify a depraved taste, and 
 that from the vilest of all motives, the 
 love of gain, this unprincipled charlatan 
 resolved to introduce a new object of at- 
 traction, in the person of some young 
 female, whose figure might render her a 
 perfect model of health and beauty. The 
 difficulty certainly lay in obtaining an ob- 
 ject who would submit to be exhibited, 
 in a condition, the very proposal of which 
 could not but make the most wretched of 
 d 2 
 
36 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the sex shudder at the degradation. Yet 
 the lecturer was not mistaken in his opinion 
 of mankind, when he reckoned upon the 
 complete success of his scheme, not only 
 in gaining auditors, but in finding a sub- 
 ject who would consent, for a reward, to 
 stand in all the simplicity of nature, as 
 the representative of the cheerful goddess 
 of health and inspiring beauty. The event 
 answered his expectations; and thus the 
 unhappy fair one, whose misfortunes were 
 owing in a great measure to her lovely 
 form and mimic powers, now became in- 
 debted to the same causes for a deliver- 
 ance from the lowest state of misery. Dis- 
 gusting as this incident must be to every 
 one who feels the slightest respect for the 
 honour of human nature, and concern for 
 the interests of virtue, both of which were 
 grossly insulted by an exhibition that would 
 have put a heathen to the blush ; still our 
 indignation ought to be directed against 
 the lecturer and his hearers, rather than 
 the frail object of a licentious curiosity and 
 the instrument of gross imposture. But 
 while the fact of the exhibition stands un- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 37 
 
 contradicted, the friends of the female who 
 figured in it have persevered in denying her 
 connexion with the scene. Their zeal, 
 however, is more gratifying to the feelings, 
 than satisfactory to the judgment ; for such 
 a circumstance could not have been related 
 without some foundation, and the writer of 
 this had the whole history from a person 
 of the highest literary character, twenty- 
 four years ago. 
 
 Of this strange folly some distinguished 
 artists, both painters and sculptors, con- 
 trived to profit in their respective lines, 
 by adopting this elegant form as a model. 
 Many exquisite pieces were accordingly 
 painted and chiselled after this finished pro- 
 duction of Nature's workmanship ; and the 
 remunerations which she received placed 
 her in a situation above want. 
 
 Still it is not to be disguised, that the 
 declension from virtue, and the habits which 
 she had acquired, left too strong a tinge to 
 be wholly obliterated even by the blow of 
 adversity, and the change which she had 
 experienced. 
 
 Her admirers increased as the represen- 
 
38 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 tations of her multiplied ; and the praises 
 which she continually heard, from those 
 who certainly were the best judges of sym- 
 metry and beauty, tended effectually to wear 
 away the sense of disgrace, and to reconcile 
 her mind to the blandishments of guilt. 
 
 Among those who were captivated by 
 the personal graces of the lively and fasci- 
 nating Emma, and who devoted much pro- 
 fessional attention to the delineation of her 
 in various characters, the eccentric Romney 
 was by far the most distinguished in his 
 attachment, and the most favoured by the 
 object of his admiration. 
 
 This artist was then at the zenith of 
 his reputation, in Cavendish Square; but 
 his moral character may be estimated from 
 the fact, that he had abandoned a virtuous 
 wife and two children, above twenty years 
 before the period at which we are now 
 arrived. 
 
 The most particular friend and biogra- 
 pher of the painter, though utterly unable, 
 and no doubt unwilling, to justify this 
 flagrant instance of cruelty on moral prin- 
 ciples, has yet endeavoured to find some 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 39 
 
 motive for the act, which may, as he thinks, 
 have the effect of lessening its criminality. 
 This conduct of Romney in leaving a young 
 family unprotected in a remote part of the 
 kingdom is ascribed to a romantic spirit 
 of enterprize, and to the desire of improv- 
 ing his mind and his circumstances; but 
 that iC beholding in an innocent wife a sup- 
 posed impediment to every splendid pro- 
 ject, he resolved, instead of settling as a 
 family man, to wander forth alone into the 
 distant world in quest of professional ad- 
 ventures." 
 
 Such is the sophistry by which the 
 violation of the first of duties is made instru- 
 mentally expedient, if not really neces- 
 sary, to the attainment of distinguished 
 eminence in an intellectual and liberal pur- 
 suit. But allowing all that the partiality of 
 friendship can require in behalf of an 
 esteemed object, we may be permitted to 
 express our concern and indignation at the 
 continuance of this separation, when the 
 only reason ever offered for it had ceased to 
 operate, and when that eminence was com- 
 pletely attained, for which the connubial 
 
40 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 state and parental endearments had been so 
 long sacrificed. It might have been ex- 
 pected that a man of such exquisite sensi- 
 bility as Romney is described, would, on 
 entering into the possession of a noble man- 
 sion, and the enjoyment of an ample in- 
 come, have eagerly called his family to town, 
 to participate in his good fortune. But the 
 case was otherwise ; and while the artist 
 lived in splendour, visited by persons of 
 the highest rank, and earning between three 
 and four thousand pounds a-year, his meek 
 and unoffending partner remained without 
 any attempt to injure him by an exposure 
 of her wrongs; though such was her con- 
 dition, that she would gladly have received 
 the scraps which fell from his table. 
 
 Yet of this very man, the indiscretion of 
 kindred genius has ventured to record, that 
 " in conversation he was often delightfully 
 eloquent, particularly in describing to a 
 friend pathetic scenes in humble life, which 
 he often explored ; sometimes for the pur- 
 pose of discovering new subjects for his 
 art; and frequently for the nobler purpose 
 of relieving distress ; for no man could be 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 41 
 
 more tenderly alive, both to the duty, and 
 the delight of generous compassion, and 
 evangelical charity !" 
 
 However tender might have been the 
 feeling, or extensive the bounty of Romney, 
 he certainly paid no attention to the con- 
 sideration, that " charity begins at home," 
 a maxim, which, though too often perverted 
 to the low purpose of screening a niggardly 
 disposition, under the specious plea of 
 prudence, contains a sound moral truth, 
 equivalent to the declaration of an evan- 
 gelical writer, who practised what he 
 taught — " if any provide not for his own, 
 and especially for those of his own house, 
 lie hath denied the faith, and is worse than 
 an infidel." 
 
 The charity of Romney was any thing 
 but that which it is said to have been, for 
 it was utterly destitute of religious prin- 
 ciple, and had its .origin in the school of sen- 
 timentalists, where feeling is substituted 
 for duty, and the breach of one obligation 
 finds a covering in excessive sensibility. 
 —Severe as these remarks may be 
 deemed, they are called for by the cir- 
 
42 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 cumstance, that while the painter lived 
 apart from a worthy woman, to whom he 
 was bound by the most sacred ties, he 
 lavished his bounty on one who was above 
 twenty-five years younger than himself, and 
 with whose character he could not fail to 
 be acquainted. 
 
 But, like Sterne, whom he admired, 
 Romney had no true feeling ; and his pro- 
 pensities to sensual indulgence were well 
 known to all his acquaintance. With 
 Emma he became enamoured while paint- 
 ing her picture, as Apelles fell in love with 
 Campaspe. Certain it is, that the modern 
 artist had no cause to complain of the 
 severity of his mistress; and his fondness 
 for her was carried to such a pitch, that 
 he oftentimes neglected the works which 
 he was employed to execute, from a capri- 
 cious whim to delineate his idol in some 
 new character or fascinating attitude. 
 
 A colour, however, has been given to this 
 connexion, for the purpose of making it 
 appear to have been nothing more than 
 pure disinterested generosity on the one 
 side, and filial attachment on the other. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 45 
 
 The biographer of Romney has touched 
 this subject with an art, which manifests 
 uncommon anxiety to relate what may be 
 fairly told, without leading the reader to 
 suspect the real nature of this attachment. 
 
 " The talents which nature bestowed on 
 the fair Emma/' says the historian, " led 
 her to delight in the two kindred arts of 
 music and painting. In the first she acquired 
 great practical ability; for the second she 
 had exquisite taste, and such expressive 
 powers, as could furnish to an historical 
 painter an inspiring model for the various 
 characters, either delicate or sublime, that 
 he might have occasion to represent. Her 
 features, like the language of Shakspeare, 
 could exhibit all the feelings of nature, 
 and all the gradations of every passion, with 
 a most fascinating truth, and felicity of ex- 
 pression. Romney delighted in observing 
 the wonderful command she possessed over 
 her eloquent features ; and through the sur- 
 prising vicissitudes of her destiny, she ever 
 took a generous pride in serving him as a 
 model : her peculiar force and variation of 
 feeling, countenance, and gesture, inspirited 
 
44 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and enobled the productions of his art. One 
 of his earliest fancy pictures, from this ani- 
 mated model, was a whole length of Circe 
 with her magic wand, [t could not be 
 painted later than the year 1789, as I re- 
 collect a letter from a friend in that year, 
 describing the very powerful impression 
 made by this picture on a party who then 
 surveyed it. Some years afterwards, I had 
 a conversation in Romney's gallery on the 
 same picture, with an opulent nobleman, 
 now no more, who discovered a faint incli- 
 nation to purchase it, but it was reserved for 
 a purchaser of superior taste. A Calypso, 
 a Magdalen, a Wood Nymph, a Bacchante, 
 the Pythian Priestess on her tripod, and a 
 Saint Cecilia, were all drawn from the 
 same admirable model. 57 * 
 
 This statement is intended to impress on 
 the mind of the reader a persuasion that the 
 painter was actuated by professional motives 
 only, which will hardly be admitted as 
 coming within the limits of probability, by 
 any one who has made human nature his 
 
 * Life of Romney, p. 119. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 45 
 
 study ; and by those who ever had the 
 slightest knowledge of the parties, it will 
 be treated as a most extravagant idea, that 
 Romney, who had abandoned his wife, and 
 lived in luxury, should receive such a 
 visitor at all seasons, and behold her in 
 every luscious attitude, from the mere 
 wish of improving his own genius. But 
 in truth, had the artist been possessed of 
 that charity which is ascribed to him, he 
 would have seen the gross impropriety of 
 placing an interesting young woman in 
 characters which could not be even repre- 
 sented without a wantonness of counte- 
 nance, habiliment, and attitude, wholly 
 repugnant to the delicacy of that charm, so 
 beautifully pourtrayed by the poet, in his 
 description of the mother of mankind : 
 
 Grace wa9 in all her steps, heav'o in her eye, 
 In every gesture, dignity, and lore. 
 
 Of the numerous pictures of Emma, 
 painted by Romney, one of the most plea- 
 sing represents her as viewing the sensitive 
 plant, with a mixture of surprise and de- 
 light. This piece, which is in the possession 
 
46 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of Mr. Hayley, has been twice engraved, 
 and that gentleman relates its history in the 
 following manner: — 
 
 " During my visit to Romney in No- 
 vember, 1786, I happened to find him one 
 morning contemplating by himself a recently 
 coloured head on a small canvas. I expressed 
 my admiration of his unfinished work in 
 the following terms: — ' This is a most 
 happy beginning : you never painted a 
 female head with such exquisite expression ; 
 you have only to enlarge your canvas, in- 
 troduce the shrub mimosa, growing in a 
 vase, with a hand of this figure approach- 
 ing its stem, and you may call your picture 
 a personification of sensibility/ * I like 
 your suggestion/ replied the painter, ' and 
 will enlarge my canvas immediately/ — ■ Do 
 so/ I answered with exultation, on his 
 kindly adopting my idea ; c and without loss 
 of time I will hasten to an eminent nursery- 
 man, at Hammersmith, and bring you the 
 most beautiful plant I can find, that may 
 suit your purpose/'* 
 
 — — - — — — - — . . ■■■ > -.. — »r , ^gii — i — 
 
 . * Life of Romney, p. 121. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 47 
 
 Granting, as every one must, that this 
 portrait indicates an uncommon sweetness 
 of expression, and great liveliness in the 
 countenance; still it would be very difficult 
 to shew in what respect it can be considered 
 as peculiarly marking the characteristic of 
 sensibility, or how it is at all deserving of 
 that appellation, unless it be in a punning 
 association of the figure and the plant. It 
 is a great perversion of taste to suppose that 
 the feeling, which is moved by the happi- 
 ness or the sufferings of others, can be ex- 
 pressed by contemplating an inanimate 
 shrub, which is wholly destitute of the 
 power of exciting joy or sorrow. 
 
 With this picture of Emma, as the repre- 
 sentative of a virtue, to the reality of which, 
 through life, she was an absolute stranger, 
 though at any time she could easily assume 
 the appearance of it, the connexion between 
 her and the painter shall for the present be 
 closed ; leaving him to the influence of 
 those beauties of person, and especially to 
 that charming voice, which lulled in him 
 every serious reflection, by the dulcet 
 
48 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 strains of harmony, and the syren song of 
 pleasure, agreeable to the language of the 
 amatory poet: 
 
 Music so softens and disarms the mind, 
 That not an arrow does resistance find : 
 Thus the fair tyrant celebrates the prize, 
 And acts herself the triumph of her eyes. 
 
 Waller. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 49 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 There is in human nature generally more of the fool 
 than of the wise ; and therefore those faculties by 
 which the foolish part of men's minds is taken 3 are the 
 most potent of all. 
 
 Bacon - . 
 
 At the time when the modern Phrynewas 
 the favourite model of artists, particularly of 
 Romney and Tresham, she lived apparently 
 by her needle, and with such an appearance 
 of simplicity, as entirely to disarm the 
 neighbours of all suspicion. Yet under a 
 plain and almost a rustic garb, with looks 
 of modest diffidence, and a voice of persua- 
 sive mildness, were concealed the complete 
 knowledge of all the arts of pleasure, and 
 every propensity to the indulgence of her 
 passions. 
 
 Having once condescended to become 
 the living representative of the most volup- 
 tuous characters of the Grecian mythology? 
 
50 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 she made no scruple of giving to each libi- 
 dinous figure all the force and attraction of 
 the naked truth. 
 
 Thus, if she contributed in any way to 
 the improvement of the fine arts, it cer- 
 tainly was at the expense of moral decency ; 
 and though the genius of her admirers might 
 perhaps profit by her versatile powers and 
 elegant form, their sentiments must have 
 suffered by the exhibition. 
 
 It is indeed a question of serious import, 
 how far the representation of meretricious 
 objects, whatever may be their beauty and 
 expression, can have a tendency to enrich 
 science, or to instruct the student. Per- 
 fection in the imitative arts is purchased at 
 a dear rate, when the means of acquiring it 
 are to be sought in the haunts of impurity. 
 Besides the false taste which such a course 
 is likely to produce in the artists themselves, 
 the practice is necessarily injurious to the 
 unhappy beings whose personal charms are 
 made subservient to the desire of profes- 
 sional improvement. But much more, in 
 fact, has been vaunted on the moral effect 
 of these pursuits, than ever can be proved 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 51 
 
 to have resulted from them, either to those 
 who have been distinguished by the excel- 
 lence of their works, or to the persons by 
 whom they have been most admired and 
 patronized. Lascivious beauty in a picture 
 cannot possibly be painted, without cor- 
 respondent ideas to those which it is in- 
 tended to excite in the beholder, while the * 
 object who is chosen as a model for the 
 purpose, will naturally infer from the ac- 
 tion, as well as from the effect produced 
 by it, that vice is neither odious in itself, 
 nor hurtful to society. 
 
 In the present instance, it is certain that 
 the variety of characters sustained, and the 
 captivating attitudes assumed to diffuse a 
 bewitching allurement into the form and 
 expression, suited to the personification of 
 a Calypso, a Bacchante, and a Venus, were 
 attended with pernicious consequences to 
 a female, who, in her attempts to excel in 
 this particular line, lost the sense of virtue, 
 and became completely skilled in the arts 
 of intrigue and duplicity/' . .. 
 
 Though naturally sensual, extravagant, 
 and ambitious, she had so effectually ob- 
 E 2 
 
52 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 tained the outward command of her passions 
 at this period, as to preserve an air of mo- 
 desty, even while engaged most eagerly in 
 voluptuous pursuits. She appeared, indeed, 
 to be the child of nature, perfectly uncon- 
 scious of the least design ; and to her might 
 have been applied in every respect the very 
 striking and animated description of an in- 
 triguing female drawn by the masterly pen- 
 cil of the comic poet : 
 
 Coquet and coy at once her air, 
 
 Both study'd, though both seem neglected; 
 Careless she is, with artful care, 
 
 Affecting to seem unaffected. 
 
 Congreve. 
 
 By this address, she contrived to draw 
 into her lure one who was supposed to have 
 been equally skilled in the mystery of de- 
 ception with herself, and who, though he 
 was enthusiastically devoted to fine forms 
 after the Grecian model, yet was as incon- 
 stant to each object of attraction, as the 
 flitting insect, which, ranging in every 
 direction where the loveliest odours are 
 exhaled, abides not long on any of the 
 flowers by which they are produced. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 53 
 
 Strange, however, it is, that this honour- 
 able member of the house of Warwick was 
 for once completely deceived, and caught 
 in his own toils. The birdlime of Emma's 
 charms, heightened by the apparent simpli- 
 city of her manner, and certainly not ren- 
 dered the less attractive by her peculiar 
 neatness in dress, fixed the roving mind of 
 Mr. Charles Greville so effectually, that he 
 left no artifice unessayed to gain possession 
 of what he really imagined to be an uncropt 
 flower, " blushing unseen, and wasting its 
 sweetness in the desert air." 
 
 Too much practised in the ways of the 
 world, and but too well acquainted with the 
 avenues that lead to the female heart, this 
 man of fashion, who prided himself as much 
 on account of his amours as on his collec- 
 tion of pictures, and his exquisite taste 
 in the fine arts, became perfectly enamoured 
 of the lovely nymph, who happened to cross 
 his path. The enquiries which he made 
 about her residence, gave him such com- 
 plete satisfaction with respect to the vir- 
 tue and industry of this young woman, as 
 to convince him that he had discovered an 
 
64 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 inestimable treasure, and consequently to 
 inflame his desires. Chilling indifference, 
 and peremptory repulses, by increasing 
 the difficulties of his pursuit, rendered 
 him more impatient and determined. Per- 
 severance he knew would make his atten- 
 tions at least respected, even though success 
 should not ultimately attend his efforts. 
 By degrees his constancy prevailed : con- 
 fidence yielded to importunity, and with 
 many promises of fidelity, the lover be- 
 came rewarded for his assiduity. Quite 
 overjoyed at his rare fortune, he set about 
 cultivating those talents of Emma, which 
 his acuteness could not help discovering, 
 nor his good taste from admiring. Being 
 himself a connoisseur in music, he spared 
 neither time nor expense in providing 
 proper instructions for a person from whose 
 improvement he anticipated new sources of 
 gratification. 
 
 The progress of the pupil gave infinite 
 delight to her admirer; and such was the 
 force of her natural genius, that she con- 
 trived every day to evince some fresh excel- 
 lence, by which means his affections became 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 55 
 
 perfectly settled ; and a heart naturally vo- 
 latile, continued to be bound in the soft 
 enchantment, even when the novelty of 
 personal charms had no longer any par- 
 ticular influence. But how successfully 
 art maintained the dominion which beau- 
 ty had acquired, will appear from a tri- 
 fling incident that occurred not long after 
 the formation of this connexion. Ambi- 
 tious of displaying his conquest to the 
 world of fashion, the lover conducted the 
 lovely Emma, dressed out in a very ele- 
 gant style, to Ranelagh, which was then 
 the favourite theatre of gaiety and gallantry. 
 Here her form and agility attracted uni- 
 versal attention, and excited so much ad- 
 miration, that for once she gave way to a 
 natural impulse; and to increase the ap- 
 plause with which she had been flattered, 
 she gave the company some delightful 
 specimens of her unrivalled powers both 
 in musical expression, and flexibility of 
 action. The consequence of all this was, 
 as might be expected, that a convulsive 
 sensation of astonishment and rapture ran 
 
56 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 through the whole assembly, the plaudits 
 of which proved so intoxicating to the ob- 
 ject of them, that she redoubled her exer- 
 tions, and called forth renewed peals of 
 applause. But all these were so many 
 poisoned arrows to the heart of Mr. Greville, 
 who brought her thither rather to dazzle 
 beholders by her beauty than to gratify 
 idlers by her accomplishments. He now 
 perceived that she was not only fond of 
 adulation, but that she actually courted It, 
 and was quite in her element when sur- 
 rounded by a host of admirers. This 
 was a distressing thought to one who had 
 in fact placed his affections on Emma, 
 from the persuasion that her mind was 
 not only uncontaminated by the folly of 
 the gay world, but wholly ignorant of 
 the art of gaining its admiration. Being 
 now more than half suspicious of the decep- 
 tion which had in reality been practised 
 upon him, he returned home in a pensive 
 mood ; and so completely overpowered 
 were his feelings, that he could not help 
 expressing them, with strong emotions of 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 57 
 
 concern, at the manifest inclination which 
 she had shewn to " please fools rather than 
 to respect his sentiments." 
 
 Any other woman than Emma would 
 on such a reproach have thrown herself 
 into hysterics, or recriminated in language 
 of haughty indignation. But with that 
 superiority of duplicity which always dis* 
 tinguished her, instead of having recourse 
 to such ordinary expedients,, she retired 
 very coolly to her room, and after throw- 
 ing off all her elegant attire, she put on the 
 original cottage dress, in which she had 
 at first made an impression on the heart of 
 her protector; then returning to the place 
 where he sat, she signified her intention 
 of relieving him from all further uneasiness, 
 by returning to that station where he had ori- 
 ginally found her, and where, as she said, it 
 would always afford her pleasure to receive 
 him still as a friend. The effect of this de- 
 claration was electrical : the clouds of jea- 
 lousy were dispelled in a moment, and the 
 connexion, which seemed to have been on 
 the very point of disruption, became more 
 closely cemented than ever. 
 
S3 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Mr. Greville, who was at that time in 
 an office of considerable distinction, at 
 court, maintained his mistress in a style of 
 elegance corresponding to his rank ; and 
 after making every allowance for her situa- 
 tion, and natural turn for expense, it must 
 be admitted that at this period she deported 
 herself in a manner which gave him and his 
 friends much satisfaction. One of her first 
 acts, when placed in this state of splendour, 
 was to send for her mother, who now as- 
 sumed, though by what legal claim cannot 
 be clearly ascertained, the name of Cadogan. 
 Pleasing as it is to record this instance 
 of dutiful respect to her parent, from whom 
 she was never afterwards separated during a 
 space of above twenty years, it would be still 
 more satisfactory if the writer could detail 
 correspondent particulars of tenderness 
 towards the fruits of this union. There 
 were three of these children, two girls and 
 a boy : the names of the former were Eliza 
 and Anne: the latter was called Charles, 
 after his father, but the surname of each 
 was wholly fictitious; and even the mother, 
 who always passed for their aunt, for reasons 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 95 
 
 which it would be in vain to enquire, and 
 useless to conjecture, thought proper at 
 this time to take upon herself the name of 
 Harte. 
 
 Nothing perhaps can more strongly pour- 
 tray the moral and political evil of concubi- 
 nage than the insulated condition into which 
 itcommonly throwsthe innocent offspringof 
 such illicit connexions. These unfortunate 
 children rarely enjoy the benefit of parental 
 affection ; and to that social friendship which 
 is cemented by the ties of legal consanguinity 
 they must for ever remain utter strangers. 
 Even when they experience proper kind- 
 ness, enjoy the advantages of education, 
 and are raised by an adequate provision 
 or a suitable occupation above the fear of 
 want, and the reproaches of the world, 
 still the recollection of their origin cannot 
 but produce momentary uneasiness, and 
 expose them to occasional marks of con- 
 tempt. Cutoff by the immorality of their 
 parents from the privilege of bearing a 
 name which may gain them the respect of 
 their contemporaries, persons of this de- 
 scription are deprived of that powerful in- 
 
60 MExMOIRS OF 
 
 citement to great actions which arises from 
 hereditary virtue. Instead of this, they 
 have every reason to conceal the particulars 
 of their descent, and for the most part they 
 have but too much cause to bury in oblivion 
 the names of those from whom they derive 
 their being. In general, the pathetic com- 
 plaint of one who was himself of this 
 wretched class, may be adopted by them all : 
 
 No mother's care 
 Shielded my infant innocence with prayer : 
 No father's guardian hand my youth maintain'd, 
 Call'd forth my virtues, and from vice restrain'd. 
 
 Savage. 
 
 The truth of this was felt by the children 
 of whom we are speaking; for in England 
 they never knew what parental care was ; 
 and when at last they were taken under 
 the protection of the mother, it was by the 
 pretext of an alliance which never had an 
 existence; while on neither side did they 
 obtain the instruction and means of sup- 
 port for which they had a fair claim on 
 those who gave them birth. 
 
 In the year 1789> a revolution took place 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 6\ 
 
 in the affairs of Emma, which was of the 
 utmost importance to her whole destiny, 
 and ultimately to that of others. Mr. 
 Greville being under the necessity of re- 
 trenching his establishment, by a temporary 
 embarrassment in his concerns, endeavour- 
 ed to convince his mistress of the necessity 
 of a separation, on such terms as could be 
 most accommodating. While this plan 
 was in agitation, Sir William Hamilton, 
 ambassador at the court of Naples, came 
 to London on some private business ; and 
 being introduced by Mr. Greville, who was 
 his sister's son, to this accomplished wo- 
 man, he expressed his admiration of her 
 person and manners with such warmth, 
 as suggested a thought to the nephew of 
 adopting a measure, by which he could 
 both benefit the lady, and rid himself of an 
 expensive burthen. The enchanting vocal 
 powers of Emma, added to the excellent 
 character which was given of her by Mr. 
 Greville, quite enraptured Sir William, who 
 made an offer, which was readily accepted, 
 of taking her with him to Italy, for the pur- 
 pose of rendering her still more accomplish- 
 
62 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ed. Matters being thus amicably adjusted 
 to the satisfaction of all parties, the lady and 
 her mother soon after quitted England for 
 Naples, to which city they travelled overland 
 by the way of Germany. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 63 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 There is no reason why we should not sometimes 
 blame, and sometimes commend the same person ; for 
 as none are always right, so neither is it probable that 
 they should be invariably wrong. 
 
 Polybius. 
 
 Sir William Hamilton, who dis- 
 charged the office of envoy at the Neapoli- 
 tan court for the long period of thirty.six 
 years, was in some respects a very estima- 
 ble man. He was the foster brother of 
 our venerable monarch, to whom, at an 
 early age, he was appointed equerry, and 
 in whose first parliament he sat as one 
 of the members for the Borough of Mid- 
 hurst. His talents were respectable, and 
 his manners rendered him a proper person 
 to act as the representative of his sovereign 
 
6t MEMOIRS OP 
 
 in a place which was at that time the resort 
 of families of the first distinction. When Sir 
 William (then Mr. Hamilton) succeeded Sir 
 James Grey, as the envoy at the court of 
 Naples, that city was the centre of attraction 
 to inquisitive travellers, not only on account 
 of its natural beauties, and the salubrity of 
 the climate, but in consequence of the 
 remarkable discoveries which were daily 
 brought to light in the excavations, where 
 Herculaneum and Pompeii had been over- 
 whelmed by the irruptions of Vesuvius. 
 Among the vast influx of strangers drawn 
 every year to Naples, by the desire of 
 beholding these interesting curiosities, were 
 many learned men from all parts of Europe, 
 of whose observations the British ambas- 
 sador could not fail to profit ; while they, 
 on their part, were grateful for his atten- 
 tions, and solicitous of his correspon- 
 dence. Thus he became a virtuoso, a 
 naturalist, and an antiquary, by the peculiar 
 nature of his situation, and the conversa- 
 tion which perpetually occurred at his table. 
 His judgment, however, was such as ena- 
 bled him to make a proper use of the oppor- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 65 
 
 tunities he enjoyed, and being of an active 
 mind, he was not to be intimidated by ordi- 
 nary difficulties. He explored the beauti- 
 ful country where he resided with uncom- 
 mon diligence, and repeated his observations 
 on Vesuvius, and other volcanic mountains, 
 with all the patience and industry becom- 
 ing the man of science, who is neither 
 content with a superficial inquiry, nor 
 satisfied while any objects remain which 
 he has not completely investigated, or 
 about which the smallest uncertainty may 
 be supposed to exist. The value of such 
 a resident in that part of the world was 
 duly appreciated in his native country, 
 where he was elected a fellow of the Royal 
 Society, to which learned body he made 
 many valuable communications that were 
 inserted in their transactions from the year 
 1766 to 1794. Most of these papers are 
 descriptive of the eruptions which the 
 author witnessed, or of districts over which 
 he passed soon after they had been devas- 
 tated by earthquakes. Besides these pro- 
 ductions, Sir William Hamilton favoured 
 the world with a very splendid work, 
 p 
 
66 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 intitled " Antiquites Etrusques, Grecques 
 et Romaines," illustrated with plates, in 
 two volumes folio. His motive in publish- 
 ing this collection in a foreign language, 
 might, perhaps, admit of an apology, though 
 it would be difficult to satisfy any English- 
 man of the propriety of adopting the French 
 tongue, on a subject which by no means 
 required the assistance of such a mode for 
 the purpose of elucidation, or the advantage 
 of general circulation. Considered as a 
 classical work, the Latin would have been 
 the most proper vehicle; but when the 
 official situation of the author is taken into 
 the account, it will be hardly possible to 
 advance a single reason why he should 
 have given the preference to the French 
 language on this occasion, when his ..own 
 was equally copious, expressive, and adapt- 
 ed to the subject. Charles III. King of 
 Naples, certainly evinced more discrimina- 
 tion and sound sense in the disposal of 
 the great work which he caused to be 
 publishedr ating to Herculaneum, Stabiae, 
 and Pompeii, in two folio volumes. When 
 the editor, Monsignor Bajardi, who was a 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 67 
 
 learned prelate of the Roman church, 
 waited on the king to receive his directions 
 for the distribution of the copies, which 
 had been printed at the royal charge, in 
 order to be presented to the learned, and 
 deposited in public libraries, the king said 
 to the bishop, without deigning to notice 
 the French, Spaniards, or Italians, " Give 
 five hundred to the English." Bajardi, 
 who was a man of liberal sentiments, and 
 far from being unfavourable to our nation, 
 replied with a bow, "In that case, I fear, 
 the rest of Europe must go without their 
 share." To which the king answered, 
 " Why, then, let the press be set over 
 again/' 
 
 This monarch, it must be. confessed, paid 
 more respect to the character of the English 
 nation than the ambassador, who chose to 
 publish a magnificent work on a general 
 topic in that very language, which, perhaps, 
 of all others, was the one that he ought to 
 have rejected. 
 
 In 1772, our author printed an octavo 
 volume of" Observations on Mount Vesu- 
 vius, and other volcanoes. ,, This subject 
 f 2 
 
68 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 he discussed at great length, four years 
 afterwards, in two folio volumes, bearing 
 the title of " Campi Phlegrasi,or Observa- 
 tions on the Volcanoes of the Two Sicilies," 
 to which he afterwards added a supple- 
 mental volume. 
 
 The interests of truth, however, require 
 it to be told, that, great as the diligence of 
 our ambassador was in promoting the know- 
 ledge of this branch of natural history, his 
 acquaintance with preceding writers on the 
 subject was but scanty, and he had besides 
 so very slender an acquaintance with philo- 
 phical language, as to be under the necessity 
 of calling in the assistance of others in the 
 arrangement of his observations. The per- 
 son to whom he was under the greatest 
 obligations for the composition of these 
 works was a monk of Mount Etna. The 
 great merit of Sir William Hamilton con- 
 sisted in his exertions to bring a valuable 
 accession of discoveries to the store of 
 science, and in giving a liberal patronage 
 to the fine arts. Even before he left his 
 native land, and when he was but a young 
 captain in the Guards, he had evinced his. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 69 
 
 judgment in the formation of a valuable 
 cabinet of pictures, some of which were 
 purchased at the sale of Sir Luke Schaub's 
 gallery, and to which he afterwards made 
 such additions as opportunities offered, and 
 a limited income afforded. It was, in fact, 
 this particular bias of his mind for works 
 of elegance that led him to seek the ap- 
 pointment which he obtained, and for 
 which unquestionably he was, on various 
 accounts, eminently qualified. This situa- 
 tion also offered some advantages in another 
 point of view,* by enabling him to make 
 such purchases as would be profitable to 
 himself, and acceptable to his country. 
 Many commissions of this kind were im- 
 parted to the ambassador by personages of 
 the highest distinction ; and so well were 
 they executed, as to increase the number 
 of applications from all parts of Europe. 
 
 Among the various objects which en- 
 gaged the particular attention of Sir William, 
 the favourite one was that of collecting the 
 most beautiful vases, especially those of 
 Grecian workmanship. When he had made 
 himself master of a considerable number of 
 
70 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 these remains, he caused drawings to be 
 taken of the finest specimens, from whence 
 engravings were executed under his own 
 eye, and for the most part in his own house. 
 Of these a fasciculus was published in the 
 year 1791; and another of equal, if not 
 superior beauty, four years afterwards. 
 Besides the prospect of lucrative advantage 
 from the sale of the work itself, the author 
 was actuated by another consideration, in 
 which he completely succeeded. The 
 plates were sent to England, that from 
 them some idea might be formed of the 
 collection which they represented. A ne- 
 gotiation was accordingly entered into for 
 the purchase of the cabinet at the national 
 expense; and the royal approbation having 
 been obtained, parliament voted the sum of 
 seven thousand pounds for this purpose, 
 after which, the vases, bronzes, and medals, 
 were presented to the British Museum. 
 There were not wanting, however, some 
 persons of literary and scientific reputation, 
 who considered the price set upon this col- 
 lection as far above the real value. The 
 late ingenious Mr. Wedgewood, indeed, 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 71 
 
 took occasion to observe, in an examination 
 before a committee of the House of Com- 
 mons, that in his manufactory he had pro- 
 duced imitations of the vases, to such a 
 degree of beauty, as, by exportation alone, 
 brought three times the money into Eng- 
 land which the originals had cost the 
 nation. But this testimony can hardly 
 wei^h any thing* in favour of the extrava- 
 gance of the grant, since it was the conse- 
 quence of what could neither have been 
 foreseen, nor even contemplated, at the 
 time when the negotiation for the purchase 
 took place. It is not a little extraordinary 
 that the ambassador should, very shortly 
 after the disposal of this collection, have 
 formed another, exceeding the former in 
 number and value. Antiquities of this 
 description must have been very common 
 in that country, to have enabled the col- 
 lector to quadruple the number of vases in 
 four or five years; yet such was the case; 
 for early in 1796, we find him endeavouring 
 to transfer this fresh stock to Prussia, 
 through the mediation of the Countess of 
 Lichtenau, mistress of Frederick William 9 
 
72 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 which lady was then travelling for her 
 health in Italy. 
 
 In the manner of conducting this busi- 
 ness there certainly was nothing of the 
 dignity of an ambassador, but much of the 
 finesse of a trader in curiosities ; for the 
 dealer, in praising his wares, took care to 
 say that the Grand Duke of Russia would 
 be glad of them, but that he did not wish 
 to see them carried so far to the north. 
 Adverting to the sale of his first collection, 
 Sir William magnified the beauty and 
 number of the present, which, though so 
 vastly superior in all respects, he declared 
 his willingness to part with to his Prussian 
 majesty, for the same sum as that which 
 he had received from the British parliament 
 for the articles deposited in the Museum. 
 The proposition, however, came to nothing, 
 and most, if not all, of these vases, after- 
 wards found their way to England. That 
 the public minister of a great nation should 
 be impelled by any cause to truck his 
 cabinet for sale in a foreign market, and 
 that too by the brokership of a courtezan, 
 must certainly be considered as a proceed* 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 73 
 
 ing little in itself, and totally unworthy of 
 the official character of the person who was 
 driven to such shifts. But, in truth, what- 
 ever were the motives by which his Excel- 
 lency was actuated in these trafficking con- 
 cerns, he could hardly have said with strict 
 justice, when parting with his treasures, 
 11 poverty, not my will, consents," since 
 his establishment was liberal, and his for- 
 tune more ample than he chose to acknow- 
 ledge. His purchases at Naples were, in- 
 deed, large, but his profits upon them were 
 so very considerable, that he could not fail 
 to realize a handsome income, during the 
 number of years in which he may be said 
 to have almost enjoyed a monopoly in this 
 peculiar line of commercial speculation. 
 Every picture of value, and every antique 
 gem, were offered to the English ambassa- 
 dor, in the first instance; and as there 
 were not always persons at Naples who 
 would purchase such articles upon any 
 thing like liberal terms, he, of course, was 
 sure of obtaining many bargains, which, by 
 long experience, and a most extensive con- 
 nexion, he well knew how to dispose of to 
 the best advantage, 
 
74 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Flattered as our ambassador was by the 
 marked attentions which he received from 
 the most illustrious persons in all parts of 
 Europe, he had not the smallest reason to 
 complain of any neglect on the part of his 
 own country. His situation was not only 
 highly honourable, but lucrative ; and be- 
 sides the Order of the Bath, he received 
 from his sovereign many testimonies of 
 personal esteem under His Majesty's own 
 hand. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 75 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 O you ! whom Vanity's light bark conveys 
 On Fame's mad voyage, by the wind of praise, 
 With what a shifting gale your course you ply, 
 For ever sunk too low, or borne too high ! 
 
 Pope. 
 
 That Sir William Hamilton was unac- 
 quainted with the former circumstances of 
 the person whom he now took under his 
 particular care, is scarcely credible ; but 
 that a person of his talents and experience 
 should voluntarily condescend to take the 
 cast-off mistress of his own nephew is too 
 revolting to the feelings of human nature 
 to be supposed. The age of this gentleman, 
 his long absence from England, and his 
 confidence in the honour of a near relation, 
 can alone account for an act, which in any 
 other view would be equally a disgrace to 
 his heart and his understanding. But in 
 suggesting the single apology that can be 
 
76 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 possibly devised for the extraordinary con- 
 duct of the ambassador, no excuse will be 
 
 i 
 
 thereby afforded to those who took an 
 advantage of his weakness. 
 
 There was a great want of decency in the 
 transaction, if the parties had a knowledge 
 of each other's previous habits and connex- 
 ions; but if, as is most probable, his 
 Excellency was imposed upon by the arti- 
 fice of the female, and the disingenuity of 
 her paramour, no language can be too 
 strong to reprobate proceedings, wnich, 
 besides the gross immorality that marked 
 them throughout, carried the strongest ap- 
 pearance of being a confederacy to entrap 
 a credulous old man into an imprudent alli- 
 ance. 
 
 Emma improved greatly by the instruc- 
 tions which were provided for her at the 
 charge of the ambassador, who at length 
 became so thoroughly enamoured, as to 
 make her his wife in a private manner. It 
 being, however, necessary, according to 
 the etiquette of the court of Naples, that 
 she should be acknowledged by the English 
 sovereign, previous to presentation and ad- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 77 
 
 mission there, Sir William hastened with 
 her to London, early in the summer of 179 1, 
 as well to celebrate the marriage, according 
 to the rites of the established church, as 
 to give his lady that honorary distinction 
 which his public situation rendered indis- 
 pensable. This circumstance serves as an 
 additional proof that the ambassador was in 
 a great degree ignorant of the footing on 
 which his nephew and Emma had lived, 
 otherwise it is hardly to be imagined that 
 any man of common sense and delicacy 
 of feeling would venture to bring a woman 
 of such a description to the very place 
 where all her former history could not fail 
 to be remembered. The manner, therefore, 
 in which Sir William Hamilton brought 
 forward the object of his choice, however 
 much it might reflect on his judgment, con- 
 sidering the disparity of their years and 
 condition in life, did at least free him from 
 the suspicion of being privy to his own 
 dishonour. It is not to be credited that 
 such a man would take a pride in proclaim- 
 ing himself a dupe on the subject which of 
 all others renders the mind most tender 
 
73 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 to the idea of wrong. Yet on the supposi- 
 tion that the ambassador was fully apprised 
 of the precise nature of the connexion that 
 had subsisted between Emma and his 
 nephew, he must have been not only this 
 very dupe, but, what is worse, wholly un- 
 concerned at the scandalous degradation 
 into which he had suffered himself to be 
 inveigled. 
 
 A goodnatured husband may sometimes 
 be induced by the remains of affection to 
 throw a veil over some slight levities, and 
 even to pardon errors of greater magnitude; 
 but there are few even of the most vulgar 
 and depraved description who will take a 
 pleasure in blazoning their own disgrace. 
 
 While, however, justice forbids us to 
 believe that in the present instance the 
 respect due to personal honour was com- 
 promised, on the part of him who was 
 most affected by the folly, no condemnation 
 can be severe enough for those who took 
 a pleasure in countenancing it by their ap- 
 plause. 
 
 An authority, on which we may rely 
 with full confidence, has given us a curious 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 79 
 
 account of the arrival of this remarkable 
 couple in London, and of the bustle 
 which their intended nuptials occasioned 
 in the , circles of fashion. The biographer 
 of Romney, having noticed the hypochon- 
 driacism under which his friend laboured 
 at this time, tells us how very fortunately 
 he was relieved from his complaint. 
 
 " An incident most seasonably occur- 
 red, which raised to joyous elevation the 
 sinking spirits of the artist, for nature had 
 given him a heart that could most sincerely 
 exult in the good fortune of those he regard- 
 ed. The fair Emma, whom he had so often 
 painted with admiration and delight, sur- 
 prised him by an early visit one morning, 
 in a Turkish habit, and attended by Sir 
 William Hamilton. 
 
 " Romney had ever treated her with the 
 tenderness of a father, which she acknow- 
 ledged on this occasion with tears of lively 
 gratitude, in announcing to him her splen- 
 did prospect of being soon married to Sir 
 William, and of attending him to the court 
 of Naples. 
 
 " Romney had conceived such very high 
 
80 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ideas of the beauty, the talents, and the 
 heart, of this lady, that I believe the joy 
 of a father, in the brilliant marriage of a 
 favourite daughter, could hardly exceed 
 that of my friend on this occasion. In his 
 letter dated the nineteenth of June, 1791, 
 he says : — 
 
 <6 At present, and the greatest part of the 
 summer, I shall be engaged in painting 
 pictures from the divine lady. I cannot 
 give her any other epithet, for I think her 
 superior to all womankind. I have two 
 pictures to paint of her for the Prince of 
 Wales. She says she must see you before 
 she leaves England, which will be in the 
 beginning of September. She asked me 
 if you would not write my life : — I told 
 her you had begun it: — then, she said, 
 she hoped you would have much to say 
 of her in the life, as she prided herself in 
 being my model. So you see I must be 
 in London till the time when she leaves 
 town.'* 
 
 " In another letter, dated July the 
 seventh, he says :— - 
 
 " I dedicate my time to this charming 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 81 
 
 lady : there is a prospect of her leaving 
 town with Sir William, for two or three 
 weeks. They are very much hurried at 
 present, as every thing is going on for their 
 speedy marriage, and all the world follow- 
 ing her, and talking of her, so that if she 
 had not more good sense than vanity, her 
 brain must be turned. The pictures I have 
 begun are Joan of Arc, a Magdalen, and a 
 Bacchante, for the Prince of Wales; and 
 another I am to begin as a companion to the 
 Bacchante. I am also to paint a picture of 
 Constance for the Shakspeare Gallery/ 
 
 " His intended picture of Constance," 
 says the biographer, if was, I believe, never 
 begun ; but his Joan of Arc had a counte* 
 nance of most powerful expression. The 
 head was thought one of the finest that he 
 ever painted from the features of his fa* 
 vourite model."* 
 
 So much has been already said of Rom* 
 ney, that any farther remark on the cha- 
 racter and conduct of the painter might 
 appear invidious; yet the studied partiality 
 
 * Life of Romney, p. 157. 
 G 
 
82 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 with which these anecdotes are related, and 
 the rapturous language in which the artist 
 speaks of his living model, whom he com- 
 pliments as " a divinity," ought by no 
 means to pass without censure. Neither 
 Romney nor his friend could be ignorant of 
 the scenes through which this female had 
 passed: what an insult, therefore, must it 
 be to the dignity of the sex to place a person 
 of this description above all woman-kind ! 
 If any thing can be supposed to exceed the 
 indiscretion of Romney, it must be that of 
 the biographer, who, without any induce- 
 ment or reflection, suffered such prurient 
 effusions of his friend's folly to meet the 
 public eye, instead of consigning them to 
 the flames. 
 
 The expected marriage took place soon 
 after by license, and what is observable 
 enough, the bride on that occasion took the 
 name of Harte, though that by which she 
 had always been known in the country was 
 Lyon ; and this she owned herself to be the 
 true one, on meeting with an old fellow- 
 servant sometime after the death of her 
 husband. . 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 83 
 
 To account for this conduct, we must 
 suppose, that having, according to the cus- 
 tom of persons in her condition, changed 
 her name, and becoming known to Sir Wil- 
 liam by that only, she was under the neces- 
 sity of adhering to it, lest by disclosing the 
 truth, some suspicion might have risen in 
 his mind of the duplicity that had been 
 practised upon him. 
 
 It reflects little credit on the leaders of 
 what is called the fashionable world, that 
 they should at this period have been so lost 
 to the sense of decorum, and the respect 
 due to the established forms and orders of 
 society, as to vie with the greatest eager- 
 ness for the honour of receiving one whose 
 sole pretension to the distinction lay in a 
 relation that rather served to aggravate than 
 to obliterate the errors by which it was pre- 
 ceded, and out of which it actually arose. 
 The acquirements in singing and acting 
 which Emma brought from Italy, and the 
 conquest which she had made of a man in 
 high station, now hoary in years, rendered 
 her so very popular among the gay and 
 trifling, that her former situation, as the 
 G 2 
 
84 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 mistress of a person then living, and the 
 mother of children by him, was either wil- 
 lingly forgotten, or remembered only to pro- 
 duce a laugh at the capriciousness of fortune. 
 Into one quarter, however, the folly could 
 not penetrate, and a public reception at 
 court was peremptorily forbidden, certainly 
 not from any fastidious adherence to anti- 
 quated rules, nor from an unreasonable pre- 
 judice against obscurity of birth and po- 
 verty of condition, but wholly through that 
 inflexibility of moral principle which scorns 
 to smile at the folly which it disapproves, 
 and avoids giving encouragement to vice, 
 out of courtesy to those who, have been in- 
 fatuated by its delusive arts. The follow- 
 ing anecdote, which may be relied on as 
 coming from a quarter that gives it autho- 
 rity, will shew in a very striking manner 
 the contrast between the sentiments of the 
 sovereign and those of the admirers of 
 Emma. On the day that Sir William Ha- 
 milton was married, he had a private inter- 
 view with His Majesty, by appointment, 
 when the king, in course of conversation, 
 mentioned the report that was circulated 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 85 
 
 respecting the intended nuptials of the am- 
 bassador, adding with a goodnatured smile, 
 " But I hope it is not true." To this his 
 Excellency immediately rejoined, ** May it 
 please your majesty, the ceremony took 
 place this morning/' 
 
 The qualifications which obtained this 
 woman the extravagant admiration of the 
 polite circles where she found admittance, 
 were far from being such as did any honour 
 to their judgment, or furnished an apology 
 for the conduct of Sir William Hamilton in 
 making choice of her for a wife. The na- 
 ture of these accomplishments is well de- 
 scribed in a letter from one of those who 
 enjoyed most delight in contemplating them, 
 and who had abundant opportunities of wit- 
 nessing their effect. 
 
 " In my last letter/' says Romney, " I 
 think I informed you that I was going to 
 dine with Sir William and his lady. In the 
 evening of that day there were collected se- 
 veral people of fashion to hear her sing. She 
 performed both in the serious and comic to 
 admiration, both in singing and acting: but 
 her Nina surpasses any thing I ever saw ; 
 
86 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and I believe, as a piece of acting, nothing 
 ever surpassed it. The whole company 
 were in an agony of sorrow. Her acting is 
 simple, grand, terrible, and pathetic, My 
 mind was so much heated, that I was for 
 running down to Eartham to fetch you up 
 to see her."* In another letter, the artist 
 gives the following curious anecdote : 
 
 " She performed in my house last week, 
 singing and acting before some of the nobi- 
 lity, with most astonishing powers : she is 
 the talk of the whole town, and really sur- 
 passes every thing both in singing and act- 
 ing that ever appeared. Gallini offered her 
 two thousand pounds a-year, and two bene- 
 fits, if she would engage with him, on which 
 Sir William said pleasantly that he had en- 
 gaged her for life." 
 
 Romney was anxious to paint as many 
 portraits of this favourite model as he could, 
 during her stay in England, and she fre- 
 quently sat to him for that purpose. On 
 one occasion, however, the artist being ap- 
 prehensive that he had lost somewhat of 
 
 * Life of Romney, p. 181. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 87 
 
 her esteem, was weak enough to whine at 
 her capriciousness of behaviour with the 
 puerility of a lover, instead of treating the 
 person who behaved in such a way with 
 proper contempt. The friend to whom he 
 poured out his silly complaint, and who 
 should have laughed or scolded him out of 
 his whimsies, encouraged him in the folly 
 by which he was infatuated, and sent him 
 a copy of verses, to be presented as a pro-' 
 pitiatory offering to the offended " divi^ 
 nity." " 
 
 These stanzas were addressed to Cassan- 
 dra, which was one of the characters repre- 
 sented in a picture of her painted by the dis- 
 consolate artist, whose vapours, however, 
 were dissipated before the verses reached 
 him, and who thus expressed the state of 
 his mind to the author. 
 
 " Cassandra came to town on the six- 
 teenth, and I did not see her till the twen- 
 tieth ; so you may suppose how my feelings 
 must have suffered: she appointed to sit on 
 the twenty-third, and has been sitting al- 
 most every day since; and means to sit 
 once or twice a-day till she leaves London, 
 
88 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 which will be about Wednesday or Thurs- 
 day in the next week. When she arrived 
 to sit, she seemed more friendly than she 
 had been, and I began a picture of her as a 
 present for her mother. I was very suc- 
 cessful with it, for it is thought the most 
 beautiful head I have painted of her yet. 
 Now, indeed, I think she is as cordial with 
 me as ever, and she laments very much that 
 she is to leave England without seeing 
 you. 
 
 " I take it excessively kind in you to 
 enter so deeply into my distresses. Really 
 my mind had suffered so very much, that 
 my health was much affected ; and I was 
 afraid I should not have had power to have 
 painted anymore from her: but since she 
 has resumed her former kindness, my health 
 and spirits are quite recovered/* 
 
 That Romney should have lamented as 
 a distress the apparent' coolness of another 
 man's wife, while he was totally uncon- 
 cerned about the condition and feelings of 
 his own, ought to have excited indignation 
 rather than pity in the mind of his friend. 
 Instead of this, the whole correspondence 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 89 
 
 that passed on the subject has been printed 
 with some pathetic remarks on the acute 
 sensibility of the painter, and no moderate 
 encomium on the amiable qualities of the 
 lady. 
 
 Neither of the parties merited the praises 
 which have been so profusely bestowed 
 upon them ; for at this very time they were 
 both in circumstances which demanded a 
 different course of action as some atone- 
 ment for their past errors. Romney would 
 have been more properly employed in heal- 
 ing the wounds which he had inflicted on 
 the heart of an unoffending woman, than in 
 running after a Syren, and crying like a fool- 
 ish boy when she behaved towards him with 
 a little levity. With respect to the object 
 of his admiration, it may be sufficient to 
 say, that the extraordinary elevation to 
 which she had been raised was not owing to 
 any mental grace, but to attractions, which, 
 however powerful they might be in ex- 
 citing pleas ure, were far from having any 
 tendency to promote virtue. When this 
 woman became so unaccountably the wife 
 of a man of rank, her proper line of conduct 
 
90 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 would have been the study of humility, and 
 of the means of acquiring a meek and quiet 
 spirit befitting her new state, and indicating 
 some concern for the irregularities of her 
 youth. The reverse of all this marked her 
 character at the most interesting period of 
 her life, when many causes concurred tore* 
 commend a lowly disposition and a serious 
 deportment, instead of that hilarity and mi- 
 micry which procured her the applause of 
 the thoughtless, and confirmed her in the 
 love of vanity and the practice of decep- 
 tion. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 91 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 For that fair female troop thou saw'st, that seem'd 
 
 Of goddesses so blithe, so smooth, so gay, 
 
 Yet empty of all good, wherein consists 
 
 Woman's domestic honour and chief praise. 
 
 Bred only and completed to the taste 
 
 Of lustful appetence, to sing, to dance, 
 
 To dress, and troule the tongue, and roll the eyes : 
 
 To these that sober race of men, whose lives, 
 
 Religious, titled them the sons of God, 
 
 Shall yield up all their virtue, all their fame, 
 
 Ignobly 
 
 Milton. 
 
 At the beginning of September, Sir 
 William Hamilton and his lady left Eng- 
 land for Naples, where, on their arrival, 
 some little difficulty is said to have been 
 experienced with respect to the introduc- 
 tion of the wife of the ambassador at court, 
 owing to the strict regulations and cere- 
 mony observed by the queen : but if this 
 
92 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 report be true, the obstacle did not long 
 remain, for in a few months her ladyship 
 was admitted on terms of cordial intimacy 
 at the palace, and at length she succeeded 
 in gaining an entire influence over both 
 their majesties, who frequently visited the 
 English minister in a friendly way, and re- 
 ceived his lady at all times with the great- 
 est familiarity. 
 
 No situation on earth perhaps could have 
 so well suited the mind of this extraordi- 
 nary woman as Naples, which for dissipa- 
 tion stood unequalled by any city in Eu- 
 rope. Ferdinand IV. gave himself up to 
 the sports of the field, and to excursions in 
 his pleasure-boats. His great ambition was 
 to be the boldest huntsman in his kingdom, 
 and the most expert mariner in the bay of 
 Naples. On most of his enterprizing ex- 
 peditions against the boars and the foxes'in 
 the woods and mountains, he was accom- 
 panied by the English ambassador, who, at 
 the age of sixty, prided himself on his agi- 
 lity in running, his dexterity in fishing, and 
 his skill in shooting. The hunting diver- 
 sions sometimes continued for several 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 93 
 
 weeks ; and Sir William says, in an account 
 of one of them, written to his wife : — " The 
 king has killed eighty-one animals of one 
 sort or other to-day : and amongst them a 
 wolf and some stags. He fell asleep in the 
 coach,, and awaking, told me he had been 
 dreaming of shooting. One would have 
 thought he had shed blood enough." 
 
 While Ferdinand and his courtiers were 
 enjoying themselves abroad, the queen and 
 her ladies devoted all their time to scenes 
 of pleasure at home. In these festivities, of 
 which the wife of the English minister had 
 often the management, and in which she was 
 generally a principal performer, the utmost 
 latitude was given to every kind of licentious- 
 ness. Hardly a day passed without some 
 new amusement ; and it seemed as if in this 
 modern Cytherea, the cares of government, 
 and the duties of every station, were made 
 subservient to the study of pleasure. The 
 house of the ambassador exhibited, under 
 the plea of hospitality, a similar round of 
 extravagance ; and, at a time when the re- 
 volutionary spirit, excited by the commo- 
 tions in France, was spreading over the 
 
94 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 continent, the senses of all orders in Naples, 
 as well foreigners as natives, appeared 
 steeped in the lethargy of folly, and to have 
 no feeling for any thing but the grossest ob- 
 jects of voluptuary indulgence. Corrup- 
 tion pervaded all the departments of the 
 state; and the manners of the people par- 
 took of the principles and example of their 
 superiors. There was no gradation of ho- 
 nest industry and virtuous independence 
 between pride and beggary ; no class of ac- 
 tive citizens, that, from a spirit of patriotism, 
 endeavoured to uphold the credit of their 
 country amidst the dissipation of the rulers 
 and the idle habits of the poor. At this 
 eventful period, the greatest economy was 
 necessary in the management of the reve- 
 nue, and the most vigilant measures were 
 required to place the kingdom in a state of 
 defence ; but, instead of being moved by 
 the misfortunes which had fallen upon the 
 other branches of the Bourbon family, their 
 Sicilian majesties continued in the same im- 
 provident course which they had pursued 
 many years, neither instituting any reform 
 in the administration, nor laying the slight- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 95 
 
 est restraint upon their own vitiated appe- 
 tite for frivolous amusements and sensual 
 indulgence. It is painful to reflect, that 
 the character of the English nation was 
 considerably injured by the share which 
 our ambassador and his wife took in these 
 follies, being more anxious to cultivate the 
 royal favour, than to support their own dig- 
 nity, and the honour of their country. Sir 
 William Hamilton did not want talents 
 suited to his office, but he had lived so 
 long at Naples, and was so much accus- 
 tomed to the trifling manners of the court, 
 and the wretched condition of the people, 
 that while the one perverted his judgment, 
 the other blunted his feeling. It is no 
 wonder, then, that a man of this easy tem- 
 per should have suffered his young partner 
 to exercise all her art in consulting the in- 
 clinations of the queen, when he, at the 
 age of sixty-three, did the same in follow- 
 ing the sports of the king. It is difficult to 
 say which of the two gained the completest 
 ascendency, but there can be no doubt that 
 the influence of the lady was attended with 
 the greatest consequences ; and it may be 
 
96 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 safely affirmed, that the hold which she 
 had over the mind of the Queen of Naples 
 amounted in effect to a complete sway over 
 the sovereign. Yet, like most friendships 
 of this sort, where the knowledge of dan- 
 gerous secrets gives an advantage to the in* 
 ferior, which often provokes resentment on 
 the one side, and insolence on the other, 
 the two personages of whom we are speak- 
 ing had occasional bickerings, some of 
 which were attended with strange and in- 
 decorous circumstances. The freedom of 
 access to the royal apartment, which had 
 been given to the wife of his Excellency, 
 proved at last very irksome, by her frequent 
 intrusions when the queen wished to be 
 alone, or when she was engaged in a pri- 
 vate conversation with some who did not 
 chuse to have their opinions witnessed by a 
 third party. One day, her Ladyship, going 
 as usual to the palace, was stopped in her 
 progress through the rooms by a servant, 
 who respectfully informed her that her 
 Majesty was engaged, and desirous of being 
 undisturbed by any visitors. The indig- 
 nant Emma, who knew that the person 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 97 
 
 thus favoured was a country-woman of her 
 own, and one for whom she felt a great 
 dislike, made light of the prohibition, and 
 forced her way into the presence without 
 the least ceremony. Such a breach of de- 
 corum could not Well pass without resent- 
 ment; but unfortunately, in the present in- 
 stance, the rudeness on the one side ex- 
 cited a storm of fury on the other, and a 
 blow from the queen, applied not very 
 gently in the face of the intruder, produced 
 another in return, to the great astonish- 
 ment of the attendants, who rushed in to 
 separate the combatants. This strange con- 
 flict, which in any other court would have 
 been followed by a sentence of perpetual 
 exclusion, was productive of no other con- 
 sequence than a little idle discourse among 
 the people of Naples, and some merriment 
 on the part of the king, and his confiden- 
 tial companions. The temporary gloom 
 occasioned by this affair was soon dispelled, 
 and her Ladyship returned to court, appa- 
 rently in as much favour as ever. It is not. 
 to be supposed, however, that the queen 
 was so totally regardless of what was due to 
 
 H 
 
9S MEMOIRS OF 
 
 lier dignity, as to forget the outrage that 
 had been committed, and the insult which 
 she had received; but an imprudent fami- 
 liarity having brought the parties on a kind 
 of level, which became more fixed by their 
 mutual acquaintance with each other's con- 
 duct, an act of oblivion took place, and a 
 reconciliation was effected. 
 
 Among other persons of distinction, who 
 made Naples their principal residence, a 
 little after the marriage of the ambassador, 
 the late Earl of Bristol was one of the most 
 conspicuous. This nobleman, who was 
 both a spiritual and a temporal peer, being 
 for many years Bishop of Derry, spent all 
 his time in foreign countries, to the entire 
 neglect of his diocess, though it is one of 
 the richest in Ireland. The prelate, who 
 was somewhat advanced in years when 
 Sir William Hamilton returned from Eng- 
 land with his lady, presently became ena- 
 moured with her person and accomplish- 
 ments. This perhaps may be considered 
 by some of her admirers as an evidence of 
 her merits; but when the character of his 
 Lordship is known, the attachment will be 
 
LADY HAMILTON. D9 
 
 found to reflect no more credit on his un- 
 derstanding, than it did honour to the ob- 
 ject of his esteem. Though an ecclesiastic 
 of the highest station, the bishop was an 
 avowed sceptic in religion, the doctrines 
 and institutions of which he would not 
 scruple to ridicule in the company of wo- 
 men, treating even the immortality of the 
 soul as an article of doubt and indifference. 
 He affected a peculiar singularity in his 
 dress, generally wearing a white hat, and a 
 coat of coloured silk, so as to have very 
 rarely the smallest external sign of the epis- 
 copal function, and never shewing in his 
 conversation any of that gravity which be- 
 came his age, rank, and profession. Be- 
 sides giving his sanction to every kind of 
 fashionable amusement, he kept a box at 
 the Opera ; and even the diversions which 
 in Italy are freely practised on Sunday 
 evenings never drew from him anv discou- 
 ragement. 
 
 He commonly went by the title of the 
 count bishop, and his company was greatly 
 courted on account of his lively conversa- 
 
 H 2 
 
100 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 tion, blunt freedom, and the fund of anec- 
 dote which he possessed. Being on a visit 
 to a friend in 178%, he related the following 
 pleasant story of himself: that going to the 
 Grande Chartreuse, whilst the society were 
 at dinner, he found the convent door shut, 
 and, on knocking, the porter told him that 
 no one was permitted to enter while the 
 monks were at their meals: upon this, he 
 gave the porter a letter to the abbot from a 
 neighbouring prelate, in which the bishop 
 called him his brother, the Bishop of Derry. 
 Immediately after the letter was delivered, 
 the doors flew open, and the whole convent, 
 on their knees, met his Lordship, craving 
 his blessing ; which he, without any cere- 
 mony, delivered to them as he passed along. 
 The good brotherhood were wholly igno- 
 rant where Derry was situated ; and relying 
 upon the testimonial which he brought, 
 they of course took him for a catholic 
 bishop. Without attempting to undeceive 
 them, his Lordship blessed them all, throw- 
 ing out his benedictions very gravely with 
 his hands. When the monks became bet- 
 

 LADY HAMILTON. 101 
 
 ter informed of his character, they had no 
 doubt a very different opinion of the eflU 
 cacy of his blessings. 
 
 At the time when Lord Bristol was at 
 Naples, living on the most familiar footing 
 with the ambassador, an illustrious person- 
 age of this kingdom visited that city, where 
 he was entertained with all the respect due 
 to his family. One evening, there was a 
 splendid party at his Excellency's house, 
 and among the rest Mrs. Billington, with 
 several other persons of eminence in musi- 
 cal science, both singers and performers. 
 The treat afforded by such a combination of 
 taste and talent was of course very great ; 
 but in some of the finest airs, the young 
 prince marred the music, by interposing 
 his own powers, with the design of helping 
 those who would have been better pleased 
 by his silence. The Bishop of Derry, who 
 was naturally impatient, endured all this 
 for some time, with only muttering now 
 and then a peevish pish or two ; but at 
 length the interruptions became so annoy- 
 ing, that he could contain himself no 
 longer, and turning to the royal singers, he 
 
102 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 said, " Pray cease: you have the ears of an 
 ass/' This coarse censure, however, pro- 
 duced no other effect than to stimulate the 
 performer to fresh exertions ; and he also 
 ventured to sing one or two songs for the 
 entertainment of the company, all of whom, 
 with the exception of the bishop, affected 
 to be uncommonly delighted. His Lord- 
 ship, instead of joining in the praises that 
 were bestowed, and scorning to pay a com- 
 pliment at the expense of his veracity, said 
 to a lady who sat next to him, loud enough 
 to be heard by every one in the circle, 
 " This may be very fine braying, but it is 
 intolerable singing." 
 
 Of his uncommon freedom of speech, in- 
 deed, we may form a judgment from his 
 behaviour at a public dinner given in Ger- 
 many, by the late King of Prussia, to the 
 Duke of Brunswick, and several of the 
 princes of the empire, after the peace con- 
 cluded by that sovereign with the French 
 Republic. The Bishop of Derry, being of- 
 fered some capon, declined it, on which 
 the King of Prussia asked him whether he 
 disliked that dish : " Yes, Sire," replied 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 103 
 
 he : " I have an aversion to all neutral ani- 
 mals." 
 
 This pointed attack on the truckling po- 
 litics of the Prussian monarch brings un- 
 der our observation the history of his mis- 
 tress, the unfortunate Countess of Lich- 
 tenau, whose origin was nearly as low as 
 that of ihe heroine of these Memoirs. The 
 countess, in the year 1793, visited Italy 
 for her health, and while at Naples, she 
 contracted a great intimacy with Sir Wil- 
 liam Hamilton and his lady, through Lord 
 Bristol, with whom she had been acquaint- 
 ed in Germany, and who kept up with her 
 a very extraordinary correspondence. It 
 was during the residence of the countess at 
 Naples, that the English ambassador endea- 
 voured, by her interest, to dispose of his 
 second collection of vases to the King of 
 Prussia, representing them as not only va- 
 luable in the light of antiquities, but as 
 being particularly serviceable to the im- 
 provement of the porcelain manufactory in 
 that monarch's dominions. Though this 
 negociation was unsuccessful, the friend- 
 ship of the ladies continued to be very 
 
104 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 warm, at least, so long as the countess re- 
 mained in that country. The following: cu- 
 rious billet will serve to elucidate pretty- 
 clearly the group of friends therein mention- 
 ed, and particularly the principles of the Bi- 
 shop of Derry, of whom the writer speaks in 
 language very nearapproaching to blasphemy. 
 
 " Naples, 29th March, 1796. 
 " My very dear friend, 
 
 " I desire most anxiously to hear from 
 you, how your health is, and when you 
 will return among us. The good and bene- 
 ficent Lord Bristol, who is in despair at not 
 seeing you, waits your arrival with the 
 same solicitude as the Jews looked for the 
 coming of our Lord among them. My husr 
 band salutes you with all his heart. The 
 good and sincere Denis speaks of no one 
 but you, and we all join in wishing that 
 you may not see *** at Rome, who has 
 been very wicked and dishonourable here ; 
 but the particulars are too long to be de- 
 tailed. I think she will never be permitted 
 to visit here again. She has betrayed the 
 noble family at whose house she was che» 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 105 
 
 riahed, and has caused therein so much 
 confusion, that it will be verv difficult to 
 restore order. Your good heart would 
 suffer to see it, Adieu, dear countess : 
 continue to love your sincere and constant 
 friend, 
 
 " Emma Hamilton.*' 
 
 The irreligious comparison contained in 
 this epistle, though it shews the levity of 
 the person who wrote it, carries at the same 
 time clear evidence of having been dictated 
 by the old nobleman himself, who took a 
 delight in such profane allusions, and in 
 playing most irreverently with sacred things. 
 His own letters to the wife of the English 
 ambassador exhibit melancholy instances 
 of this voluntary degradation of character, 
 and scandalous abuse of that trust which 
 demanded at least some outward respect 
 from one, who, while he ridiculed religion 
 in his heart, spent the revenues which he 
 derived from it in foreign lands upon 
 players, buffoons, and women of light re- 
 putation. 
 
106 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 One of the letters of his Lordship con- 
 cludes with these delicate lines, 
 
 " O ! Emma, who'd ever be wise, 
 If madness be loving of thee ?" 
 
 At another time he says, 
 
 "Yesterday we dined on Mount Vesu- 
 vius; to-day we were to have dined on its 
 victim, Pompeii : but ' by the grace of 
 God, which passeth all understanding/ 
 since Bartolomeo himself, that weather 
 soothsayer, did not foresee this British 
 weather, we are prevented. In the mean 
 time, all this week and the next is replete 
 with projects to Iscria, Procite, &c. &c. 
 so God only knows when I can worship 
 again my Diana of Ephesus." 
 
 This last allusion, so indecently coupled 
 with an apostolical benediction, has a 
 reference to the part of Diana, which was 
 personated by her Ladyship with great 
 effect, and of which there is an engraving 
 executed at Naples, after a picture painted 
 by the order of her husband. 
 
 Yet the bishop was not altogether blind 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 107 
 
 to the improprieties of his dearest connex- 
 ions at this very period ; for being one day 
 at Sir William Hamilton's, and engaged in 
 a conversation with Emma, a lady was 
 announced of a character so notorious that, 
 his Lordship instantly took up his^ hat and 
 prepared to depart. " Why, my Lord, you 
 are not going are you ?" said Lady Hamil- 
 ton. "Our company is not I hope disagree- 
 able." To this he replied. " It is permit- 
 ted to a bishop to visit one sinner; but 
 quite unfitting that he should be seen in a 
 brothel." 
 
 How justly the Bishop of Deny has 
 obtained the character of great liberality, 
 will appear from the following remarks on 
 two unfortunate princes, who, without 
 the slightest offence of their own, were 
 driven from their respective countries, by 
 the overwhelming violence of the revolu- 
 tionary tempest. In July, 1795, his Lord- 
 ship informs his ' dearest Emma,' among 
 other articles of intelligence, u that in 
 Amsterdam, and other towns of Holland, 
 there are the greatest insurrections in 
 favour of that fool the Stadtholder. All 
 
10$ MEMOIRS OF 
 
 this, however, can only tend to facilitate 
 peace, but not at all to restore that despi- 
 cable, odious family of the Bourbons, — the 
 head of which is now at Verona, where 
 we left him eating two capons a-day ; 
 ('tis a pity the whole family are not capons !) 
 and, what is more, dressing them himself 
 in a superb kitchen — the true chapel of a 
 Bourbon prince." 
 
 After this cruel reflection on the present 
 amiable sovereign of France, who would 
 have expected to see in the same letter such 
 fulsome compliments as these ? 
 
 " Emma ! if that dear Queen of Naples 
 does not write herself to Prince D'Oria 
 for me, J wont look at your beautiful face 
 these six months, < coute qui coute." At 
 another time, he says of the modern Mes- 
 salina, " Send me word, dearest Emma, 
 how the invaluable, adorable queen finds 
 herself. The weather changed so unmerci- 
 fully yesterday, that Lovel and I both grew 
 ill; and this makes me the more anxious 
 to hear of our too sensible and inestimable 
 queen. My warmest wishes — physical, 
 political, and moral — ever attend her." 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 109 
 
 Disgusting as these extracts must be to 
 every mind, where the sense of honour and 
 the love of virtue continue to predominate, 
 they are yet not without their uses, particu- 
 larly as they serve to shew the pernicious 
 consequences that always result to those 
 who abandon the station in which they are 
 placed for a life of greater freedom. It has 
 been urged as an excuse for this nobleman, 
 that he devoted the whole of his ecclesias- 
 tical revenue to the encouragement of the 
 tine arts ; and the author has been informed 
 by one who was intimate with his Lord- 
 ship, that being at table, where many inge- 
 nious persons were assembled, the prelate 
 said : " Ah, I assure you, the Bishopric of 
 Derry is a fine thing; worth twenty thou- 
 sand a-year, and all for you gentlemen !" 
 
 This it must be confessed was a strange 
 mode of appropriating the revenues of 
 the church, and an extraordinary atone- 
 ment for the neglect of his Lordship's 
 episcopal duties. While he abandoned his 
 station as a lord of parliament, and as the bi- 
 shop of a see, which required constant in- 
 spection, worthless parasites revelled on his 
 
110 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 bounty in foreign countries, and a set of 
 hungry harpies continually hovered around 
 him, to gather from his prodigal hand that 
 superfluity of wealth which was neither the 
 product of his own industry, nor inherited 
 from his ancestors, but came to him. as a 
 trust to be employed for the glory of God, the 
 benefit of his country, and the relief of the 
 poor. The consequence of all this irregula- 
 rity was such as might have been expected. 
 The unsettled life which he led impoverish- 
 ed his mind, corrupted his manners, and 
 destroyed his religious principles. But he 
 suffered for his folly in another respect, by 
 falling into the hands of the French, when 
 they ran over Italy, in 1799 ; and these ma- 
 rauders, without paying the least respect to 
 his rank or age, threw him into the castle 
 of Milan, where he endured a close and ri- 
 gorous confinement about eighteen months. 
 On regaining his liberty at the interposition 
 of the Austrian court, his Lordship has- 
 tened to Rome; and after travelling through 
 variousparts of Italy, his constitution, which 
 had been very active and good, began to 
 manifest signs of decay. In his last illness 
 
LADY HAMILTON. Ill 
 
 he experienced the usual sincerity of such 
 attachments as are formed from caprice on 
 one side and interest on the other; for all 
 his domestics plundered his property, neg- 
 lected him when he wanted their assistance, 
 and quarrelled frith one another about the 
 division of the spoil. In this wretched 
 state, remote from his family, surrounded 
 by a host of mercenary ingrates, and un- 
 supported by the consolations of reli- 
 gion, Lord Bristol breathed his last, in the 
 seventy-third year of his age, at Albino, 
 near Rome, August the 8th, 1 S03. Of this 
 event Lord Nelson gave an account to his 
 fair friend and correspondent, with a mani- 
 fest reflection on the bishop, for not having 
 remembered Lady Hamilton by a testamen- 
 tary bequest. His Lordship concludes his 
 letter with this account of the deceased pre- 
 late. 
 
 " There will be no Lord Bristol's table. 
 He tore his last will a few hours before his 
 death. It is said that it was giving every 
 thing to those devils of Italians about him." 
 
 Such was the character and the end 
 of Frederick Hervey, Earl of Bristol, and 
 
112 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Bishop of Derry, who dissipated a long 
 life, a princely fortune, and respectable ta- 
 lents, in the pursuit of pleasure, from the 
 same motives which actuated the Epicu- 
 reans of old, whose creed and practice were 
 comprehended in the resolution, " Let us 
 eat and drink, for to-morrow we die*" 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 113 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 No levell'd malice 
 Infects one comma in the course I hold : 
 But flies an eagle flight, bold, and forth on, 
 Nor leaves a tract behind. 
 
 Shakspeare. 
 
 Sir William Hamilton soon found 
 that an imprudent marriage at his time of 
 life brought with it as many cares as plea- 
 sures ; and he had the mortification of 
 knowing, that the new relation into which 
 he had entered, instead of giving satisfaction 
 at home, was likely to prove the justifiable 
 pretext for his recall. 
 
 This maybe gathered from a letter, writ- 
 ten by the ambassador, while he was on a 
 hunting excursion with the King of Naples, 
 in which he says, " You see what devils 
 there are in England ! They wanted to stir 
 up something against me; but our conduct 
 i 
 
114 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 shall be such as to be unattackable: and I 
 fear not an injustice from England. Twenty- 
 seven years service — having spent all the 
 king's money, and all my own, besides 
 running in debt, deserves something better 
 than dismission." 
 
 Of this complaint, an explanation maybe 
 requisite, and it is not difficult to find one 
 that would be ample enough to have war- 
 ranted the measure, which his Excellency 
 so feelingly deprecated. 
 
 The continent of Europe at that period 
 stood in the most critical circumstances, 
 for the progress of the revolutionary prin- 
 ciples, which had already succeeded in over- 
 turning the constitution of France, could 
 not be supposed by any rational under- 
 standing to have a favourable aspect on the 
 peace and happiness of other nations. If 
 ever, therefore, any time demanded states- 
 men of pre-eminent talents and virtue at 
 the head of their respective courts, and in 
 the office of ministers from one to another, 
 it was that very era to which our attention 
 is now directed. In former days, perhaps, 
 it mattered not much whether an envoy at 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 113 
 
 Naples was a man of extraordinary intelli- 
 gence or not, as little more was requisite 
 for the adequate discharge of the duties im- 
 posed upon him than great courtesy of be- 
 haviour, and a dignified support of the cha- 
 racter and honour of his country. 
 
 But the tremendous explosion which had 
 now burst forth in the moral world, ren- 
 dered many changes necessary in the admi- 
 nistration of the several governments, parti- 
 cularly in their diplomatic intercourse with 
 each other. Among the rest, Naples was 
 one which stood in great need of an altera- 
 tion in this respect, and that for the very 
 reason assigned by our ambassador as the 
 ground of his pretensions to his continuance 
 in that situation. 
 
 His pursuits and amusements could in- 
 terfere but little with his public avocations 
 while that part of the world remained tran- 
 quil ; but the French revolution gave a 
 shock to every establishment, and portend- 
 ed plainly enough to every man, that did 
 not wilfully shut his eyes, a long and san- 
 guinary war throughout Europe. Sound 
 policy, therefore, pointed out the necessity 
 i 2 
 
116 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of endeavouring, by virtuous and able 
 agents, to rouse the sluggish courts to a 
 sense of their danger, and by making them 
 sensible of their proper interests, prevail 
 upon them to adopt such measures as were 
 best calculated to enable them to main- 
 tain their independence against a ruthless 
 enemy. 
 
 Sir William Hamilton might be an excel- 
 lent connoisseur in bronzes, medals, and 
 pictures ; but he ought at this time to have 
 given way to some person of a more com- 
 prehensive genius, and one whose mind en* 
 tered deeply into the circumstances of the 
 times. Instead of that piercing judgment, 
 which, being always on the wing, explores 
 every passing occurrence, to trace the effects 
 which it is likely to produce, the mind of 
 our ambassador exhibited nothing but 
 phlegm, except when in the course of his 
 enquiries some object of great curiosity 
 was offered for his purchase, or he happen- 
 ed to be engaged in the hunting parties of 
 the monarch, with whom he chanced to be 
 a favourite, Of the puerile character of 
 Ferdinand, a singular anecdote is related by 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 117 
 
 Sir William, in one of his letters written 
 during an excursion with his Majesty. 
 
 " Yesterday, the courier brought the 
 order of St. Stephano, from the Emperor, 
 for the Prince Ausberg, and the king was 
 desired to invest him with it. As soon as 
 the king received it, he ran into the prince's 
 room, whom he found in his shirt, and 
 without his breeches; and,, in that condi- 
 tion, was he decorated with the star and 
 ribbon by his Majesty, who has wrote the 
 whole circumstance to the emperor. 
 
 " Leopold may, perhaps, not like the 
 joking with his first order. Such nonsense 
 should, certainly, be done with solemnity ; 
 or it becomes, what it really is, a little 
 tinsel, and a few yards of broad ribbon/' 
 
 This was, no doubt, an imprudent act of 
 levity at a time when so many attempts 
 were making to level all distinctions in so- 
 ciety, and to represent crowns and mitres, 
 sceptres and croziers, as nothing belter than 
 the baubles of childish superstition, or the 
 ensigns of an arbitrary usurpation of the 
 common rights of mankind. But if the 
 King of Naples acted on this occasion in a 
 
118 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 manner unbecoming the respect due from 
 one sovereign to the institutions of another, 
 the conduct of our ambassador cannot be 
 altogether excused, in writing as he did on 
 the subject. Slight incidents will some- 
 times illustrate the real character of men, 
 much more than a long train of public ac- 
 tions. Sir William, in bestowing this con- 
 temptuous appellation on one of the impe- 
 rial orders, paid no flattering compliment to 
 the red ribband with which he was himself 
 decorated ; and though a man of sense will 
 despise the folly of those who court such 
 honours for the mere sake of shining above 
 others, he will not on that account cast an 
 odium on distinctions, which, however un- 
 worthily they may have been bestowed, 
 were originally intended as the rewards of 
 merit, and still continue to be the badges 
 of public approbation. The freedom with 
 which the ambassador imparted state se- 
 crets, and his opinions on public men and 
 affairs, to his wife, within a few months 
 after his marriage, cannot be justified by 
 the high opinion which he entertained of 
 her fidelity and understanding. This very 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 119 
 
 woman he knew had been already honoured 
 with the particular notice of Ferdinand, 
 who endeavoured to gain her private favours 
 by the offer of a carte blanche for the state- 
 ment of her own demands. 
 
 The paper containing the royal proposals, 
 and the several letters which the king had 
 written to her, were, most respectfully, and 
 with much feeling expression, put by her 
 into the hands of the queen, who either 
 was, or pretended to be, very much affect- 
 ed by so extraordinary an instance of virtue 
 and liberality. It is, however, to be feared, 
 that there was more art than sincerity on 
 both sides, for the one well knew that her 
 safest course lay in making a friend of the 
 queen, rather than in shining as the favourite 
 of a monarch, who could hardly be said 
 to be his own master ; while her Majesty, 
 who cared as little about the amours of her 
 husband, as she did about the propriety of 
 her own conduct, thought that by attaching 
 such a person to her interest she should be 
 able to gratify her love of pleasure, in a va- 
 riety of ways, without any observation. 
 Nor was this all ; for though these two fe- 
 
190 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 males, both equally voluptuous, vain and 
 ambitious, had not the slightest esteem for 
 each other, they were sensible that the ap- 
 pearance of an ardent affection would be 
 for their respective advantage, and the secu- 
 rity of that power which they had but too 
 much reason to apprehend was in a perilous 
 state. 
 
 The queen, who was really a woman of 
 sharp intellect, could not be altogether un- 
 concerned about the dreadful scenes which 
 were passing in France ; and she knew that 
 in the event of the flames of war spreading 
 into Italy, the chief if not the only security 
 her dominions could hope for lay in an alli- 
 ance with Great Britain. Our ambassador 
 was already under some apprehension of 
 being recalled, and of this the queen was 
 not ignorant. She, therefore, had reason 
 to dread such a change, because whoever 
 might be appointed the successor, it was 
 impossible that he could remain any time 
 there without witnessing the corruptions of 
 the court, the depravity of the people, and 
 the absolute necessity of procuring a reno- 
 vation of the Neapolitan state. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 121 
 
 Her Majesty had been now acquainted 
 with Sir William Hamilton much above 
 twenty years, and from him she had nothing 
 to dread, for which reason she felt it neces- 
 sary to exert herself to the utmost in ren- 
 dering his situation agreeable at this crisis, 
 and to secure his residence at Naples, by 
 all her influence at the courts of Vienna 
 and Madrid. Sir William was in conse- 
 quence not only distinguished by numerous 
 marks of favour, but his lady became the 
 confidential friend of the queen, who occa- 
 sionally imparted to her information of such 
 importance, as when communicated to the 
 government at home, removed from minis- 
 ters all idea of displacing an agent who 
 had thus given them new proofs of his pene- 
 tration and intelligence. 
 
 Thus, the intimacy which subsisted be- 
 tween these celebrated women, was ce- 
 mented by duplicity, and arose solely from 
 selfish motives, without having any real 
 principle of regard to the public weal of 
 either country. 
 
 Had the Queen of Naples, who at that 
 time stood at the head of affairs, been ac- 
 
122 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 tuated by the smallest degree of parental 
 love for her subjects, she would have turn- 
 ed her thoughts to the correction of abuses 
 in the administration, and to the organiza- 
 tion of those means by which the kingdom 
 might most effectually have been defended 
 by its own resources. But nothing was far- 
 ther from her thoughts; for though she 
 hated the republican principles of the 
 French, as tending to subvert every throne 
 in Europe, she regarded with abhorrence 
 the only proper means that could be de- 
 vised for the security of that where she was 
 placed. Having been long accustomed to 
 the exercise of power, and habitually prac- 
 tised in the ways of sensual pleasure, she 
 had a numerous train of nobles to gratify 
 with great places of trust, and particular de- 
 pendents of all sorts to support by pensions. 
 Instead, therefore, of making any sacrifices 
 for the public good, or laying a restraint 
 upon her vicious inclination, at an awful 
 crisis, when the fate of her nearest relations 
 was in a state of dreadful suspense, she lis- 
 tened only to those who, like herself, con- 
 sidered the nation in no other light than as 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 123 
 
 a vast reservoir purposely created for the 
 supply of luxuries to pamper their appe- 
 tites. 
 
 To uphold the authority of the court, and 
 to prevent the introduction of those doc- 
 trines, which were calculated to make the 
 people acquainted with the reciprocal duties 
 of sovereigns and subjects, a most enormous 
 and expensive system of espionage was car- 
 ried on, by which the government became 
 terrible without adding to its security. 
 
 Such was the country where Sir William 
 Hamilton, after a residence of near thirty 
 years, was most anxious still to remain in his 
 official capacity, though he was sensible of 
 the disorders which pervaded the kingdom, 
 and aware of the dangers by which it was 
 surrounded. It was natural perhaps for the 
 ambassador to feel a strong partiality for a 
 place where he had so long enjoyed ease, 
 honours, and pleasure ; nor can he be 
 blamed for the feeling which he expressed 
 at the bare report of his being superseded. 
 Old age contracted in one office does not 
 commonly bring with it a conviction of its 
 own infirmities, nor do the changes that 
 
124 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 take place in the sphere where a man has 
 long moved induce a suspicion that he who 
 has lived to behold them may have had cor- 
 respondent ravages in his own mind and 
 person. So long as he enjoys health and 
 spirits, he considers these things as matters 
 of ordinary occurrence; and instead of taking 
 a hint from the revolutions which he be- 
 holds, to retire in time, he adheres more 
 closely to his situation, assigning as his rea- 
 son for this determination the years he has 
 spent in the office, and the experience which 
 he has thereby acquired. Thus it was in 
 the present instance, though nothing was 
 more easy than to have shewn that the 
 grounds alleged for the residence of Sir Wil- 
 liam at Naples were such as proved the ne- 
 cessity of his recall. During his long abode 
 in that place, the character of the court, 
 and the state of the nation, had been greatly 
 degraded ; and of late years this deteriora- 
 tion had proceeded with a velocity that 
 ought to have made an intelligent and vir- 
 tuous observer more disgusted at such a 
 sink of debauchery, than desirous of conti- 
 nuing to witness its folly and its downfall. 
 
LADY HAMILTON, 125 
 
 But, like the patriarch of old, the ambassa- 
 dor had been so long accustomed to the 
 scenery and manners of Naples, that he 
 could not bear the idea of withdrawing from 
 it, though the political hemisphere began 
 to give alarming symptoms of pouring down 
 an overwhelming torrent on that and all 
 the neighbouring states. 
 
 Wrong as it was in Sir William to cling 
 thus closely to his appointment, at a junc- 
 ture which was pregnant with events, 
 against which he could be ill provided by 
 his studies and habits, still greater blame 
 attaches to the councils of those who com- 
 plied with his wishes in continuing him, 
 when they ought to have been sensible 
 that an energetic administration at home 
 must be crippled in its exertions, if it does 
 not employ legations of a similar character 
 abroad. Unfortunately, however, while 
 the greatest zeal was manifested by the 
 English government for the preservation of 
 social order throughout the family of Eu- 
 rope, the good intentions of our ministry 
 were frustrated by the superior talents of 
 the agents who were employed in foreign 
 
126 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 courts by the other powers. It may seem 
 strange that political discussions should have 
 a place in such a memoir as the present, 
 but as great events often spring from little 
 causes, there will be no difficulty in shew- 
 ing that the marriage of Sir William Hamil- 
 ton, and his consequent reluctance to quit 
 Naples for England, brought after it a train 
 of momentous circumstances, which ended 
 in a separation of the once united kingdom 
 of the Two Sicilies. Our design here is 
 somewhat above that of affording a little 
 momentary entertainment to the lovers of 
 anecdote, and those who take a delight in 
 reading the details of human folly and de- 
 pravity. Even the intrigues of Cleopatra, 
 her vice and extravagance, might have been 
 buried in oblivion, had it not been for their 
 political effects, the history of which could 
 not well be understood without a minute 
 account of her character, and a narrative 
 of her conduct and connexions. Differing 
 in degree, but corresponding in disposi- 
 tion and adventures, the wife of the English 
 ambassador at Naples has obtained, and 
 will continue to occupy, a place in history. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 127 
 
 which therefore gives the particulars of 
 her life more importance than such a sub- 
 ject could otherwise possess. 
 
 Sir William Hamilton and his lady both 
 chusing, for many substantial reasons, to 
 remain in Italy rather than to return to their 
 native country, employed themselves with 
 the greatest assiduity in cultivating the 
 favour of the king and queen, who on their 
 part were, for reasons j ust as liberal, equally 
 desirous of retaining his Excellency at their 
 court. The ambassador accordingly did 
 all that lay in his power to gain the good- 
 will of the monarch, by presenting him 
 with double barrelled guns, procuring 
 brass carronades for his yacht, and, what 
 was worse, by spending that time in field 
 sports which ought to have been employed 
 in counteracting the influence of the French, 
 German, and other agents, by endeavouring 
 to infuse an energy into the Neapolitan 
 government, and laying before every mem- 
 ber of it a full exposition of the evils which 
 threatened the existence of the state. The 
 apathy of Sir William at this period was 
 rendered still more culpable by the part 
 
12S MEMOIRS OF 
 
 which he suffered his lady to take in the 
 private pleasures of the queen, to whose 
 propensities and connexions he was far 
 from being a stranger. The palace of Na- 
 ples might indeed have rivalled that of 
 Agrippina, in the nature and variety of 
 wanton amusement, and the arts made use 
 of to gratify the vilest passions. Nor did that 
 government in tyranny and cruelty fall 
 short of the Roman empire in its worst 
 state ; as the following instance will suffici- 
 ently prove. There was an English banker 
 at Naples, of considerable reputation, on 
 whom the English ambassador was accus- 
 tomed to draw his bills, and Lady Hamil- 
 ton did the same, by her husband's permis- 
 sion. But her demands in this way became 
 at length so quick and exorbitant, that Mr, 
 Mackinnon, the banker, though he had 
 authority to advance money on a public 
 account to his Excellency, thought it pru- 
 dent to refuse compliance with her Lady- 
 ship's order, till he should receive further 
 instructions. 
 
 Whether this act of resistance to her will 
 produced what followed, must be left to 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 129 
 
 the judgment of the reader; but so it was, 
 that the next day a file of musketeers 
 surrounded the banker's dwelling, and ha- 
 ving taken Mr. Mackinnon into custody, 
 they carried him to the castle Del Ovo, 
 where he was closely confined, and exposed 
 to every nuisance. After remaining in this 
 durance some time, without knowing the 
 cause of his imprisonment, or having the 
 means of bringing his case before a legal 
 tribunal, a basket of iced fruits was brought 
 him one day as a present. This article of 
 luxury, which is always a choice treat at 
 Naples, could not fail to prove very accept- 
 able to one who had been compelled to 
 live on the coarse fare of a prison. Mr. 
 Mackinnon, however, having experienced 
 some civilities from the officer of the guard, 
 fortunately gave him an invitation to par- 
 take of this agreeable entertainment. The 
 officer, looking at the fruit, and then at 
 the prisoner, asked him how it was possible 
 that a man who had lived at Naples so long 
 as he had done, should think of receiving 
 conserves, or any thing of this kind, from 
 unknown persons; on saying which, he gave 
 
 K 
 
130 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 some of the contents of the basket to a dog, 
 which died in convulsions in a few minutes. 
 The gentleman, whose life was thus 
 attacked by the most infamous means, con- 
 trived to make his escape by the assistance 
 of some friends, who sent into the castle 
 a large basket, or hamper, filled with 
 clothes. Soon after, one of the strongest 
 porters in Naples was employed to bring 
 out this basket, in which the banker was 
 deposited, covered with linen so effectually 
 as to be completely concealed. The porter, 
 without knowing what he was employed to 
 carry, staggered under his load till he came 
 outside the castle, and on reaching a 
 low and narrow bridge, he placed the bas- 
 ket on the parapet, where it actually rock- 
 ed to and fro by the violence of the wind, 
 which blew very hard from the sea. Luckily, 
 however, the labourer, after resting a little 
 while, and execrating his heavy burthen, 
 took it again upon his shoulders, and 
 arrived safely at the place appointed, with- 
 out meeting with any molestation. It may 
 naturally be supposed that Naples was no 
 longer a safe residence for orre who had thus 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 131 
 
 eluded the vengeance of his enemies; and 
 Mr. Mackinnon accordingly made the best 
 of his way out of a country which was 
 overrun with spies, and wholly destitute 
 of justice. On his arrival in England, in 
 very distressing circumstances, which were 
 aggravated by the loss of his wife, he laid 
 his case before government, and printed a 
 statement of his sufferings, but without 
 meeting with any recompense. 
 
 k 2 
 
132 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 A rebellion or an invasion alarms and puts the pub- 
 lic upon its defence; but a corruption of principles 
 works its ruin more slowly perhaps, but more surely. 
 
 Berkeley. 
 
 The murder of the virtuous but too 
 gentle Louis XVI. and of his accomplished 
 queen, by the wretches who profaned the 
 name of liberty in France, seems at last to 
 have roused the Neapolitan court to some 
 apprehension of their danger ; and when the 
 war broke out that year, this state made a 
 common cause with the other powers 
 against the new republic, which threatened 
 to annihilate every monarchy in Europe. 
 
 In August following, the inhabitants of 
 Toulon, and the neighbouring parts, being 
 wearied out by the sanguinary oppressions 
 of the revolutionary government, deter- 
 mined to throw off the yoke, and to put 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 133 
 
 themselves under the protection of the 
 English. For this purpose a deputation 
 waited upon Admiral Lord Hood, then com- 
 manding on that station ; and his Lordship 
 perceiving the importance of the proposi- 
 tion, readily acceded to it, at the same 
 time taking every step that he could to pre- 
 serve the Toulonese from their inveterate 
 enemies. Knowing the necessity of a mi- 
 litary force under such circumstances, Lord 
 Hood dispatched Captain Nelson of the 
 Agamemnon to Sir William Hamilton at 
 Naples, requesting his good offices with the 
 government there, to send such a supply of 
 troops as could be spared. On the arrival 
 of the English ship in the bay, the captain 
 waited on the ambassador, who introduced 
 him to their Sicilian majesties. In a letter 
 which the brave commander wrote to his 
 wife, giving an account of his mission, he 
 says, " Lady Hamilton has been wonder- 
 fully kind and good to Josiah," (the son of 
 Mrs. Nelson by her former husband.) " She 
 is a young woman/' he adds, " of amiable 
 manners, and who does honour to the sta- 
 tion to which she is raised/' 
 
134 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Of this first acquaintance, which after- 
 wards proved so extremely important in its 
 consequences, a strange account has been 
 related in a book purporting to be the au- 
 thentic Memoirs of the Life of Lord Nelson, 
 compiled by one Harrison. The statement 
 in that work of the introduction of Nelson 
 to her Ladyship is so palpably contradictory 
 to truth and common sense, that it is a won- 
 der how any person could ever have invent- 
 ed it. Having noticed the surrender of 
 Toulon to Lord Hood, and the arrival of 
 the Agamemnon at Naples, this biographer 
 says, 
 
 " In the mean time, Captain Nelson had 
 been introduced to the king and queen of 
 Naples, from whom he met with a most 
 cordial and gracious reception : nor must 
 his singular previous introduction by Sir 
 William to Lady Hamilton be passed over 
 without particular notice; on the result of 
 which so much of the felicity of this exalted 
 hero's future life seems evidently to have 
 in a superlative degree depended. On Sir 
 William's returning home, after having first 
 beheld Captain Nelson, he told his lady 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 135 
 
 that he was about to introduce a little man 
 to her acquaintance, who could hot boast of 
 being very handsome; ' but/ added Sir 
 William, ' this man, who is an English 
 naval officer, Captain Nelson, will become 
 the greatest man that England ever pro- 
 duced. I know it, from the few words of 
 conversation I have already had with him. 
 I pronounce that he will one day astonish 
 the world. I have never entertained any 
 officer at my house, but I am determined 
 to bring him here. Let him be put in the 
 room prepared for Prince Augustus/ Cap- 
 tain Nelson was accordingly introduced to 
 her Ladyship, and resided with Sir William 
 Hamilton during his short stay at Naples; 
 and thus commenced that fervid friendship 
 between the parties, which continued to 
 glow, with apparently increasing ardour, to 
 the last moment of their respective exist- 
 ences,, whom it has been Lady Hamilton's 
 severe lot to survive. 
 
 " The introductory compliment which 
 had been paid by Sir William Hamilton to 
 Captain Nelson's transcendent abilities, 
 was not ill requited by one of the lat- 
 
156 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ter's first salutations of the worthy envoy : — 
 ' Sir William/ said he, in consequence of 
 the dispatch made use of in obtaining the 
 Neapolitan troops, c you are a man after my 
 own heart : you do business in my own 
 way. I am now only a captain, but I will, 
 if I live, be at the top of the tree.' 
 
 " These reciprocal good opinions of each 
 other," continues the pretended historian, 
 " which form the basis of all substantial 
 friendships, could not fail to unite such ex- 
 cellent and enlightened minds in a sincere 
 amity. It can never appear wonderful, 
 then, that Lady Hamilton, herself a person 
 of very considerable talents, and possessing 
 a warm and affectionate heart, naturally at- 
 tached to splendid abilities, should be,for- 
 cibly struck with the pleasing manners, ex- 
 treme goodness and generosity of mind, and 
 evident proofs of comprehensive intellect, 
 which she continually witnessed in the 
 new friend of her intelligent husband, du- 
 ring the few days of his continuance at 
 Naples. 
 
 " The frank and friendly attentions of her 
 Ladyship, at the same time, it must neces- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 137 
 
 sarily be supposed, made no slight impres- 
 sion on the susceptible bosom of Captain 
 Nelson, who was charmed with the cha- 
 racteristic sweetness of disposition which 
 she so fascinatingly displayed for the pro- 
 motion of his ease and comforts/** 
 
 Some excuse might seem to be justly due 
 to the reader for so long and fulsome an ex- 
 tract, filled with falsehood from beginning 
 to end ; but when he knows that the vo- 
 lumes from whence it is taken were put to- 
 gether under the eye and by the dictation 
 of the very woman who is flattered in the 
 tale, he will see in the whole romantic re- 
 presentation a complete reflection of her 
 mind. 
 
 The simple truth is, that Captain Nel- 
 son, bearing his Majesty's commission, and 
 charged with particular dispatches to the 
 English resident, went to his house imme- 
 diately on his arrival, and was there, as a 
 matter of course, received and entertained 
 
 * Life of Horatio Lord Nelson, by James Harri= 
 son, Vol. I. p. 107—9. 
 
138 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 with the respect due to his rank. Accord- 
 ing to the fable, Sir William Hamilton 
 picked the hero up by chance, or fell into 
 conversation with him accidentally; and 
 being pleased with his behaviour, gave him 
 an invitation to his house; a circumstance 
 altogether as probable as the prediction 
 which the one is said to have delivered, and 
 the boast which the other is reported to 
 have made. Nothing of the kind took 
 place ; nor had the ridiculous story any 
 other authority than the fertile coinage of 
 her Ladyship's brain, and the blazoning il- 
 lustration which it received from the ama- 
 nuensis who was employed in her house at 
 Merton to put together those memoirs. 
 Every one who knew Sir William Hamilton, 
 was too well acquainted with his phleg- 
 matic character, to believe that he ever 
 caught such a fit of prophetic enthusiasm ; 
 and with respect to the naval commander, 
 though it cannot be denied that ambition 
 was his ruling principle, his understanding 
 was at this time too good to suffer him to 
 play the gasconading part which is here 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 139 
 
 described. Certain it is, that the visit was 
 productive of momentous effects; but whe- 
 ther these conduced any thing to the felicity 
 or the fame of the hero, remains to be deve- 
 loped in another place. The whole ficti- 
 tious narrative, however, affords another 
 evidence of this woman's extraordinary du- 
 plicity, and of the folly with which it was 
 invariably blended, since it cannot; but 
 occur to every person of common discern- 
 ment, that the manner in which Sir Wil- 
 liam is said to have spoken of his new ac- 
 quaintance could not be true; and they 
 who are conversant with the etiquette of the 
 service, must know that the entertainment 
 of an officer so employed was a regular act 
 of duty, which could not have been omitted 
 without a breach of good manners. If Sir 
 William Hamilton never received a naval 
 officer as an inmate into his house before 
 Captain Nelson, he must have conducted 
 himself in a very uncourteous manner to 
 the various gentlemen of that profession, 
 who, during his embassy, anchored in the 
 bay of Naples. But many instances might 
 be adduced to free the English ambassador 
 
140 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 from this wrong ; and there are persons high 
 in the service, now living, who have expe- 
 rienced at his house the most hospitable 
 entertainment. 
 
 Such a tale, therefore, destroys itself by 
 some glaring inconsistencies, which cannot 
 be cleared without a manifest injury to the 
 parties who are the objects of its praise. 
 Notwithstanding this, Mr. Southey, the last 
 biographer of Nelson, in a compendium ab- 
 stracted from other collections, purposely 
 to render it a manual for seamen, has been 
 imprudent enough to select this anecdote 
 among others, because it would, if true, 
 serve to shew what an idea was formed by 
 discerning minds of the peculiar grasp of 
 Nelson's powers, even before he had distin- 
 guished himself by any exploits, and of the 
 presentiment which he had of his future 
 elevation at a time when he could have 
 little expectation of the kind. The incli- 
 nation to invent predictions, and other por- 
 tents, indicative of the fate of great men, is 
 of very ancient date, and has been carried to 
 an extravagant length in many instances ; 
 but if they were all examined with accu- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 14! 
 
 racy, and compared with the circumstances 
 to which they relate, most, if not all of 
 them, would sink into the ordinary conjec- 
 tures of human speculation, or be resolved 
 into the partiality of friendship, seeking for 
 signs and prodigies after the fact. 
 
 Nelson sailed from Naples well pleased 
 with the success of his mission, and six 
 thousand soldiers were sent in the fleet be- 
 longing to that nation, to co-operate with 
 the English and the royalists at Toulon. 
 But though their Sicilian majasties had a 
 radical hatred to the new state of things in 
 France, and were very glad to lend what as- 
 sistance they could towards the suppression 
 of the anarchy which prevailed there, nei- 
 ther they nor their ministers adopted any 
 course for the reformation of their own 
 states. It is remarkable enough, that at this 
 period an Englishman should have had the 
 direction of public affairs at Naples, while 
 two of the same nation possessed the parti- 
 cular confidence of the king and queen. Sir 
 John Acton, a baronet of an ancient catho- 
 lic family in Shropshire, having entered into 
 the imperial service in 1763, was raised for 
 
142 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 his services to the rank of major-general : 
 and on being sent to Naples, in 1778, he was 
 there made secretary of state, with the de- 
 partment of the navy and commerce, and 
 the rank of lieutenant-general. In 1780 the 
 administration of the army was placed under 
 his direction, and in 1785 he was appoint- 
 ed counsellor of state, and knight of the 
 royal order of St. Janiver, and of St. Ste- 
 phen of Tuscany. Four years afterwards 
 he was made minister for foreign affairs. 
 Sir John Acton was a man of ability, and 
 much attached to his countrymen, but he 
 had little English feeling, and very imper- 
 fect notions of the science of government; 
 for having been so many years in the service 
 of an arbitrary state, and accustomed to no- 
 thing but absolute authority on the one 
 hand, and implicit obedience on the other, 
 he scarcely felt a wish to raise the people 
 above their degraded condition. Under the 
 administration of this chevalier, Naples 
 might, at least, have been prepared for a 
 great moral and political change, if he had 
 possessed as much public spirit as private 
 virtue; but unfortunately Sir John Acton, 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 143 
 
 like the English ambassador, had lived too 
 long out of his native land, and been too 
 much habituated to foreign institutions, to 
 be desirous of promoting the cause of li- 
 berty. One of the most effectual means of 
 regenerating a weak and disordered commu- 
 nity is by giving encouragement to industry; 
 but nothing of this kind took place at 
 Naples, where a nuisance was not only to- 
 lerated, but even countenanced, which in 
 any other state would have been considered 
 as an evil equally injurious to the people, 
 and dishonourable to the government. The 
 Lazzaroni of Naples, consisting of many 
 thousands of vagabonds, without any settled 
 residence or regular occupation, formed a 
 distinct community in that city, not only 
 under the eye of the sovereign, but distin- 
 guished by particular expressions of his 
 approbation. A conscientious and intelli- 
 gent minister, who considers himself in the 
 light of a public steward, will see the obli- 
 gation which lies upon him to purge out by 
 every means in his power such disorders as 
 tend to injure the public morals, and to dis- 
 grace the state. Sir John Acton, on the 
 
144 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 contrary, even at the time when the French 
 revolution glared as a beacon to all the na- 
 tions around, never once adopted any mea- 
 sure for the removal of this scandalous 
 abuse, though the want of a disciplined 
 army, and an appointed navy, both of which 
 might have been easily supplied, was per- 
 ceived and felt every day. But the truth 
 is, the Neapolitan court relied more for 
 their defence on the fleet and supplies of 
 Great Britain, than on their own energies 
 and resources. 
 
 A country so completely lost to its own 
 character and interest, was, therefore, little 
 deserving of our confidence and support ; 
 yet with the generosity which has invari- 
 ably distinguished this nation, when called 
 upon by the weaker powers, who have been 
 in danger of coming into collision with the 
 more formidable, Naples was favoured as an 
 ally of importance, and by her arts and pro- 
 mises she obtained more notice and greater 
 contributions than she was entitled to, 
 either by her circumstances or fidelity. 
 
 At this crisis, when so much depended 
 upon the inherent morality and loyalty of 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 145 
 
 those states, who hoped to escape the mi- 
 sery into which the people of France had 
 fallen through the corruption of their prin- 
 ciples, it was evident that none had any just 
 claim to assistance while they remained un- 
 concerned about the symptoms of their own 
 decay. This, however, was the case with 
 the kingdom of the Two Sicilies at the 
 commencement of the revolutionary war: 
 and it was equally discreditable to the prime 
 minister there, and to our ambassador, that 
 amidst all the horrors of the republican ty- 
 ranny, and the apprehensions of invasion, 
 nothing was done to rouse the Neapolitan 
 court or the people to a sense of their re- 
 spective duties. The former still continued 
 immersed in luxurious habits, following 
 despicable amusements ; and the latter, 
 though attached to their king and country, 
 were without that impulse to great exer- 
 tions which springs from patriotism, and a 
 grateful sense of national blessings. 
 
 While the English were contending for 
 the liberty and independence of Europe, the 
 King of Naples and Sir William Hamilton 
 appear to have been almost indifferent to 
 
146 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the struggle, and unmoved by the perils 
 which were gathering in every quarter. 
 The beginning of 1 T94- presented an awful 
 prospect, and yet in January of that very 
 year, the ambassador, being on a hunting 
 excursion, wrote thus to his wife: 
 
 " By having grumbled a little, I got a 
 better post to-day (i. e. for shooting) ; and 
 have killed two boars and a sow, all enor- 
 mous. I have missed but two shots since 
 I came here : and, to be sure, when the 
 post is good, it is noble shooting ! — the 
 rocks and mountains as wild as the boars. 
 The news you sent me of poor Lord Pem- 
 broke gave me a little twist ; but I have for 
 some time perceived, that my friends, with 
 whom I spent my younger days, have been 
 dropping around me. 
 
 " Lord Pembroke's neck was very short, 
 and his father died of an apoplexy. 
 
 " My study of antiquities has kept me in 
 constant thought of the perpetual fluctua- 
 tion of every thing. The whole art is really 
 to live all the days of our life; and not with 
 anxious care disturb the sweetest hour that 
 life affords — which is the present ! Admire 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 147 
 
 the Creator and all his works, to us incom- 
 prehensible ; and do all the good we can 
 upon earth ; and take the chance of eternity 
 without dismay." 
 
 Though private letters, which were never 
 intended for the public eye, are not objects 
 of criticism as compositions, the facts 
 which they mention, and the sentiments 
 they convey, afford matter for discussion, 
 as throwing light upon the events of the 
 time, and illustrating the characters of the 
 persons to whom they relate. When we 
 follow the King of Naples among the woods 
 and mountains, we ought to feel no sur- 
 prise at hearing that his troops behaved like 
 poltroons at Toulon, where their presence 
 did more harm than good to the wretched 
 inhabitants ; nor have we much cause 
 perhaps to censure the backwardness of the 
 Neapolitan Commodore Fortiguerra in that 
 business, especially when it is known, that 
 during the king^s absence, a set of foreign 
 agents did all that lay in their power to di- 
 vide the counsels of this miserable govern- 
 ment, 
 
 L 2 
 
148 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The reflections of Sir William Hamilton 
 on the sudden death of an old acquaintance 
 were certainly not those of a man whose 
 hopes are full of immortality. They have 
 all the air of Pyrrhonism, and breathe no- 
 thing superior to the refined theism of 
 Rousseau, who in his last moments de- 
 sired to have a look at the sky, that he 
 might feast his expiring vision with objects 
 which he should behold no more for ever. 
 
 The following year our ambassador was 
 busied in arranging a second collection of 
 his vases, of which he published in folio an 
 elegant set of engravings, executed with 
 great spirit and accuracy. About this pe- 
 riod, also, he caused a collection of plates 
 to be engraved by Rehberg from paintings 
 representing Lady Hamilton in a variety of 
 characters and attitudes ; but neither of 
 these speculations, for such they were, an- 
 swered the expectations of the artist who 
 embarked in the concern, or of his Excel- 
 lency, who shared with him in theadventure. 
 
 Such were the pleasures and the pur- 
 suits of the English envoy, at a time when 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 149 
 
 his country was embarked in a tremendous 
 conflict with the foes of order abroad, and 
 struggling hard to prevent anarchy at home. 
 
 In the summer of the next year the 
 French republicans succeeded in frightening 
 the timid cabinet of Madrid into a separate 
 peace ; but the negociations were so se- 
 cretly carried on, that the other powers had 
 no apprehension of such an alienation. 
 Lady Hamilton, however, had the merit of 
 discovering the design before it actually be- 
 came public, and she lost no time in com- 
 municatingr the intelligence to the nearest 
 commander, who happened to be Captain 
 Nelson. - 
 
 The manner in which this extraordinary 
 woman obtained possession of this import- 
 ant state secret indicated uncommon quick- 
 ness of penetration, and great readiness in 
 the choice of means for the accomplish- 
 ment of her object. Being one day with 
 the king when a packet of letters was 
 brought to him from Spain, she perceived 
 that while he carelessly threw down all as 
 he glanced over them, there was one, which 
 after fixing his attention for some moments 
 
150 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 he carefully put into his pocket. Rightly 
 thinking that this epistle contained some 
 intelligence of peculiar importance, her 
 Ladyship the same day bribed the page to 
 take it from his master's pocket during his 
 afternoon's sleep. Having read and hastily 
 copied this letter, which apprized Ferdi- 
 nand of the intended peace with France, 
 and consequent rupture with England, she 
 gave it again to the page, and sent off a dis- 
 patch to Captain Nelson. 
 
 After this defection of one of our allies, 
 and a general treachery or imbecility in the 
 rest, it was found that we had little chance 
 of preserving the Italian states, when they 
 were so entirely dead to their own honour 
 and interest. Naples, indeed, was one of the 
 last powers that concluded an armistice 
 with the French, which was followed by a 
 treaty, in consequence of the departure of 
 the British fleet from the Mediterranean ; 
 and the king on this occasion wrote a letter 
 to Admiral Sir John Jervis, in which he la- 
 mented this proceeding very bitterly, and 
 beheld the ruin of his kingdom in the re- 
 treat of the British fleet. But as an inge- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 151 
 
 nious writer, in his account of these events, 
 observes, " The court of Naples, owing to 
 the spirit of the queen, who at that time 
 was convulsed at the name of a Frenchman, 
 appeared ready for making exertions for the 
 support of the good cause : but a variety of 
 reasons prevented this court from acting 
 with a corresponding degree of energy. 
 The nation was loyal, but its government 
 had grown feeble : and its statesmen had no 
 fixed principle of integrity/'* 
 
 * Life of Lord Nelson^ by the Rev. J. S, Clarke 3 
 &c. Vol. I. p. 251. 
 
152 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 Nothing is more easy than to find fault with others, 
 but it is vain and useless, unless it tend to the correc 
 lion or prevention of similar errors. 
 
 Plutarch. 
 
 The peace which the Neapolitan cabinet 
 concluded with the French republic, at 
 the close of the year 1796, was far from 
 ameliorating the condition of the nation, or 
 correcting the evils of the government. 
 The king was chagrined, indeed, by a mea- 
 sure into which his necessities had driven 
 him, and the queen was disgusted at the 
 appearance in her capital of those revolu- 
 tionary leaders, who in their own country 
 had brought some of her nearest relations 
 to the scaffold. But these feelings were no- 
 thing more than the agitation of impassion* 
 ed minds, mortified at sustaining a disgrace 
 which they wanted fortitude to prevent, 
 
LADY HAMILTON, 155 
 
 and virtue to improve. Their Sicilian ma- 
 jesties were indignant at the insolencies of 
 the French generals, and alarmed at the 
 intrigues which were carried on in their 
 territories by the emissaries of that nation. 
 They had also but too much reason to 
 apprehend that the plan of republicanizing 
 all Italy was completely determined upon, 
 though, according to the wonted perfidy of 
 the Directory, it was evident, that previous 
 to the accomplishment of this object, each 
 of the states would be exhausted of its 
 wealth, and then cast aside like a squeezed 
 orange. 
 
 Yet with these existing evils, by which 
 they were surrounded; and the gulph of 
 ruin yawning before them, the court of 
 Naples, and those who were in the adminis- 
 tration of affairs, still continued to pursue 
 their accustomed circle of dissipation, 
 neither changing their own manners, nor 
 instituting any regulations for the good or 
 the people. Much as the violence and 
 rapacity of the French must be detested 
 by every liberal mind, and despicable as 
 their pretences to liberty truly were, still 
 
154? MEMOIRS OF 
 
 it cannot be denied that their progress in 
 many countries had a tendency to open 
 the eyes of the inhabitants to those abuses 
 which facilitated the success of the republi- 
 cans, and gave them so many advantages 
 over ancient establishments. The lower 
 orders of the people could not help repining 
 at their own degraded condition, nor avoid 
 observing the corruptions of their rulers, 
 who were without energy to prevent danger, 
 and, when it came, had no sentiment of 
 feeling for any but themselves. 
 
 No nation can sink so completely into 
 ignorance and imbecility, as to render the 
 mass of the population wholly indifferent 
 to oppression, or contented with their own 
 abject poverty, while they see their lords 
 rioting at ease, and indulging in every 
 luxury. 
 
 So long as Naples enjoyed the advan- 
 tages, political and commercial, of an alli- 
 ance with Great Britain, the inhabitants 
 had many sources of profit, the benefit of 
 which made the greater part less sensible 
 of the radical evils of their government, 
 and careless about the scandalous immora- 
 
LADY HAMILTON, 155 
 
 lities of the court. But when the march 
 of the French produced a stagnation of 
 trade, and frightened away from their 
 st ores the gay and the wealthy, the inva- 
 lids who courted health, and the young 
 who came for pleasure, it was impossible 
 that the Neapolitans, who had been 
 accustomed for so many years to derive 
 from these migrations the most substantial 
 advantages, should not be sensibly affect- 
 ed by the loss which they had sustained. 
 In this state of things, by which indus- 
 try was paralysed, and mendicity increased, 
 the higher ranks remained unmoved at the 
 distresses which prevailed around them, 
 nor once stopped to consult upon the means 
 of averting the destruction which was ad- 
 vancing with rapid strides upon the nation. 
 The retrenchment of useless expenditure, 
 combined with a vigorous system of legis- 
 lation, and an attention to the wants ot the 
 poor, might have done much at this crisis 
 in conciliating the people, and stimulating 
 them to the defence of their country. In- 
 stead of all this, matters were suffered to 
 
1,56 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 become worse every day, and ari army of 
 spies was kept up to observe the conduct 
 of families, and the discourse of individuals. 
 Amidst all this public distress and private 
 suffering, the palace of Caserta exhibit- 
 ed the same festivities and revelries, to 
 call them by no worse a name, that had 
 defiled this royal residence in former times. 
 Many persons were taken up, and cast into 
 the various prisons of the kingdom, under 
 the general charge of being republicans or 
 jacobins: but though it is probable that 
 some of these characters might have been 
 poisoned by the doctrine of equality, which 
 then prevailed, their errors will not excuse 
 the oppressions of the government by whom 
 these deluded beings were incarcerated in 
 gloomy dungeons, for no other offence than 
 their opinions. Such was the mode by 
 which the weak rulers of this state vainly 
 thought to suppress the murmurs of the 
 people, and to prevent a revolution. Being 
 destitute of public and private virtue, they 
 were mistrustful of all around them, and 
 naturally concluded, from the cast of their 
 
LADY HAMILTON. \5J 
 
 own minds, that the rest of mankind were 
 as vicious as themselves. 
 
 Severity, perhaps, might in some in- 
 stances have been necessary for the general 
 safety, but nothing could be more unjust, 
 than to drag poor men from the bosom of 
 their families, load them with irons, and 
 imprison them without a hearing, while 
 thousands of thieves were living under the 
 protection of the government, and midnight 
 assassins were let off with a comparatively 
 trifling punishment. Such was the actual 
 state of Naples at the period of which we 
 are speaking ; and yet, though the queen 
 was active in these efforts to keep down 
 the progress of free inquiry, she has found 
 admirers and apologists even in this coun- 
 try. To her courteous manners and un- 
 common ingenuity alone can this partiality 
 be ascribed ; for as sovereign princes sel- 
 dom descend to a familiar intercourse with 
 persons of inferior station, the reception 
 which strangers experienced at the court 
 of Naples, where they were entertained 
 with remarkable hospitality, made, them 
 blind to the deformities of the state, the 
 
15S MEMOIRS OP 
 
 depravity of the great, and the miseries of 
 the people. In the oppressions which 
 were exercised, as well as in the follies that 
 were practised, the wife of the English 
 ambassador had a leading concern, and she 
 frequently urged on the mind of the queen 
 the necessity of vigorous measures against 
 those who propagated calumnies to the 
 disadvantage of the royal character, and 
 doctrines calculated to awaken in the peo- 
 ple a sense of their degradation. That her 
 Sicilian majesty should be deeply impressed 
 by these representations was natural, con- 
 sidering the deplorable fate of her own sis- 
 ter, the unfortunate Maria Antoinette of 
 France ; nor was she to be blamed for pur- 
 suing such a course as appeared to be most 
 likely to prevent a similar calamity in her 
 own kingdom. But she should have con- 
 sidered that the only effectual method of 
 securing the loyalty of the people,, was by 
 rendering herself deserving of it, and study- 
 ing to improve their condition and morals. 
 Both the queen and her adviser were bitter 
 enemies to the revolutionary principles, and 
 inflexibly bent on the destruction of those 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 159 
 
 who had the effrontery to assert the right 
 of subjects to investigate and censure the 
 conduct of their rulers. Lady Hamilton 
 and her husband never failed in their inter- 
 views with the King and Queen of Naples 
 to dwell on the advantages which England 
 had experienced in the prompt and vigo- 
 rous steps that had been taken to repress 
 sedition, and to check the projects of those 
 who aimed to subvert the constitution. 
 All this had a very powerful effect upon 
 minds already alarmed for their safety, and 
 conscious that their subjects had but too 
 much reason to complain. But there was 
 a wide difference between the two nations ; 
 and the proceedings adopted in England for 
 the preservation of the public tranquillity 
 were the result of legislative inquiry, and 
 strictly within the letter and spirit of the 
 constitution, while in Naples private re- 
 sentment and personal animosity might 
 easily be gratified under the pretence of 
 guarding against the dangerous designs of 
 the disaffected. Besides, in that country, 
 the objects of suspicion or dislike were se- 
 parated from their friends, and without legal 
 
160 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 advice, which indeed could be of no ser- 
 vice in a state where it depended on the 
 will of the government whether these un- 
 fortunate persons should have the advan- 
 tage of a trial or not. 
 
 Lady Hamilton has been immoderately 
 praised for her fidelity to the Queen of 
 Naples, and for her zeal in opposition to 
 the revolutionary designs of those who 
 were inimical to monarchy. It would, 
 however, have been a far more honourable 
 testimony, to have recorded her exertions 
 in the cause of humanity, and her inter- 
 ference on the behalf of those sufferers who 
 were experiencing the vengeance of a- 
 corrupt and arbitrary ministry. At all 
 events, it was little to the credit either of 
 her Ladyship or her husband, that the 
 British character should be so injured, as to 
 be charged with countenancing measures 
 that would have disgraced Constantinople 
 or Morocco. 
 
 When the ascendency of the French could 
 no longer be prevented, nor their demands 
 refused, the state prisoners at Naples, who 
 had been confined on suspicion of having 
 
LADY HAMILTON. l6l 
 
 sinister designs against the public peace, 
 were brought to a hearing, and discharged. 
 It is not improbable that the republicans 
 carried themselves at this time with a con- 
 summate degree of arrogance, nor is it un- 
 likely but that some of those who on this 
 occasion experienced their fraternal kind- 
 ness were dangerous characters, and actuated 
 by the worst of motives. Nothing, how- 
 ever, in the conduct of the one or the other 
 could justify the unfeeling language of Lady 
 Hamilton to Admiral Nelson, in a letter 
 dated from Naples, the thirtieth of June, 
 179S. " The jacobins have all been lately 
 declared innocent, after suffering four years 
 imprisonment ; and I know they all de- 
 served to be hanged long ago: and since 
 Garrat has been here, and through his inso- 
 lent letters to Gallo, these pretty gentle- 
 men, that had planned the death of their 
 majesties, are to be let out on society again. 
 In short, I am afraid all is lost here ; and I 
 am grieved to the heart for our dear charm- 
 ing queen, who deserves a better fate I" 
 
 This passage furnishes a complete evi- 
 dence of the share which our country- 
 
 M 
 
162 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 woman had in the internal concerns of that 
 kingdom, and, what is worse, of the bad 
 manner in which her influence was exer- 
 cised. An abhorrence of jacobinism, when 
 properly understood, was laudable; and a 
 tenderness for the interests of the queen 
 did credit to one who had experienced so 
 much of her kindness. But it is shocking 
 to see with what levity this woman could 
 speak of an imprisonment of four years, 
 without a trial, in a country like Naples, 
 where the murderer had more chance of 
 meeting with lenity than a man of principle, 
 whose only crime was that of having so 
 much stern virtue as to reprehend boldly 
 the errors of government. 
 
 In this letter to the English admiral, her 
 Ladyship speaks most indignantly of the 
 French encroachments, and her conviction 
 that " the court of Naples would be obliged 
 to declare war, if they meant to save their 
 country. " 
 
 Sir William Hamilton was also convinced 
 of the great danger which menaced that 
 kingdom about the same time, and of the 
 only hope which remained to its ministers; 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 16J 
 
 for in a letter to Earl St. Vincent, then com- 
 manding our fleet in the Mediterranean, his 
 Excellency says, "Notwithstanding its ap- 
 parent peace with the French republic, this 
 monarchy is threatened with immediate 
 destruction. The last message from the 
 French Directory at Paris was exactly the 
 language of a highwayman — " deliver your 
 money, or I will blow your brains out." 
 As it is natural for a person in danger of 
 drowning to catch at every twig, your Lord- 
 ship will see that the greatest hope this 
 government entertains of being saved from 
 impending danger, is in the protection of 
 the king's fleet under your Lordship's com- 
 mand. " 
 
 But the court of Naples had no right to look 
 for such a support, after having acted with 
 so much indifference to the great cause in 
 which it had embarked with the other allies, 
 at a time when the encroachments of the 
 French might have been stopped by a cor- 
 dial co-operation on the part of the con- 
 federated powers, and by the full exertion 
 of all their means for the restoration of 
 order to distracted Europe. A reinforce- 
 
164< MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ment, however, was sent to the British 
 commander, and a separate squadron, under 
 Nelson, was detached to watch the motions 
 of an armament then preparing for sea at 
 Toulon. That officer lost no time in ap- 
 prizing Sir William Hamilton of his ap- 
 pointment : and it is but justice to the lat- 
 ter to say that he manifested great activity 
 in furthering the views of his friend, and the 
 good of the service. The expedition at 
 Toulon naturally excited much alarm at 
 Naples ; and when it appeared off that coast, 
 conjecture was very busy about its desti- 
 nation : but Buonaparte relieved the king, 
 by a message stating that his fleet had 
 another object than Sicily. Nelson, in his 
 pursuit, touched also at the bay of Naples, 
 merely to gain intelligence, and to request 
 the assistance of some light vessels, of 
 which he was in want. On this business 
 he employed Captain Troubriclge: and here 
 we are under the disagreeable necessity of 
 copying a tale from the life of Nelson, which 
 was manufactured under the direction of 
 Lady Hamilton shortly after the death of 
 the hero. According to this account, Trou- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. \65 
 
 bridge was sent to obtain permission for the 
 British fleet to victual and water in any of 
 the Sicilian ports. " With this view/' says 
 the author of the narrative, " the captain 
 reached Naples at five in the morning, when 
 Sir William Hamilton immediately arose, 
 and communicated on the business with 
 the king of the Two Sicilies and General 
 Acton ; who, after much deliberation, agreed 
 that nothing could possibly be done which 
 might endanger their peace with the French 
 republic. Lady Hamilton, in the mean 
 time, aware what would be the decision, 
 and convinced, by all she heard from Cap- 
 tain Troubridge, of the importance to the 
 British fleet, as well as to the real security 
 of the Neapolitan and Sicilian territories, 
 that the ports of these countries should by 
 no means be closed against those who were 
 alone able to protect them from the force 
 or perfidy of General Buonaparte ; with- 
 out consulting any thing but her own cor- 
 rect judgment, and well-intentioned heart, 
 she contrived to procure from some being 
 of a superior order, sylph, fairy, magician, or 
 other person skilled in the occult sciences. 
 
166 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 as many in Naples, as well as elsewhere, 
 positively profess themselves to be, a small 
 association of talismanic characters, fraught 
 with such magical and potential influence 
 in favour of the possessor, that the slightest 
 glance of the mystic charm no sooner sa- 
 luted the eye of the Sicilian or Neapolitan 
 governor, than he was incapable of regard- 
 ing any other object except what the bearer 
 presented to his dazzled view, or of hearing 
 any other injunction but that which the 
 same person addressed to his astonished 
 ear; while his tongue was, at the same 
 time, impelled to secrecy, by the dread of 
 an assured death. Possessed of this trea- 
 sure, Sir Horatio had immediately sailed ; 
 but, as his possession of this talisman was 
 to remain a profound secret, till those 
 periods should arrive when it must neces- 
 sarily be produced, the same sort of corres- 
 pondence continued to be kept up between 
 the parties, as if no such favour had been 
 conferred on the hero by any friendly en- 
 chantress whatever." 
 
 The language in which this story is told 
 perfectly corresponds with the credit that 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 16? 
 
 is due to it; for in none of the Arabian 
 romances is a wilder fiction to be found. 
 But it is necessary to complete the fable, 
 from the only authority on which it rests. 
 After relating the unsuccessful search of 
 Nelson in his first visit to the coast of Egypt, 
 and his return to Sicily, as well for refresh- 
 ment as in quest of the enemy, the writer 
 gives this extraordinary relation : 
 
 " Such instructions had been sent to the 
 Governor of Syracuse, through the prepon- 
 derancy of French interest at this period, 
 that he would have found it difficult even 
 to enter, and probably have obtained little 
 or no refreshment of any kind, though much 
 was absolutely necessary, had he not, very 
 fortunately, experienced the beneficial ef- 
 fectsof Lady Hamilton's powerful influence, 
 secretly exerted, in the only quarter which 
 was not rendered impenetrable, by the me- 
 nacing insinuations of the then Gallic resi- 
 dent at Naples. It was the assistance he 
 now procured, by virtue of the talismanic 
 gift received from Lady Hamilton, and 
 without which he could not, in any reason- 
 able time, have pursued the French fleet, 
 and possibly might never have come up 
 
168 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 with them, that he so solemnly recognised, 
 a short time before his death, as to make it 
 the subject of a codicil annexed to his will, 
 in which he expressly bequeaths that lady 
 to the remuneration of his country" * 
 
 True it is, that this great man did so re- 
 commend her Ladyship to the gratitude of 
 the nation, and equally true it is that she 
 continued through life to abuse the govern- 
 ment for not conferring on her a pension 
 adequate to the extraordinary services which 
 she affected to have rendered on this as 
 well as on other occasions. In her own 
 memorial to the minister, she observes, 
 " The fleet itself, I can truly say, could 
 not have got into Sicily, but for what I was 
 happily able to do with the Queen of 
 Naples, and through her secret instructions, 
 so obtained ; on which depended the refit- 
 ting of the fleet in Sicily, and, with that, 
 all which followed so gloriously at th e 
 Nile." 
 
 According to this story, the claims of 
 Lady Hamilton were of a very strong na- 
 ture; and many persons have, in conse- 
 
 * Harrison's Life of Nelson, Vol. I. p. 244, 252. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 169 
 
 quence, been disposed to censure the suc- 
 cessive administrations of the country for a 
 supposed injustice to her Ladyship, and 
 disrespect to the memory of the illustrious 
 friend who took so lively a concern in her 
 interests. But if Nelson himself was de- 
 ceived by female artifice, of which, unhap- 
 pily, too many proofs are blended with his 
 brilliant exploits, the dispassionate reader 
 will not be disposed to charge the British 
 government with ingratitude, for having re- 
 jected those pretensions, though they came 
 supported by the powerful weight of his au- 
 thority. On this account, therefore, a few 
 words will be necessary, that an opprobium 
 so injurious to the national character may 
 be removed, and that future historians may 
 avoid staining their pages by quotations 
 from fabulous narratives. 
 
 When Nelson sailed in quest of the 
 enemy, he received considerable assistance 
 from Sir William Hamilton ; who was in the 
 confidence of the King of Naples, and the 
 intimate friend of the Minister Acton. 
 Ample means were at the disposal of our 
 ambassador for the good of the service, and 
 
170 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 he employed them well on the present oc- 
 casion ; by keeping small vessels on the 
 look out along the coast, and active agents 
 employed in various parts of Sicily. The 
 Neapolitan cabinet, or at least that part of 
 it which had the conduct of affairs under 
 the queen's influence, had, many months 
 before this period, made an urgent applica- 
 tion to the Court of London for assistance, 
 and the presence of a British fleet. When 
 the squadron, therefore, arrived, and in such 
 force as to relieve, in a great degree, those 
 states from their fears, who were most ap- 
 prehensive of falling beneath the republican 
 dominion, the government of Naples must 
 have been wholly regardless of its fate, if it 
 had withheld such assistance from its deli- 
 verers as could be supplied without any ha- 
 zard. So far indeed were their Sicilian Ma- 
 jesties from wanting the inclination to grant 
 what was required in the first instance, that 
 an immediate consultation was held on the 
 subject, and various instructions were sent 
 to different parts of the kingdom, enjoining 
 the respective authorities to afford all the 
 relief in their power to the English fleet. 
 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 17 i 
 
 Policy, indeed, was used in this business; 
 and while public orders were sent for the 
 purpose of satisfying the French ministers, 
 private injunctions were dispatched, not 
 only to the municipal officers in the several 
 districts, but likewise to many noblemen, 
 and others, whose loyalty could be relied 
 on, and who were known to be ardently af- 
 fected to the English. There was, how- 
 ever, no need to " spur a free courser ;" for 
 the Sicilians, both high and low, had such 
 a rooted animosity to the French, that it 
 would have been impossible to have re- 
 strained them from contributing the most 
 prompt and efficient aid to our ships, on 
 their arrival in any of their ports. Such 
 indeed was the fact ; for no sooner did 
 Nelson appear off Syracuse, than his fleet 
 was surrounded with boats and vessels of 
 all descriptions, laden with articles of pro- 
 vision. The stores of private houses were 
 opened to supply his necessities, and every 
 peasant in the mountains was happy to 
 bring down the produce of his garden and 
 his vineyard, for the comfort of the English. 
 But had it been otherwise, and had French 
 
172 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ■ 
 
 influence so far prevailed over common hu- 
 manity in this instance, every one who 
 knows the naval power of this country will 
 be convinced,, that neither water nor other 
 articles of life would be wanting, where 
 guns could command respect, and money 
 procure a supply. It is not meant to deny 
 that the British envoy acted with a be- 
 coming energy on this occasion ; or that his 
 wife failed to use her influence, both at 
 Naples and in Sicily, for the advancement 
 of her friend's wishes, and the good of the 
 cause in which he was engaged. The part 
 which Sir William Hamilton took was con- 
 sistent with the duties of his station, and 
 his lady assisted him in the business with 
 her wonted activity and address. But when 
 this is granted, no more remains to be 
 claimed ; for an accredited minister could 
 not well have done less, without subjecting 
 both himself and his employers to censure. 
 That the fleet of Nelson was more quickly 
 victualled than it otherwise would have 
 been, through the exertions of the ambas- 
 sador, and the friendship that subsisted be- 
 tween Lady Hamilton and the queen, may 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 173 
 
 be true; but that without their interference 
 no supplies could have been obtained in 
 Sicily, or an admission into its ports per- 
 mitted, is too gross for belief. The English 
 admiral, with an inferior force, had, not 
 long before, entered Sardinia in distress; 
 and yet he paid no respect to the prohi- 
 bition that was issued by that monarch 
 against the admission of our ships into his 
 harbours. It is nor, therefore, to be cre- 
 dited, that this intrepid officer would have 
 hesitated for a moment in acting with the 
 same promptitude at Sicily, if a churlish 
 spirit and vicillating policy had presumed to 
 thwart him in his great purpose, by with- 
 holding from his squadron that supply 
 which he could have obtained on the in- 
 stant, without asking leave of the governor, 
 or availing himself of any other influence^ 
 than that which he commanded. 
 
 The gallant admiral was indeed persuaded 
 that her Ladyship had rendered him great 
 service in his search after the French fleet, 
 and he had perhaps a commendable wish to 
 procure for her a substantial benefit from 
 the British government ; but it is to be la- 
 
174 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 merited, that, for the attainment of this ob- 
 ject, any thing like art or exaggeration 
 should have been practised. 
 
 Lady Hamilton did not want friends in 
 power to bring forward her case in the 
 strongest manner, which would in all pro- 
 bability have been successful, had she been 
 contented with resting her plea for a pension 
 on the simple ground of her husband's long 
 services, without setting up pretensions of 
 her own, and such as could not stand a 
 strict investigation: but when this assump- 
 tion was made, she lost that interest which 
 otherwise might have been exerted in her 
 behalf. Ministers could not, even with 
 their utmost inclination to do honour to the 
 sentiments of Nelson, sanction what was 
 manifestly a perversion of facts, and which, 
 if true to any extent, would have been a re- 
 flection on the character of an envoy, whose 
 years and experience rendered him too re- 
 spectable to suffer such a stain on his me- 
 mory, as must have been the case if a grant 
 had been made to his wife, for a public ser- 
 vice which it belonged to him to discharge. 
 They who demand more than is their due, 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 175 
 
 are always in clanger of losing what they 
 might have gained by candour and modera- 
 tion ; since it is in the nature of things that 
 we should examine narrowly into the con- 
 duct of those who endeavour to take an ad- 
 vantage of our credulity. 
 
 There was something in the nature of this 
 claim so important, as connected with the 
 national glory, that an explicit statement, 
 and an accurate detail of circumstances, 
 became necessary for the purpose of shew- 
 ing its truth and its value. Instead of this, 
 the writer of the Life of Nelson, who "was 
 hired to set off the subject to the best ad- 
 vantage, found himself so embarrassed, that 
 he could not venture to tell his story in an 
 unvarnished manner; but he clothed it in a 
 fantastical drapery, suited to the pantomi- 
 mic trick in which he was conscious of 
 being an agent. 
 
 The victory of Aboukir diffused a general 
 joy over the countries which had been trem- 
 bling at the gigantic progress of the new re- 
 public. Naples felt as if she had been released 
 from the grasp of the destroyer ; and the 
 honorable Captain Capel, who touched 
 
176 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 there in his way home with the dispatches, 
 gave this account of his reception to the 
 admiral : " I am totally unable, Sir, to ex- 
 press the joy that appeared in every coun- 
 tenance, and the bursts of applause and 
 acclamations we received. The queen and 
 Lady Hamilton fainted : in short, Sir, they 
 all hail you as the saviour of Europe." 
 
 The conqueror himself, in a letter to 
 Lady Nelson, thus described the feelings of 
 the Queen of Naples, and the exultation 
 that prevailed in consequence of his achieve- 
 ment : " The kingdom of the Two Sicilies 
 is mad with joy : from the throne to the 
 peasant, all are alike. According to Lady 
 Hamilton's letter, the situation of the queen 
 was truly pitiable: I only hope I shall have 
 not to be witness to a renewal of it. I give 
 you Lady Hamilton's own words : ' How 
 shall I describe the transports of the queen ? 
 'tis not possible: she cried, kissed her hus- 
 band, her children ; walked frantic about 
 the room; cried, kissed, and embraced every 
 person near her; exclaiming, — O brave 
 Nelson ! O God bless and protect our 
 brave deliverer! O Nelson, Nelson ! what 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 177 
 
 do we not owe you ! O victor, saviour of 
 Italy ! O that my swoln heart could now 
 tell him personally what we owe to him !" 
 
 It is observable, however, that at this 
 time Nelson had a repugnance to visit 
 Naples for the purpose of refitting his ships . 
 and, in a letter to Lord St. Vincent, he 
 says of his voyage thither, " I detest it; 
 and nothing but absolute necessity could 
 force me to the measure. Syracuse in fu- 
 ture, whilst my operations lie on the eastern 
 side of Sicily, is my port, where every re- 
 freshment may be had for a fleet. " 
 
 Naturally fond as the hero was of plea- 
 sure, and vain of honours, he seems, at this 
 period, to have dreaded that seat of dissi- 
 pation to which he was now approaching, 
 and where the syren, by whom his life be- 
 came afterwards ruled, was then preparing her 
 softest allurements and most powerful en- 
 chantments. Thereception which theadmiral 
 experienced at Naples is thus described in 
 a letter to his lady, for whom he still con- 
 tinued to cherish the fondest affection, and 
 to whom he delighted to impart the sen ti- 
 ls 
 
178 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ments by which he was actuated, and the 
 occurrences which distinguished his event- 
 ful life: 
 
 V The poor, wretched Vanguard arrived 
 here on the twenty-second of September. 
 I must endeavour to convey to you some- 
 thing of what passed : but if it were so af- 
 fecting to those only who were united to 
 me by bonds of friendship, what must it be 
 to my dearest wife, my friend, my every 
 thing which is most dear to me in this 
 world? Sir William and Lady Hamilton 
 came out to sea, attended by numerous 
 boats, with emblems, &c. They, my most 
 respectable friends, had really been laid up 
 and seriously ill ; first from anxiety, and 
 then from joy. It was imprudently told 
 Lady Hamilton in a moment, and the ef- 
 fect was like a shot; she fell apparently 
 dead, and is not yet perfectly recovered 
 from severe bruises. Alongside came my 
 honoured friends: the scene in the boat 
 was terribly affecting : up flew her Ladj - 
 ship ; and, exclaiming, ' O God, is it pos- 
 sible !' she fell into my arms, more dead 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 1/9 
 
 than alive. Tears, however, soon set mat- 
 ters to rights ; when alongside came the 
 king. The scene was, in its way, as in- 
 teresting: he took me by the hand, calling 
 me his deliverer and preserver, with every 
 other expression of kindness. In short, all 
 Naples calls me Nostro Liberatore. My 
 greeting from the lower classes was truly 
 affecting. I hope some day to have the 
 pleasure of introducing you to Lady Ha- 
 milton : she is one of the very best women 
 in the world : she is an honour to her sex. 
 Her kindness, with Sir William's, to me, is 
 more than I can express, I am in their 
 house ; and I may now tell you, it required 
 all the kindness of my friends to set me up* 
 Lady Hamilton intends writing to you. 
 May God Almighty bless you, and give us, 
 in due time, a happy meeting 1" 
 
 The scene mentioned in this letter as 
 having been so terribly affecting, was no 
 more than one of those fine pieces of acting 
 which fired the brain of Romney, the pain- 
 ter, and made him desirous of running into 
 Sussex to bring up his friend, the poet, to. 
 N -2 
 
ISO MEMOIRS OF 
 
 witness a performance which he wanted 
 words to describe. The truth is, that, as 
 the boat drew near to the Vanguard, Lady 
 Hamilton began to rehearse some of her 
 theatrical airs, and to put on all the appear- 
 ance of a tragic queen. There was a great 
 swell, at this time, \n the bay ; and, just as 
 the harge reached the ship, the officer, who 
 saw through her affectation, exclaimed, 
 with an oath, that, if she did not immedi- 
 ately get up the side, the consequences 
 might be dangerous; for that he could not 
 be answerable for the safety of the boat. 
 On this, our heroine laid aside her part, till 
 she reached the gangway, where, instead of 
 fainting on the arm of Nelson, she clasped 
 him in her own, and carried him into the 
 cabin, followed by Sir William Hamilton, 
 and the rest of the company. 
 
 Here the author of the historical ro- 
 mance, which we have already been com- 
 pelled to notice more largely than could 
 have been wished, relates a strange incident, 
 which, as he says, would have afforded 
 abundant matter for observation in the days 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 181 
 
 of superstition; but which, without previ- 
 ously ascertaining the fact, is gravely at- 
 tempted to be accounted for on natural 
 principles. 
 
 " While the company were partaking of 
 some refreshment in the cabin of the Van- 
 guard, a small bird familiarly perched on 
 the admiral's shoulder. On the circum- 
 stance being remarked — ' It is,' said he, 
 1 a very singular thing: this bird came on 
 board the dav before the battle of the Nile : 
 and I have had other instances of a bird's 
 coming into my cabin previously to former 
 engagements.' This," adds the writer, 
 " is the more remarkable, as the same thing 
 is said to have afterwards happened prior 
 to the battle of Copenhagen."* 
 
 The narrator of this prodigy dismisses 
 it by supposing that these were merely 
 birds of passage, which mode of reasoning 
 might be satisfactory enough for a solitary 
 instance ; but philosophy itself will be con- 
 founded by the frequency of the recurrence 
 on the eve of different battles, in remote 
 
 * Harrison, Vol. I. p. 320, 
 
1S2 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 parts of the world. But the story stands 
 on too slender a basis to require either 
 moral argument, or the aid of science ; and 
 it would have been creditable in the writer 
 of Nelson's life, had he suppressed an anec- 
 dote for which hecould adduce no legitimate 
 authority. Supposing such a circumstance 
 to have occurred at Naples, it is accounted 
 for more rationally by what is told, in this 
 very memoir, of the practice of the Lazzaro- 
 ni, who kept small birds in wicker cages, 
 which on the approach of the heroof the Nile 
 they opened, and gave the little prisoners their 
 liberty. One of these birds most probably 
 entered the cabin windows of the Vanguard, 
 and attracted the notice of the admiral ; 
 but the rest of the story carries too much 
 the air of invention to merit farther atten- 
 tion. 
 
 However commendable it might have 
 been in any individuals to shew their grati- 
 tude by some signal acts of liberality and 
 splendour, for the decided turn given to 
 the affairs of Europe, in the defeat of the 
 French fleet on the coast of Egypt, little 
 can be said in praise of the extravagant 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 183 
 
 shews, which, on this occasion, were dis- 
 played by our ambassador at Naples. The 
 pageantry of these entertainments, and the 
 profusion of expense that was incurred, to 
 gratify an idle vanity, were wholly unwor- 
 thy the character of that nation which this 
 waste was intended to honour. But the 
 mummery exhibited by the British envoy 
 in that capital was equally impolitic and 
 frivolous; since, while it was conceived in 
 the spirit of the French, it tended to irritate 
 them and their friends more bitterly against 
 the Court of Naples. 
 
 The birth-day of Nelson happening a 
 little after his arrival, furnished an occasion 
 for a fete which was given by Lady Hamil- 
 ton ; and such was the attention of the 
 court, that though it was a time of state 
 mourning, the sables were, by order, laid 
 aside in honour of the day. In a letter to 
 Lady Nelson, dated September the twenty- 
 eighth, 179S, the admiral says : 
 
 " The preparations of Lady Hamilton 
 for celebrating my birth-day to-morrow 
 are enough to fill me with vanity; every 
 ribbon, every button has Nelson, &c. The 
 
1S4 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 whole service is marked H. N. glorious 
 first of August. Songs and sonnetti are 
 numerous beyond what I ever could deserve. 
 I send the additional verse to God save the 
 King, as I know you will sing it with 
 pleasure. I cannot move on foot, or in a 
 carriage, for the kindness of the populace : 
 hut good Lady Hamilton preserves all 
 the papers as the highest treat for you/' 
 
 At this festive scene, which consisted of 
 a ball and supper, eighteen hundred persons 
 are said to have been entertained ; but the 
 harmony was somewhat interrupted by an 
 altercation between the admiral and his 
 son-in-law,, which might have been attend- 
 ed with serious consequences, if Captain 
 Troubridge and another officer had not con. 
 veyed the young man out of the room. The 
 occasion of this disturbance was some in- 
 temperate language which Mr. Nisbett 
 incautiously applied to Lady Hamilton, 
 whom he accused in plain terms of having 
 supplanted his mother in the affections of 
 the admiral. 
 
 The terms in which this accusation was 
 conveyed, and the time chosen for making 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 185 
 
 it, cannot certainly be justified ; but on the 
 other hand it ill became the lady who was 
 the object of it to relate the adventure at 
 all, much less in a manner that served to 
 throw the whole odium upon the indiscreet 
 relative of her admirer, without the slight- 
 est explication of the cause of that rude 
 behaviour which she was so careful to set 
 forth in the blackest colours in the life of 
 the hero. 
 
 Whatever might be the conduct of the 
 young man who has been so severely 
 censured, and however much it is to be 
 lamented that he should not have deported 
 himself with more decorum ; still, if he had 
 not perceived some very unbecoming cir- 
 cumstances in the intercourse which excit- 
 ed his resentment, it is not to be supposed 
 that he would at a public entertainment 
 have provoked the vengeance of his power- 
 ful friend by insulting the wife of the 
 English ambassador. Had not the consci- 
 ences of the parties been a little affected 
 by the coarse and unseasonable sarcasms 
 which were then thrown out, it is most 
 reasonable to believe that some degree ot 
 
186 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 punishment would have been inflicted, and 
 a proper apology required as an atonement 
 for the outrage. On the contrary, though 
 Nelson was for the moment highly exaspe- 
 rated, and the lady ever after felt a rancorous 
 hatred against Mr. Nisbett, they both sup- 
 pressed their emotions, and endeavoured 
 to sooth one whose observation they 
 dreaded. This w; j s invariably the practice 
 of the modern Calypso, who no sooner dis- 
 covered any symptoms of jealousy or dis- 
 gust in the friends of the hero, than she 
 immediately began to exert her diligence 
 in fluttering them by her assiduities and 
 attentions. Many instances might be ad- 
 duced of this consummate art; and thus 
 it was at the period of which we are 
 speaking, for instead of acting with the 
 becoming dignity of insulted virtue, she 
 employed all her allurements to deceive 
 the young man who had branded her with 
 the foulest invective, and she succeeded 
 so well in her schemes, that Nelson, wri- 
 ting to his wife shortly after the disagree- 
 able scene which took place on his birth- 
 day fete, expressed himself in this language : 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 1 87 
 
 " The improvement made in Josiahby Lady 
 Hamilton is wonderful : your obligations 
 and mine are infinite on that score : not but 
 Josiah's heart is as good and as humane 
 as ever was covered with a human breast. 
 God bless him, I love him dearly, with all 
 his roughness." That this great command- 
 er acted with duplicity, may perhaps to 
 some appear too harsh a conclusion, and 
 yet it can hardly be denied that his 
 language and his conduct were somewhat 
 at variance at th*s time, for which the most 
 plausible account seems to be, that he was 
 now so completely under the influence of 
 an artful woman, as to have forgotten the 
 respect that was due to the dignity of his 
 character. Of this influence a striking 
 proof appears in a letter written by him to 
 Karl St. Vincent, in which he says, " I 
 believe Lady Hamilton has written so fully, 
 and, I will answer, so ably on all subjects* 
 that but little remains for me to say. Your 
 commands respecting the queen were exe- 
 cuted with so much propriety, that if I 
 had never before had cause for admiration 
 U must then have commenced. Her Lady- 
 
1S8 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ship's and Sir William's inexpressible good- 
 ness to me is not to be told by words, and 
 it ought to stimulate me to the noblest 
 actions ; and I feel it wilt.'* 
 
 The weakness manifested in this letter 
 shews how much the heart of the writer 
 had been affected by the wiles that were 
 practised upon him, and how strangely he 
 was attached to the interest of the queen, 
 whose court he had not long before charac- 
 terised as completely infamous. 
 
 The day after the entertainment which 
 has been just described, his Lordship, in a 
 dispatch to his commander-in-chief, thus 
 expressed his honest feelings: " I am very 
 unwell, and the miserable conduct of this 
 court is not likely to cool my irritable tem- 
 per. It is a country of fiddlers and poets, 
 chores and scoundrels. " 
 
 That Nelson should with such sentiments 
 continue to be fascinated by those who 
 formed a part of this wretched community, 
 is greatly to be lamented, but this instance 
 serves to prove that human nature is sure 
 to be overcome where a man has not forti- 
 tude enough to run away from temptation, 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 189 
 
 The valour which " seeks reputation in 
 the cannon's mouth" is of a different qua- 
 lity from that calm and stedfast virtue which 
 resolutely opposes the blandishments of 
 vice. Our brave commander, who suffered 
 himself, contrary to his better judgment, 
 to be lured into the circle of folly, saw 
 plainly enough that he was in a perilous 
 condition, and while he continued to be 
 infatuated by an attachment to the seat of 
 pleasure, he had the good sense to condemn 
 the frivolous manners, and corrupt princi- 
 ples, of those persons with whom he had a 
 daily intercourse. 
 
 It may however be wondered, that, with 
 this impression on his mind, he should 
 still remain so strangely prepossessed in 
 favour of those, who, if they did not exactly 
 correspond with the description which he 
 drew, did at least give their countenance 
 to those characters, by admitting them to 
 their private parties and public entertain- 
 ments. Nelson could not have known the 
 Neapolitans so exactly as to have painted 
 them in the way he did, but through the 
 information which he obtained from his 
 
190 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 English friends; and therefore, if he had 
 not been as blind to their failings, as he was 
 quick sighted to the deformities of others, 
 he would have despised them for their 
 meanness and hypocrisy, in associating 
 with persons, who, in any other place, 
 must have been expelled from society. 
 At an entertainment which was given by 
 the admiral on board of his own ship to a 
 large party of the Neapolitan nobility, Lady 
 Hamilton, in the midst of the feast, said 
 in a low voice to an officer now high in the 
 service, " In all that company before you, 
 there is not a woman that is virtuous, 
 nor a man that does not deserve the gal- 
 lows. " Yet these very persons were the 
 chosen friends of the ambassador and his 
 wife. These made up the assembly who 
 celebrated the admiral's birth-day ; and 
 these, in short, constituted that precious 
 set for whom he made the most dreadful 
 sacrifices. 
 
 But if such was the court of Naples, 
 their conduct cannot be justified, who for 
 many years gave a particular sanction to 
 the depravity which prevailed there ; nor 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 191 
 
 can any apology be found for the attempts 
 which were made to uphold that system 
 of corruption and oppression, by the power 
 of the British navy, and by the influence 
 of our national character. 
 
193 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 Never did base and rotten policy 
 
 Colour her working with such deadly wounds. 
 
 Shakspeake* 
 
 The naval victory gained on the coast 
 of Egypt, and the consequent disasters to 
 which it exposed the flower of the French 
 army, commanded by the most fortunate 
 of the revolutionary generals, stimulated 
 Austria to embark in a new war, with the 
 hope of crushing the insolent republic. In 
 this design it found a willing ally in the 
 court of Naples, which engaged to raise 
 eighty thousand men for the common cause. 
 Ferdinand, indeed, shewed more energy on 
 this occasion than he had ever displayed 
 before, but unluckily his soldiers wanted 
 courage, and General Mack, their com- 
 mander, seems to have been deficient both 
 in talents and honesty. The king marched 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 193 
 
 with thirty-two thousand men to Rome, 
 but the cowardice of his troops gave the 
 enemy an easy victory, and he was glad to 
 hasten back to his capital, for the purpose 
 of saving himself and his family. 
 
 Nothing now remained for the court but 
 to remove to Sicily, which was effected by 
 the prompt assistance of Lord Nelson, whose 
 squadron was then fortunately lying in the 
 bay. Great address was requisite in the 
 management of this business; and it is no 
 more than justice to Lady Hamilton to 
 state, that she displayed throughout the 
 whole of the concern an equal degree of he- 
 roism and judgment. Having discovered 
 a subterraneous passage, which led from 
 the royal apartments to the sea-shore, she 
 accompanied Lord Nelson one evening by 
 this way, and thus arranged secretly the 
 proper steps for conveying on board his ship 
 the most valuable of the property. 
 
 An accident, however, occurred, which 
 had very nearly proved fatal to the whole 
 design, for a bell having been touched, gave 
 an alarm to a sentry at a little distance, who 
 would have gone to the place, had not her 
 o 
 
194 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Ladyship, with great presence of mind, has- 
 tened to the man with an apology for unin- 
 tentionally making the noise, and request- 
 ing him to avoid disturbing the family. By 
 this quickness, she succeeded in preventing 
 any discovery, and the conveyance of the 
 treasures through the passage to the boats 
 continued till the royal fugitives were ready 
 for their departure. Of these transactions, 
 which were obliged to be conducted with 
 great privacy to prevent giving any cause 
 for suspicion to the Neapolitans, an account 
 was drawn up by Lord Nelson himself, and 
 transmitted to Earl St. Vincent, from which 
 it will be proper to extract some particu- 
 lars : 
 
 " On the fourteenth of December," says 
 his Lordship, " the Marquis de Niza, with 
 three of the Portuguese squadron, arrived 
 from Leghorn, as did Captain Hope, in the 
 Alcmene, from Egypt. From that time 
 the danger for the personal safety of their 
 Sicilian majesties was daily increasing; and 
 new treasons were found out, even to the 
 minister of war. The whole correspon- 
 dence relative to this important business 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 19«5 
 
 was carried on with the greatest address, 
 by Lady Hamilton and the queen, who, 
 having been in constant habits of corres- 
 pondence, no one could suspect them. 
 Lady Hamilton, from that time to the 
 twenty-first, every night received the jewels 
 of the royal family, &c. &c. and such 
 clothes as might be necessary for the very 
 large party about to embark, to the amount, 
 I am confident, of full two millions five 
 hundred thousand pounds sterling. On the 
 eighteenth, General Mack wrote that hd 
 had no prospect of stopping the progress of 
 the French, and entreated their majesties 
 to think of retiring from Naples, with their 
 august family, as expeditiously as possible. 
 From that day, various plans were formed 
 for the removal of the royal family from the 
 palace to the water side. On the nine- 
 teenth I received a note from General 
 Acton, saying that the king approved of my 
 plan for their embarkation. During that 
 day, the twentieth and twenty-first of De* 
 cember, very large assemblies of people 
 were in commotion, and several were killed. 
 On the twenty-first, at half past eight, p. m. 
 
 OS 
 
196 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 three barges, with myself and Captain 
 Hope, landed at a corner of the arsenal. I 
 went into the palace, and brought out the 
 whole royal family, put them in the boats, 
 and at half-past nine they were all safely on 
 board the Vanguard. On the twenty-third, 
 at seven, p. m, the Vanguard, Samnite, and 
 Archimedes, with about twenty sail of ves- 
 sels, left the bay of Naples. The next day 
 it blew much harder than I ever expe- 
 rienced since I have been at sea. Your 
 Lordship will believe my anxiety was not 
 lessened by the great charge that was with 
 me; but not a word of uneasiness escaped 
 the lips of any of the royal family. On the 
 twenty-fifth, at nine, a. m. Prince Albert, 
 their majesties' youngest child, having ate 
 a hearty breakfast, was taken ill, and at 
 seven, p. m. died in the arms of Lady Ha- 
 milton. And here it is my duty to tell 
 your Lordship of the obligations which the 
 whole royal family, as well as myself, were 
 under, on this trying occasion, to her Lady- 
 ship. They necessarily came on board with- 
 out a bed, nor could the least preparation 
 be made for their reception. Lady Hamil- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 197 
 
 ton provided her own bed, linen, &c. and 
 "became their slave; for, except one man, 
 no person belonging to the court assisted 
 the royal family. At three, p. m. being in 
 sight of Palermo, his Sicilian majesty's 
 royal standard was hoisted at the main-top- 
 gallant mast head of the Vanguard. At two 
 A. m. December twenty-sixth, we anchor- 
 ed, and at five I attended her Majesty and 
 all the princesses on shore ; the queen being 
 so much affected by the death of Prince 
 Albert, that she could not bear to go on 
 shore in a public manner. At nine, his 
 Majesty went on shore, and was received 
 with the loudest acclamations, and appa- 
 rent joy/' 
 
 These, indeed, were the genuine effu- 
 sions of loyal attachment on the part of the 
 Sicilians, who, having for many years 
 groaned under a wretched government, now 
 entertained a confidence that the presence 
 of the king among them, and the establish- 
 ment of his court at Palermo, would ame- 
 liorate their condition, and correct the 
 abuses of which they had but too much 
 reason to complain. The event proved, 
 
198 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 however, that the minds of the weak and 
 vicious are not changed by the difference 
 of situation, or improved commonly by the 
 visitation of calamity. Their Sicilian ma- 
 jesties, and the parasites around them, no 
 sooner recovered a little from the fears 
 which depressed their spirits on leaving the 
 ancient capital of their dominions, than they 
 began to indulge in those habits to which 
 that very loss was to be attributed. Fer- 
 dinand found on this island an abundant 
 employment in shooting; and his queen, 
 with Lady Hamilton, and other favourites, 
 sought relief in balls and card parties. 
 While the inhabitants of Sicily were asto-» 
 nished at the splendour and gaiety which 
 prevailed, they were mortified to perceive 
 that nothing like a reformation of public 
 abuses took place, but that, on the con* 
 trary, all posts of honour and profit, as they 
 became vacant, were conferred on the Nea- 
 politans. This scandalous policy corres- 
 ponded with the shameful extravagance 
 which marked the conduct of the court, 
 though, at the same time, every ducat was 
 wanted for the service of the state. To 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 199 
 
 the miseries of the lower orders, this pro- 
 fligate government was wholly insensible, 
 and, as is usual with depraved minds, in- 
 stead of reflecting on their errors, and en- 
 deavouring to seek for some mode by which 
 to regain the goodwill of mankind, and to 
 obtain internal tranquillity, they had re- 
 course to amusements of the most frivolous 
 kind, thinking perhaps that such a course 
 was an indication of fortitude. But if they 
 so deceived themselves, it was impossible 
 that such proceedings could succeed in im- 
 posing either upon the inhabitants, or the 
 English who were compelled to witness this 
 round of licentiousness. 
 
 While these follies were acting in Sicily, 
 the city of Naples was in a state of such 
 confusion, that any man of patriotic senti- 
 ments might have been of essential service. 
 When the army failed in its duty, the po- 
 pulace rose against the French, drove in 
 their advanced posts, and would have suc- 
 ceeded in exterminating the whole, if a man 
 of enterprise had been at their head ; for 
 such was their energy and determination, 
 
200 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 that when the invaders planted artillery in 
 the streets, the Lazzaroni rushed upon the 
 guns, and stabbed the soldiers. Still there 
 was no virtue in this zeal, though by ju- 
 dicious management it might have been 
 rendered beneficial to the cause of general 
 order, in destroying a horde of marauders, 
 who came into that country, as they did 
 every where else, for plunder and ambition, 
 under the pretence of liberty and equality. 
 
 The loyalty of the Neapolitans was not 
 the result of principle, but passion, and 
 they hated the French, because their pro- 
 gress indicated a change of old customs, 
 and the subversion of institutions which 
 the people regarded with superstitious re- 
 verence, though they neither enjoyed any 
 benefit from them, nor could offer the 
 smallest reason for their attachment. 
 
 There were many intelligent persons, on 
 the other hand, who hailed the entrance of 
 the French with delight, thinking that by 
 the instrumentality of these invaders, they 
 should be able to organize their country, 
 and place it on a respectable footing among 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 201 
 
 nations. Much indulgence certainly is due 
 to the revolutionists of Naples, though, 
 their patriotism was far from that purity 
 which in more enlightened parts has guided 
 the conduct of great and good men in the 
 arduous work of regenerating states, with- 
 out having recourse to foreign assistance, 
 or internal violence. 
 
 Such, however, was the wretched condi- 
 tion of the kingdom, the imbecility of its 
 government, and the poverty of the people, 
 that no political change could well be for 
 the worse ; and therefore some excuse may 
 be made for those who were glad to avail 
 themselves of any means that offered for 
 bringing in a new system, by which it was 
 at least possible that the country would 
 obtain some improvement. When it is 
 considered that the persons who entertain- 
 ed these sentiments, and who thought it 
 their duty to act upon them, were men of 
 the principal families in Naples, while the 
 adherents to the old order of things con- 
 sisted for the most part of the retainers of 
 the court, and a lawless rabble, we shall 
 see some cause to respect the motives of 
 
202 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the one, and to pity the folly of the others. 
 Nor should it be forgotten, that the revo- 
 lution in this nation, by which the govern- 
 ment was changed from a weak monarchy 
 into a romantic republic, was neither stain- 
 ed by regicide, nor disgraced by persecu- 
 tion : and well would it have been for the 
 cause of humanity, and the honour of the 
 British character, if the restoration of the 
 sovereign, which was effected solely by our 
 navy, had been marked by equal liberality 
 and moderation. 
 
 It was no doubt our duty, as the ally of 
 Ferdinand,, to re-establish him upon his 
 throne, by freeing his country of the in- 
 truders; but, in doing this, great care 
 and caution became necessary, to avoid 
 meddling between him and any description 
 of his subjects. How this obvious course 
 of policy was regarded, now remains to be 
 shewn ; for unfortunately the subject is so 
 necessarily interwoven with these memoirs, 
 that, to have passed it over in silence, or in 
 a cursory manner, would have been incon- 
 sistent with truth and justice. 
 
 Cardinal RufFo, the vicar-general of the 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 203 
 
 kingdom, and high in the confidence of 
 Ferdinand, received a commission to use 
 his exertions in raising the Calabrese to 
 arms, for the restoration of the monarchy. 
 His Eminence acted in this business with 
 a zeal well suited to the object which he 
 had in view, and the character of the peo- 
 ple whose feelings he was employed to 
 rouse. With the cross in one hand, and 
 the sword in the other, he proclaimed a 
 crusade against the modern infidels; and 
 so powerful were his exhortations, that he 
 quickly gathered to his standard a motley 
 assemblage, which he dignified with the 
 title of the Christian army ; consisting of 
 peasants, animated by an attachment to 
 their country ; priests, fired with enthusiasm 
 for their religion ; and vagabonds, who had 
 no other principle than the love of plunder. 
 But whatever were the elements of this 
 crew, it cannot be denied that their leader 
 was legally authorised in the measures 
 which he adopted ; and, accordingly, as the 
 representative of his sovereign, he was assist- 
 ed by the British ships on the coast, toge- 
 with the Russians and the Turks, who 
 
204 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 formed part of the alliance against the 
 French republic. 
 
 The capture of Naples depended on the 
 surrender of the fortress of St. Elmo, which 
 overawes the town, and of the castles of 
 Uovo and Nuovo, which command the 
 anchorage. The first was in the possession 
 of the French, and the two last were garri- 
 soned by the Neapolitan revolutionists. 
 The forts were all strong by nature, and' 
 well furnished with the means of defence ; 
 besides which, it was known that the enemy 
 had a powerful fleet in the Mediterranean, 
 the object of which could hardly be doubted. 
 Under these circumstances, the cardinal 
 felt himself justified in consenting to terms 
 of capitulation with the insurgents, by 
 which their persons and property were 
 secured on condition of surrendering up the 
 castles which they held. To this treaty 
 the Russian, Turkish, and British command- 
 ers were subscribing parties ; but, thirty-six 
 hours after the agreement had been signed, 
 and while the flag of truce was yet flying 
 on the Seahorse frigate, Lord Nelson appear- 
 ed in sight with his whole squadron, and a 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 205 
 
 by a signal, annulled the treaty which had 
 been regularly formed, and solemnly ratified. 
 Thus by a spontaneous movement, with- 
 out inquiry or deliberation, the British 
 admiral took upon himself to abolish an 
 agreement in which he was not concerned, 
 and over which he had no legal controul, 
 even on the supposition that the terms had 
 been injurious to the rights of the Sicilian 
 crown. But, in truth, there was nothing 
 in the treaty itself that could justify this 
 breach of an express contract ; for in shield- 
 ing the revolutionists from the vengeance of 
 the court, which, like all vicious govern- 
 ments, was as sanguinary in prosperity as 
 it had been abject in its fall, the cardinal 
 acted with a moderation which did him 
 honour, and a policy that reflected credit 
 on his understanding. In the cabin of 
 Lord Nelson's ship, he defended, with ener- 
 gy, the treaty, which he had full authority, 
 by his commission, to enter into ; and which 
 our admiral unquestionably could not abro- 
 gate by any other plea than that of power. 
 A long altercation took place, in which 
 Sir William and Lady Hamilton acted as 
 
206 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 interpreters, but without making any im- 
 pression on the 'cardinal, who could not, 
 on common principles of morality, allow 
 that the breach of faith was vindicated by 
 the bad characters of those to whom a 
 pledge of indemnity had been given. Much 
 abuse has been thrown on this man, both 
 by the admirers of Lord Nelson and by 
 the advocates of democracy ; the one en- 
 deavouring to screen the hero from the 
 reproach which this transaction has cast 
 on his memory, by the supposed trea- 
 chery of the cardinal ; while the others 
 have, with equal truth, aspersed RufTo as 
 the unprincipled tool of a despotic govern- 
 ment. But when the whole of the history 
 is examined with that calmness which 
 becomes every inquiry into moral actions, 
 it will appear that the man's views, in the 
 present instance, were such as indicated 
 an enlarged mind., equally honest, humane, 
 and independent. Had the cardinal been 
 of that trimming disposition which he is 
 described by one party, he would not have 
 opposed the royal will and Nelson's decla- 
 ration in the manner he did; and if his 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 207 
 
 Eminence was really the worthless being 
 his enemies have painted, it was easy for 
 him to have devised some means to save 
 his interest with the court, by allowing 
 that he had acted without sufficient autho- 
 rity. Instead of this, the cardinal adhered 
 inflexibly to the measure, on the simple 
 ground, that it could not be departed from 
 without infamy ; which surely was a strange 
 degree of obstinacy in a man who is repre- 
 sented as of a shuffling disposition, and 
 void of all honourable feeling. But let the 
 cardinal have been as bad as possible, he 
 conducted himself, in this instance, with 
 a much more lively sense of just dealing 
 than those who thought proper to destroy 
 that treaty which he and three other official 
 persons, acting as the representatives of 
 their governments, had entered into for 
 the general good. Should it be said, that 
 too much notice has been taken of this 
 transaction, which has eclipsed the reputa- 
 tion of our naval hero beyond the possibili- 
 ty of justification, it is sufficient to observe 
 that Nelson was now under an influence, 
 which, unfortunately for his fame, led 
 
SOS MEMOIRS OF 
 
 him aside from that course of duty, a per- 
 severance in which would have preserved 
 him from many other errors. No sooner 
 was the court of Naples in a state by which 
 it was enabled to exercise its vengeance, 
 than a sanguinary determination was formed 
 to sacrifice all who had distinguished them- 
 selves in the revolution ; and, finding that 
 the chief of these partizans were included 
 in the amnesty granted by the late treaty, 
 as having composed part of the garrisons in 
 the two castles on the bay, it was imme- 
 diately resolved to repeal what had been 
 done, under the pretext that the measure was, 
 contrary to the king's express command. 
 So far the nefarious business affects the 
 character of their Sicilian majesties, and 
 their confidential advisers only; but in all 
 that follows, the British ambassador and 
 the admiral were equally implicated. Lady 
 Hamilton was indeed at the bottom of the 
 whole ; and the malignity of her disposition, 
 and the hardihood of her counsels, appear- 
 ed conspicuous in every part ^of this dark 
 affair. In the cabin of the Foudroyant 
 she conducted herself with extreme violence 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 209 
 
 towards the cardinal, whose words were so 
 much perverted by her management and 
 that of her husband, as to produce consi- 
 derable agitation in the mind of Nelson, 
 who naturally conceived, from the zeal of his 
 Eminence, that he was adding insult to fraud. 
 When, therefore, Ruffo found that all his 
 reasoning and statements were ineffectual, 
 and that, instead of bringing the admiral to 
 conviction, he was only wasting his own 
 patience and inflaming the passions of his 
 Lordship, he withdrew in disgust at the 
 treatment which he had received, and which 
 certainly was such as did no credit to the ur- 
 banity or the justice of those who affected 
 to have no other rule of action than the 
 sense of public duty. 
 
 The behaviour of Nelson to Captain 
 Foote, who was a subscribing party to this 
 treaty, was marked by circumstances which 
 were far from reflecting any honour on 
 the judgment or the candour of this cele- 
 brated commander. That officer could 
 not have acted otherwise than he did, 
 without incurring a severe responsibility, 
 and laying himself justly open to censure: 
 p 
 
210 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 for it was not his place to interfere in such 
 regulations as the minister of the Sicilian 
 monarch thought best to adopt for his 
 master's interest on the shore of Naples ; 
 and, therefore, in signing the treaty, he 
 conducted himself strictly within the line of 
 his professional duty. 
 
 Contracts have always been accounted 
 as so very sacred, even among savage tribes, 
 that, when they have even proved disadvan- 
 tageous and impolitic on the one side, much 
 inconvenience has been commonly endured 
 for a time, rather than that a specific agree- 
 ment should be violated. Many instances 
 might be produced where chicanery has 
 been practised on the ignorance and credu- 
 lity of negociators, and others, where agents 
 have exceeded their powers ; and yet the 
 states whom they represented have rather 
 chosen to endure a considerable inconveni- 
 ence than set a bad example, by annulling 
 a formal agreement, on the faith of which 
 so much dependence has been laid. In 
 the present case it should be considered, 
 that the persons who were in possession of 
 these castles had, on their part, put so much 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 211 
 
 confidence in the engagement of the allies, 
 as to deprive themselves of the chance of 
 escape. Now if these contracting parties 
 to the pledge contained in that agreement 
 were without authority, they must have 
 deported themselves to the persons com- 
 posing those garrisons in a manner totally 
 unworthy of the commissions which they 
 bore, and of the characters which it was their 
 duty to sustain. But Lord Nelson, by his 
 abrogation, directly charged these officers 
 with having exceeded their powers, and 
 promising what they had no right to grant. 
 In doing this, it became his Lordship to 
 have made a strict investigation into the 
 business, and to have shewn the authority 
 by which he presumed to dispose of a treaty 
 at his own pleasure. Instead of entering 
 upon the first, he announced his decree by 
 a signal, before he had made himself at all 
 acquainted with the terms of the agree* 
 ment, the grounds upon which it had been 
 made, or the nature of the sanction with 
 which it was cloathed. How he was 
 authorised to take this high office upon 
 himself, in setting aside an express agree- 
 p 2 
 
212 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 merit signed by four persons of competent 
 rank, has never yet appeared in any other 
 way than that of an unproved charge against 
 the cardinal, for having gone beyond the 
 orders of his sovereign. But were this 
 allowed, it would not reach to a justifica- 
 tion of the admiral, who had no right to 
 annul the treaty, merely because he con- 
 ceived it to be imprudent in itself, and an 
 unwarrantable proceeding on the part of the 
 Sicilian minister. Such a mode of inter- 
 preting the expediency and validity of 
 contracts, would throw the whole code by 
 which nations have hitherto consented to 
 be guided into confusion ; and nothing 
 could be relied upon, in the shape of a 
 written agreement, where the sword should 
 be suffered to determined the legality of 
 the instrument. That it did actually do 
 this, in the present case, cannot be denied ; 
 and the consequences which immediately 
 followed shewed too plainly for what pur- 
 pose the treaty had been set aside. Among 
 other persons of distinction sheltered in 
 one of these castles was the Prince Fran- 
 cisco Caraccioli, a nobleman, nearly seventy 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 213 
 
 years old, who was highly beloved by the 
 Neapolitans, as an excellent officer, having 
 been long at the head of their marine service. 
 This respectable man accompanied the 
 royal family to Sicily; but when the new 
 republic was established, and an edict was 
 issued, decreeing, that those who did not 
 return within a limited time, should forfeit 
 their estates, Caraccioli unfortunately 
 hastened back to Naples, to preserve his 
 patrimony. There he was soon solicited 
 to take the command of the navy, and with 
 this request he was induced to comply, 
 most probably from the fear of incurring 
 the resentment of those who had every 
 thing at their disposal, and who could, of 
 course, in a moment, have deprived him of 
 his property and his life. Caraccioli cer- 
 tainly had many excuses to make for 
 his conduct; and even if he had not, the 
 fact of his having served forty years with 
 credit, independant of his private virtues, 
 ought to have weighed as an atonement 
 for the venial transgression of a few days, 
 during which no outrage had been commit- 
 ted by his orders, and when the king's 
 
214 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 cause could not have been injured by his 
 being at the head of the marine. But 
 when a wealthy man has rendered himself 
 obnoxious to a vicious and despotic govern- 
 ment, he will find that all his merits have 
 no other effect than that of sharpening 
 the axe by which his fate is to be deter- 
 mined. Caraccioli, perceiving that his des- 
 truction was determined upon, and seeing 
 that the English commander had violated the 
 only means by which his life could have been 
 saved, endeavoured to effect his escape 
 in disguise. The distribution of money, 
 however, among the peasantry, and the 
 offer of ample rewards for the apprehension 
 of the proscribed revolutionists, quickly 
 brought this venerable old man within the 
 grasp of those who thirsted for his blood. 
 He was taken in the disguise of a peasant, 
 and hurried on board of Nelson's own ship ; 
 which thus became, by a most unnatural 
 act, a jail for the imprisonment of those 
 who were neither subject to our laws, nor 
 could be brought from their own shores to 
 be confined there, without manifest injus- 
 tice. Whatever might hare been the crimes 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 215 
 
 of Caraccioli, he ought not to have been 
 received on board an English ship as a 
 prisoner ; and the very act of doing it was 
 an indelible stain upon our national charac- 
 ter, which all the professional merit of the 
 person who allowed it could not efface. 
 But what followed this detestable business 
 can never be palliated by casuistry, nor 
 defaced by splendour. It must for ever 
 stand as one of those spots, which, in the 
 midst of all that is gaudy and dazzling, will 
 obtrude themselves on the memory, to 
 humble the pride of man, and teach him 
 that the greatest of mortals are not those 
 who astonish the world by their heroism, 
 but those who enlighten it by their vir- 
 tues. 
 
 Within an hour from the time that this 
 poor old man was brought on board the 
 Foudroyant, a court-martial of Sicilian of- 
 ficers, the president of which was his de- 
 termined enemy, assembled in that ship by 
 the orders of Lord Nelson, to try the sub- 
 ject of another state for treason. That Ca- 
 raccioli was found guilty by this junto, who 
 had no authority for what they did, was a 
 
216 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 matter of course. The court was as com- 
 plete a mockery of justice as it was anout^ 
 rage on humanity. The wretched prisoner 
 was tried, but without having the means of 
 defence; for he had no time to prepare him* 
 self, either by legal advice or the production 
 of witnesses. The King of Naples, who 
 could alone grant a commission for his trial, 
 was at Palermo ; but Sir William and Lady 
 Hamilton were on board the Foudroyant : 
 a circumstance that will sufficiently ac* 
 count for the indecent hurry with which 
 the proceedings were hastened, and for 
 the catastrophe which ensued. It was in 
 vain that Caraccioli alleged, in his excuse, 
 that he had been compelled to enter into 
 the republican service, though, if he had 
 proved it by the fullest evidence, it would 
 neither have operated in his favour on the 
 trial, nor stayed the execution, which had 
 been obviously predetermined with as much 
 certainty and justice as the decree of an 
 eastern divan. Caraccioli was found guilty, 
 and received sentence of death ; the report 
 of which being communicated to the British 
 admiral, he signed the warrant for its being 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 217 
 
 carried into effect the same evening, by 
 hanging the prisoner at the yard-arm, on 
 board a Sicilian frigate. The unhappy pri- 
 soner acted with firmness, though the dis- 
 graceful manner of his death gave him great 
 uneasiness; and he solicited to be shot, 
 saying to Lieutenant Parkinson, who had 
 the charge of him — <{ - I am an old man, Sir, 
 I leave no family to lament me, and there- 
 fore cannot be supposed to be very anxious 
 about prolonging my life: but the disgrace 
 of being hanged is dreadful to me." The 
 lieutenant, who felt as a man and an officer 
 on this occasion, went to Nelson with the 
 request of the prisoner ; but the only answer 
 he could obtain was to go and mind his 
 duty. Caraccioli then asked the lieutenant 
 if he thought that an application to Lady 
 Hamilton would not be likely to have some 
 effect in changing the sentence. The lieu- 
 tenant, anxious to oblige an unfortunate 
 gentleman, for whom he entertained a per- 
 sonal respect, went to seek her Ladyship, 
 who could not be found. This woman, 
 however, was in the cabin all the time ; and 
 she knew, as well as Nelson, the intent of 
 
218 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the application ; though she neither had 
 the civility to hear what the kind-hearted 
 Parkinson had to say, nor humanity enough 
 to interpose in favour of one to whom she 
 and Sir William owed many obligations. 
 But though the ambassador and his wife 
 could not find it in their hearts to speak a 
 favourable word in the behalf of an old ac- 
 quaintance, they had sufficient strength of 
 mind to view the last horrible scene of the 
 tragedy, which was executed at five o'clock 
 the same evening, at the fore-yard-arm of 
 a Sicilian frigate, commanded by one of Ca- 
 raccioli's bitterest enemies. As if, how- 
 ever, revenge could not be carried far 
 enough, the rites of sepulture were for- 
 bidden to the body, which was thrown 
 overboard in the bay of Naples, when it 
 might easily have been taken on shore, and 
 interred with decency. 
 
 This savage act, which would have dis- 
 graced the most barbarous horde in the in- 
 hospitable wilds of Africa, was followed by 
 an incident that could not fail to make a 
 deep impression on superstitious minds. 
 Three weeks after the execution, when the 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 219 
 
 king returned from Palermo, a Neapolitan, 
 who had been fishing in the bay, came one 
 morning to the Foudroyant, where he assured 
 the officers that Caraccioli had risen from the 
 bottom of the sea, and was coming as fast 
 as he could to Naples, swimming half out 
 of the water. The story of the fisherman, 
 which at first gained little credit, was soon 
 confirmed, for the same day Lord Nelson, 
 indulging the king by standing out to sea, 
 the ship had not proceeded far, before the 
 officers of the watch beheld a body upright 
 in the water, directing its course towards 
 them. Captain Hardy soon discovered that 
 this was actually the body of Caraccioli, 
 notwithstanding the great weight which 
 had been attached to it; and it became ex- 
 tremely difficult to decide in what manner 
 the extraordinary circumstance should be 
 communicated to the king. This was per- 
 formed with much address by Sir William 
 Hamilton ; and with his Majesty's permis- 
 sion the body was taken on shore by a Nea- 
 politan boat, and consigned to christian bu- 
 rial. The coxswain of the boat brought back 
 the two double-headed Neapolitan shot, 
 with a portion of the skin still adhering to 
 
220 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the rope by which they had been fixed. 
 These were weighed, out of curiosity, by 
 Captain Hardy, who ascertained that the 
 body had risen and floated with the im- 
 mense load of two hundred and fifty pounds 
 attached to it.* 
 
 Another victim to a vengeful despotism 
 was Dominico Cirillo, the king's physi- 
 cian, who had taken a part certainly in the 
 late revolution, but whose age and talents 
 ought to have operated in his favour. This 
 venerable old man, however, was also exe- 
 cuted, though it has been said that Lady 
 Hamilton and the queen solicited his par- 
 don on their knees: but they who can be- 
 lieve that these women acted such a part 
 with sincerity, may with equal reason vin- 
 dicate them for their virtue. Ferdinand 
 could not have resisted the application, 
 either of the one or the other; and Lord 
 Nelson, in his note of the transaction, has 
 admitted that the old man was sacrificed 
 because he refused to confess his crime : 
 but the British admiral has not gone so far 
 as to say that any measures were taken by 
 
 * Mr. Clarke's Life of Nelson, from the particular 
 communication of Captain Hardy, Vol. II. p. 189<, 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 221 
 
 him and his friends on the side of mercy. 
 It is evident, indeed, that ail their influence 
 went a different way, for his Lordship says, 
 " Eleonora Fonseca had been a great rebel ; 
 and Dominico Cirillo, who had been the 
 king's physician, might have been saved, 
 but that he chose to play the foot, and lie; 
 denying that he had ever made speeches 
 against the government, and that he only 
 took care of the poor in the hospitals." 
 
 Of the part which Lady Hamilton took 
 in these sanguinary proceedings, no doubt 
 can be formed by any one who knew her 
 character and history, for she made no 
 scruple, during her residence in Italy, to 
 exult in the triumph which by her means 
 had been gained over the enemies of the 
 Queen of Naples. But when her Ladyship 
 returned to a country where these transac- 
 tions could not fail to be investigated and 
 exposed, she felt great alarm, and made use 
 of every engine in her power to make it ap- 
 pear that she had borne no part in the per- 
 secution of the unhappy Neapolitans. 
 Some hireling writers and publishers, who 
 were entertained at her house, received 
 
222 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 from her papers and oral information for the 
 purpose of elucidating the history of the 
 revolutionary war, and they readily con- 
 sented to defend the reputation of this fe- 
 male at the expense of truth, though the 
 principles of these very men were at the 
 same time of the most violent republican 
 stamp. 
 
 Such was the power of Lord Nelson at 
 this period ; and so predominant was the 
 influence of Lady Hamilton over his mind, 
 that the slightest intimation of their wishes 
 in the cause of mercy must have prevailed : 
 and, therefore, when we contemplate so 
 many executions as took place after the re- 
 storation of the monarchy, it is impossible 
 to acquit either her Ladyship or her friend 
 of the charge of having countenanced the 
 tragical scenes, which, by their mediation, 
 might have been prevented. It would be 
 a mockery of the feelings of human nature 
 to allege, in justification of this neglect, 
 that such an interference with the course of 
 justice at Naples was inconsistent with the 
 public duties of the British ambassador and 
 the noble admiral. We have seen, indeed, 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 223 
 
 that these persons were not so scrupu- 
 lous in sentencing the subject of another 
 nation to death on board an English ship of 
 war ; and surely they who could take upon 
 them to try a foreigner for an offence com- 
 mitted against his own sovereign, might 
 have been as laudably employed in endea- 
 vouring to render the monarch popular, by 
 advising him to exercise the highest prero- 
 gative of his crown, instead of remaining 
 silent, when the voice of policy, no less than 
 humanity, was calling for mercy. But that 
 divine attribute had no advocate in the 
 councils of Naples ; and, therefore, though 
 it should be granted that our countrywo- 
 man, who then figured with such splen- 
 dour at that court, had no direct concern in 
 promoting the work of vengeance, which 
 plunged thousands of families in misery 
 and lamentation, we cannot give her the 
 credit of having in a single instance dried 
 up the tears of the afflicted. No widow 
 experienced her consoling pity — no sorrow- 
 ful mother had to thank her for exerting 
 the influence which she possessed in behalf 
 of a misguided son, whose only guilt was 
 
224 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 that of having been carried away by a delu- 
 sion, which had at least much in it to 
 deceive the wise as well as the ignorant, 
 and to impose upon the virtuous, while it 
 became an instrument of wrong in the 
 management of the wicked. It is, therefore, 
 surprising, that an able writer, who has 
 bestowed great attention on these events, 
 of which he has given a very luminous 
 account, should have thought proper to 
 call in question the part that was evidently 
 borne by Lady Hamilton in the cruelties 
 of the Sicilian government; but while it is 
 admitted that the wife of our ambassador 
 had great power with the heads of that state, 
 and that she feasted her eyes on a spectacle 
 from which any other woman would have 
 turned with horror, it is said by way of 
 apology for her character : 
 
 " Of her being present at the execution 
 of Caraccioli, there cannot be the least 
 doubt, but it is to be hoped, for the honour 
 of her sex, and of her country, that she, 
 never directly, or indirectly, encouraged 
 that vindictive spirit which too much 
 pervaded the councils of the king, and 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 225 
 
 the administration of the Neapolitan state 
 junto, after his Majesty had returned to 
 Palermo. 
 
 " Emma Lady Hamilton, one of the most 
 extraordinary women of the age, amidst all 
 her faults, was more noted for her general 
 attention and hospitality, than for any 
 deliberate acts of cruelty towards the Nea- 
 politans, by whom she was in general adored. 
 In the voluptuous court of the Sicilian 
 monarch, her fascinating person command- 
 ed a very powerful influence ; but in a situ- 
 ation of so much delicacy and danger, she 
 never forgot the character that was expect- 
 ed from the wife of an English ambassador, 
 nor was deficient in any of those courtesies 
 and friendly attentions which mark a liberal 
 and humane disposition. From the arrival 
 of the British squadron at Naples, she had 
 exerted herself to support that good cause, 
 for which Admiral Nelson had been de- 
 tached : and having in this respect ren- 
 dered some service, the natural vanity of her 
 mind led her to imagine, and to endeavour 
 to make the noble admiral and others- 
 believe, that from her alone proceeded the 
 
226 MEMOIRS Ofr 
 
 means of performing those great events 
 which threw such a splendour on the fa- 
 vourite object of her idolatry. Her leading 
 passion was the love of celebrity ; and it 
 was this passion, added to the above delu- 
 sion, which gradually brought on that fatal 
 and highly wrought attachment which she 
 formed for the hero of Aboukir ; for it was 
 the hero, and not the individual, which had 
 captivated her glowing imagination. Its 
 ardour, as it increased, overpowered the 
 natural kindness of her disposition, and 
 eventually involved her in an endless suc- 
 cession of private altercation and public 
 disappointment. "* 
 
 Reluctant as the liberal mind must feel to 
 withhold its assent from any thing that can 
 be said in favour of those persons who have 
 incurred the general reprehension of the 
 virtuous, the interests of truth require it 
 to be said, that had this woman possessed 
 the gentleness of nature here ascribed to 
 her, it would have led her to use the power- 
 ful influence which she is allowed to have 
 
 * Mr. Clarke's Life of lord Nelson, Vol.11, p. 188. 
 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 227 
 
 enjoyed in urging the claims of humanity. 
 But so far was she from appearing at this 
 awful crisis in the amiable character of an 
 angel of peace, that it seemed to be the joy 
 of her heart to promote the work of destruc- 
 tion ; and in gratifying this most abominable 
 passion, she flattered herself, and succeeded 
 too well in persuading others, that it was 
 the expression of loyalty, and a display of 
 fortitude. Thus the demon of mischief 
 scatters the firebrands of death, and calls it 
 sport; after which the same restless spirit 
 pours vengeance on the wretched instru- 
 ments who had suffered themselves to be 
 deluded, and dignifies the immolation as 
 a sacrifice to honour and justice. 
 
 Q2 
 
228 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 Beauty, though injurious, hathjstrange power. 
 
 Milton. 
 
 When the monarchy was restored at 
 Naples, it was natural to expect that the 
 court would either have returned to the an- 
 cient capital, or have adopted measures 
 to heal the wounds which had been inflict- 
 ed, by correcting the evils under which the 
 people groaned. But nothing of the kind 
 took place, and Ferdinand, instead of 
 softening the horrors produced by civil war, 
 and of acting like a magnanimous prince, 
 who wishes to appear as the father of his 
 family, hastened back, with the British 
 admiral and the ambassador, to Palermo, 
 there to enjoy his sports and follies ; while 
 the persecuted Neapolitans were hunted 
 down by hired blood-hounds, and hurried to 
 the prison and the scaffold, without the 
 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 229 
 
 least compunction or sentiment of pity. 
 The only security any man had in that state, 
 from the vengeance of the triumphant party, 
 was in his poverty; but, while he thus 
 found protection in his misery against the 
 eagerness of spies and informers, he was, 
 on the other hand, exposed to the certainty 
 of perishing by famine, which now began 
 to stare with a ghastly aspect on the 
 wretched inhabitants of this beautiful city. 
 There is a peculiar kind of cruelty in 
 vicious and effeminate minds, by which, 
 though they do not imbrue their own hands 
 in blood, they avoid interposing any good 
 offices to repress the vindictive spirit of 
 others; and this want of virtuous feeling 
 for the sufferings of their fellow-creatures 
 leads them to shun the places where they 
 would be called to exercise the duty of 
 humanity. These persons content them- 
 selves with that negative virtue which con- 
 sists in being silent when great oppressions 
 are committed, and in withdrawing from 
 scenes of horror, which, though their influ- 
 ence could not have altogether prevented, 
 their presence might have served to render 
 
230 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 less painful and disgusting. They who 
 abandoned the Neapolitans to the fury of 
 assassins, the rapacity of informers, and the 
 merciless resentment of an unprincipled 
 government, probably thought that they 
 were acting with a strict regard to justice, 
 and according to the dictates of sound poli- 
 cy. This frigid indifference to the calami- 
 ties of mankind would have been, under 
 any circumstances, disgraceful to those who 
 knew the value of a free constitution, and 
 had the experience, in their own country, 
 of equal laws ; but, in the present instance, 
 it was accompanied by a wanton levity, 
 which proved that the distresses of Naples, 
 and the violence of its oppressors, gave little 
 uneasiness to our ambassador and his friends. 
 Lord Nelson, on his return to Sicily, accept- 
 ed a ducal title, with an estate, from Ferdi- 
 nand ; yet it has been said that the admiral 
 did not consent to the proposal till it had 
 been urged by Lady Hamilton on her knees. 
 Whether this story rests on a legitimate 
 foundation, can hardly be determined ; since 
 the only authority which it ever had, 
 was the testimony of the person who is said 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 231 
 
 to have exerted herself in so uncommon 
 a manner to aid the grateful intentions of 
 his Sicilian Majesty. Had Nelson been 
 less vain and solicitous of titles than he was 
 the reverse, such a tale might have passed 
 without any observation on its impro- 
 bability; but it certainly becomes doubt- 
 ful, when it is known that he ever attached 
 an extraordinary value to this distinction, 
 which, when coupled with the character 
 of the personage who conferred it, and the 
 class of nobility with whom it associated 
 our countryman, was far from being an ob- 
 ject of congratulation. It would indeed have 
 been creditable to Nelson had he declined 
 this honour; and, resting satisfied with 
 the unpolluted favours of his own sove- 
 reign, preserved the independence of his 
 character. By enrolling his name among 
 the nobles of Sicily, and accepting an 
 estate in that island, for having replaced 
 Ferdinand on the throne, this great man 
 tacitly sanctioned the acts of that monarch, 
 and the cruelty which he displayed towards 
 his unhappy subjects. Painful as it is to 
 make these reflections, they are powerfully 
 
232 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 suggested by the transaction which we 
 have been obliged to record ; and the glory 
 of Nelson would unquestionably have 
 shone with greater lustre, if he had resisted 
 with firmness the prostituted titles of an in- 
 famous court, at a time when the hand that 
 held out the gift was stained with blood. 
 
 On the arrival of the Foudroyant at 
 Palermo, the queen came on board, where 
 she embraced Lady Hamilton, and the 
 same moment hung round heT neck a chain 
 of gold, to which was suspended a portrait 
 of her Majesty, superbly set with diamonds, 
 and having this motto on the back, " Eterna 
 Gratitudini J" 
 
 Five days afterwards, while her Lady- 
 ship was at the palace with the queen, 
 two coach loads of costly dresses were 
 secretly sent to the house of the ambassa- 
 dor, with a picture of the king richly set 
 in jewels, worth a thousand guineas, for 
 her Ladyship ; and another of her Majesty, 
 of the same value, for Sir William Hamil- 
 ton. The whole of the presents made by 
 their Sicilian majesties on this occasion 
 amounted in value to six thousand guineas. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 253 
 
 On the third of September, an idle piece 
 of mummery was exhibited in the royal 
 gardens at Palermo, to celebrate the reco- 
 very of Naples by the exertions of Lord 
 Nelson. 
 
 To transcribe the ridiculous account of 
 this childish puppet-shew, as given by 
 Lady Hamilton in the life of Nelson pub- 
 lished under her authority, would be insult- 
 ing to the judgment of the reader, since it 
 is impossible that any Englishman could 
 be pleased with the description of the Tem- 
 ple of Fame, erected on that occasion, and 
 of the three wax figures, representing Nel- 
 son, the ambassador, and his wife ; the 
 latter being, very appropriately, no doubt, 
 in the character of Victory, having on her 
 robe the names of all the heroes who were 
 distinguished at the battle of the Nile. At 
 this silly f&te, the queen is said to have 
 expressed herself thus to the Turkish ad- 
 miral, who was present: " On this day 
 last year we received from Lady Hamilton 
 intelligence of- this great man's victory, 
 which not only saved your country and 
 our's, but all Europe!" 
 
234 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 Such was the farce with which their 
 Sicilian majesties thought to obliterate the 
 impression made by the tragedy of Carac- 
 cioli, and of the numerous other victims of 
 their revenge at Naples. 
 
 In returning to Palermo, the noble admi- 
 ral committed an error which tarnished his 
 professional reputation as much as it af- 
 fected his private character. His presence 
 was certainly not necessary at that place, 
 but it was unquestionably wanted in other 
 parts of the Mediterranean. Commodore 
 Troubridge, who had the greatest personal 
 regard for Nelson, was deeply chagrined at 
 being left to conduct the operations on that 
 coast; while his friend was indulging him- 
 self in a round of frivolous amusements, 
 and yielding to the dalliance of female 
 allurements. It was impossible that such 
 proceedings could pass without observa- 
 tion ; and they did, in fact, occasion much 
 animadversion both at home and abroad. 
 The Sicilians looked upon the admiral with 
 contempt, and bestowed upon him an op- 
 probrious epithet, characteristic of the in- 
 fluence which Lady Hamilton had gained 
 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 235 
 
 over the hero: and, so undisguised was 
 this attachment, that many persons of high 
 rank and integrity took the freedom of re- 
 monstrating with his Lordship upon the 
 impropriety of his conduct. One naval 
 friend in England expressed his sentiments 
 in this remarkable language ; " They say 
 here, my good Lord, that you are Rinaldo, 
 in the arms of Armida ; and that it requires 
 the firmness of an Ubaldo and his brother 
 knight to draw you from the enchantress." 
 This allusion was pointed enough, but the 
 reprehension administered by his friend 
 Troubridge was much more severe : " Par- 
 don me, my Lord," said that honest sea- 
 man : " it is my sincere esteem for you that 
 makes me mention it. I know you can 
 have no pleasure sitting up all night at 
 cards : why then sacrifice your health, com- 
 fort, purse, ease, every thing, to the cus- 
 toms of a country where your stay cannot 
 be long ? Your Lordship is a stranger to 
 half that happens, or the talk it occasions: 
 if you knew what your friends feel for you, 
 I am sure you would cut all the nocturnal 
 parties. The gambling of the people of 
 
236 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Palermo is publicly talked of every where. 
 I beseech your Lordship leave off. I really 
 feel for the country. " 
 
 At another time the same valuable officer 
 wrote to the admiral from Naples : and his 
 letter is too descriptive of the two capitals 
 to be omitted in this place. 
 
 " I dread, my Lord," said Troubridge, 
 " all the feasting at Palermo. I am sure 
 your health will be hurt. If so, all their 
 saints will be damned by the navy. The 
 king would be better employed digesting a 
 good government. Every thing gives way 
 to their pleasures. The money spent at 
 Palermo gives discontent here: fifty thou- 
 sand people are unemployed; trade discou- 
 raged ; manufactures at a stand. It is the 
 interest of many here to keep the king away ; 
 — they all dread reform ; — their villanies 
 are so deeply ropted, that if some method 
 is not taken to dig them out, this govern- 
 ment cannot hold together." 
 
 The deplorable condition of Naples at 
 this time, owing to the brutal ferocity of 
 the dominant party, is thus strongly por- 
 trayed by the same intelligent observer : 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 237 
 
 i; There are upwards of forty thousand 
 families who have relations confined. If 
 some act of oblivion is not passed, there 
 will be no end of persecution ; for the peo- 
 ple of this country have no idea of any thing 
 but revenge; and, to gain a point, would 
 swear ten thousand false oaths. Constant 
 efforts are made to get a man taken up, in 
 order to rob him." 
 
 It is to be lamented, however, that these 
 remonstrances had little effect on the mind 
 of the person to whom they were addressed ; 
 and the festivities of Palermo seem, in 
 truth, to have completely overpowered his 
 moral faculties. Of this an extraordinary 
 instance occurred, with respect to two rich 
 Spanish vessels, laden with quicksilver, lying 
 in the harbour of Palermo, when these 
 gaieties were going on there. The value of 
 these ships was duly appreciated; and, at 
 a dinner given by the British envoy, a con- 
 sultation was actually held about the best 
 means of getting possession of them. After 
 various measures were proposed, it was 
 agreed to ask Ferdinand's permission for 
 the boats of the fleet to cut the Spaniards 
 
§38 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 out of the harbour. This arrogant request 
 was accordingly made by Lady Hamilton, 
 in an entire confidence that his Majesty 
 could not refuse so equitable a demand to 
 those who had recovered for him the throne 
 of Naples. But, weak as the king was, he 
 had not altogether lost his spirit nor his 
 understanding ; so that, turning indignantly 
 from the dishonourable proposal, he asked 
 " whether they took him for the Dey of 
 Algiers, by asking him to allow an act to 1 
 wards a friendly power which the most 
 barbarous of the African states would reject 
 with abhorrence." 
 
 The persons who could thus solicit Fer- 
 dinand to violate, in their favour, the rights 
 of hospitality and the laws of nations, ma- 
 nifested their tenderness, about the same 
 period, towards the suffering people of 
 Malta, who were actually reduced to the 
 most miserable condition for the want of 
 food, when the island of Sicily could have 
 furnished them with abundance. Com- 
 modore Troubridge, in a letter to Nelson, 
 dated new-year's day, 1800, gives an affect- 
 ing picture of the state of Malta, with no 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 239 
 
 Very honourable mention of the gentle feel- 
 ings of the British ambassador: " My 
 Lord," says Troubridge, "we are dying off 
 fast for want. I learn, by letters from Mes- 
 sina, that Sir William Hamilton says, Prince 
 Luzzi refused corn some time ago; and Sir 
 William does not think it worth while 
 making another application. If that be the 
 case, I wish he commanded at this distress- 
 ing scene instead of me. Puglia had an 
 immense harvest. Near thirty sail left 
 Messina before i did, to load corn: will 
 they let us have any ? If not, a short time 
 will decide the business. The German in- 
 terest prevails. I wish I was at your Lord- 
 ship's elbow for an hour : all, all will be 
 thrown on you, rely on it. I will parry 
 the blow as much as is in my power. I 
 foresee much mischief brewing. God bless 
 your Lordship — I am miserable. I cannot 
 assist your operations more. Many happy 
 returns of this day to you : I never spent 
 so miserable an one. I am not very tender- 
 hearted ; but really the distress here would 
 move even a Neapolitan. " While thou- 
 sands were starving for want at Malta and 
 
240 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Naples, there was nothing but riotous waste 
 at Palermo, with continual shows and suc- 
 cessive entertainments on board the English 
 ships in the harbour. Sometimes the fleet 
 made short trips to sea; not to look after 
 the enemy, but to gratify the king and 
 Lady Hamilton ; particularly the last, who 
 appeared in the admiral's barge like Cleo- 
 patra ; and, in point of extravagance, she 
 certainly did not fall short of that volup- 
 tuous and accomplished woman. One of 
 these disgraceful scenes is thus described 
 by an eye-witness. The ships were all de- 
 corated with flags, firing salutes, and man- 
 ning the yards, as the royal party sailed 
 along, followed by above one thousand 
 boats, in many of which were bands of 
 music playing, Nelson and Lady Hamilton 
 leading the van, in a twelve-oared barge. 
 The king, in one of eight oars, was not paid 
 much attention to: but he amused himself 
 with the princely sport of shooting sea-gulls. 
 The whole party visited the Minotaur, com- 
 manded by Sir Thomas Louis, where they 
 partook of a cold collation, and returned in 
 procession to the Foudroyant ; on reaching 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 2-H 
 
 which ship, royal salutes again were 
 fired. The dinner on board was served 
 on tables reaching the whole length of two 
 decks; the cannon being even removed to 
 make way for fruit and chocolate tables on 
 each side. This degrading spectacle, so 
 unbecoming a British ship of war, affected 
 Lord Nelson very seriously, and he could 
 not help shewing his feelings, though un- 
 fortunately his resentment was soon dis- 
 pelled by that charm which then bound him 
 in spite of his understanding. He left the 
 dinner party very early ; and, taking a turn 
 or two upon the quarter-deck with one of 
 his officers, appeared, for a little while, ex- 
 tremely agitated ; and, at last, as he looked 
 at the strange scene before him, he mut- 
 tered, " Curse upon such doings ! I wish 
 there was an end of them. My ship looks 
 for all the world like a pastry-cook's shop \" 
 When Lady Hamilton perceived his 
 thoughtful manner, she arose immediately 
 from the table, and, hastening to the hero, 
 conducted him lovingly back to the com- 
 pany ; where, by her arts, he soon appeared 
 to have lost his uneasiness. When the 
 
 R 
 
242 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 evening came on, the ships were illumin- 
 ated, and salutes were fired at the drinking 
 of every toast, which were repeated from 
 the forts on shore. 
 
 Another remarkable instance of the folly 
 into which great men can fall, when they 
 suffer themselves to be led away from the 
 path of duty by the allurements of pleasure, 
 happened shortly after the expensive enter- 
 tainment which has just been described. 
 One of Nelson's favourite amusements was 
 to go about the streets in disguise, accom- 
 panied by Lady Hamilton, who could adopt 
 any character, and perform it to great ad- 
 vantage. Having taken a cheerful glass on 
 a fine evening, he proposed to his dulcinea 
 to take a ramble about the city, which was 
 acceded to, and they accordingly sallied 
 forth, laughing at all they met, but without 
 being known until they entered a house of 
 entertainment, where a party of English 
 officers were enjoying themselves with 
 their ladies. Here our hero and his friend 
 indulged in the humours of the place, think- 
 ing that they were undiscovered ; but it 
 chanced that the boatswain of the Fou- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 243 
 
 droyant looked into the room with a mid- 
 shipman, and recognized the admiral. The 
 boatswain, being a man of pleasant man- 
 ners and address, contrived to watch his 
 Lordship and his companion from place to 
 place, till they reached the ambassador's 
 house, after which, the two shipmates, out 
 of a frolic, went to court, which was very 
 easy of access to British officers. There 
 the boatswain attracted the notice of the 
 king, who entered into conversation with 
 him, which ended by conferring on the 
 man one of the honours of knighthood. 
 This afterwards became known to Lady 
 Hamilton, who followed the unfortunate 
 chevalier with inexorable vengeance, and 
 the admiral, at her instigation, turned the 
 boatswain, notwithstanding his new dig- 
 nity, before the mast ; but the midshipman 
 escaped with a reprimand for having been 
 a party in a frolic, which, to say the most 
 of it, was far from deserving censure, and 
 least of all from those who were guilty of 
 exhibiting in their own conduct an unpar- 
 donable degree of levity and indiscretion. 
 A volume would not suffice to narrate 
 e 2 
 
24 t MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the disgusting circumstances which occur- 
 red at Palermo; but though the dissipation 
 daily witnessed there gave just offence to 
 every man who felt for the honour of his 
 country, and the sufferings of those who 
 were injured by these proceedings, there 
 was still more to be deprecated in them 
 than the mere waste of time and money 
 with which they were attended. The ser- 
 vice itself was materially affected by the 
 influence of Lady Hamilton, who had so 
 much command over her admirer, as to in- 
 terest herself in the promotion of some 
 persons who did little honour to the recom- 
 mendation. 
 
 It is also a fact, that vessels w r ere pur- 
 chased for the use of the fleet, which proved 
 of no other utility than that of increasing 
 this woman's patronage. Such proceedings 
 could not escape public observation, and 
 to have permitted the continuance of them 
 would have been acriminal negligence on 
 the part of the administration. The ob- 
 vious mode of remedying the evil without 
 animadverting on the conduct of the ad- 
 miral, was that of recalling the ambassador, a 
 
LADY HAMILTON. c 2 [5 
 
 measure which ought to have been adopted 
 long before, in which case probably many 
 evils would have been prevented, and the 
 glory of our great hero would have re- 
 mained unsullied. Mr. Arthur Paget was 
 appointed to supersede Sir William Hamil- 
 ton, very much to the disquietude of his 
 lady, and the mortification of Lord Nelson, 
 who saw in the proceeding a marked dis- 
 approbation of the line of conduct which 
 he and his friends had pursued on this 
 station. But instead of considering the 
 matter in the only proper lights as an act of 
 imperious necessity at an eventful period, 
 when every sacrifice for the public good 
 became indispensible on the part of indivi- 
 duals, no less than of government, his Lord- 
 ship immediately came to the resolution of 
 giving up his employment, and of return- 
 ing to England with his friends ; and such 
 was their patriotism, that they gladly en- 
 couraged him in this design. 
 
 Lady Hamilton, however, had some con- 
 solation in the midst of this disgrace, by 
 receiving from that strange monarch, the 
 Emperor Paul, the cross of the order of 
 
246 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 Malta, being the first English woman on 
 whom that distinction was ever bestowed, 
 and the last perhaps that ever would have 
 desired it. Leave was solicited of our court 
 to confirm the honour by a special grant 
 to wear it ; but though much was done for 
 this purpose, the application was treated 
 with dignified silence. 
 
 Another remarkable instance of royal 
 favour with which this extraordinary woman 
 was distinguished, cannot be passed over ; 
 though it was one that did little credit to 
 her sensibility or that of her husband. The 
 King of Naples requested that her lady- 
 ship would consent to suffer a model of 
 her to be taken in a perfect state of nature, 
 as large as life ; and this was actually done 
 to gratify the taste of the monarch and the 
 vanity of the lady, whose marble figure 
 adorned the royal apartments with all the 
 elegance of Venus. 
 
 But these honours could not allay the 
 disquietude which was occasioned by the 
 mandate of recall, a circumstance that gave 
 all the parties concerned in it so much un- 
 easiness as to lead them to commit an act 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 2-1? 
 
 of the most unkind and indecorous nature 
 against an individual who had done them 
 no wrong. When Mr. Paget arrived in 
 Sicily, Sir William Hamilton, instead of 
 paying him proper attention, and entering 
 upon such explanations as were requisite 
 for his particular guidance, and the benefit 
 of the nation, hastened with his wife on 
 board the Foudroyant, and sailed for Malta. 
 Soon after their return to Palermo, the 
 whole par y, accompanied by the queen, 
 with three of the princesses, and Prince 
 Leopold, embarked for Leghorn, where 
 they landed on the sixteenth of June, 1800. 
 Here her Sicilian Majesty presented to the 
 admiral a picture of the king set in dia- 
 monds and emeralds ; while to Sir William 
 Hamilton she gave a snuff-box of gold, 
 with the pictures of the king and queen on 
 the lid, set round with diamonds; and his 
 lady received, at the same time, a superb 
 diamond necklace, with the cypher of the 
 names of all the royal children. 
 
 After remaining about a month at Leg- 
 horn, an alarm was spread that the French 
 
24S MEMOIRS OP 
 
 were advancing, on which the populace 
 rose, armed themselves from the arsenal, 
 and demanded that Lord Nelson should 
 lead them against the enemy. Here, as 
 we are told, the eloquence of Lady Hamil- 
 ton succeeded in prevailing upon the whole 
 of the infuriated mob to return their arms 
 to the place from whence they had been 
 taken. Notwithstanding this extraordinary 
 gallantry in the people of Leghorn, their 
 royal and noble visitors thought it most 
 prudent to set off early the next morning 
 for Florence, where they remained two 
 days, and received the most respectful at- 
 tentions. After continuing at Ancona 
 about a fortnight, they embarked in two 
 Russian frigates for Trieste, from whence the 
 queen immediately proceeded for Vienna, 
 followed by Lord Nelson, and Sir William 
 and Lady Hamilton. In this capital they 
 remained six weeks, partly on account of 
 the weakness to which the" travelling had 
 reduced Sir William, and partly out of com* 
 pliance with the urgent intreaties of the 
 Queen of Naples, who, as the mother of 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 249 
 
 the Empress, wished to do all the honours 
 that lay in her power to the companions 
 of her journey. 
 
 Among others who were eager to enter- 
 tain the English visitors, the. Prince and 
 Princess of Esterhazy distinguished them- 
 selves greatly by their hospitality, as well 
 out of respect to Nelson, as in return for 
 the civilities which they had experienced 
 at Naples from our ambassador. The 
 strangers were received with uncommon 
 marks of distinction at the palace of Eisen- 
 stadt, belonging to the prince ; and during 
 a stay there of four days, a hundred grena- 
 diers, each six feet in height, constantly 
 waited at table, where every delicacy was 
 served up in profusion. A grand concert 
 was also given in the chapel, under the 
 direction of Haydn, whose oratorio of the 
 Creation was performed in honour of the 
 guests. 
 
 It is said that the Queen of Naples was 
 very solicitous that Lady Hamilton should 
 return with her to Italy; and that when 
 she could not prevail, her majesty made 
 an offer of settling upon her Lady- 
 
250 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ship an income of one thousand pounds 
 a-year, which was refused by Sir William 
 and his wife, on the ground that the 
 acceptance would subject them to suspi- 
 cions at home. This story is much of a 
 piece with some others which we have 
 been obliged to notice ; and though the 
 relation of it was designed to display the 
 disinterested character and delicate senti- 
 ments of the parties, who are represented 
 acting in a manner so very unlike them- 
 selves ; yet when it is known that Lady 
 Hamilton afterwards made applications to 
 the Queen for pecuniary aid, without 
 receiving even an answer to the request, 
 some doubts may reasonably be entertained 
 of the truth of the narrative. From Vienna 
 the travellers proceeded by invitation to 
 see the Archduke Charles, who was then 
 at Prague, and after a splendid reception 
 there, they departed for Dresden, where 
 they took water, and thus pursued the 
 remainder of their journey to Hamburgh; 
 at which city the hero of the Nile was 
 welcomed with universal acclamations ; 
 and some very singular anecdotes have 
 

 LADY HAMILTON. 251 
 
 been related of the enthusiastic veneration 
 in which he was held by the people of 
 Germany. One of these is too remarkable 
 to be omitted in this place, though some 
 particulars in it have the appearance of 
 being apocryphal. A wine-merchant of 
 Hamburgh, who was above seventy years 
 of age, one day requested to speak with 
 Lady Hamilton, and informed her that he 
 had some excellent old Rhenish wine, of the 
 vintage of 1625, of course one hundred 
 and seventy-five years old, which, as he 
 said, had been in his own possession above 
 half a century. This, he observed, had 
 been preserved for some very extraordinary 
 occasion ; and one had now arrived far 
 beyond any that he could have expected. 
 The old gentleman, therefore, who had been 
 so careful of his wine for an indefinite time 
 and purpose, requested her Ladyship to 
 exert her good offices to prevail on Lord 
 Nelson to accept of six dozen bottles, that, 
 as he said, " part of this extraordinary 
 liquor might have the honour of flowing 
 with the heart's blood of the immortal hero, 
 a reflection which could not fail to render 
 
252 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the donor the most fortunate man in exist- 
 ence during the remainder of his days." 
 His Lordship being informed of this curi- 
 ous application, came into the room, and 
 took the old gentleman very kindly by the 
 hand, though at the same time he declined 
 the present. He was, however, prevailed 
 upon at last to accept of six bottles, on 
 condition that the merchant should dine 
 with him the next day. This was cheer- 
 fully acceded to, and a dozen bottles were 
 sent ; on which the admiral remarked, 
 that as he yet hoped to have six more vic- 
 tories, he would keep that number of his 
 friend's wine on purpose that he might 
 drink a bottle after each. This his Lord- 
 ship did not fail to remember on coming 
 home after the battle of Copenhagen ; 
 when he devotedly drank the health of the 
 old wine-merchant. 
 
 On the arrival of the party at Hamburgh, 
 Lord Nelson wrote home for a frigate to 
 accommodate himself and his friends ; but 
 this not being granted as promptly as it had 
 been expected, a packet was hired at Cux- 
 haven, which, after a rough passage of flAe 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 953 
 
 days, entered Yarmouth on the sixth of 
 November. Three days afterwards, his 
 Lordship, accompanied by Sir William and 
 Lady Hamilton, reached London, but in- 
 stead of separating, as they ought to have 
 done for a little while, out of respect to 
 private feeling and public decorum, all 
 three proceeded to take up their residence 
 at the same hotel, where Lady Nelson and 
 the venerable father of the admiral already 
 occupied apartments. It is impossible to 
 account for so flagrant an indecorum on 
 anv other ground than an absolute intention 
 of giving offence to the sensibility of a wife, 
 knowing, as Lady Hamilton did, that the 
 notoriety of her connexion with Lord Nel- 
 son had been long and loudly talked of, not 
 only in Italy, but in England. She had, 
 indeed, received manv communications on 
 the subject from some ofhercorrespondents, 
 and particularly from her old protector, Mr. 
 Greville, who apprised her of the rumours 
 which were in circulation to her disadvan- 
 tage. Any woman, therefore, who had 
 the smallest regard for her own character, 
 or respect for the feelings of a wife and a 
 
254 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 father, would have avoided the slightest 
 occasion of giving them uneasiness, at the 
 very first interview between them and their 
 gallant relative. But, as if Lady Hamilton 
 had lost all idea of propriety in the climate 
 where she so long danced the circle of plea* 
 sure, the sober customs of England were 
 treated by her with utter contempt ; and 
 she evinced also such a total insensibility to 
 the mental wounds which her presence 
 inflicted, as shewed but too clearly a deter- 
 minate plan to effect that fatal breach, which 
 shortly afterwards she was enabled to accom- 
 pish. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 255 
 
 CHAP. XII. 
 
 Bright characters lose much of their splendour at a 
 nearer view ; and many, who fill the world with their 
 fame, excite very little reverence amongst those that 
 surround them in their domestic privacies. 
 
 Johnson. 
 
 Soon after the return of Lord Nelson to 
 England, great uneasiness was felt by those 
 who had his honour and the peace of his 
 family really at heart, in consequence of 
 his attachment to Lady Hamilton, and her 
 treatment of his meek and accomplished 
 partner. An instance of this occurred 
 within a fortnight; and it was of so dis- 
 gusting a nature, that if the relation were 
 not calculated to throw light on the cha- 
 racters, the scene should be buried in obli- 
 vion. A house having been taken for his 
 Lordship in Dover Street, he had of course 
 many visitors of distinction, among whom. 
 
256 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 one day, was a lady of very high rank, who 
 paid him and Lady Nelson much polite at- 
 tention, but without deigning to notice 
 Lady Hamilton, though the admiral endea- 
 voured to bring the latter forward as his 
 particular friend. This circumstance was 
 not likely to pass unobserved, and when 
 the duchess retired, much contemptuous 
 language ensued on the subject of her be- 
 haviour, in which abuse Lady Nelson did 
 not concur, but preserved an absolute si- 
 lence ; for which she drew upon herself 
 some very opprobrious epithets from her 
 husband. That day the company at dinner 
 happened to be numerous, and during the 
 entertainment, Lady Hamilton conducted 
 herself with a marked malignity towards 
 Lady Nelson, in which the admiral was 
 weak enough to participate. At length the 
 cunning woman, whether from real illness, 
 repletion, or vexation, withdrew to her own 
 room ; and when Nelson perceived that she 
 remained absent longer than common, he 
 harshly demanded of his wife where Lady 
 Hamilton was, and who was with her. 
 Lady Nelson mildly replied; " that her 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 957 
 
 own woman had been sent to attend her 
 Ladyship;" on which his Lordship flew 
 into a violent passion, and insisted that 
 she should instantly go and wait upon 
 Lady Hamilton herself. Without resent- 
 ing this rudeness and want of feeling, Lady 
 Nelson arose from table, and went as she 
 was directed; but soon afterwards the im- 
 patient hero hastened also to the apartment, 
 where he found one lady very sick, and the 
 other holding the basin for her accommoda- 
 tion. Instead of being affected, as he 
 ought to have been, by this act of conde-* 
 scension, his Lordship became more furi- 
 ous, and directly charged his gentle partner 
 with being the cause of the distressing 
 state in which he found his favourite. On 
 being asked the reason for this accusation, 
 he inveighed bitterly against his wife, as 
 having injured the virtuous sufferer, by 
 calumniating aspersions and jealous insinu- 
 ations; on which, Lady Nelson instantly 
 applied to Lady Hamilton, and asked 
 " whether there was any thing in the 
 treatment which she had received since 
 her arrival in England that could justify 
 s 
 
258 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 what she then heard ?" This appeal was 
 so powerful, as to have for the moment the 
 effect of eliciting a frank confession that 
 there was no ground for what had been so 
 harshly alleged: on which, the astonished 
 Nelson, turning to the speaker, exclaimed: 
 11 that her soul was as black as hell; for 
 that she had continually been poisoning his 
 mind with storiesof Lady Nelson's jealousy . 
 and illiberally." Roused at this keen 
 reproach, the sick lady started up, and 
 swinging poor Lady Nelson by the arm 
 round the room, she tauntingly said: "there, 
 madam, only serve him as I have done you, 
 and he will know better how to behave 
 himself." It might have been expected, 
 that after this discovery of the treachery 
 of the woman who had allured him by her 
 wiles, Lord Nelson would have broken the 
 fatal chain in which he was held. This, 
 however, he wanted resolution to perform ; 
 and, on the contrary, he became more 
 enchanted than ever; which is accounted 
 for by the fact that the fair companion of 
 his cruises and his travels was now^in a 
 state which indicated the appearance of an 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 25J 
 
 evidence that their friendship had been 
 somewhat more than platonic. The pros- 
 pect of this living witness excited no other 
 uneasiness in the parties than that which 
 arose from the sense of their being unable 
 to give a legitimate name to the fruits of 
 their intercourse. Though they were both 
 married, Lady Hamilton had reason to think 
 from the age of her husband that the day of 
 her emancipation could not be far distant: 
 but the case was otherwise on the opposite 
 side, where little chance appeared of a dis- 
 solution by the death of the wife, and none 
 at all of a separation being effected by her 
 indiscretion. To this may be ascribed the 
 rancorous hatred which Lady Hamilton 
 conceived against the woman whom she 
 had so cruelly injured, by alienating from 
 her the affections and civilities of her 
 husband. In Italy the impediment to her 
 ambition might have been removed with- 
 out much difficulty ; but in England,, the 
 only thing that could be done, was to 
 widen the breach, and to triumph in the 
 wrong. Sir William Hamilton being far 
 advanced in years, was easily imposed upon 
 s 9 
 
260 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 by fictitious ailments, which were devised 
 as the occasion of frequent sickness, and 
 other symptoms that required seclusion. 
 He and his lady were now settled in a 
 house in Piccadilly, overlooking the Green 
 Park : and here Lord Nelson was much 
 oftener to be found than at his own home, 
 of which a curious testimony has been 
 kindly imparted to the editor by the pro- 
 fessional gentleman who was employed in 
 preparing the lease of the premises. ft At 
 the time," says he, " when I went over the 
 house with the upholsterer and a servant, 
 who shewed us the rooms for the purpose 
 of taking a schedule of the fixtures, I ob- 
 served an emaciated weather-beaten person, 
 rather shabbily dressed, follow us from 
 room to room with seeming anxiety. At 
 length he said, " Pray, gentlemen, what is 
 it you are about?" I answered, " we are 
 taking a list of the fixtures in the house, to 
 annex by way of schedule to the lease." 
 " Oh, oh," replied he, " if that be the case, I 
 think you should include me in the list." 
 He then seemed satisfied and left us. 
 After his departure I enquired of the 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 261 
 
 servant who this person was, when, to my 
 great surprize, he told me it was Lord Nel- 
 son. 1 had looked but cursorily at him, 
 and from the old crumpled hat he wore, 
 and the striped old brown great coat thrown 
 over his shoulders, and his general appear- 
 ance, I took him for some foreign refugee 
 and hanger-on of Sir William's, as he had 
 much the appearance of the French priests 
 with whom the streets at that time were 
 crowded. I tried afterwards, and made 
 excuses, to go into several rooms to correct 
 the list, in order to get another look at 
 the veteran, but without effect." 
 
 The great object which his Lordship had 
 now in contemplation was a separation 
 from his wife, and to become a fixed resi- 
 dent in the same house with the woman 
 who had contrived to seduce him from the 
 paths of peace. This last business required 
 some little management, and the way in 
 which it was effected did no more credit to 
 the ingenuity of the contrivers, than the 
 motives by which they were actuated did 
 honour to their morality. It was repre- 
 sented to Sir William Hamilton, that his 
 
262 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 noble friend was actually driven from his 
 domestic comforts by a series of persecu- 
 tions and reproaches, which had completely 
 destroyed his tranquillity. These com- 
 plaints were heightened from day to day, 
 sometimes by his Lordship, and at others 
 by the artful Emma, who had cunning 
 enough to excite the resentment of her 
 husband against Lady Nelson, by the re- 
 ports of insults that were never offered, and 
 of calumnies which were never uttered. 
 At length his Lordship surprised his old 
 friend one day with the declaration that he 
 had no longer a house to put his head in, 
 as he chose to express himself ; on which 
 Sir William, turning to Emma, exclaimed : 
 " Do you hear what Lord Nelson says ? 
 Our house is large enough ; shall we give 
 him the use of it }" As this was what her 
 Ladyship expected, she at once signified 
 her assent ; but the hero observed, that 
 such a proceeding would in all probability 
 make the world talk, and therefore must be 
 avoided. ■*« A fig for the world, 5 ' replied 
 the knight. " I have lived too long to 
 mind what the world either thinks or says 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 263 
 
 on such matters ; so you have no more to 
 do than to plant 3 ourself here without fur- 
 ther scruple or delay/' Such was the 
 friendship of Sir William, and in this mag- 
 nanimous contempt of public opinion he 
 was supported by his lady, who certainly 
 through life never manifested much respect 
 for those sentiments which have usually 
 been considered as the rule of good man- 
 ners. 
 
 Nothing could be more ridiculous than 
 to describe the admission of Lord Nelson 
 into the family of Sir William Hamilton as 
 an act of charity, and yet so it has been 
 represented by some impudent panegy- 
 rists of the insidious betrayer of an aged 
 husband's honour, and the destroyer of 
 a virtuous woman's happiness. If Lord 
 Nelson had really any cause for dissatisfac- 
 tion in his own habitation, he was far from 
 being under the necessity of seeking an 
 asylum elsewhere ; but least of all should he 
 have accepted the invitation of the man, 
 with whose wife he was more than sus- 
 pected of carrying on a scandalous inter- 
 course. The parties were all acquainted 
 
264 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 with what people said, both in England 
 and every where else ; this outrage, there- 
 fore, upon public decency, and utter dis- 
 regard of private feeling, afforded too plain 
 a testimony of their want of sensibility, 
 who were so far from being careful to avoid 
 giving offence, that they were not even 
 guided by common prudence in preserving 
 appearances. The father of Lord Nelson, 
 then on the verge of eighty, still continued 
 his kind attentions to his daughter-in-law, 
 with whose virtues he had been so long 
 acquainted, and in whose sorrows he could 
 not fail to participate. Uncommon exer- 
 tions indeed were made by his Lordship, 
 and those who courted his favours by flat- 
 tering his follies, to remove the ill impres- 
 sions which this connexion had produced 
 on the mind of the good old man. But 
 though he bore his faculties meekly, and 
 at length ceased to complain, because he 
 saw that it would be useless, nothing can 
 be farther from the truth than the assertion 
 that he was rendered easy by the arts which 
 were used to lull his suspicions. Other 
 branches of the family, indeed, took little 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 265 
 
 pains to satisfy themselves on the subject, 
 and the consciences of some were made of 
 such flexible stuff, that the strange fact of 
 Lord Nelson's living under the roof of a 
 man, whose honour was not much respected 
 by the circumstance, was so far from giving 
 them any concern, that they quickly trans- 
 ferred to the lady of the mansion those 
 attentions which they had been accustomed 
 to pay to their own amiable, but now in- 
 sulted and deserted, relative. 
 
 It has been falsely said that this excel- 
 lent woman was totally indifferent to her 
 husband's glory, and yet that the rank to 
 which she had been elevated produced 
 such an effect upon her mind, as to prove 
 extremely mortifying to the rest of the 
 family ; both which accusations could not 
 be true ; for if she was so proud of her title, 
 as she is stated to have been, she must also 
 have felt some satisfaction at the means by 
 which it had been acquired. But, in re- 
 ality, no woman ever deported herself with 
 more humility, in all the changes which 
 she passed through, from the time when 
 she refused the most advantageous offers 
 
H 
 
 $66 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 for the sake of Nelson, and placed her 
 property at his disposal, to the period when 
 by a cool, and still more cruel act, he suc- 
 ceeded in prevailing upon her to sign a 
 deed of separation. Let it, however, be 
 remembered, when all the aspersions of 
 sycophants and liars are consigned, with 
 the authors of them, to the regions of in- 
 famy, that the man who, in the height of 
 his splendour, cast off the partner of his 
 humbler days, and the sharer of his obscu- 
 rity, for an extravagant and wheedling wan- 
 ton, bore this candid testimony to the dig- 
 nity of virtue, on the day of separation, 
 which was the thirteenth of January, 1801 ; 
 " I call God to witness there is nothing in 
 you, or your conduct, I wish otherwise." 
 After this last interview, his Lordship, ac- 
 companied by his reverend brother, set off 
 for the west of England, on which route a 
 regular correspondence was kept up with 
 Lady Hamilton, who at this time was trou- 
 bled very much, as her husband informed 
 his noble friend, with " convulsive com- 
 plaints in the stomach, and vomitings, 
 which required some confinement, and 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 967 
 
 obliged her to take a little tartar emetic V 1 
 This was written on the twentieth of Fe- 
 bruary, and at the beginning of the following 
 month Sir William says, " Emma is cer- 
 tainly much better, but not quite free from 
 bile." 
 
 It was in this interval that the child was 
 born, about whose origin so much mystery 
 is supposed to exist. The birth took place 
 in Sir William Hamilton's own house, 
 where every care and precaution had been 
 adopted to keep the matter as secret as 
 possible from him, and from one or two 
 prying members of his own family, though 
 less scruple was observed with respect to 
 another, that had at least an equal interest 
 in the event. Professional attendance was 
 not necessary, where a well practised mother 
 resided on the spot ; and as soon as the 
 patient was capable of moving about, 
 which, owing to her remarkable constitu- 
 tion, was tolerably early, the infant was 
 conveyed by her in a large muff, and in her 
 own carriage, to the house of the person 
 who had been provided to take charge of 
 it in Little Titchfield Street. On this oc* 
 
§65 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 casion her Ladyship was accompanied by 
 Lord Nelson'sconfidential agent, Mr.Oliver, 
 who had been brought up from the age of 
 twelve years in the house and under the 
 protection of Sir William Hamilton at 
 Naples. The condition of the infant, when 
 brought to the appointed nurse, plainly 
 shewed the hurried process by which it 
 came into the world ; and from all these 
 circumstances the reader may judge whe- 
 ther any one but a mother would have 
 conveved a new born babe in her own car- 
 riage, to the house of a woman with whom 
 she had no acquaintance, and that too ac- 
 companied by an old confidential steward ? 
 But should any doubt still be started on 
 the subject, the subsequent acknowledge- 
 ment of the infant by the parties who were 
 most concerned in the history of her origin 
 must wholly remove the smallest shade of 
 scepticism from the mind of the incredu- 
 lous. That Lady Hamilton made no scru- 
 ple of admitting the relation, after the 
 death of her husband, can be easily proved ; 
 and in what estimation the noble lord re* 
 garded the infant the world has not to learn. 
 
 i 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 269 
 
 It has been said, indeed, that being his 
 godchild, and adopted by him on that ac- 
 count, his affection for her became ardent 
 to a degree of paternal fondness. But the 
 truth is, that in the proper sense of the 
 word, she was not his godchild, for he 
 neither appeared at the font in person, nor 
 by proxy. About a fortnight after the 
 birth, indeed, and when the child was ren- 
 dered an object fit to be seen and removed, 
 she was taken in a coach to Sir William 
 Hamilton's house, to be shewn to Lord 
 Nelson, who came to town for the purpose. 
 At this time also the child certainly was 
 privately baptised, but not by the curate or 
 minister of the parish. That ceremony, by 
 whom or in whatever way performed, could 
 not authorize a registry of the fact; and, 
 therefore, it was found expedient, about 
 two years afterwards, to have the rite duly 
 solemnized in the parish church of St. 
 Mary-le-bone, where a curious difficulty 
 occurred for the want of proper instructions 
 being given to the person who had the 
 charge of the infant. 
 
 When the usual question was asked by 
 
270 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the officiating minister, he received for 
 answer, that the name of the child was 
 46 Horatia Nelson," by which he accord- 
 ingly baptised her, though it was intended 
 by her friends that the first should have 
 been the christian,, and the latter the sur- 
 name. At the time of the registry this 
 error was discovered when too late, and as 
 the parents could not be stated with safety, 
 the entry presents the insulated peculia- 
 rity of a child regularly baptised, and re- 
 gistered without the name of either father 
 or mother. 
 
 The name of Thomson, which was after- 
 wards added to the baptismal one of Hora- 
 tia Nelson, was merely adopted from ne- 
 cessity, to complete the register; and how 
 it came to be assumed in this instance it 
 will be proper to explain. Apprehensive 
 that something of a very delicate nature 
 would necessarily occur in their corres- 
 pondence, Lord Nelson and Lady Hamil- 
 ton agreed to write to each other under the 
 fictitious characters of Mr. and Mrs. Thom- 
 son, and the letters so designated always 
 passed through the hands of their confi- 
 
LADY HAxMlLTON. 271 
 
 dential agent. But as an epistolary inter- 
 course with Lady Hamilton had been kept 
 up, ever since their first acquaintance, with 
 the knowledge of Sir William, it was still 
 continued at the time when this secret one 
 was conducted; and in some of those let- 
 ters his Lordship occasionally mentioned 
 Mrs. Thomson and her child, in terms of 
 great affection, but in such a way as to 
 prevent any suspicion or discovery. 
 
 Thus, shortly after the circumstance took 
 place in the house of Sir William Hamil- 
 ton, his Lordship, in writing to Emma from 
 Deal, has these remarkable expressions, 
 pointed plainly enough to her, though suf- 
 ficiently cautious and circuitous to deceive 
 the knight. 
 
 cf You cannot think how my feelings are 
 alive towards you; probably more than 
 ever; and they never can be diminished. 
 My hearty endeavours shall not be wanting 
 to improve and to give us new ties of 
 regard and affection. I have seen and 
 talked much with Mrs. Thomson's friend. 
 The fellow seems to eat all my words when 
 I talk of her and his child ! He says he 
 
272 MEMOIRS Of 
 
 never can forget your goodness and kind 
 affection to her and his dear, dear child. 
 I have had, you know, the felicity of seeing 
 it, and a finer child never was produced by 
 any two persons. It was in truth a love- 
 begotten child ! I am determined to keep 
 him on board ; for I know, if they got to- 
 gether, they would soon have another. But 
 after our two months' trip, I hope they will 
 never be separated ; and then let them do 
 as they please." 
 
 At the time when his Lordship saw the 
 child, an incident* occurred, which proved 
 for what purpose the name of Thomson 
 had been assumed. The nurse, who had 
 charge of the infant, on entering the house, 
 was met by Sir William Hamilton, who 
 enquired her name and business. The 
 housekeeper being present, immediately 
 answered that this was Mrs. Thomson with 
 her child, who had come to wait upon Lord 
 Nelson, by appointment, to solicit his fa- 
 vour. On hearing this, the poor old gen- 
 tleman kindly expressed his wishes for her 
 welfare, and his admiration of the infant 
 which she held in her arms. Now, as this 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 273 
 
 woman's name was not Thomson, and she 
 neither bore any relation to the child, nor 
 had a petition to present, the whole fabri- 
 cation was obviously intended to deceive 
 Sir William, and of course, the assumption 
 of the appellation was altogether a trick, 
 to cloke an improper connexion. 
 
 While Nelson lay in the Downs, at the 
 time of the expedition against Boulogne, 
 he wrote as follows to his " dearest Emma :" 
 
 "You need not fear all the women in 
 this world ; for all others except yourself 
 are pests to me. I know but one ; for who 
 can be like my Emma? I am confident 
 you will do nothing which can hurt my 
 feelings ; and 1 will die by torture, sooner 
 than do any thing which could offend you. 
 Give ten thousand kisses to my dear 
 Horatia. 
 
 " Yesterday the subject turned on the 
 cow-pox. A gentleman declared, that his 
 child was inoculated with the cow-pox; 
 and afterwards remained in a house where 
 a child had the small-pox the natural way, 
 and did not catch it. Therefore, here was 
 a full trial with the cow-pox, The child 
 
 T 
 
274 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 is only feverish for two days ; and only a 
 slight inflammation of the arm takes place, 
 instead of being all over scabs. But do 
 you what you please." 
 
 Notwithstanding this opinion in favour 
 of vaccination, the child was inoculated at 
 the close of the summer, for the small-pox, 
 by the advice of Dr. Rowley ; and during 
 the disease, a furnished house was taken, 
 purposely for the nurse, in Sloane Street, 
 by Mr. Oliver, who also resided there, till 
 the recovery was complete. 
 
 Trifling as this may appear, it proves the 
 tenderness of the relation, and the absolute 
 conviction which Nelson had that the child 
 was his own ; and how he regarded the 
 mother, is manifest from the following ex- 
 pressions in a letter written at Deal, the 
 eighteenth of August, this year. 
 
 " May heaven bless me very soon with 
 a sight of your dear angelic face. You are 
 a nonpareil ! No, not one fit to wipe your 
 shoes. I am, ever have been, and always 
 will remain, your most firm, fixed, and un- 
 alterable friend." 
 
 If any thing could aggravate the inhu- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 275 
 
 manity with which Lady Nelson was 
 treated, through the whole of this event- 
 ful year, it was the painful consideration, 
 that the woman who had robbed her of 
 peace was entrusted with the office of 
 separating her wardrobe from the things 
 belonging to his Lordship, in Norfolk ; and 
 after ransacking the whole, sending her 
 what she pleased. A man of truly liberal 
 sentiment would have shuddered at such 
 an act of indelicacy ; and had Lady Hamil- 
 ton possessed the smallest degree of shame* 
 she would have declined the commission, 
 with a recommendation that it should be 
 performed by some of his Lordship's female 
 relations. Instead, however, of being ac- 
 tuated by any thing like sensibility, this 
 unfeeling woman exulted in the conquest 
 which she had made, and gladly did she 
 seize every opportunity that her ascendency 
 over the mind of Nelson afforded of inflict- 
 ing a fresh wound in the heart of his wife. 
 This summer, Sir William Hamilton, at 
 the desire of his noble friend, completed 
 the purchase for him of Merton-place, in 
 Surry, about eight miles from London ; and 
 T 2 
 
276 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the object which his Lordship had in this 
 acquisition was to accommodate all the 
 parties under one roof, and to leave the 
 estate as a testimony of his friendship to 
 Emma. Here was another instance of Sir 
 William's excessive meanness ; for while 
 he readily acceded to his friend's wishes, 
 he took care to modify his own will accord- 
 ingly; and knowing that his widow would 
 be thus comfortably settled, he bequeathed 
 her only seven hundred pounds a-year, 
 leaving all the rest of his property, which 
 was considerable, to his nephew, and other 
 relations. 
 
 In the whole of this business, and the 
 improvements which were made on the 
 farm, Lady Hamilton had a principal con- 
 cern, as, indeed, her interest, and that of 
 the child, had been the sole inducement 
 to the purchase. Though his Lordship had 
 not seen this estate, he was resolved to be 
 pleased with the situation, and with all 
 that was done to render the house and 
 grounds agreeable, merely because the place 
 was adorned by the presence and talents of 
 his charmer. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 277 
 
 " You may rely upon one thing/' says 
 he, " that I shall like Merton ; therefore 
 do not be uneasy on that account. I have 
 that opinion of your taste and judgment, 
 that I do not believe it can fail in pleasing 
 me. We must only consider our means ; 
 and for the rest, I am sure you will soon 
 make it the prettiest place in the world. '' 
 Adverting then to the child, who naturally 
 engrossed much of his thoughts, he says: 
 
 " Whatever, my dear Emma, you do for 
 my little charge, I must be pleased with. 
 Probably, she will be lodged at Merton ; 
 at least, in the spring, when she can have 
 the benefit of our walks. It will make the 
 poor mother happy, I am sure/' 
 
 The following passage in the same letter 
 cannot be passed over without observation: 
 " Have we/' inquires his Lordship, " a 
 nice church at Merton ? We will set an ex- 
 ampleofgoodnesstothe under parishioners/' 
 Thus, like many who flatter themselves that 
 an external respect for the forms of religion 
 will be admitted as an equivalent for the 
 observance of its precepts, this great man 
 imagined that his rank and character would 
 
27S MEMOIRS OF 
 
 give so much effect to his constant attend- 
 ance at church, as to render his private ob- 
 liquities of no moment to society. Such 
 an " example of goodness to the under 
 parishioners" was very proper as far as it 
 went; but if any of those persons made an 
 inquiry into the manners of the family at 
 Merton-place, they would have been very 
 little edified by the appearance of his Lord- 
 ship and his friends at the parish church. 
 It is to be lamented, that this letter should 
 contain a melancholy evidence of the noble 
 writer's notions of that purity of heart 
 which can alone render worship accept- 
 able, or example efficacious; for thus he 
 speaks of his aged parent, and his virtuous, 
 wife: 
 
 " I had yesterday a letter from my fathers 
 he seems to think that he may do some- 
 thing which I shall not like. I suppose he 
 means going to Somerset Street. Shall I, 
 to an old man, enter upon the detestable 
 subject : it may shorten his days. But I 
 think I shall tell him that I cannot go to 
 Somerset Street to see him. But I shall 
 not write till I hear your opinion. If I 
 
LADY HAMILTON, 279 
 
 once begin, you know, it will all out about 
 her, and her ill-treatment to her son. But 
 you shall decide." 
 
 This subservience to the will and coun- 
 sels of the deceiver shewed the weakness 
 to which his Lordship was now reduced; 
 and it is a fact, that while to every one 
 else the artful woman represented Lady 
 Nelson as endeavouring to sacrifice the 
 interests of her husband's relations to the 
 aggrandizement of her son, she filled the 
 mind of the admiral himself with the gross- 
 est falsehoods of her Ladyship's cruelties 
 to her own child. Let it not be forgotten, 
 however, that Nelson's letters to his wife, 
 and his last solemn asseveration, made at 
 the time of their separation, completely 
 refute any insinuation to her disadvantage ; 
 while at the same time it must be admitted 
 that his writing in the way he did was 
 neither a proof of his candour nor magna- 
 nimity. It was yet within remembrance 
 when the language of the hero to his lady 
 was like his conduct, warm, manly, and 
 liberal ; indicating a heart wholly uncor- 
 rupted, and animated by the sentiments of 
 
280 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 honour and love. Greatly, therefore, is it 
 to be lamented, that he should now have 
 fallen so low as to asperse the same woman 
 with the coarsest epithets when writing to 
 another man's wife, whom he scrupled not 
 to flatter in this fulsome manner : " I assure 
 you, my dear friend, that I had rather read 
 and hear all your little story of a white hen 
 getting into a tree, an anecdote of Fatima, 
 or hear you call, " Cupidy, Cupidy V than 
 any speech I shall hear in parliament : be- 
 cause, I know, although you can adapt 
 your language and manners to a child, yet 
 that you can also thunder forth such a tor* 
 rent of eloquence, that corruption and in- 
 famy would sink before your voice, in 
 however exalted a situation it might be 
 placed." 
 
 In October his Lordship joined his 
 friends at Merton, between which place and 
 Sir William's house in Piccadilly the winter 
 was divided with considerable gaiety, and 
 a perpetual round of visitors, among whom 
 were several of the Nelson family, particu- 
 larly the present head of that house, who 
 unquestionably was far from being deficient 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 281 
 
 in his attentions to the idol of his brother's 
 devotions. This noble Lord cannot be ac- 
 cused of having displayed any zeal against 
 the ascendency of Lady Hamilton over the 
 mind of his illustrious relative; nor did he 
 ever shew the least disapprobation of that 
 authority which she exercised, where the 
 presence of a wife would have been a more 
 graceful object. 
 
 In the summer of 1802, Lord Nelson, 
 accompanied by his brother, with Sir Wil- 
 liam and Lady Hamilton, made a tour 
 through the midland counties into South 
 Wales; but at Blenheim the party expe- 
 rienced considerable mortification in the 
 slight that was put upon them by the noble 
 family, none of whom condescended to 
 make their appearance, while these visitors 
 were viewing the mansion. This apparent 
 contempt gave so much offence to the hero 
 of the Nile, that he refused the refresh- 
 ments which were offered ; and his Cleo- 
 patra, putting on one of her high airs, said, 
 " I told Nelson that if I had been a queen, 
 after the battle of Aboukir, he should have 
 had a principality, so that Blenheim Park 
 
2S2 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 should have been only as a kitchen garden 
 to it." 
 
 At this extravagant flight, it is said that 
 the gallant chief shed tears, and in an im- 
 passioned tone of resentment, occasioned 
 by the reception which he and his com- 
 panions had experienced, he observed, 
 " That he had yet more beds of laurel to 
 gather." Now had this great man duly 
 reflected on the character and dignity of 
 the house of Spencer, he would have seen 
 more to admire than to censure in their 
 conduct on the present occasion ; since 
 whatever inclination the members of that 
 family might have to shew their respect for 
 so distinguished a commander, it was evi- 
 dent that they had more for the interests 
 of virtue. The noble inhabitants of Blen- 
 heim would very gladly have welcomed 
 Nelson under their roof; but when they 
 found him so accompanied, that a particu- 
 lar attention could not be paid to him with- 
 out giving some countenance to an im- 
 proper connexion, they prudently retired 
 from observation. If his Lordship had 
 brought Lady Nelson with him, instead of 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 283 
 
 the woman who had supplanted her in his 
 affections, he would have met with differ- 
 ent treatment ; and, therefore, when he 
 proudly declined the proffered refreshments, 
 he ought to have considered whether, in 
 fact, he had not himself committed a much 
 greater offence than that which he resented. 
 There were other persons of distinction, in 
 the course of this tour, who felt them- 
 selves bound to withhold their personal 
 attentions from the noble admiral, out of a 
 sense of superior duty, and a persuasion 
 that they ought not to sanction, by their 
 complaisance, the presence of unblushing 
 infidelity. Is it to be endured, that because 
 a man has rendered uncommon services to 
 his country, and gained a Splendid name 
 by his talents, he may, therefore, dispense 
 with the ordinary forms of civil life, and 
 set at defiance those rules of action which 
 constitute the vital spring of social order? 
 Shall valorous deeds, and extraordinary 
 powers, atone for the violation of private 
 duty, or be admitted as an apology for the 
 breach of those institutions which all ages 
 have concurred in pronouncing sacred ? 
 
284 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Though Lady Hamilton found some 
 pliable dispositions in England, of both 
 sexes, who were ready enough to favour 
 her with their company, because they 
 wished to court the friendship of her ad- 
 mirer, she had the mortification of seeing 
 that the public feeling was of a much 
 sterner cast, and that the body of the people, 
 while they followed the hero with their 
 acclamations, pitied him for his weakness 
 as a man. Of this mixed sentiment the 
 party experienced many instances during 
 their journey through the principality, as 
 well as in various parts of England ; but 
 they had been so long used to the dissolute 
 manners of Italy, as to " care for none of 
 these things." At all the entertainments 
 which were given, by corporate bodies, and 
 other public assemblies, in honour of the 
 admiral and his companions, Lady Hamil- 
 ton nevejr failed to enliven the festive board 
 by her vocal powers, the charming effects 
 of which were constantly trumpeted to the 
 world through the medium of the news- 
 papers. 
 
 At the beginning of September, the tra- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 285 
 
 vellers returned to Merton, where, for the 
 most part, they continued to reside during 
 the following winter ; but in March, Sir 
 William Hamilton, being taken seriously 
 ill, was conveyed to his house in Piccadilly, 
 where he died on the sixth of April, in the 
 presence of his wife and Lord Nelson. In 
 his last moments, he is reported to have 
 addressed himself to his Lordship in these 
 words : — " Brave and great Nelson ! our 
 friendship has been long, and I glory in my 
 friend. I hope you will see justice done 
 to Emma by ministers, for you know how 
 great her services have been, and what she 
 has done for her country. Protect my dear 
 wife ; and may God bless you ; and give 
 you victory, and protect you in battle I" 
 Then turning to his Lady, he said, " My 
 incomparable Emma, you have never in 
 thought, word, or deed, offended me ; and 
 let me thank you again, and again, for your 
 affectionate kindness to me, all the time of 
 our ten years' happy union." 
 
 By a codicil to his will, made about a 
 week before his death, Sir William be- 
 queathed to his noble friend a picture of 
 
SS6 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Emma in enamel ; and his Lordship, in a 
 strain of uncommon generosity, settled upon 
 her, two months afterwards, an annuity of 
 twelve hundred pounds, to be paid in 
 monthly portions. This was equivalent to 
 the pension which had been granted to Sir 
 William at the expiration of his embassy, 
 and the continuance of which was solicited 
 in vain by his widow. There was a strik- 
 ing contrast between the conduct of Nel- 
 son, and that of Sir William's family, par- 
 ticularly the nephew, who compelled her 
 Ladyship to quit the house in Piccadilly 
 within a month after the death of her hus- 
 band. Thus she found the instability of 
 that friendship which is cemented by sel- 
 fish motives ; and she might, if prudence 
 had been admitted to her counsels, have 
 learnt from hence, that the admiration 
 which is not excited by virtue has never 
 any chance of being matured into esteem. 
 This harsh treatment on the part of her 
 oldest acquaintance and protector was em- 
 bittered by the silent contempt thrown on 
 her memorial for a pension, as the relict of 
 an ambassador, and as one who had parti- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 2S? 
 
 cular claims of her own for a liberal allow- 
 ance from government. But it was so well 
 known by the cabinet, that the Sicilian 
 embassy had neither been honourable in 
 the management, nor economical in the 
 expenditure, that no regard was paid to the 
 petition of her Ladyship, though it was 
 supported by the powerful exertions of her 
 noble friend, whose recommendation of her 
 claims brought with it so many unpleasant 
 recollections, as tended, in a great measure, 
 to defeat the object which the parties had 
 in view. 
 
 It has been said that Lord Nelson, on 
 the death of Sir William, removed into 
 private lodgings, being actuated by a deli- 
 cate regard to the widow's reputation, and 
 a laudable care to avoid giving any handle 
 to a censorious world. The motive, had it 
 existed, was certainly proper, but it is 
 strange that the mind in which it arose 
 should not have seen the necessity of ob- 
 serving the same line of conduct in the 
 country as in London, since if there was 
 any thing wrong in his continuing under 
 the roof of Lady Hamilton in Piccadilly, 
 
288 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 after the death of her husband, there was 
 just as much in her living with him at 
 Merton. It is much to be lamented that 
 this wish to avoid giving occasion for the 
 surmises and rumours of the ill-disposed 
 part of mankind, did not result from the 
 conscientious principle of having endea- 
 voured to merit the confidence of the good, 
 which would have led the hero, and the 
 object of his admiration, to study such a 
 line of conduct as might have placed them, 
 like the wife of Caesar, above all suspicion. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 289 
 
 CHAP. XIII. 
 
 This then is liberty, the truth to tell; 
 
 To our dear country wishing all things well. 
 
 Euripides. 
 
 Soon after the death of Sir William 
 Hamilton, his widow took a house in 
 Clarges Street, between which and Merton 
 her time was divided ; but within a few 
 weeks she was deprived of the company of 
 her noble friend and admirer, in conse- 
 quence of his being appointed to the com- 
 mand of the fleet in the Mediterranean. In 
 a letter written to her from thence, his 
 Lordship gave this extract from one which 
 he had sent just before to the Queen of 
 Naples : " I left Lady Hamilton the eigh- 
 teenth of May ; and so attached to your 
 Majesty, that I am sure she would lay 
 down her life to preserve your's. Your 
 Majesty never had a more sincere, attached, 
 u 
 
290 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and real friend, than your dear Emma. 
 You will be sorry to hear that good Sir 
 William Hamilton did not leave her in such 
 comfortable circumstances as his fortune 
 would have allowed. He has given it 
 amongst his relations. But she will do 
 honour to his memory, although every one 
 else of his friends call loudly against him 
 on that account/' 
 
 In all this, however, the noble writer 
 judged wrong; for when the rise of this 
 woman is considered, the settlement of 
 seven hundred a-year will hardly be thought 
 by any reasonable person to have been an 
 inadequate provision. Besides, as economy 
 had never been one of her virtues, Sir Wil- 
 liam knew well enough that a larger annuity 
 would only have increased her extrava- 
 gance ; and the event proved that he acted 
 with judgment in this disposal of his pro- 
 perty. What honour she did to the me- 
 mory of the man who had elevated her 
 from a low situation, and one, indeed, that 
 was worse than servile, to affluence and 
 dignity, will appear from the fact that she 
 declined the publication of his papers, let* 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 291 
 
 ters, and memoirs ; though when Nelson 
 fell, her first consideration was that of 
 hiring a mercenary scribbler to write such 
 a history of the hero as should set forth her 
 virtues and talents, in unison with his 
 merits, to the best advantage. A literary 
 friend of Sir William Hamilton urged the 
 propriety of giving to the world a biogra- 
 phical account of one who had so eminently 
 distinguished himself, not only in a diplo- 
 matic capacity, but as an antiquary, and a 
 scientific observer. This suggestion having 
 been treated very disrespectfully, induced 
 the person who made it to write rather 
 freely to her Ladyship on the subject ; and 
 then, with her usual address, she endea- 
 voured to recall the words which had been 
 uttered in contempt of a civil and disin- 
 terested proposal. The letter which she 
 wrote by way of apology was as follows : 
 
 Clarges Street, April 23rd, 1804. 
 Sir, 
 I was very much surprised on receiving 
 your letter this morning, as I cannot think 
 what you mean by my being offended, nor 
 u 2 
 
292 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 who could have told you so. Mr. O. spoke 
 to me about your wish to have some infor- 
 mation about Sir William's pursuits, whilst 
 on his embassy at Naples, which, I said, I 
 should be very glad to give you myself, as 
 many persons had asked me the same ; but 
 I had been so very unwell, I had not either 
 health or spirits to enter on the subject 
 with strangers. But I told Mrs. G. if you 
 would do me the favour of calling in Clarges 
 Street, I should be very glad to see you, 
 and tell you myself many very interesting 
 anecdotes of that great and good man. This 
 is all that passed on the occasion, nor can 
 I account for what you wrote me, as I 
 never spoke to any one, but merely to give 
 the message to Mrs. G. as I thought by 
 so doing 1 might have been of service to 
 you and Mrs. W. to whom I beg my com- 
 pliments, and am, 
 
 Sir, your obedient 
 
 humble servant, 
 
 Emma Hamilton. 
 P. S. If you will let me know by a line 
 any morning, you will favour me by calling, 
 I will be at home. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 293 
 
 Now this was all mere duplicity and 
 affectation, for nothing more was recom- 
 mended to her Ladyship than the publica- 
 tion of her husband's life, and correspond- 
 ence, as far as related to his literary con- 
 nexions and philosophical researches ; in- 
 stead of which, she contented herself with 
 communicating orally some trifling stories 
 and amusing incidents, and thus the busi- 
 ness ended ; nor has any memoir of this 
 remarkable character yet appeared, though 
 it is evident, from the length of his resi- 
 dence in Italy, the variety of his engage- 
 ments, and the extent of his acquaintance, 
 that such a work would have been highly 
 acceptable to the world of letters. But 
 the truth is, she felt so much hurt at the 
 manner in which the property of Sir Wil- 
 liam had been bequeathed, that she cared 
 as little for his honour after his death, as 
 she had been mindful of it in his life-time. 
 In the attentions of the Nelson family, 
 however, she became consoled for the sup- 
 posed neglect with which she had been 
 treated by her husband and his friends. 
 The niece of the noble admiral was settled 
 
294 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 in the family of her Ladyship, that she 
 might profit by the instructions and exam- 
 ple of such an accomplished person. This 
 was certainly a very extraordinary proof 
 of friendship and confidence on the part of 
 the young lady's parents, though there 
 were not wanting persons who looked upon 
 it in a light not at all flattering to the dis- 
 cretion of his Lordship's relations. Dr. 
 Nelson, having obtained through his bro- 
 ther's interest, a prebendal stall in the 
 church of Canterbury, was very assiduous 
 at this period in his respects to Lady 
 Hamilton, who spent part of the summer 
 with him at that city, accompanied by 
 Mrs. Billington. The inhabitants of Can- 
 terbury were not a little surprised at the 
 appearance of such visitors in the house of 
 one of their reverend dignitaries; and more 
 so, when it was proposed that these en- 
 chanting females should delight and edify 
 the frequenters of the cathedral with a 
 sacred duet. This offer, however, was 
 far from being relished by the guardians 
 of that venerable fabric ; and the respect- 
 able citizens had so much Boeotian dulness, 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 293 
 
 that at the end of their cards of invitation 
 to the new prebendary and his family, they 
 made it a point to subjoin this curious con- 
 dition, " But not Lady Hamilton." These 
 old-fashioned people in the country seem 
 to have fancied that when the voice of the 
 world was loud respecting the dominion of 
 this woman over the mind of the hero, his 
 nearest friends ought to have discounte" 
 nanced the rumour, by treating her with dis- 
 tant respect. It undoubtedly did wear a 
 strange aspect, that while an amiable wife 
 was discarded for no offence, all the relations 
 of the admiral, and particularly his brother, 
 whose station in the church called for the 
 greatest circumspection, should be diligent 
 in cultivating the acquaintance of the person 
 who had made such an inroad on the har- 
 mony of their family. That they were 
 ignorant of the interest which Lady Hamil- 
 ton possessed in the affections of their 
 noble relative, can hardly be supposed ; 
 and to the sentiments of the public on 
 that unhappy connexion, it was impossible 
 for them to have been strangers. 
 
 Not long after the sailing of Nelson, 
 
296 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 another female infant made its appearance 
 at Merton, which obtained the name of 
 Emma ; but it died early the following year, 
 in a convulsive fit. From the letters which 
 his Lordship wrote to the mother, while 
 he was employed off Toulon, it is necessary 
 to make a few extracts, as confirming, be- 
 yond all doubt, his absolute devotedness 
 to Lady Hamilton, and shewing that the 
 footing on which they lived was perfectly 
 well known to his most intimate friends. 
 " I rejoice," says he, " that you have had so 
 pleasant a trip into Norfolk ; and I hope 
 one day to carry you there by a nearer tie 
 in law, but not in love and affection, than 
 at present." Then alluding to his excellent 
 wife, who had been aspersed, as usual, in 
 one of her rival's ensnaring epistles, his 
 Lordship adds, " I wish you would never 
 mention that person's name. It works up 
 your anger, for no useful purpose. Her 
 good or bad character of me or thee no one 
 cares about." Thus the completest evi- 
 dence is afforded not only of the entire 
 controul which Lady Hamilton had over 
 the mind of Nelson, but of her baseness in 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 297 
 
 calumniating the woman whom she had 
 supplanted. Had the hero felt as became 
 him, he would have resented the malignant 
 arts which were made use of to inflame him 
 against the person who, of all others, had 
 the strongest claim upon his gratitude and 
 protection. But if any thing could add to 
 the severity with which his injured lady 
 was treated at this period, it was the cruel 
 neglect of those branches of the family who 
 had formerly courted her company, and 
 been pleased with her correspondence. 
 Finding that such an intimacy would be 
 no longer agreeable to their illustrious rela- 
 tive, and that, on the contrary, the only 
 sure method of securing his favour lay in 
 flattering the object of his admiration, these 
 persons took special care to avoid giving 
 him any reason to complain of a want of 
 courtesy where they knew it was most accept- 
 able. They were indeed plainly assured by 
 his Lordship, " that in manifesting their 
 kind attentions to Lady Hamilton, they 
 would be sure of a warm place in his 
 heart. 
 
 After the death of Sir William, he con- 
 
29S MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ducted himself towards her as his wife, 
 they having actually pledged their faith to 
 each other in that capacity; and in the 
 month of August the same year he wrote 
 to her in these strong terms, when antici- 
 pating a speedy blessed meeting. " The 
 thoughts of such happiness, my dearest 
 only beloved, makes the blood fly into my 
 head. The call of our country is a duty 
 which you would deservedly in the cool 
 moments of reflection reprobate, was I to 
 abandon it: and I should feel so disgraced, 
 by seeing you ashamed of me, no longer 
 saying, " This is, the man who has saved 
 his country! this is he who is the first to 
 go forth to fight our battle's, and the last 
 to return, and then all these honours to 
 reflect on you ! Ah! they will think, what 
 a man ! What sacrifices has he not made 
 to secure our homes and property ; even 
 the society and happy union with the 
 finest and most accomplished woman in 
 the world. As you love, how must you 
 feel ! — my heart is with you : cherish it. 
 I shall, my blessed beloved, return — if it 
 pleases God — a victor ; and it shall be my 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 299 
 
 study to transmit an unsullied name. 
 There is no desire of wealth, no ambition 
 that could keep me from all my soul 
 holds dear. No ; it is to save my country, 
 my wife, in the eye of God, &c." 
 
 About two months afterwards, his Lord- 
 ship expressed himself in these terms : 
 " As for old Queensberry, he may put you 
 into his will, or scratch you out, as he 
 pleases: I care not. If Mr. Addington 
 gives you a pension, it is well ; but do not 
 let it fret you. Have you not Merton ? It 
 is clear— the first purchase — and my dear 
 Horatia is provided for; and I hope one 
 of these days that you will be my own 
 Duchess of Bronte ; and then a fig for them 
 all ! — I am glad to find, my dear Emma, 
 that you mean to take Horatia home. Aye ! 
 she is like her mother; will have her own 
 way, or kick up a devil of a dust. But you 
 will cure her : I am afraid I should spoil 
 her; for I am sure I would shoot any one 
 who would hurt her." 
 
 It appears that Lady Hamilton at this 
 time had formed the romantic scheme of 
 leaving England, accompanied by the niece 
 
300 MEMOIRS OP 
 
 of Nelson, Horatia, and Oliver, with the 
 view of being received on board the Vic- 
 tory ; but much as the Admiral desired a 
 meeting, he had too much good sense to 
 accede to so imprudent a measure, espe- 
 cially as he had himself given orders that 
 no women should be carried to sea in his 
 ship. His remonstrance on this subject 
 was tender, but firm and judicious. " I 
 know my own dear Emma," said he, " if 
 she will let her reason have fair play, will 
 say I am right : but she is, like Horatia, 
 very angry if she cannot have her own way. 
 Her Nelson is called upon, in the most 
 honourable manner, to defend his country ! 
 Absence to us is equally painful: but if I 
 had either stayed at home, or neglected my 
 duty abroad, would not my Emma have 
 blushed for me ? She could never have 
 heard of my praises ; and how the country 
 
 looks up I am writing, my dear 
 
 Emma, to reason the point with you ; and 
 I am sure you will see it in its true light." 
 These sentiments did credit to the un- 
 derstanding of the writer, and it would have 
 been happy if he had acted with equal stea- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 301 
 
 diness in every instance where his judg- 
 ment had to contend with his passions. 
 Lady Hamilton led a life of such extrava- 
 gance at this period, that the allowance 
 which she enjoyed from his Lordship, and 
 the annuity derived from the will of her 
 husband, proved inadequate to the supply 
 of her wants. Surrounded by a set of 
 needy parasites, both her house in town, as 
 well as that in Surry, exhibited a continual 
 round of luxury and gaiety, that could not 
 be supported even by the liberal means 
 which she possessed, and the occasional 
 presents she received. His Lordship fre- 
 quently gave her some gentle monitions on 
 the necessity of economy, and the propriety 
 of living more at Merton than in London, 
 because it would be attended with less ex- 
 pense. The watering-places also, to which 
 her Ladyship was in the habit of going in 
 the summer months, gave him some unea- 
 siness, on account of the charges which 
 attended these excursions: but so long as 
 they did Emma service, he consoled him- 
 self under the pressure, at the same time 
 observing that " it was expedient to be 
 
302 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 great economists, to make both ends meet, 
 and to carry on the intended improvements 
 at Merton." The following is a good re- 
 mark, but it was lost upon the person to 
 whom it was addressed : " Your good, 
 angelic heart, my dearest beloved Emma* 
 will fully agree with me: every thing is 
 very expensive ; and even we find it, and 
 will be obliged to economise, if we assist 
 our friends: and I am sure we should feel 
 more comfort in it than in loaded tables, 
 and entertaining a set of people who care 
 not for us." 
 
 But his fair angelic friend was of a very 
 different opinion, and all his moralizing on 
 order and frugality was wholly thrown 
 away, as he found to his vexation, though 
 nothing could operate upon his infatuated 
 mind to lay any restraint upon her conduct. 
 He saw, however, enough in this impru- 
 dence of the mother to make it necessary 
 to provide a permanent settlement for the 
 child, that she might not be too great a 
 sufferer by parental folly. His Lordship 
 thus mentions the subject in March, 1804: 
 " I shall, when I come home, settle four 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 303 
 
 thousand pounds in trustees' hands for 
 Horatia ; for I will not put it in my own 
 power to have her left destitute : for she 
 would want friends, if we left her in this 
 world. She shall be independent of any 
 smiles or frowns !" 
 
 This resolution he was happily enabled 
 to accomplish, and thus the child of his 
 dearest affections was secured from that 
 misery into which she would most proba- 
 bly have fallen but for this moderate pro- 
 vision ; since from the liberality of the 
 family to which she had an equivocal rela- 
 tion she could hardly hope for any support. 
 It would have added to the prudence of 
 the measure if Nelson had taken care also 
 to preserve Merton for the child; and no 
 doubt it was his opinion that by this pur- 
 chase he had effectually provided an asy- 
 lum for her in the event of losing her parents. 
 The manner in which Lady Hamilton de- 
 ported herself, and the company she kept, 
 might have taught him the propriety of 
 some proceedings for this purpose; but 
 whenever demands were made upon him, 
 he found it impossible to resist them, though 
 
304 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 he fretted within himself, and vented his 
 murmurs of disapprobation to the person 
 who, while she occasioned his embarrass- 
 ments, had no feeling for his uneasiness. 
 
 One method which she had of gaining 
 her point was by alarming the fears of 
 Nelson with insinuations concerning the 
 great offers that she pretended to have re- 
 ceived from noblemen of high distinction. 
 These intimations, which were the mere 
 coinage of her invention, had the effect 
 desired on his Lordship's mind, and made 
 him still more dutiful and attentive to the 
 commands of this artful and rapacious 
 woman. Among others whose civilities 
 she contrived to turn to an advantage in 
 this manner was the late Duke of Queens- 
 berry, who followed her, as he did every 
 handsome woman that came in his way, 
 with as much assiduity as if he had been 
 in the prime of his days. At Merton and 
 in Piccadilly this silly old man was quite 
 delighted with the enchanting attitudes and 
 vocal powers of the lively widow, who on 
 her part was not backward in using every 
 art to please the amorous dotard. Nelson, 
 
•v\:v 
 
 
 LADY HAMILTON. 305 
 
 however, had discernment enough not to 
 be afraid of any serious proposal coming 
 from that quarter, for he knew that the 
 Duke, whatever might be his propensities, 
 was a determined enemy to matrimony, of 
 which institution he generally spoke with 
 contempt. But the presents which were 
 made to this nobleman, with the express 
 view of propitiating his good graces in be- 
 half of Lady Hamilton, and to secure the 
 remembrance of her in his will, did little 
 honour to the persons from whom they 
 came, and who in their correspondence 
 treated him with unmeasured ridicule. 
 
 While Nelson was in the Mediterranean, 
 he discovered, what he might have found 
 out long before, if his passion had not 
 blinded his judgment, that there was no 
 real principle of friendship in the Queen of 
 Naples for his beloved Emma, though her 
 Majesty had vowed towards that lady " eter- 
 nal gratitude." To all his letters on the 
 subject of the necessities of Lady Hamil- 
 ton, and the strong claims which she urged 
 on her behalf, the Queen returned very 
 ambiguous answers, which drew from his 
 x 
 
306 MEMOIRS Of 
 
 Lordship some severe observations on her 
 character and conduct; while Lady Hamilton 
 avenged herself by relations of the Queen's 
 amours, in doing which she had not wit 
 enough to perceive that she was at the same 
 instant bringing her own reputation under 
 suspicion, for having been so long asso- 
 ciated with a personage of that description. 
 But during this year she had various 
 causes of vexation, and multiplied evi- 
 dences that the esteem of Nelson could not 
 secure the attachment of her old friends ; 
 for a violent quarrel arose between her 
 Ladyship and Mr. Greville about the con- 
 struction of his uncle's will, and the pay- 
 ment of her annuity. The business was 
 indeed settled, but not much to the satis- 
 faction of her Ladyship ; and the admiral 
 was so greatly provoked at the intelligence, 
 that he was almost tempted to urge a suit 
 at law. 
 
 But one of the most extraordinary in- 
 stances of human weakness appears in the 
 following letter, which Nelson at this time 
 wrote to his child, who was then only three 
 years old : 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 307 
 
 Victory, April 13*/;, 1804. 
 " My dear Horatia, 
 " I send you twelve books of Spanish 
 dresses, which you will let your guardian 
 angel, Lady Hamilton, keep for you when 
 you are tired of looking at them. I am 
 very glad to hear that you are perfectly re- 
 covered, and that you are a very good child. 
 I beg, my dear Horatia, that you will al- 
 ways continue so; which will be a great 
 comfort to your most affectionate 
 
 Nelson and Bronte/' 
 
 At the same time he sent a letter to his 
 niece, in which he mentions this child in 
 the following manner: — " I feel truly sen- 
 sible of your kind regard for that dear little 
 orphan, Horatia. Although her parents 
 are lost, yet she is not without a fortune: 
 and I shall cherish her to the last moment 
 of my life ; and curse them who curse her, 
 and Heaven bless them who bless her ! 
 Dear innocent ! she can have injured no 
 one. I am glad to hear that she is attached 
 to you ; and, if she takes after her parents, 
 so she will to those who are kind to her/' 
 x 2 
 
308 MEMOIRS or 
 
 There was certainly a degree of duplicity 
 in writing thus to a female relation, on a 
 subject which did not require any corres- 
 pondence at all ; but there was a much 
 greater meanness in suffering this young 
 lady to reside in a dependent capacity with 
 Lady Hamilton, whose dissipated turn of 
 mind was well known to all the visitors at 
 Merton. Whatever were the accomplish* 
 ments of her Ladyship in other respects, 
 few persons, who had any regard for the 
 substantial attainments which constitute 
 the great excellence of the female charac- 
 ter, would for any consideration have placed 
 a favourite daughter in such a family. 
 
 The company at this place was of a de- 
 scription not very likely to improve the 
 morals or to enlarge the mind of a young 
 person ; for here might be found Italian 
 singers and English performers, newspaper 
 editors, and miserable poetasters, adven- 
 turers without character, and ladies whose 
 names were no recommendation at court. 
 Much has been said of the great loyalty of 
 Lady Hamilton ; and her advocates have 
 expatiated on this supposed virtue; but if 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 309 
 
 she really merited the encomiums which 
 have been so extravagantly paid her on this 
 account, she would hardly have encouraged 
 the most rancorous party writers, virulent 
 satirists, and determined republicans, at her 
 table. The names of these persons could 
 easily be mentioned, and the author of 
 this memoir is neither unacquainted with 
 the freedom of the conversation which took 
 place at the orgies of Merton-place, nor 
 with the communications which were there 
 made on political subjects. 
 
 At the beginning of the year 1S05, this 
 woman had the vanity and impudence, 
 when writing to Mr. Alexander Davidson, 
 to subjoin what she properly enough called 
 " some of her bad verses on her soul's idol !" 
 Disagreeable as it is to dwell upon this 
 shocking connexion, to which so many 
 persons gave their countenance* whose si- 
 tuations in life called for another line of 
 behaviour, the present volume would be 
 incomplete without this specimen of Lady 
 Hamilton's poetical talents, and of the 
 delicacy of her moral principles, for both 
 which she has been celebrated by her flat- 
 terers : 
 
310 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 EMMA TO NELSON. 
 
 I think I have not lost my heart, 
 
 Since I with truth can swear. 
 At every moment of my life, 
 
 I feel my Nelson there ! 
 
 If from thine Emma's breast, her heart 
 
 Were stolen, or flown away, 
 Where, where, should she my Nelson's love 
 
 Record, each happy day ? 
 
 If from thine Emma's breast, her heart 
 
 Were stolen, or flown away, 
 Where, where, should she engrave, my love! 
 
 Each tender word you say ? 
 
 Where, where, should Emma treasure up 
 
 Her Nelson's smiles and sighs ? 
 Where mark with joy each secret look 
 
 Of love from Nelson's eyes ? 
 
 Then do not rob me of my heart, 
 
 Unless you first forsake it; 
 And then so wretched it would be, 
 
 Despair alone will take it. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 311 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 Fair laughs the morn, and soft the zephyr blows, 
 While proudly riding o'er the azure realm, 
 
 In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes; 
 
 Youth on the prow, and pleasure at the helm; 
 
 Regardless of the sweeping whirlwind's sway, 
 
 That hush'd in grim repose expects his coming prey. 
 
 Gray. 
 
 When Lord Nelson arrived at Ports- 
 mouth, after his unsuccessful pursuit of the 
 combined French and Spanish fleets, in 
 August, 1805, Lady Hamilton was at 
 Southend with Mrs. Billington and Ho- 
 ratia ; but on receiving the agreeable intel- 
 ligence, she hastened tu Merton, where the 
 rest of his Lordship's family also assembled 
 to welcome the hero. One person, indeed, 
 was wanting ; nor did any mediating voice 
 offer a soothing word to induce the gallant 
 admiral to see his lady, even as an old ac- 
 
312 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 quaintance ; and it is a melancholy fact that 
 she never had a single interview with him 
 during his last residence in England. But 
 at Merton all was gaiety on this joyous oc- 
 casion, and crowds of visitors went thither 
 every day to pay their respects to his Lord- 
 ship, and the ascendant who ruled his af- 
 fections. Such was the morality which 
 distinguished the zealous admirers of this 
 great man, that they appeared to have laid 
 aside in his presence those feelings which 
 usually actuate honourable minds, on wit- 
 nessing scenes of impurity, and being obliged 
 to endure, for a moment, the company of 
 women who have lost all sense of shame. 
 That any of the persons thus admitted to a 
 familiar intercourse with the noble owner of 
 Merton-place, and the lady who presided 
 at his table, could be ignorant of the attach- 
 ment which subsisted between them, can- 
 not be supposed, since it is well known that 
 neither of the parties took the precaution 
 of casting the slightest veil over their con- 
 nexion. On the contrary, they both gloried 
 in it, and it was customary for his Lordship, 
 at receiving his visitors, to introduce them 
 
LADY HAMILTON. SIS 
 
 to the mistress of the place, " who unfor- 
 tunately," to use his own phrase, " was 
 not yet Lady Nelson." 
 
 When this brave man was at Naples, he 
 expressed his contempt of that court as 
 being the "seat of fiddlers and poets, whores 
 and scoundrels;" yet it is no less strange 
 than true, that his house at Merton exhi- 
 bited frequently groups of characters not a 
 whit more respectable than those whom he 
 so emphatically described in Italy. Opera 
 singers and ballad makers, foreign noble- 
 men and their mistresses, with English 
 players, gamblers, and musicians, were the 
 favourite guests of Lady Hamilton ; though 
 no doubt the qualities and pursuits of some 
 of these personages were studiously con- 
 cealed from the knowledge of his Lordship, 
 It may, however, well excite surprise, that 
 he should not have felt disgusted at the sy- 
 cophants who surrounded his table, and 
 whose manners, for the most part, were as 
 coarse as their principles. But so long as 
 Emma was gratified by the adulation which 
 she received, her noble friend appeared to 
 be under an obligation to the persons who 
 
314 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 bestowed it, especially as he enjoyed a large 
 portion of the incense. 
 
 Among other persons who were enter- 
 tained at Merton was Dr. Wolcot, generally 
 known by his poetical appellation of Peter 
 Pindar. This eccentric character, having 
 indulged rather freely one evening in his fa- 
 vourite potation, set fire to his night-cap on 
 going to bed. The cap belonged to Lord 
 Nelson, and the next morning the bard 
 pinned a paper to it with these lines: 
 
 Take your nighf-cap again, my good Lord, I desire; 
 
 For I wish not to keep it a minute: 
 What belongs to a Nelson, where'er there's a fire, 
 
 Is sure to be instantly in it. 
 
 It had long been the desire of Nelson that 
 Lady Hamilton should take Horatia home 
 to live with her; and this she not only en- 
 gaged to do in her letters, but she actually 
 informed him that the child was settled at 
 Merton, which circumstance did not hap- 
 pen till his return, because her Ladyship 
 was unwilling to have such a restraint on 
 her amusements as this charge would ne- 
 cessarily have occasioned. But at this pe- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 315 
 
 riod, the child was fixed with her, and a 
 small settlement was made for life on the 
 person who had brought her up. Insigni- 
 ficant as such circumstances may seem, 
 they serve to throw light on the history of 
 this extraordinary connexion, as well as on 
 the characters of those who were the depo- 
 sitories of the hero's confidence. 
 
 The present Earl perhaps may recollect 
 who it was that, after the death of his bro- 
 ther, ordered the nurse to hand over to him 
 the instrument by which the annuity was 
 settled upon her, and the bitterness with 
 which the poor woman was treated for 
 bringing only a copy of the deed, which, on 
 receiving, he hurried out of the room ; but 
 when he discovered that this was not the 
 original, he hastened back, and behaved 
 with such outrage as to hurt the feelings of 
 his own wife, who was insulted by him for 
 taking the poor woman's part. 
 
 That document was framed under Lord 
 Nelson's inspection by his own solicitor 
 and executor; its validity therefore required 
 no proof: nor was it doubtful for what ser- 
 vices the grant had been made. This of 
 
316 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 course is an additional testimony to the fact 
 that the child was admitted by the admiral 
 to be his own ; though, if the slightest shade 
 of uncertainty could be supposed to exist 
 in the mind of any unbiassed person, it 
 must be removed by this codicil to his will : 
 fC I give and bequeath to Miss Horatia 
 Nelson Thompson, who was baptized on the 
 13th of May last, in the parish of St. Mary- 
 le-bone, in the county of Middlesex, by 
 Benjamin Lawrence, curate, and John Wil- 
 lock, assistant clerk, (and who 1 acknow- 
 ledge as my adopted daughter) the sum of 
 «£4,000 sterling money of Great Britain, to 
 be paid at the expiration of six months after 
 my decease, or sooner, if possible ; and I 
 leave my dearest friend Emma, Lady Ha- 
 milton, sole guardian of the said Horatia 
 Nelson Thompson, until she shall have ar- 
 rived at the age of eighteen years ; and the 
 interest of the said a£4-,000 to be paid to 
 Lady Hamilton, for her education and main- 
 tenance. This request of guardianship I 
 earnestly make of Lady Hamilton, knowing 
 that she will educate my adopted child in 
 the paths of religion and virtue, and give 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 317 
 
 her the accomplishments which so much 
 adorn herself, and, I hope, make her a fit 
 wife for my dear nephew, Horatio Nelson, 
 who I wish to marry her, if he proves wor- 
 thy, in Lady Hamilton's estimation, of such 
 a treasure as I am sure she will be." 
 
 Infatuated as this extraordinary man un- 
 questionably was by the delusions which 
 were so cunningly cast over his mind, still 
 it is clear, from this expressive declaration 
 of his sentiments, that in truth he regarded 
 the child in the nearest possible light; for, 
 had she been an orphan cast upon his 
 bountv, he would have stated who were 
 her parents ; and, if she had been the off- 
 spring of any obscure persons, he would 
 hardly have recommended, her in the way 
 he did to his nephew, of whom he was al- 
 ways very fond. The impudent writer of 
 the memoirs of Lord Nelson, composed 
 under the inspection of Lady Hamilton, 
 allows plainly enough that this was his 
 Lordship's child ; though he insinuates at 
 the same time that the mother was dead at 
 the time when that scandalous account was 
 published. But if this was the case, why 
 
318 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 was not the name of the woman mentioned ; 
 and how happened it that no one ever 
 claimed any parental relation to the infant, 
 from the time of its birth, except Lord Nel- 
 son and Lady Hamilton ? But to put this 
 matter beyond all doubt, a passage from one 
 of his Lordship's last letters to the woman 
 who had alienated him from his connubial 
 duties will shew the entire conviction 
 which he had that this child constituted 
 the link that united him to the object of his 
 admiration. " I intreat, my dear Emma/' 
 says he, " that you will cheer up : and we 
 will look forward to many, many happy 
 years, and be surrounded by our children's 
 children. God Almighty can, when he 
 pleases, remove the impediment." 
 
 Shocking and profane as the last obser- 
 vation is, for it could have only one mean- 
 ing, that which precedes it is an express 
 acknowledgment that there was then ex- 
 isting a living pledge of their mutual attach- 
 ment ; for, otherwise, the language is abso- 
 lute nonsense. In speaking of children, his 
 Lordship could not allude to the distant 
 prospect of a union after the death of his 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 319 
 
 wife; for both he and Lady Hamilton were 
 now arrived at a period when issue was 
 hardly to be expected. His cheering re- 
 mark, therefore, must have been grounded 
 on the object which they already enjoyed, 
 and the fond hope that the honours of Nel- 
 son would descend to the fruits of that 
 alliance which his Lordship had projected 
 between his nephew and the child whom 
 he called his adopted daughter. 
 
 The author of the scandalous memoirs 
 has spoken of the loves of these persons in 
 terms of admiration ; though he allows that 
 had Lady Nelson died, their marriage 
 would certainly have taken place. Now 
 this hireling knew, for he had the docu- 
 ments before him at the time, that, while 
 Sir William Hamilton was living, a corres- 
 pondence was carried on between his lady 
 and Nelson, which went far beyond the 
 limits of innocent esteem and virtuous 
 friendship. 
 
 Here we are compelled reluctantly once 
 more to notice that abominable insult upon 
 all truth and modesty, because it exhibits 
 another atrocious instance of her Ladyship's 
 
320 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 utter want of integrity and delicacy, even 
 where the honour of her hero was particu- 
 larly affected by the story which she in- 
 vented. Not content with evincing the 
 unqualified supremacy which she had over 
 the heart of Nelson, this intriguing woman 
 was resolved to participate in the glory 
 which exclusively belonged to him, and to 
 have her share of the laurels which he so 
 proudly earned. As she pretended to have 
 contributed most effectually to the victory 
 of Aboukir by her influence in Sicily, so 
 she had the hardihood to claim the merit 
 of having been the cause of that at Tra- 
 falgar. To substantiate this assumption, 
 she dictated to her amanuensis at Merton 
 the following tale, which appeared first in 
 the historical romance published by Lady 
 Hamilton's means ; and, what is still worse, 
 it has been most imprudently copied from 
 thence into Southey's Life of Nelson. The 
 story is as follows : " When Captain Black- 
 wood arrived at Merton with the news that 
 the combined fleets had arrived at Cadiz, 
 Lord Nelson is stated to have treated it 
 lightly, having no intention to go to sea 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 321 
 
 again, and contenting himself with saying, 
 • Let the man trudge it who has lost his 
 budget :' but," observes the narrator, 
 " amid all this allegro of the tongue to his 
 friends at Merton-place, Lady Hamilton 
 observed that his countenance, from that 
 moment, wore occasional marks of the 
 penseroso in his bosom. In this state of 
 mind he was pacing one of the walks of 
 Merton garden, which he always called the 
 quarter-deck, when Lady Hamilton told 
 him that she perceived he was low and 
 uneasy. He smiled and said, — 6 No ! I am 
 as happy as possible:' adding, that he saw 
 himself surrounded by his family ; that he 
 found his health better since he had been 
 at Merton; and that he would not give 
 a sixpence to call the king his uncle. Her 
 Ladyship replied, that she did not believe 
 what he said ; and that she would tell him 
 what was the matter with him. That he 
 was longing to get at these French and 
 Spanish fleets; that he considered them as 
 his property, and would be miserable if any 
 other man but himself did the business; 
 that he must have them as the price and 
 
 Y 
 
322 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 reward of his long watching, and two years 
 uncomfortable situation in the Mediterra- 
 nean ; and finished by saying, — e Nelson, 
 however we may lament your absence, and 
 your so speedily leaving us, offer your ser- 
 vices immediately to go off Cadiz : they 
 will be accepted, and you will gain a quiet 
 heart by it. You will have a glorious vic- 
 tory ; and then you may come here, have 
 your otium cum dignitate, and be happy/ 
 He looked at her Ladyship for some mo- 
 ments ; and, with tears in his eyes, ex- 
 claimed,—' Brave Emma ! good Emma ! if 
 there were more Emmas, there would be 
 more Nelsons. You have penetrated my 
 thoughts. I wish all you say, but was 
 afraid to trust even myself with reflecting 
 on the subject. However, I will go to 
 town.' He went accordingly, next morn- 
 ing, accompanied by her Ladyship, and his 
 sisters. They left him at the Admiralty, 
 on the way to Lady Hamilton's house in 
 Claries Street ; and soon after received a 
 note, informing them that the Victory was 
 telegraphed not to. go into port, and begging 
 they would prepare every thing for his de- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 323 
 
 parture. This," says the biographer, " is 
 the true history of that affecting affair. 
 Her Ladyship feels, most severely, that she 
 was the cause of his going : but as she 
 loved his glory, she could not resist giving 
 him such advice/' 
 
 Now in all this history, as the writer 
 calls it, there is not one particle of truth ; 
 for Captain Blackwood called at Merton 
 by appointment, to apprise him of the news; 
 immediately on which, and before Lady 
 Hamilton knew any thing of the matter, his 
 Lordship expressed his satisfaction at the 
 intelligence, being convinced that he should 
 be able to give Villeneuve a drubbing. He 
 accordingly began to arrange matters for 
 his departure ; having, indeed, already held 
 consultations with the Admiralty on the 
 subject. Bound, as Nelson was, in the 
 fascinating arms of his Dalilah, he had not 
 lost his sense of public duty, nor his love 
 of glory. But though he cannot, in justice, 
 be deprived of the merit of having acted 
 with perfect freedom of mind, in following 
 the call of honour to the last wreath which 
 it procured him, yet a melancholy evidence 
 y 2 
 
324 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 appeared under his own hand to prove how 
 completely his affections remained spell- 
 bound to the last day of his existence. In 
 the morning, when he was preparing for 
 action, with the enemy in view, he drew 
 up the following statement, as a kind of 
 testamentary bequest. 
 
 " Whereas the eminent services of Emma 
 Hamilton, widow of the Right Honourable 
 Sir William Hamilton, have been of the 
 very greatest service to our king and coun- 
 try, to my knowledge, without her receiv- 
 ing any reward from either our king or 
 country : 
 
 " First, that she obtained the King of 
 Spain's letter, in 1796, to his brother the 
 King of Naples, acquainting him of his 
 inclination to declare war against England; 
 from which letter the ministry sent out 
 orders to the then Sir John Jervis, to strike 
 a stroke, if opportunity afforded, against 
 either the arsenals of Spain, or her fleets: 
 that neither of these was done, is not the 
 fault of Lady Hamilton ; the opportunity 
 might have been offered. 
 
 " Secondly, the British fleet under my 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 325 
 
 command could never have returned the 
 second time to Egypt, had not Lady Hamil- 
 ton's influence with the Queen of Naples 
 caused letters to be wrote to the governor 
 of Syracuse, that he was to encourage the 
 fleet being supplied with every thing, 
 should they put into any port in Sicily. 
 We put into Syracuse, and received every 
 supply; went to Egypt, and destroyed the 
 French fleet. 
 
 " Could I have rewarded these services, 
 I would not now call upon my country. 
 But as that has not been in my power, I 
 leave Emma Hamilton, therefore, a legacy 
 to my king and country ; that they will 
 give her an ample provision to maintain her 
 rank in life. 
 
 " 1 also leave to the beneficence of my 
 country my adopted daughter, Horatia 
 Nelson Thompson ; and I desire she will 
 use, in future, the name of Nelson only. 
 
 " These are the only favours I ask of my 
 king and country, at this moment, when I 
 am going to fight their battle. 
 
 <r May God bless my king and country, 
 and all those I hold dear ! My relations it 
 
326 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 is needless to mention ; they will, of course, 
 be amply provided for." 
 
 That his Lordship felt the truth of what 
 is stated in this paper cannot be questioned ; 
 but it has been already seen that her Lady- 
 ship's merits, even as here represented, 
 were greatly overrated ; and that in reality 
 she had no claims at all for acts which her 
 husband ought to have performed ; while 
 of the first it may be said, that however 
 adroitly it was managed, it had more art in 
 it than honesty. 
 
 When it was ascertained that the wound 
 which Nelson received was mortal, his 
 thoughts fluctuated wholly between his 
 glory and his love. " I am going fast," said 
 he: " it will be all over with me soon. 
 Let my dear Lady Hamilton have my hair, 
 and all other things belonging to me. v 
 Afterwards he observed, " What would 
 become of poor Lady Hamilton if she knew 
 my situation !" On being informed of the 
 number of ships captured, he expressed his 
 satisfaction, and then reverting again to the 
 subject most interesting to his mind, he 
 said, <f Take care of my dear Lady Hamil- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 327 
 
 ton, Hardy : take care of poor Lady Hamil- 
 ton." Among his last words were these: 
 " Doctor, remember me to Lady Hamilton, 
 remember me to Horatia! Tell her I have 
 made a will, and left her a legacy to my 
 country." 
 
 Thus fell that illustrious commander, of 
 whom, if we have been compelled to relate 
 some circumstances that cast a shade over 
 his private character, it has solely risen 
 from the necessity of obeying the voice of 
 truth, and of doing justice to the cause of 
 injured virtue; not from a wish to wound 
 the feelings of the living, or to disparage 
 the real merits of the dead. 
 
 m 
 
328 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 0> 
 
 When you are liberal of your loves and counsels, 
 Be sure you are not loose : those you make friends. 
 And give your hearts to, when they once perceive 
 The least rub in your fortunes, fall away 
 Like water from ye, never found again 
 But where they mean to sink ye. 
 
 ShAkspeare. 
 
 The death of Nelson had a prodigious 
 effect upon the public mind, and the grief 
 at his loss was equal to the exultation pro- 
 duced by his victory : yet his beloved 
 Emma could not help mixing much affec- 
 tation with her real sorrow; and while she 
 lamented the breach which had dried up 
 the great stream of her pleasure and ambi- 
 tion, she made such a parade of her con- 
 cern as tended to excite a suspicion that 
 her affliction arose more from a sense of 
 disappointment than from real affection to 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 329 
 
 the hero. Of this, indeed, a striking in- 
 stance appeared in her conduct at the thea- 
 tre, when Braham brought forward the 
 favourite song of the " Death of Nelson," 
 in the opera of " Thirty Thousand." Her 
 Ladyship was present at the very first re- 
 presentation, and at the conclusion of the 
 song she fainted away. The house of course 
 was thrown into confusion, and her Lady- 
 ship was conveyed to a private apartment 
 till she recovered. She attended at the 
 second performance, and again fainted. The 
 same scene was exhibited on the third night, 
 and likewise on the fourth, till at length 
 the managers, expecting the regular return 
 of this exhibition, prepared for it, adding 
 to hartshorn and other restoratives a cor- 
 dial of greater potency. The plain truth 
 is, the whole was a mere trick, for she 
 always contrived to secure one'of the most 
 conspicuous seats in the house, with the 
 obvious design of playing her part to the 
 greatest advantage. 
 
 The manner in which Lord Nelson remem- 
 bered her Ladyship in his will had a pow- 
 erful effect no doubt in consoling her mind 
 
% 
 
 330 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 under the loss she had sustained by his 
 death ; and the neglect which it produced 
 on the part of those who out of complaisance 
 to him had been accustomed to treat her 
 with superabundant kindness, was some- 
 what alleviated by the conviction that her 
 dominion over him was not shaken even 
 by the terrors of dissolution. 
 
 Her picture- and that of Horatia adorned 
 his cabin, and these objects were contem- 
 plated by him with as much delight as the 
 representations of saints are beheld by the 
 devout Romanist. Here let us close the 
 catalogue of Nelson's infirmities, and the 
 mournful, display of his inexcusable fail- 
 ings; but before the curtain is drawn over 
 the weak part of his character, it is neces- 
 sary, for the great end of moral instruction, 
 that a caveat should be entered against that 
 unpardonable but too common error of 
 making the splendour of great actions and 
 transcendent talents an excuse for aberra- 
 tions from the line of private duty, and the 
 still more shameful practice of setting off 
 occasional fits of devotion, and instances of 
 liberality, as an atonement for habitual 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 331 
 
 adultery. That this extraordinary man had 
 a general reverence for religion, and that 
 he possessed many excellent qualities of 
 the heart and understanding, cannot be 
 denied ; yet, amidst all this, it must be said 
 of him that he was not so much a virtuous 
 man as an admirer of virtue, and that reli- 
 gion in him was not an active operating 
 principle, but a fluctuating sentiment of 
 mental feeling. 
 
 It is greatly to be lamented that few if 
 any exertions were made by those who 
 enjoyed his confidence to draw him from 
 that perilous situation into which he had 
 been deluded ; while, on the contrary, it 
 seemed to be the study of them all to en- 
 courage him in his folly, by redoubling their 
 attentions to the enchantress who had be- 
 witched him, in proportion as they saw 
 that he was gratified by these courtesies. 
 His nearest relations, instead of being scan- 
 dalized by the connexion which he had 
 formed, were eager to gain his favour by 
 courting the smites of his mistress ; and 
 while his unoffending wife was left to pick 
 up the casual pity and consolations of 
 
33 c 2 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 strangers, the woman who had succeeded in 
 exiling her from the house and heart of her 
 lord revelled in luxury, surrounded by all 
 the branches of the family, vying with 
 each other for her friendship, and ambitious 
 of the honour of receiving her into their 
 habitations. 
 
 But no sooner did the moving power 
 cease by which these persons were stimu- 
 lated to cultivate the good opinion of a 
 female, who had a sovereign contempt for 
 the laws by which the social relations are 
 preserved, than they all gradually dropped 
 the mask, and abandoned the fascinating 
 Emma, because she could no longer further 
 their views, or promote their interest. 
 
 Some who had lived under her roof for 
 months, and even years, who were enter- 
 tained daily at her table, where they laughed 
 at her witticisms, and were enraptured by 
 her melodies, slunk away, as if they were 
 anxious to disc :rd her from their memories. 
 Nay, there were not wanting others, who, 
 after seeking her company with the most 
 ardent professions of esteem, and feeling 
 proud of her correspondence, now turned 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 333 
 
 the heel upon her, and took a pleasure in 
 magnifying her errors, forgetting that in so 
 doing they condemned themselves for the 
 want of delicacy, candour, and gratitude. 
 
 While her admirer lived, these birds of 
 passage had no dislike to the hospitalities 
 which she delighted to afford, but his death 
 produced a wonderful alteration in their 
 sense of propriety, and in the expression of 
 their feelings. Their conduct plainly indi- 
 cated by what principles they had been 
 guided in seeking for the acquaintance of a 
 woman on whom they now turned their 
 backs, and whose character was thus ad- 
 mitted by themselves to have been unde- 
 serving of esteem at the very period when 
 she was the object of their flattery. 
 
 All these proofs, however, of the capa- 
 ciousness of that friendship which results 
 from mercenary motives, failed to operate 
 on the mind of Emma, in producing a 
 change of manners, and an attention to 
 economy. Even the extinction of her 
 fondest hope, by the catastrophe of the 
 hero to whom she was attached, had not 
 the effect of correcting her love of pleasure, 
 
334 ' MEMOIRS OF 
 
 or of moderating her propensity to extrava- 
 gance. She strove to counteract the mor- 
 tification produced by the contemptuous 
 neglect which she experienced in one quar- 
 ter, by enlarging the circle of her acquaint- 
 ance. In the choice of these new friends 
 she certainly was far from being over scru- 
 pulous, and none who felt any concern 
 about the moral qualities of their associates 
 would have been much at their ease in the 
 companies that were usually assembled at 
 Merton-place. The consequence of all this 
 was soon felt in the embarrassments occa- 
 sioned by the wanton profusion and indis- 
 criminate waste which prevailed in her 
 household, when the reservoir that had 
 formerly supplied the means of indulgence 
 was dried up. With ordinary prudence, 
 indeed, the income which she derived 
 from the settlement of her husband, and the 
 donations of her noble admirer, would have 
 been amply sufficient for her support in a 
 style fully commensurate with her rank 
 and pretensions. But the cast of charac- 
 ters which she delighted in consisted of 
 creatures whose sole object was to devour 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 533 
 
 all that came within their reach : and while 
 they fastened like locusts upon the fertile 
 spot which allured their presence, the mo- 
 ment that a change took place in its cir- 
 cumstances, they were the first to fly away. 
 There were indeed two or three persons 
 who offered their advice to this improvi- 
 dent woman, with the view of turning her 
 from this course of dissipation and ruin ; 
 but all their counsels were thrown away, 
 till the clamours of creditors became too 
 numerous to be slighted, and their measures 
 too hostile to admit of compromise or de- 
 lay. Within a few years after the death 
 of Lord Nelson, an account was taken of 
 her Ladyship's debts, by three gentlemen 
 of reputation ; and it being found that she 
 owed about eighteen thousand pounds, it 
 was deemed necessary to dispose of the 
 effects in Surry, as well as the property in 
 London, by which about a surplus of little 
 more than two thousand pounds was saved 
 from the wreck. This was a lesson which 
 ought to have made a deep impression on 
 the most thoughtless mind : but though 
 the person who had been so severely taught 
 
336 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 still possessed more than one thousand 
 pounds a-year, she soon contracted fresh 
 debts, by continuing to pursue the same 
 career of folly. About this time her mother 
 died, at an advanced age, in private lodg- 
 ings in Bond Street ; and her remains were 
 interred in the new burying ground at Pad- 
 dington. 
 
 It is at least some relief from the gene- 
 ral disgust excited by the consideration of 
 a scene of levity, that there was one feature 
 of virtue uniformly perceptible through the 
 complicated course of deception, volup- 
 tuousness, and depravity ; for through the 
 whole of her life, Emma behaved with the 
 most dutiful regard to her parent, of whom 
 she was not ashamed, even when her table 
 was graced by persons of high distinction. 
 Let this then be remembered to her praise, 
 when the flagitiousness of her conduct in 
 wounding the peace of an excellent woman, 
 and tarnishing the laurels of a hero, who 
 butforthose arts which she practised would 
 have shone with unspotted lustre, shall be 
 mentioned with regret and indignation. 
 
 After the death of Nelson, Lady Hamir- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 337 
 
 ton was extremely piqued at the munificent 
 grants which were showered by parliament 
 upon the several members of his family, 
 while all her claims, and the recommenda- 
 tions of the departed chief, were disregarded. 
 The declaration, in the form of a codicil, 
 which his Lordship drew up, and attested 
 in her favour, the last day of his life, having 
 been delivered to his brother, was kept by 
 him till the earldom and the parliamentary 
 rewards were all settled ; and then, with an 
 air of triumph, he threw her the paper, be- 
 cause he knew that it could be of no other 
 use to her than as an additional proof of the 
 hold which she maintained to the last over 
 the heart of the illustrious writer. This, in- 
 deed, was but a bad return for all the kind- 
 ness which the new lord had experienced 
 himself, and particularly for the liberal man- 
 ner in which his daughter had been enter- 
 tained at Merton, where she was a settled 
 resident several years. But nothing bet- 
 ter could well be expected of one, who, 
 after his advancement to the peerage, with 
 its lucrative consequences, continued to 
 hold tenaciously his ecclesiastical prefer- 
 z 
 
338 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ment, in opposition to his brother's dying 
 request, that it might be relinquished in 
 favour of the friend who attended him in 
 his last moments. This, therefore, is one 
 instance among many which might be ad- 
 duced to shew, that whatever be the policy 
 and justice of acting liberally towards those 
 who greatly distinguish themselves in the 
 cause of their country, there ought to be 
 some prudence and discrimination in ap- 
 portioning national honours and rewards. 
 When a brave commander falls in battle, 
 let his widow and children, if he has any, 
 be properly remunerated ; but there surely 
 is little wisdom in conferring high distinc- 
 tions and immense grants upon collateral 
 branches of the family, without considering 
 whether they have either virtue or talents 
 that may entitle them to such favours. 
 As Nelson died without legitimate issue, 
 the most proper course would have been to 
 have created his iady a peeress, in her own 
 right, with an ample estate to support the 
 title. In doing this, government would 
 have marked its respect for virtue, at the 
 same time that it expressed a due regard 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 339 
 
 for the extraordinary services of the gallant 
 admiral : but bypassing the widow entirely 
 aside in the distribution of honours, and 
 pouring the whole, with immense prodiga- 
 lity, upon persons whose own merits would 
 never have raised them to eminence, some- 
 thing very like neglect bordering on injus- 
 tice was committed. 
 
 Here then was a justifiable ground of 
 complaint; but Lady Hamilton most un- 
 questionably had no right to make any, 
 since the very nature of her demands pre- 
 vented them from being attended to by any 
 ministers who retained a reverence for pri- 
 vate virtue. But while the suffering widow 
 of Nelson neither murmured against the go- 
 vernment, nor resented the conduct of her 
 relations, the woman who ought to have 
 preserved an absolute silence was loud and 
 vehement on the subject of her pretended 
 wrongs. She also caused the life of the 
 hero to be printed, in which her merits were 
 displayed with great parade, and a bitter 
 anathema was denounced against the British 
 nation, should it still continue deaf to her 
 claims. She afterwards printed a memorial, 
 z 2 
 
340 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 setting forth more in detail these services, 
 and the ill-treatment which she had expe- 
 rienced, not only from government? but from 
 individuals who owed her the greatest obli- 
 gations. Though these representations were 
 properly disregarded, because they rested 
 for the most part on fallacious grounds ; 
 still, it cannot be denied, that the orphan, 
 who was so feelingly bequeathed to the 
 nation by the dying Nelson, has a just call 
 upon the country for an adequate provision 
 suited to her origin. Let not the faults of 
 the parents be visited on the head of the in- 
 nocent: and while so much has been show- 
 ered upon persons, whose good-fortune is 
 owing solely to their alliance in blood to 
 this distinguished commander, it would be 
 cruel to withhold a portion of the public 
 bounty from the child of his dearest affec- 
 tions. 
 
 It is to be lamented that our great hero 
 did not himself take better care of this be- 
 loved object, by his testamentary settle- 
 ment, than leaving her under the sole guar- 
 dianship of Lady Hamilton, with an enco- 
 mium upon her Ladyship's moral and reli- 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 341 
 
 gious qualities, which, he must have known, 
 she did not deserve. As a proof how well 
 she merited this confidence and praise, it 
 may be mentioned, without any injury to 
 the survivor, that she made it her chief 
 study to instruct the young Horatia, when 
 seven or eight years old, in theatrical action, 
 declamation, and singing. So imprudent 
 indeed was the mother, as to cause the child 
 to exhibit before large companies in various 
 characters, to shew her agility, the elegance 
 of her attitudes, and the powers of her me- 
 mory in recitation. 
 
 Much as Lady Hamilton had to complain 
 of the inconstancy of her most intimate 
 acquaintance, and of the went of gratitude 
 in those upon whom she placed the great- 
 est dependence, there were a few persons 
 of rank and affluence, who still admired her 
 accomplishments, and contributed to the 
 supply of her wants. The principal of 
 these was the late Duke of Queensberry, 
 who had followed her with delight in former 
 days, and who cheerfully renewed an ac- 
 quaintance with her on the return of Sir 
 William to England. When her Ladyship 
 
342 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 was obliged to part with Merton, and to 
 lay down her carriage, his Grace generously 
 furnished a house for her at Richmond, 
 and allowed her a sufficiency, by which she 
 wasenabled again to set up an equipage. His 
 presents also were very large; and when 
 he died, at the close of the year 1810, he 
 bequeathed to her one thousand pounds, 
 with an annuity, charged upon his personal 
 estate, of five hundred more. But as the 
 extent of the legacies appeared to go beyond 
 the means of defraying them, an application 
 to the Court of Chancery put a restraint 
 upon the payment, and her Ladyship de- 
 rived no advantage from the benevolent 
 intentions of her noble friend. This disap- 
 pointment was rendered more severe by the 
 folly of enlarging her establishment on the 
 expected increase of her income. Fresh 
 difficulties were the consequence, and many 
 efforts were made to extricate her Ladyship 
 from them by renewed application to 
 government ; and even the patriotic fund at 
 Lloyd's was moved to bestow a liberal 
 grant upon one, who, it was alleged, had 
 rendered essential service to her country. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 343 
 
 Bat none of these petitions proving success- 
 ful, and most of her private friends falling 
 off in the time of her utmost need, an execu- 
 tion was entered upon her property, the 
 whole of which was sold by auction in 
 Bond Street, not even excepting the presents 
 which she had received from Lord Nelson, 
 including among other valuable articles, 
 the box with the freedom of the city of 
 Oxford, given by that corporation to the 
 hero of the Nile. But misfortune did not end 
 here, for other creditors, being vexed at the 
 loss which they had sustained, arrested her 
 Ladyship, in the summer of 1813, and she 
 was conveyed to the King's Bench, within 
 the rules of which prison she resided, with 
 her daughter, enduring many privations, 
 and feeling the instability of friendship, and 
 the uncertainty of human enjoyments. 
 But, as if this extraordinary woman had 
 been destined to endure the utmost morti- 
 fication from the ingratitude of the worthless 
 parasites who formerly basked in the sun- 
 shine of her prosperity, while she was thus 
 in confinement, some of her confidants had 
 the unparalleled impudence to publish the 
 
344 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 letters which passed between her and 
 Nelson, adding to that scandalous collection 
 several others, from various persons of 
 eminence. It has been too generally sup- 
 posed, that Lady Hamilton, in the season 
 of her affliction, yielding to necessity and 
 resentment, suffered these sad proofs of 
 infidelity to be given to the world ; but in 
 this she has been greatly wronged ; and 
 amidst all her faults, the breach of faith in 
 this instance, cannot with justice be added 
 to the number. At the time when she was 
 silly enough to cause a vindication of her 
 conduct abroad, and her connexion with 
 Nelson to be written, she took a man and 
 his family into her house, who lived there, 
 entirely at her expense, for the space of two 
 years. This wretch having constant access 
 to all her papers and correspondence, 
 thought proper to select from the mass 
 what he conceived would be useful to his 
 ends on a future day. When therefore the 
 unhappy woman, who had so indiscreetly 
 misplaced her confidence, could no longer 
 be of service to those who had fattened upon 
 her bounty, a foul advantage was taken of 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 345 
 
 her helplessness, by publishing this corres- 
 pondence, and artfully making the world 
 believe that it was done with her consent. 
 In vain did the sufferer protest against the 
 iniquity of the deed, and assert her igno- 
 rance of the design ; for the public declara- 
 tion which she made to that effect only 
 served as an advertisement to the work. 
 In doing this, she acted by the council of 
 a very worthy gentleman ; but she would 
 have been better advised, in applying to 
 the Court of Chancery for an injunction to 
 stop the publication of private letters, which 
 were her exclusive property, and had been 
 treacherously obtained from her for the 
 worst of purposes. This was the only 
 effectual course that could have been adopt- 
 ed in such a nefarious business ; but unfor- 
 tunately it was never thought of by Lady 
 Hamilton, or by the few friends who remain- 
 ed firm in their attachment, when the storm 
 of adversity came upon her in the evening of 
 life. After being in confinement above ten 
 months, she obtained her discharge through 
 the kindness of one of the city alder- 
 men, who pitied her case, and thought, 
 
346 LADY HAMILTON. 
 
 that, with all her errors she had been cruelly 
 treated. Immediately on her liberation, 
 she withdrew to the continent, and took 
 up her abode near Calais, till she could 
 have an opportunity of seeking an asylum 
 among her former acquaintance in Italy, 
 to which country she looked, with some 
 degree of certainty, as affording a secure 
 retreat from the chilling contempt and seve- 
 rity that had so roughly assailed her vanity 
 in her native land. But, as if she had been 
 destined to find no resting place in this 
 world, her means were so contracted, that 
 she could not follow her inclinations; which 
 disappointment, with the agitated state of 
 her mind, owing to the injury she had sus- 
 tained by the outrage committed upon her 
 private papers, preyed upon her spirits, and 
 brought on a disorder which soon assumed 
 an alarming aspect. She had for some 
 years lost that elegance of form which in 
 former days rendered her an object of gene- 
 ral admiration. This corpulency was in- 
 creased by a gross voluptuary indulgence, 
 and an indolent course of life, which brought 
 on bilious complaints and flatulency. 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 347 
 
 During the whole of her illness she was 
 attended with the greatest affection by her 
 child, and this alone gave her comfort in 
 her distressing situation; and when, at last, 
 she found that there were no hopes of a 
 recovery, she employed the little time that 
 remained in preparing such documents and 
 memorials as might be of service to this 
 interesting object, who was now about to 
 encounter the rude storms of the wolld, 
 without a relation or guardian to take a 
 tender interest in her welfare. This con- 
 sideration pressed heavily on the mind of 
 the dying parent ,who manifested the most 
 affectionate concern for her child, by 
 endeavouring to soothe her mind, and to 
 allay her fears, giving her advice for her 
 future conduct, and settling her affairs in 
 such a manner as appeared best adapted to 
 secure the property which had been set 
 apart for her use, from any attempts that 
 might be made to injure the rights of the 
 orphan and the destitute. A sealed packet 
 was also carefully entrusted to her hands, 
 but with strict injunctions that it should 
 
348 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 not be opened till the attainment of her 
 eighteenth year ; which corresponded also 
 with the particular settlement in the codi- 
 cil added to the will of Nelson, providing 
 for the maintenance of this very child under 
 the denomination of his adopted daughter. 
 The author of these sheets had long sus- 
 pected that her Ladyship was secretly at- 
 tached to the Romish faith; and her most 
 intimate friends who knew her in Italy will 
 probably recollect some particulars, which 
 would serve to strengthen the persuasion 
 that she had been reconciled many years 
 ago to that church. One circumstance 
 which may be mentioned was that of her 
 having a confidential monk to attend her, 
 who passed as her tutor in the languages, 
 but who, it is strongly suspected, acted as 
 her confessor. In England, indeed, she 
 went sometimes to the parish church, but 
 occasionally she is known to have visited a 
 Catholic place of worship : and though per- 
 sons of her character have seldom any fixed 
 principles of religion, yet, towards the close 
 of life, they have generally some serious 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 349 
 
 compunctions and reflections, which incline 
 them to embrace any persuasion that holds 
 out the strongest encouragements to hope. 
 That this extraordinary woman called in 
 the assistance of a priest of the Romish 
 church in her last moments is certain, nor 
 is it less so, that he administered to her 
 the solemn viaticum, which no ecclesiastic 
 of his communion can impart to any but 
 baptized members and converts. It has 
 been said, that there was no protestant mi- 
 nister in the place, whose assistance could 
 be procured at this awful period ; but though 
 perhaps that may be true, it is equally so 
 that she must have been formally admitted 
 to the peace of the church by a solemn re- 
 cognition, before absolution could be pro- 
 nounced, or the eucharist, as the seal of her 
 pardon, be administered. 
 
 Thus did one of the most extraordinary 
 women of modern times terminate, on the 
 sixteenth of January, 1815, her course of 
 uncommon vicissitudes, in a foreign land, 
 surrounded by strangers, and so oppressed 
 by poverty, that her remains were nearly 
 
350 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 consigned to a spot of ground appropriated 
 to the lowest description of the poor, for 
 the want of means to defray the expences 
 of a decent funeral; when an English mer- 
 chant at Calais, shocked at the circum- 
 stance, undertook the charge ; and all the re- 
 spectable gentlemen of this nation, amount- 
 ing to about fifty, attended as mourners at 
 the interment, which was duly performed in 
 the principal cemetery of that place. The 
 same generous person, who so humanely 
 provided a decent sepulture for the dead, 
 extended also his protecting hand to the 
 child that she had left, and who was now in 
 danger of suffering for her mother's folly 
 and extravagance. But the liberal mer- 
 chant rescued the orphan from the machi- 
 nations of those creditors in France, who, 
 according to the laws of that country, would 
 have detained her for the debts of her pa- 
 rent. On her arrival in England she was 
 entrusted to the guardianship of Mr. Mat- 
 cham, the brother-in-law of Lord Nelson, 
 and who, there can be no doubt, will watch 
 over her interests with that concern, which 
 
LADY HAMILTON. 351 
 
 he would have felt it his duty to discharge, 
 had she been committed to him by the 
 special request of his departed friend. 
 
 Thus did the last ei scene of all" in the 
 " strange eventful history" of the once en- 
 chanting Emma comport with the rest of 
 her chequered existence; for her life was a 
 series of marvellous adventures, from the 
 time when she went barefooted in a Welch 
 village, to her entrance upon a state of dis- 
 sipation in London, where her extraordi- 
 nary beauty and accomplishments rendered 
 her an object of universal admiration, and 
 occasioned her transplantation to a soil per- 
 fectly suited to her taste for pleasure, and 
 to the versatile powers of her genius. How 
 she figured in that land of voluptuous de- 
 light, and the effects which her influence 
 produced, it will be for history to record, 
 and posterity to lament; but after her re- 
 turn to England she began very soon to ex- 
 perience the mutability of fortune, which 
 she wanted prudence to improve; and, in- 
 deed, as her adversity came on, her folly 
 increased, till at length, solely from that 
 cause, she was driven into exile, where she 
 
352 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 closed her days in sorrow and poverty, 
 unpitied by those around her in the hour 
 of sickness, while her wretched remains 
 were indebted for a grave to the hand of 
 charity. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 B. Clarke, Printer, Well Street, London. 
 
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