'THE SPINSTRESS'
GEORGE ROMNEY
which I so much desire, proportionate to my own, as to which object, I have already made some proposals in your behalf, which I apprehend will be well received. God send that it may be for us a means more to the purpose for sparing the blood of the rest of our ill-fated family than war has hitherto been."
Through the agency of the Queen and of his wife, Sir William Hamilton promptly forwarded the news contained in this interesting document to his own Government in London.
From amity to alliance was not a long step with the King of Spain. The desire of " sparing the blood of his faithful people " was not so strong as his desire to strike at England in union with France. During the spring and summer of 1796 he wrote constantly in a hectoring tone to Ferdinand, and in August of the same year Acton wrote to Sir William Hamilton that "the odd and open threatenings of the King of Spain to his brother do not leave any room to hope for a separation from the French, or change in that Court of their strange and most shameful system."
It is round the King of Spain's letter to the King of Naples, announcing his intention of joining France and making war, that much of the controversy as to Lady Hamilton's services to England at this point of her career centres. Nelson's statement of the matter in the famous
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Codicil of Trafalgar Day is clear. " Lady Hamilton," he says, "obtained the King of Spain's letter, in 1796, to his brother, the King of Naples, acquainting him of his intention 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 offered, against either the arsenals of Spain or her fleets. That neither of these was done is not the fault of Lady Hamilton."
In her Memorial to the King of England many years later, when compelled by her situation to bring her services to the attention of her country, Emma Hamilton recalls to George III " That it was the good fortune of your Majesty* memorialist, among many inferior services, t acquire the confidential friendship of that grea and august Princess, the Queen of Naples, you Majesty's most faithful and ardently attach Ally, at a period of peculiar peril, and when he august Consort . . . was unhappily constrain to profess a neutrality, but little in accordan with the feelings of his own excellent heart. B which means your Majesty's memorialist, among many inferior services, had an opportunity of obtaining, and actually did obtain, the King of Spain's letter to the King of Naples expressive of his intention to declare war against England. This important document, your Majesty's memorialist delivered to her husband, Sir William
Hamilton, who immediately transmitted it to your Majesty's Ministers."
This is a plain and simple statement which few people, considering all the circumstances, would have any difficulty in accepting as the substantial truth. But, unfortunately for herself, Lady Hamilton had a habit of exaggeration and a love of theatrical effect that could not rest content with anything so unadorned. In her Memorial to the Prince Regent, she added picturesque details which have tended to cast doubt on the authenticity of her claims. She refers again to her influence with the Queen of Naples, and goes on : "By unceasing application of that influence, and no less watchfulness to turn it to my country's good, it happened that I discovered a courier had brought the King of Naples a private letter from the King of Spain. I prevailed on the Queen to take it from his pocket unseen. We found it to contain the King of Spain's intention to withdraw from the Coalition, and join the French against England. My husband at that time lay dangerously ill. I prevailed on the Queen to allow my taking a copy, with which I immediately dispatched a messenger to Lord Grenville, taking all the necessary precautions; for his safe arrival then became very difficult, and altogether cost me about ,£400 paid out of my privy purse."
This Prince Regent Memorial contains several
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misstatements and exaggerations, of which the most glaring is that concerning the news of the King of Spain's intention to withdraw from the Coalition and join the French—events which occurred in two separate though succeeding years —being found in the single letter abstracted from Ferdinand's pocket. Emma's statement that she paid ^"400 out of her privy purse is also of doubtful accuracy, considering that her own yearly allowance was only ^200, and she always spent it up to the last penny. But because certain details are demonstrably mistaken, it is not fair to conclude the whole thing a fabrication —especially when dealing with a woman of Lady Hamilton's temperament. Both the Memorials were written many years after the event, and the confusion of two years is not an unnatural error. Her memory might well play her tricks with dates, though not so easily with facts and actual happenings, which have a firmer way of fixing themselves in the mind.
It is hardly necessary to go into minute discussion of this point The fact remains that a copy of the King of Spain's letter announcing his intention of entering into an offensive and defensive alliance with France—it could not have announced his withdrawal from the Coalition, for that was accomplished already—was obtained by the Queen of Naples and forwarded to England at her desire by Sir William Hamilton. Lady
Hamilton's share in the transaction is not vitally important. Whether or no she suggested taking the letter from the pocket of the unsuspecting King, as she proudly claims, is not a crucial matter. It may be a nice point of honour, but neither Emma nor Maria Carolina were given to sticking at trifles and the glory may fairly be divided between them.
It is sufficient for our purpose that Emma, at the time and years afterwards, believed quite honestly that she had rendered the British Government and Crown a considerable service in this matter, and Nelson believed so too. Writing at this time to Charles Greville, she informed him, with a half-childish exultation and much underlining—
"We have not time to write to you, as we have been 3 days and nights writing to send by this courrier letters of consequence for our government. They ought to be gratefull to Sir William and myself in particular, as my situation at this Court is very extraordinary, and what no person [h]as as yet arrived at; but one [h]as no thanks, and I am allmost sick of grandeur. We are tired to death with anxiety, and God knows were we shall soon be, and what will become of us, if things go on as they do now."
It is a quaint little sidelight on her truly feminine character that though " allmost sick of grandeur/' a few lines further on, in the same
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letter, she begs Greville to "send me by the bearer a Dunstable hat, and some ribbands, or what you think will be acceptable."
Identifying herself with the Queen of Naples and all her interests as she did, it was not surprising that Emma wrote, " God knows were we shall soon be, and what will become of us, if things go on as they do now." The weakness of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies was apparent, and France took advantage of it to exact a compact at the close of 1796, by which the kingdom was bound to the crippling condition of not admitting more than four vessels of the Allies at one time to any Neapolitan or Sicilian port. But if Naples was thus compelled into a distasteful neutrality, the Queen took care to ignore both the letter and the spirit of this neutrality wherever possible. Forced by her weakness to be secret, Maria Carolina lost no opportunity of in secret defying France.
In the prevailing gloom and distress Nelson's name and deeds shone out with the promise of a better time, when French ships should not exult unchecked in the Mediterranean, nor French armies trample Italy. Even before the Battle of St. Vincent Nelson's name was beginning to acquire a peculiar worth and significance. He wrote to his wife in 1796: "A person sent me a letter, and directed as follows: ' Horatio Nelson, Genoa.' On being asked how he could direct in
such a manner, his answer, in a large party, was, 'Sir, there is but one Horatio Nelson in the world/ I am known throughout Italy, not a Kingdom, or State, where my name will be forgotten/'
It is a pity the name of the "person" who wrote that magnificently simple address has
not been preserved. He showed a remarkable fore, sight.
The Hamiltons kept in touch with Nelson from the time of his short visit to Naples, in 1793, till they met again after the Nile. Sir William wrote to him early in 1796: "Lady Hamilton and I admire your constancy, and hope the severe service you have undergone will be handsomely rewarded."
There is no record and no reason to suppose that Nelson personally had made any special impression on Lady Hamilton during their brief meeting. But after St. Valentine's Day of 1797, Nelson became a name to conjure with, and we may be sure that Emma used it often to cheer the desponding Queen—promising, with her usual extravagant ardour, all that Nelson and England should do for her Sicilian Majesty. There is little doubt, also, that as she saw Nelson's star beginning its brilliant ascent towards the zenith, where it has shone ever since, she naturally tended to gravitate towards it—urged alike by her theatrical passion for eclat and her nobler love for great and glorious deeds. Nelson's
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doings at St. Vincent echoed not only through the Navy, but through Europe. He was made a Rear-Admiral of the Blue and a Knight of the Bath. His good old father, the Reverend Edmund Nelson, wrote to his son : "Joy sparkles in every eye, and desponding Britain draws back her sable veil, and smiles. It gives me inward satisfaction to know, that the laurels you have wreathed sprung from those principles and religious truths which alone constitute the Hero."
Then came the disastrous attack on Teneriffe, where Nelson lost his right arm, and returned to England in despair, writing to Lord St. Vincent before leaving, " I am become a burthen to my friends and useless to my country. When I leave your command, I become dead to the world; I go hence and am no more seen."
But destiny did not intend that Nelson should be "no more seen." By the December of 1797 he was restored to health, after a period of grievous suffering from his badly amputated arm. He had discovered that his country had need of him, even though he was an admiral with only one arm and one eye. In the fulness of his heart he sent to the vicar of St. George's, Hanover Square, on the 8th of December, a notice to be used on the following Sunday, " An officer desires to return thanks to Almighty God for his perfect recovery from a severe wound, and also for the many mercies bestowed upon him."
And so with recovery of health and hopes, with the promise of a ship—it was to have been the Foudroyant, then just ready for launching— opened the year of the Nile. Inevitable delays occurred before Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson could join his Commander-in-Chief. The fine Sogun Foudroyant was, after all, not ready so soon as expected, so Nelson took instead the 74-gun Vanguard^ and on the last day of April, 1798, joined Earl St. Vincent off Cadiz. On the 8th of May Nelson sailed from Gibraltar with a small squadron, two sail-of-the-line— besides the Vanguard —three frigates and a sloop. His object was to observe the French preparations at Toulon, and discover, if possible, the destination of the large force assembling there. And so the British flag once more entered the Mediterranean.
Meanwhile at Naples things were pretty bad. The Prime Minister, Sir John Acton, was despondent. It was useless, as he assured Sir Gilbert Elliot, for the Italians to arm themselves if they were not aided from the outside, while as for the Neapolitan Navy, their "head-shipman had lost his head, if ever he had any." The meaning is plain, though the English is odd. The British Navy was the only hope, for Austria was a broken reed. Acton urged Sir William Hamilton to inform Lord St. Vincent of their plight and condition. " Their majesties,"
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he says, " observe the critical moment for all Europe, and the threatens of an invasion even in England. They are perfectly convinced of the generous and extensive exertions of the British nation at this moment, but a diversion in these points might operate advantage for the common war. Will England see all Italy, and even the Two Sicilies, in the French hands with indifference ? "
But Sir William Hamilton dared not promise much. "We cannot, however," he says, with diplomatic caution, " avoid to expose that His Sicilian Majesty confides too much in His Britannic Majesty's Ministry's help."
It is obvious that Emma had nothing to do with this cold statement—that was not the sort of consolation she was offering the Queen ! And with characteristic energy she did more than merely offer consolation. She wrote to Earl St. Vincent, appealing strongly to his aid and protection for the distressed Maria Carolina. St. Vincent, who called Lady Hamilton the " Patroness of the Navy," and whose courtesy to women was in marked contrast to his severity as a sea-officer, replied as follows:—
"The picture you have drawn of the lovely Queen of Naples and the Royal Family would rouse the indignation of the most unfeeling of the creation at the infernal design of those devils who, for the scourge of the human race, govern
France. I am bound by my oath of chivalry to protect all who are persecuted and distressed, and I would fly to the succour of their Sicilian Majesties, was I not positively forbid to quit my post before Cadiz. I am happy, however, to have a knight of superior prowess in my train, who is charged with this enterprise, at the head of as gallant a band as ever drew sword or trailed pike."
So when the fortunate news arrived that Nelson was once more in the Mediterranean, it seemed that Lady Hamilton was nearer the truth of the British Government's intentions than her husband. The Queen was
But the " expected success " was to be several months delayed. Ill-luck dogged Nelson almost from the time of his entering the Mediterranean, till at last, after many weary weeks, he set eyes on the French fleet among the shoals of Aboukir Bay. On the 2Oth of May a tremendous storm dismasted his flagship. " Figure to yourself," he tells his wife, " a vain man, on Sunday evening at sunset, walking in his cabin with a squadron about him, who looked up to their chief to lead them to glory, and in whom this chief placed the firmest reliance. . . . Figure to
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yourself this proud, conceited man, when the sun rose on Monday morning, his ship dismasted, his fleet dispersed, and himself in such distress that the meanest frigate out of France would have been a very unwelcome guest."
And the worst of all was that the very northerly wind which half-wrecked the Vangiiard enabled the whole French armament and fleet under Buonaparte's command to put to sea.
The day before this happened Lord St. Vincent had received orders to detach a squadron of twelve sail-of-the-line, with frigates, from hi< fleet, and to send it into the Mediterranean under the command of "some discreet flag-officer," in quest of the French armament. Lord Spencer had said to him in a private letter, " li you determine to send a detachment, I think it almost unnecessary to suggest to you the propriety of putting it under the command of Sir H. Nelson, whose acquaintance with that part of the world, as well as his activity and disposition, seem to qualify him in a peculiar mannei for that service."
Without such advice St. Vincent would prc bably have chosen Nelson for this important service, as he believed in him strongly, like all wh< had real knowledge of his abilities. Also Nelsoi was already in the Mediterranean. So the Com-mander-in-Chief sent him reinforcements and th< following instructions:—
" I do hereby authorize and require you, on being joined by the Culloden, Goliath, Minotaur, Defence, Betterophon, Majestic, Audacious, Zealous ', Swiftsure, and Theseus, to take them and their captains under your command, in addition to those already with you, and to proceed with them in quest of the armament preparing by the enemy at Toulon and Genoa. ... On falling in with the said armament, or any part thereof, you are to use your utmost endeavours to take, sink, burn, or destroy it. ... On the subject of supplies, I inclose also a copy of their lordships' order to me, and do require you strictly to comply with the spirit of it, by considering and treating as hostile any ports within the Mediterranean (those of Sardinia excepted
), where provisions or other articles you may be in want of, and which they are enabled to furnish, shall be refused. . . ."
This was pretty definite; but, to leave no doubt possible, St. Vincent added, "It appears that their Lordships expect favourable neutrality from Tuscany and the Two Sicilies. In any event, you are to exact supplies of whatever you may be in want of from the territories of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, the King of the Two Sicilies, the Ottoman territory, Malta, and ci-devant Venetian dominions now belonging to the Emperor of Germany."
It has been necessary thus to make clear the sort of instructions Nelson had to back him in
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order to maintain a sense of proportion when dealing with the much-discussed question of Lady Hamilton's services in helping the British fleet to victual and water at Syracuse.
Nelson knew quite well the condition imposed on the King and Queen of Naples, that not more than four English ships must enter their ports; he also knew that the Queen, at any rate, chafed at this restriction, and was anxious to help the British squadron. He had the instructions of his own Government to take what might be refused him; but he had no desire to use force if it could be avoided. Therefore he wrote to Sir William Hamilton on the i2th of June—
"As I am not quite clear, from General Acton's letters to you of 3 and 9 April, what cooperation is intended by the court of Naples, I wish to know perfectly what is to be expected, that I may regulate my movements accordingly, and beg clear answers to the following questions and requisitions: Are the ports of Naples and Sicily open to his Majesty's fleet ? Have the governors orders for our free admission, and for us to be supplied with whatever we may want ? "
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