vasion, and that in some undefined way Nelson had stood, and would
yet stand, between them and harm. The rapidity of his movements left
little interval between the news of his being back at Gibraltar and
the announcement of his arrival at Portsmouth, which was not generally
expected. On the 19th of August, a day after the "Victory" anchored at
Spithead, Lord Radstock wrote: "'T is extraordinary no official
accounts have been received from Lord Nelson since the 27th of July.
He then hinted that he might perhaps go to Ireland; nevertheless, we
have had no tidings of him on that coast. I confess I begin to be
fearful that he has worried his mind up to that pitch, that he cannot
bear the idea of showing himself again to the world, until he shall
have struck some blow, and that it is this hope that is now making him
run about, half-frantic, in quest of adventures. That such
unparalleled perseverance and true valor should thus evaporate in air
is truly melancholy."

If any doubt of the approval of his countrymen mingled with the
distress Nelson unquestionably felt at having missed the enemy, he was
touchingly undeceived. As soon as the "Victory" and his flag were made
out, the people flocked to Portsmouth, collecting on the ramparts of
the town and other points of view, in inaudible testimony of welcome.
As the barge pulled to the shore, and upon landing, he was greeted
with loud and long-continued cheering. In London the same
demonstrations continued whenever he was recognized in public. "Lord
Nelson arrived a few days ago," wrote Radstock. "He was received in
town almost as a conqueror, and was followed round by the people with
huzzas. So much for a great and good name most nobly and deservedly
acquired." "I met Nelson in a mob in Piccadilly," wrote Minto at the
same time, "and got hold of his arm, so that I was mobbed too. It is
really quite affecting to see the wonder and admiration, and love and
respect of the whole world; and the genuine expression of all these
sentiments at once, from gentle and simple, the moment he is seen. It
is beyond anything represented in a play or in a poem of fame." In
these few days was concentrated the outward reward of a life spent in
the service of his country. During them, Nelson was conspicuously the
first man in England,--first alike in the love of the people and in
importance to the State.

On the private side, also, his life for this brief respite was
eminently happy, marred only by