ommunication with his colleague, Sir Thomas Hardy, from whom
he received them. They were mentioned as anecdotes of Lord Nelson, to
show his instinctive judgment of men. They both go further.

When Lord Nelson was preparing to follow the French fleet to the West
Indies, Captain Hardy was present as he gave directions to the commander
of a frigate to make sail with all speed,--to proceed to certain points,
where he was likely to see the French,--having seen the French, to go to
a certain harbour, and there wait Lord Nelson's coming. After the
commander had left the cabin, Nelson said to Hardy, "He will go to the
West Indies, he will see the French, he will go to the harbour I have
directed, but he will not wait for me. He will return to England." He
did so. Shortly before the battle of Trafalgar, an English frigate was
in advance of the fleet looking out for the enemy; her place in the
offing was hardly discernible. Captain Hardy was with Nelson on the
quarter-deck of the Victory. Without any thing to lead to it, Nelson
said, "The Celeste" (or whatever the frigate's name may have been)--"the
Celeste sees the French." Hardy had nothing to say on the matter. "She
sees the French; she'll fire a gun." Within a little, the boom of the
gun was heard.

Socrates, it is well known, had singular intimations, which he
attributed to a familiar or demon. One day being with the army, he tried
to persuade an officer, who was going across the country, to take a
different route to that which he intended; "If you take that," he said,
"you will be met and slain." The officer, neglecting his advice, was
killed, as Socrates had forewarned him.

Timarchus, who was curious on the subject of the demon of Socrates, went
to the cave of Trophonius, to learn of the oracle about it. There,
having for a short time inhaled the mephitic vapour, he felt as if he
had received a sudden blow on the head, and sank down insensible. Then
his head appeared to him to open and to give issue to his soul into the
other world; and an imaginary being seemed to inform him that, "the part
of the soul engaged in the body, entrammelled in its organisation, is
the soul is ordinarily understood; but that there is another part or
province of the soul, which is the demon. This has a certain control
over the bodily soul, and among other offices constitutes conscience. In
three months," the vision added, "you will know more of this." At the
end of three months Timarchus died