Part 20

"MY DEAR SIR,

"I correspond to the urbanity merited by the letter with which you honoured me the 30th of May last.

"The ladies of Cadiz, accustomed to the noisy sounds of salutes of the vessels of war, will sit, and will hear what Sir John Jervis means to regale them with, for the evening of the 4th current, in honour of his Britannic majesty's birth-day; and the general wish of the Spanish nation cannot but interest itself in so august a motive.

"God preserve you, many years. I kiss your hands.

"Your attentive servant, "Josef de Mazerendo.

"P.S. I beg that you will be pleased to direct the two adjoined letters to the Admiral Jervis and to Sir James Saumarez."

Flags of truce, indeed, were continually passing, at this time, between the British and Spanish commanders; and peace, by the latter, at least, was ardently wished for.

The naval fete, proposed for his majesty's birth-day, had another object, which could not very courteously be hinted to the Spanish admiral. On that day, it seems, Rear-Admiral Nelson was invested, by his commander in chief, who personated the king on this occasion, with the insignia of the order of the Bath, and the gold medal, which had been transmitted by the sovereign, in consequence of the glorious victory of the 14th of February over the Spanish fleet.

The mutual civilities between the Spanish and British officers, while in expectation of peace, were certainly to the honour of both parties. It seems, however, to have been soon suspected, that advantage was taken of a most humane indulgence.

On the 30th of June, a letter was addressed, by Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson, to Don Josef Mazerendo, the Spanish admiral, from on board the Theseus, which evidently intimated apprehensions of such an effect.

"SIR,

"I am directed by my worthy commander in chief to inform your excellency, that numbers of the Spanish fishing-boats are found at such a distance from the land as plainly to evince that they have something farther in view than catching fish; and, therefore, that orders are given, that no fishing vessel be in future permitted to go farther from the shore than their usual fishing ground; which, we understand, is in about thirty-five fathoms water. Your excellency, I am confident, will receive this communication as an additional mark of attention from my commander in chief to the inhabitants of Cadiz and it's environs; and will take measures for the information of the fishermen that their boats will be sunk, if found acting in contradiction to this notification of the British admiral. With every sincere good wish towards your excellency, believe me, your most obedient,

"Horatio Nelson."

This seems the prelude of augmented precaution, and a more rigid adherence to the closeness of the blockade. It was usual to send, nightly, a guard of one or two boats, manned and armed, from each ship, into the very mouth of the harbour. These were supported by some gun-boats, purposely fitted for the occasion; and which, in case of attack, depended for their own protection on the interior line of ships under the command of Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson. With a view to enforce a strict attention throughout all the inferior branches of the service, the rear-admiral was accustomed to be rowed, in his barge, through these guard-boats, after they had been duly stationed for the night. Thus officers and men were kept constantly in a state of alertness; and ready to repel any attack which might be meditated against them from the blockaded port itself. The Spaniards, too, had equipped a number of gun-boats and large launches, in which they also rowed guard during the night, to prevent any nearer approach of the blockaders; who might, otherwise, they feared, suddenly annoy their fleet. On these occasions, they sometimes approached each other; and several little skirmishes had occurred, but none of any importance.

As the Spaniards seemed to be perpetually increasing the number of these gun-boats and armed launches, the British commander in chief thought it necessary to give them a timely check. So that, notwithstanding the occasional civilities of their epistolary correspondence, such are often the necessary deceptions of war, that hostilities were, perhaps, all the time, meditating by both parties. Certain it is, that on the night of the 3d of July, only three days after the date of the above letter, Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson received orders actually to bombard Cadiz, without any polite intimation to the ladies of that city of the real danger which now awaited them.

His letter to the commander in chief, on this occasion, will inform the reader how far it was successful.

"Theseus, July 4, 1797.

"SIR,

"In obedience to your orders, the Thunder bomb was placed, by the good management of Lieutenant Gomley, her present commander, assisted by Mr. Jackson, master of the Ville de Paris, who volunteered his able services, within two thousand five hundred yards of the walls of Cadiz; and the shells were thrown from her, with much precision, under the direction of Lieutenant Baynes of the Royal Artillery. But, unfortunately, it was soon found, that the large mortar was materially injured, from it's former services; I therefore judged it proper to order her to return, under the protection of the Goliah, Terpsichore, and Fox; which were kept under sail for that purpose, and for whose active services I feel much obliged.

"The Spaniards having sent out a great number of mortar and gun-boats, and armed launches, I directed a vigorous attack to be made on them; which was done with such gallantry, that they were drove and pursued close to the walls of Cadiz, and must have suffered considerable loss: and I have the pleasure to inform you, that two mortar-boats, and an armed launch, remain in our possession.

"I feel myself particularly indebted, for the successful termination of this contest, to the gallantry of Captains Freemantle and Miller, the former of whom accompanied me in my barge: and to my coxswain, John Sykes; who, in defending my person, is severely wounded, as was Captain Freemantle, slightly, in the attack: and my praises are, generally, due to every officer and man; some of whom I saw behave in the most noble manner, and I regret that it is not in my power to particularize them.

"I must also beg to be permitted to express my admiration of Don Miguel Tyrason, the commander of the Spanish gun-boats. In his barge, he laid my boat alongside, and his resistance was such as to honour a brave officer; eighteen of the twenty-six being killed, and himself and all the rest wounded.

"Not having a correct list of our killed and wounded, I can only state that, I believe, about six are killed, and twenty wounded.

"I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient servant,

"Horatio Nelson."

The encounter so modestly described in the above letter, was one of the sharpest conflicts in which the heroic writer had ever been engaged. Sir Horatio fought, hand to hand, with the Spanish commandant; and, though the crew of his own barge consisted only of himself, Captain Freemantle, the coxswain, and ten bargemen, they killed or wounded the whole of the twenty-six men, with the commandant, who were in the Spanish armed launch. Never, indeed, had the rear-admiral been in a more perilous state. It was always his opinion, that he would probably have lost his life, if his brave and most faithful coxswain, John Sykes, whose name deserves to be coexistent with that of Nelson, had not wilfully interposed his own head to save him from the blow of a Spanish sabre, which this generous man plainly perceived must otherwise prove fatal to his beloved master; and, though the poor fellow thus readily received the diverted stroke, it inflicted on his skull a very dangerous wound, which was for some time thought to be incurable. Even before this unexampled proof of attachment, had that worthy and gallant man saved Sir Horatio, more than once during the conflict, from the dangerous blows of his numerous assailants; several of whom Sykes, as well as his master, had mortally wounded.

Sir John Jervis, in his letter to the Admiralty, on this occasion, dated the 5th of July 1797, gives the handsomest and the highest possible encomium to Rear-Admiral Nelson.

"The rear-admiral," says he, "who is always present in the most arduous enterprises, with the assistance of some other barges, boarded and carried two of the enemy's gun-boats, and a barge-launch belonging to some of their ships of war, with the commandant of the flotilla. Rear-Admiral Nelson's actions speak for themselves; any praise of mine would fall very short of his merit!"