Bathing machines were notoriously expensive to hire.
Jack Russell quotes the following:
Quote:
'Expenses at the Inn at Deal paid by Lord Nelson,' noted brother William, unhappy that his inheritance was being squandered, 'for three weeks - £265 Exclusive of Wine.' He copied a joke from the newspapers but he was not amused.
'The Duke of Bronte says that the French will not come to the English Coast if they are wise. They will never be able to support the charges of the Inn-keepers.'
'Nelson cannot be like others,' Nelson wrote to Davison, 'everybody knows that Lord Nelson is amazingly rich.' He had spent £1,000 in six weeks. He had to borrow it, of course, for there was no money coming in apart from his pay (£2 10s. 0d. a day) and his pension. We do not think of Nelson being in debt, but he was, and Emma put him there.'
I'm not sure I exactly agree with everything Russell says here, but when the English papers refer to Nelson by his foreign title, 'Duke of Bronte' it's generally not meant in a pleasant way. Lots of little arrows flying around it seems.
Is there a history of Nelson paying over the odds for hotel accommodation (and other things)? I recall a reference to the Star Inn at Oxford earlier that summer being an expensive choice.
And at his hotel in Prague on the journey through Europe the previous year, the owner illuminated the building to honour Nelson's visit and then added the cost to the bill.
The ordinary man and woman in the street generally adored him I think, and saw the orders, decorations and outward signs of wealth as well deserved.
Nelson was very concious of his status, and knew what trappings he needed to have to maintain himself in society. The carriage, a good table, an address on the right side of town. The most fashionable hotel. Perfectly normal. But unlike most of the old and new moneyed classes, he never made a point of waving it around in people's faces, and would go out of his way to be generous and accessible.
I wonder if Nelson's 'amazingly rich' comment to Davison was a cynical aside. Making the point that there were opportunists out there who thought he was an easy touch for money, but in reality he couldn't afford it?