s which he had chosen,
and especially to refit the _Victory_, which was once more to bear his
flag.

Before he left London he called at his upholsterer's, where the coffin,
which Captain Hallowell had given him, was deposited; and desired that
its history might be engraven upon the lid, saying, it was highly
probable that he might want it on his return. He seemed, indeed, to have
been impressed with an expectation that he should fall in the battle. In
a letter to his brother, written immediately after his return, he had
said: "We must not talk of Sir Robert Calder's battle--I might not have
done so much with my small force. If I had fallen in with them, you
might probably have been a lord before I wished; for I know they meant
to make a dead set at the _Victory_."

Nelson had once regarded the prospect of death with gloomy satisfaction:
it was when he anticipated the upbraidings of his wife, and the
displeasure of his venerable father. The state of his feelings now was
expressed, in his private journal, in these words:

"Friday night (Sept. 13), at half-past ten, I drove from dear, dear
Merton, where I left all which I hold dear in this world, to go to serve
my king and country. May the great God, whom I adore, enable me to
fulfil the expectations of my country! and, if it is His good pleasure
that I should return, my thanks will never cease being offered up to the
throne of His mercy. If it is His good providence to cut short my days
upon earth, I bow with the greatest submission; relying that He will
protect those so dear to me, whom I may leave behind! His will be done!
Amen! Amen! Amen!"

Early on the following morning he reached Portsmouth; and, having
despatched his business on shore, endeavoured to elude the populace by
taking a by-way to the beach; but a crowd collected in his train,
pressing forward to obtain a sight of his face;--many were in tears, and
many knelt down before him, and blessed him as he passed. England has
had many heroes, but never one who so entirely possessed the love of his
fellow-countrymen as Nelson. All men knew that his heart was as humane
as it was fearless; that there was not in his nature the slightest alloy
of selfishness or cupidity; but that, with perfect and entire devotion,
he served his country with all his heart, and with all his soul, and
with all his strength; and, therefore, they loved him as truly and as
fervently as he loved England. They pressed upon the parapet to g