opriate speech, complimentary of the hero's splendid
achievements during the war; and soliciting his acceptance of the
freedom of the city, presented in a box cut from the _apple-tree_--"the
pride of the country; and of whose noble juice," concluded Mr. Lambe,
"many libations will not fail to be offered to the long health,
prosperity, and happiness, of the great and glorious conqueror of the
Nile!" Lord Nelson, respectfully putting the box to his lips, returned
his sincere thanks, for an honour which, he said, he should never
forget--that of having his name enrolled among the freemen of Hereford.
It was true, he had stood forward in the defence of his king and
country, in many engagements: yet the honour and renown, for the
brilliant victories which the fleets under him had obtained, were not
attributable to himself, but must be ascribed, first, to the Deity; and,
next, to the undaunted courage, skill, and discipline, of those officers
and seamen whom it had been his good fortune to command--not one of
whom, he was proud to say, had ever in the least swerved from his duty.
"Should this nation," concluded his lordship, "ever experience a state
similar to that from which it has been recently extricated, I have not
the slightest doubt, from the result of my observations during this
tour, that the native, the inbred spirit of Britons, whilst it continues
as firmly united as at present, is fully adequate successfully to repel
any attack, either foreign or domestic, which our enemies may dare to
make. You have but to say, to your fleets and armies--Go ye forth, and
fight our battles; whilst we, true to ourselves, protect and support
your wives and little ones at home." The impression made by this speech
is inconceivable. The Reverend Mr. Morgan, canon-residentiary, also
addressed his lordship, on the part of the bishop and clergy of the
diocese; and, being charged, by the venerable bishop, to express his
regret at being deprived, by extreme age and infirmity, of the honour of
paying his personal respects to Lord Nelson in the town-hall, his
lordship immediately replied that, as the son of a clergyman, and from
having been bred up in a sense of the highest veneration for the church
and it's able ministers, while he sincerely lamented the cause of
absence, he conceived it a duty, which he would perform with the utmost
willingness, to wait on his lordship at the episcopal palace. This, on
returning from the hall, he accordingly di