hance that could not be resisted. The day
before Nelson's departure for Portsmouth the scalding tears flowed
from her eyes continuously, she could neither eat nor drink, and her
lapses into swooning at the table were terrible. These performances do
not bear out the tale of Nelson's spontaneous and gushing outburst in
the garden at Merton of her bravery and goodness in urging him to "go
forth." It is possible that her resolution and fortitude could not
stand the responsibility of pressing him to undertake a task that
might be fatal to himself and foredoomed to failure. In that case she
does not bear herself like a heroine, and strengthens the suspicion,
as we have said, that the story of pleading with Nelson to offer his
services is an impudent fabrication. Minto says that the tears and
swooning is a strange picture, and assures him as before that nothing
can be more pure and ardent than this flame; and _she_ might have
added that they had in reality exchanged souls.

Napoleon, in conversing on one occasion with his brother Lucien
about one of his love affairs, said "that Madame Walewska's soul
was as beautiful as her face." In nearly all his letters to Lady
Hamilton, Nelson plunged into expressions of love abandonment
only different from those sent by Napoleon to Josephine when he
was commander-in-chief of the army of Italy. Neither of these
extraordinary men could do anything by halves, and we are not left in
doubt as to the seventh heaven of happiness it would have been to the
less flowery-worded sailor had he been given the least encouragement
to pour out his adoration of Emma's goodness and beauty. He would have
excelled Napoleon's picture of Madame Walewska. Amidst the many cares
that surrounded these last active days, when the dockyards were
humming with the work of getting his ships refitted so that they might
be put quickly into commission, he grudged every moment of forced
separation from her while he was in consultation with the Government
and attending to his own private preparations, which were sedulously
attended to. Nothing of moment seems to have been left to chance. Not
even the coffin that Captain Hallowell had given him was overlooked,
for he called to give instructions to the people who had it in safe
keeping, and gave them instructions to have the history of it engraved
on the lid, as he might want it on his return, which is further
evidence that he was permanently impressed with the fate that awaite