Nelson & His World

Here's an excerpt from 'Nelson's Last Walk:'


I've been pondering the original source for this incident and can trace it back as far as Clarke & M'Arthur (although as so often is the case in older tomes) that book doesn't make clear who supplied the anecdote.

Can anyone help with a more personal source for Nelson's quiet observation?

Mira:

I don't know whether this quote from Andrew Lambert's 'Britannia's God of War' might provide a possible clue:

'The next morning, he walked through Portsmouth , took a boat out and hoisted his flag on the Victory. He was accompanied by two of Pitt's confidants, George Canning, Treasurer of the Navy, and George Rose, Vice-President of the Board of Trade.........' Lambert describes the reaction of the crowd and quotes Nelson's observation to Hardy that you note in your post.

Is it possible that either Canning or Rose could have noted it too?

Jacqui,

I'm not so sure that Nelson's utterance would have been that quiet either, despite what it says in 'Nelson's Last Walk' and Clarke and McArthur!

They 'could hear the cheers ringing across the water', so the crowd on the beach must have been understandably quite noisy. It would seem also that the barge had only just pushed off from the beach so, besides the tumult of the crowd, there would have been the additional noise of the boat's crew straining at the oars, very likely the coxswain giving them orders, and all the other sea noises you would get in a boat – albeit it was the Admiral's barge.

With all that going on, the two Georges may not have heard Nelson's words to Hardy. However, if they did, perhaps it would be contained in either of their 'Papers', if there are such.

Jacqui

Any reason why it wasn't Hardy himself?

Quite likely C & M consulted with him whilst working on the biography.

Hope I haven't missed something obvious as to why it couldn't have been him. If so someone will doubtless put me straight.

MB

Thanks all!

I'm coming up to (possibly) using this quote in a little project I'm working on at the moment and I'm a bit wary of using C&M. As that's the furthest back I can trace the words to, from the books I'm aware of, I'd wondered if a more certain source was available. preferably pre-dating and backing up C&M.

I had checked the acknowledgements in C&M, and both Hardy and Rose are listed amongst the contributors of material. Plenty of others too. It would be great if I could be sure the words came from Nelson via Hardy (or Rose or Canning or anyone who was present for that matter.)

Kester, you paint a vivid picture of the scene!

After Nelson's death at Trafalgar, the Last Walk took on a greater significance and was commemorated in this well-known image (a copy of which hangs on the wall of the Nelson Room at the Castle Hotel, Llandovery, where you can sleep in Nelson's bed.



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