Nelson's Lady Hamilton

by Meynell, Esther

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  possible, to arrange matters so as to be able to go to Naples. Sir William is writing for General Acton's answer. For God's sake consider it, and do ! We will go with you, if you will come and fetch us. Sir William is ill; I am ill: it will do us good."

  Neither the entreaties of the Queen nor the illness of Sir William and herself were sufficient cause for undertaking the expedition; but Emma was always given to seeing things through the personal medium. Her own wishes, or—just as frequently—the wishes of those she loved became transmuted by some subtle alchemy into political reasons! But when dealing with the emotional Emma, the astute Queen adopted the reverse method, and presented her political schemes under the guise of personal desires. It is true that Maria Carolina was passionate and impulsive, and her passions sometimes got the better of her schemes, but in general her head ruled her heart quite successfully.

  In this matter, for once, the King and Queen of Naples were united, and it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that they both used Nelson to accomplish their own ends, irrespective of his country's. They were to remain in security at Palermo while he thoroughly cleared Naples of rebels—and a very dirty business it was to prove, in which a name that outshone all the royalties of Europe was to get unfairly smirched. Nelson,

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  who was usually so quick to condemn any symptom of cowardice, seems to have been curiously blind to the unheroic conduct of the Sicilian sovereigns.

  Perhaps to cover his own conduct, the King sent his son to the flagship and gave Nelson most extensive powers. The fourth article of the Instructions runs : "All the military and political operations shall be agreed upon by the Prince Royal and Admiral Lord Nelson. The opinion of this latter always to have a preponderance, on account of the respect due to his experience, as well as to the forces under his command, which will determine the operations, and also because we are so deeply indebted to him for the zeal and attachment of which he has given so many proofs."

  Nelson sailed from Palermo for Naples on the 13th of June; but when off Maritimo he heard definitely that the French fleet had left Toulon and was bound southwards, so he returned to Palermo to await Ball's and Duckworth's reinforcements. The Queen was much disappointed to see him again so soon. Writing to Ruffo on the 14th she says—

  " The ill-luck which never deserts us has obliged the English squadron to return this morning to Palermo. It started yesterday with the finest wind possible. We said good-bye about eleven, when it was already under sail,

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  and at five o'clock the squadron was out of sight. The wind was so propitious, that it would have been at Procida to-day; but it met two English ships halfway, coming as reinforcements, inasmuch as the French squadron had left Toulon and was approaching the southern shores of Italy. A council of war was held, and Nelson decided that his duty was to think in the first place of Sicily, then, getting rid of the passengers, troops ; and artillery which he had on board, to hasten to meet and to seek to beat the enemy. They returned with this intention. I can hardly tell you how grieved I was at this disappointment The squadron was superb, beautiful, imposing."

  To Emma the Queen wrote on the same day—

  " MY DEAR MILADY, — I am going to the Colli to take Francis to visit his father, and to give him an account of everything. I was exceedingly surprised to see the squadron return, though I felt sure that under the leadership of Lord Nelson it could only be on good grounds. I am sure to return at sunset, and I hope to have the consolation of seeing you and assuring you of my constant friendship. I am grieved at the news concerning your health. A thousand compliments to the chevalier, and to our brave and virtuous Admiral, from whom I expect great things."

  A few days later Nelson learned that Cardinal

  Ruffo — the Eminence whom Maria Carolina so flattered in her letters—had actually concluded an armistice with the Neapolitan rebels. As he held no powers to treat with the rebels, indeed had been expressly instructed not to do so, this behaviour wore a distinctly suspicious air. Nelson and the Hamiltons had always entertained doubts of Ruffo, and this piece of news, combined with the Jacobin taunt that he had returned to Palermo for fear of the French fleet—for Nelson was almost absurdly sensitive in regard to his professional honour, even when he had placed it at a height above the reach of mortal malice—decided him to make sail at once for Naples. Sir William and Lady Hamilton went with him in the Foudroyant. It may be imagined that Emma was eager to be with the admiral in the British flagship, in the very thick of stirring events, and it is evident that he did not oppose the wish—indeed, he had written to her a few days earlier—

  "It gave me great pain to hear both Sir William and yourself were so very unwell. I wrote to Sir William yesterday that if you both thought the sea air would do you good, I have plenty of room. I can make for you private apartments, and I give you my honour the sea is so smooth that no glass was smoother."

  Evidently his promise of fair weather was fulfilled, for Sir William Hamilton wrote to Acton, when off Ustica, on the 22nd of June—

  " We are stealing on with light winds, and it is very pleasant, and our admirals and captains are impatient to serve his Sicilian Majesty and save his capital from destruction. I believe the business will be soon done when the fleet appears in the Bay of Naples."

  But when the Foudroyant sailed into the Bay Nelson saw the white flag of truce flying from the castles of Uovo and Nuovo, where the Neapolitan Jacobins had betaken themselves, and the same flag flying on board the Seahorse frigate, Captain James Foote. Captain Footewas the senior British officer left behind by Troubridge, and on the very day before Nelson's arrival he and Cardinal Ruffo had signed a treaty of capitulation with the rebels, granting them all the honours of war. On learning these facts Nelson acted with his usual promptitude. Armed as he was with powers from the King of Naples beyond any that had been granted to Ruffo, he at once signalled to annul the treaty, which he declared with vehement vexation was "infamous." He considered, with the practical justice of a seaman, " that the arrival of the British fleet has completely destroyed the compact, as would that of the French if they had the power (which, thank God, they have not) to come to Naples." He was willing to grant terms to the French garrison in the castle of St. Elmo, if they would surrender the stronghold within two hours of being summoned,

  for he regarded them simply in the light of ordinary enemies; being French they owed no allegiance to the Sicilian sovereigns, and were not traitors like the Neapolitan garrisons of Uovo and Nuovo. To them he sent a brief and stern notification that Rear-Admiral Lord Nelson "will not permit them to embark or quit those places. They must surrender themselves to his Majesty's royal mercy."

  Ruffo opposed Nelson and resented his superior powers. Nelson wrote to Rear-Admiral Duckworth on the 25th of June: "As you will believe, the cardinal and myself have begun our career by a complete difference of opinion. He will send the rebels to Toulon : I say they shall not go." Sir William Hamilton was in entire agreement with Nelson: writing to Acton the very day that the Foudroyant reached Naples Bay, he spoke of the treaty granted by Ruffo as "shameful," and referred to the armistice of twenty days—which was demanded by the rebels in hope of the appearance of the French fleet—as being absolutely annulled by the mere appearance of the British squadron. Nelson also, it will be remembered, makes this point.

  The day after the arrival of the Foudroyant, the 25th of June, Ruffo came on board to confer with the admiral. Sir William Hamilton was present at the interview, as well as Lady Hamilton, who was very useful both to her husband

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  and to Nelson in interpreting and taking notes. The meeting was stormy and protracted: the cardinal was obstinate, and the admiral not to be moved—for there was iron as well as fire in Nelson. Sir William wrote to Acton after a second interview between the two, that " A little of my phlegm was necessary between the cardinal and Lord Nelson, or all would hav
e been up the very first day, and the cardinal has written to thank me and Lady Hamilton."

  Emma was gloriously in the midst of everything—the confidante of a queen, the friend of the greatest seaman of his time. In one of his letters to Acton, Sir William Hamilton writes: "As Lord Nelson is now telling Lady Hamilton what he wishes to say to the queen, you will probably know from the queen more than I do of Lord Nelson's intentions." It would be possible to read into this a hint of pique, were it not for the easy-going nature and unjealous temperament of the British Ambassador, who admired Nelson almost as fervently as did his wife. Emma was in daily communication with Maria Carolina, and the Queen, on her side, wrote constantly and at length. On the 25th of June she writes from Palermo that she has just received Emma's letter, and is sending back the same boat with her reply, wishing "it had wings to reach you sooner." Then she sets forth with considerable precision her ideas as to the treatment of the rebels—she

  WITH MINIATURE

  GEORGE ROMNEY

  is all for justice untempered with mercy: " To treat with such villainous rebels is impossible— it must be put an end to. The sight of the brave English squadron is my hope. . . . The rebel patriots must lay down their arms, and surrender at discretion to the pleasure of the king. Then, in my opinion, an example should be made of some of the leaders of the representatives, and the others should be transported under pain of death if they return into the dominions of the king." There were many women mixed up in the insurrection and shut up in the castles of Uovo and Nuovo, but this Spartan Queen had no special feeling for her own sex: " The females who have distinguished themselves in the revolution to be treated in the same way, and that without pity." She says these things are "not pleasant, but absolutely necessary," and goes on, "Finally, my dear Lady, I recommend Lord Nelson to treat Naples as if it were an Irish town in rebellion similarly placed. ... I recommend to you, therefore, my dear lady, the greatest firmness, vigour, and severity; our future tranquillity and position depend upon it—the faithful people desire it. I solicit frequent news from you, for you cannot conceive the anxiety I feel, and believe me for life your most tenderly attached and grateful friend."

  The Queen's temper is sufficiently shown in these extracts from her letter to Emma; but in

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  the British Museum there are her notes on the treaty of capitulation with the Neapolitan Jacobins, signed by Ruffo and Captain Foote, before Nelson reached Naples. Her overwrought feelings express themselves in marginal notes opposite the articles of the treaty. To Article One she writes in a kind of breathless rage, "To capitulate with one's rebel subjects, who were without force, without hope of succour either by sea or land! With persons who, after the clemency displayed to them by their king and their father (who promised to pardon them), fought desperately, and are now only brought to terms by fear! I feel it to be dishonourable to treat with rebels ! They ought either to have been attacked in full force, or else left alone till a more favourable opportunity presented itself." Article Two is " a real insult; the rebels address their sovereign on equal terms, and with an air of being his superiors." The Third Article is " so infamous and absurd that it revolts me even to speak of it." She considers the Tenth Article " the culmination of disgrace," and at the foot of the capitulation writes her final exclamation of rage : " This is such an infamous treaty that if by a miracle of Providence some event does not take place which will break and destroy it, I look upon myself as lost and dishonoured. . . ."

  But while the Queen stormed in her palace at Palermo, Nelson was acting the part of the

  "miracle of Providence." He too considered the treaty " infamous/' and, in spite of Ruffo, insisted that it should be annulled. As the result of his determination, the garrisons of Uovo and Nuovo surrendered unconditionally on the 26th of June—the second day after the British flagship and squadron sailed into the Bay of Naples. By this act Nelson brought down a storm of obloquy on his own head. Both during his lifetime and after his death he has been accused of conduct impossible to him of all men. Southey's denunciation is famous: he calls Nelson's treatment of the Jacobin rebels " A deplorable transaction! a stain upon the memory of Nelson and the honour of England ! To palliate it would be in vain; to justify it would be wicked : there is no alternative . . . but to record the disgraceful story with sorrow and shame."

  But, as Professor Knox Laughton says, with magnificent decisiveness and point, "Southey is wrong. There is another alternative. We neither palliate, nor justify, nor record : we deny. The story is a base and venomous falsehood."

  As this is a matter that concerns Nelson's professional career, and does not specially affect Emma Hamilton, it is not necessary to go into the lengthy documents bearing upon the question as to whether Nelson was guilty of treacherous conduct to the rebel garrisons. Professor Laugh-ton's denial is emphatic, and in itself will be

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  sufficient for most students of naval history. Without wandering into a labyrinth of controversy, it is enough for the purpose of the present narrative to say that Nelson had full powers to annul a treaty which Ruffo and Foote had really no authority to make. The rebels in the castles of Uovo and Nuovo were informed that the treaty was annulled, and as it had not begun to take effect, they were not caught unfairly or trapped into a position of military disadvantage; it was simply a restoration of the status quo thirty-six hours before Nelson's arrival in the Bay. By all the laws and usages of war traitors and spies are not entitled to the same treatment as the ordinary man under arms, and with them Nelson would not parley or grant terms; he would accept nothing save unconditional surrender. Of course by so doing he became hated by all the Jacobins of Europe: the facts were darkened to the blackest possible aspect; and it was upon this tissue of misrepresentation that good and patriotic Southey felt compelled to censure the great admiral he admired. But it was not by any public and professional act during the whole of his career as a seaman that Nelson laid himself open to the tongue of the scorner. Achilles had only one vulnerable spot.

  In Nelson's conduct at this time it may be admitted that there is a distinct trace of something like fanaticism. To him it was a sacred

  crusade to crush the French and all who were tainted by Jacobin ideas. In this age we cannot realize the brooding terror that hung over Europe —to each king and kingdom French armies and French watchwords stood for " red ruin and the breaking up of laws." We now see the new freedom of man that struggled to the light amid the horrors of the Revolution, and through the democratic and military tyranny that followed. To us Ferdinand is not an admirable monarch ; to us there is something pitiable in the shivering remnant of the Neapolitan Jacobins who marched out of the surrendered castles of Nuovo and Uovo. But Nelson, so near to these events, saw them with very different eyes from ours. The whole of his life goes to prove that, fighter though he was, he was not a cruel or vindictive man; indeed, there never lived a more perfect example of the " Happy Warrior "—

  " Who, doomed to go in company with pain, And fear, and bloodshed, miserable train ! Turns his necessity to glorious gain ; In face of these doth exercise a power Which is our human nature's highest dower ; Controles them and subdues, transmutes, bereaves Of their bad influence, and their good receives : By objects, which might force the soul to abate Her feeling, rendered more compassionate."

  But though compassion was as essential a part of his nature as courage, there was also an iron sternness, a fiery wrath for traitors, deserters, and

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  cowards. That his conduct in the Bay of Naples made a somewhat terrifying impression upon the Neapolitan populace, rejoiced though they were to see him, is shown by the diary of one De Nicola, who, after writing on the 25th of June that " The English squadron is drawn up facing our harbour, and offers an attractive and magnificent spectacle," reports, on the 29th, " They say the English admiral was in a rage because rebels had been allowed to capitulate when no quarter shoul
d have been given them;" while another rumour runs: "That the English admiral has threatened to cut off the prisoners' heads if St. Elmo resists and molests the city." What a glorious opportunity for censurers of Nelson, had that melodramatic rumour been true !

  But there was one head Nelson held most completely forfeit, and that was Caracciolo's. Prince Francesco Caracciolo was an admiral—had been chief of the Neapolitan navy—and was a traitor. All the stern teachings of discipline-— and it was no long time since Admiral Byng had been shot " to encourage the others," as Voltaire expressed it—caused Nelson to look upon Caracciolo's crime as beyond the bounds of mercy. Caracciolo had accompanied the royal family in their flight to Palermo six months before, he had been honoured and trusted, and when he besought the King's permission to return to Naples to safeguard his own property, it had been freely granted

  him. Once among the Republicans, however, he had gone over to their side, taking it to be the winning side. He had aided the French and fought with them, actually going to the length of firing upon his own flagship, La Minerva. But the tide turned with the coming of the British squadron : he fled to the mountains, was captured, and brought on board the Foudroyant, to meet the stern, accusing eyes of Nelson and Troubridge. In the attempt to rouse undue pity for his fate, Caracciolo has been represented, by a curious inversion of the figures, as a trembling old man of seventy-four; in reality he was forty-seven or forty-eight. But though barely middle-aged, his was already a broken life—broken and ruined by his own act. The relentless hand of Nemesis was upon him as he stood on the deck of the British flagship.

  Nelson summoned a court-martial of Neapolitan officers to assemble on board the Foudro-yant for the purpose of trying Caracciolo, who " stands accused of rebellion against his lawful sovereign, and for firing at his colours hoisted on board his frigate, the Minerva" The charge was clear and definite; the only defence Caracciolo attempted was not to deny his own actions (which were not matters of controversy, but of fact), but to attack the character of the Neapolitan King for running away from Naples. Within two hours the verdict of the Neapolitan court-martial was Q