not only
the rooms, but the whole house, staircase and all, are covered with
nothing but pictures of her and him, of all sizes and sorts, and
representations of his naval actions, coats-of-arms, pieces of plate
in his honour, the flag-staff of L'Orient, &c.--an excess of vanity
which counteracts its own purpose. If it was Lady Hamilton's house
there might be a pretence for it; to make his own house a mere
looking-glass to view himself all day is bad taste. Braham, the
celebrated Jew singer, performed with Lady Hamilton. She is horrid,
but he entertained me in spite of her." Of this same period, but a
year later, at the time of Hamilton's death, Minto wrote: "Lady
Hamilton talked very freely [to me] of her situation with Nelson, and
the construction the world may have put upon it, but protested that
their attachment had been perfectly pure, which I declare I can
believe, though I am sure it is of no consequence whether it be so or
not. The shocking injury done to Lady Nelson is not made less or
greater, by anything that may or may not have occurred between him and
Lady Hamilton."

On the 6th of November, 1861, Mr. Matcham, a nephew of Lord Nelson,
wrote for the "Times" some reminiscences of the great admiral, as he
had known him in private life, both at this period, and three years
later, just before Trafalgar. His letter was elicited by the
publication of the "Remains of Mrs. Trench." In this had appeared
extracts from her journal, when Mrs. St. George, containing statements
derogatory to Nelson's conduct in Dresden, when on the journey from
Trieste to Hamburg in the year 1800; some of which have been quoted
already in this work.[48] Mr. Matcham's words, so far as they relate
to Nelson himself, are here given in full[49]:--

I too Sir, as well as "the Lady," had some knowledge of that
person, so much honoured and so much maligned; and although I do
not defend his one great error (though in that, with some
palliation, there were united elements of a generous and noble
nature), I venture to say that whoever forms a notion of his
manners and deportment in private life from this account of him,
will labour under a very great delusion.

I visited my uncle twice during the short periods in which he
was on shore--once in 1802, during his journey to Wales, when he
was received at Oxford and other places; and the second time at
his house at Merton, in 1805, for three weeks precedi