On August 7th they began to haul the boats over the ice, Nelson having command of the four-oared cutter. The men behaved excellently well, like true British seamen: they seemed reconciled to the thought of leaving the ships, and had full confidence in their officers. About noon, the ice appeared rather more open near the vessels; and as the wind was easterly, though there was but little of it, the sails were set and they got about a mile to the westward. They moved very slowly, and were not now nearly so far to the westward as when they were first beset. However, all sail was kept upon them, to force them through whenever the ice slacked the least. Whatever exertions were made, it could not be possible to get the boats to the water's edge before the 14th; and if the situation of the ships should not alter by that time, it would not be justifiable to stay longer by them. The commander therefore resolved to carry on both attempts together, moving the boats constantly, and taking every opportunity of getting the ships through. A party was sent out next day to the westward to examine the state of the ice: they returned with tidings that it was very heavy and close, consisting chiefly of large fields. The ships, however, moved something, and the ice itself was drifting westward. There was a thick fog, so that it was impossible to ascertain what advantage had been gained. It continued on the 9th; but the ships were moved a little through some very small openings: the mist cleared off in the afternoon, and it was then perceived that they had driven much more than could have been expected to the westward, and that the ice itself had driven still farther. In the course of the day they got past the boats, and took them on board again. On the morrow the wind sprang up to the north-north-east. All sail was set, and the ships forced their way through a great deal of very heavy ice. They frequently struck, and with such force that one stroke broke the shank of the Racehorse's best bower anchor; but the vessels made way, and by noon they had cleared the ice and were out at sea.
The ships were paid off shortly after their return to England; and Nelson was then placed by his uncle with Captain Farmer, in the Seahorse, of twenty guns, then going out to the East Indies in the squadron under Sir Edward Hughes. His good conduct attracted the attention of the master (afterwards Captain Surridge), and, upon his recommendation, the captain rated him as midshipman. At this time his countenance was florid, and his appearance rather stout and athletic; but when he had been about eighteen months in India he felt the effects of that climate, so perilous to European constitutions. The disease baffled all power of medicine; he was reduced almost to a skeleton; the use of his limbs was for some time entirely lost; and the only hope that remained was from a voyage home. Accordingly he was brought home by Captain Pigot, in the Dolphin; and had it not been for the attentive and careful kindness of that officer on the way, Nelson would never have lived to reach his native shores.
Soon after his return, on April 8th, 1777, he passed his examination for a lieutenancy. Captain Suckling sat at the head of the board; and when the examination had ended, in a manner highly honourable to Nelson, rose from his seat, and introduced him to the examining captains as his nephew. They expressed their wonder that he had not informed them of this relationship before; he replied that he did not wish the younker to be favoured; he knew his nephew would pass a good examination, and he had not been deceived.
[FIRST STEPS UP THE LADDER.]
A CHAPTER FROM NELSON'S CAREER.
BY ROBERT SOUTHEY.
Though Nelson did not live to be an old man, he crowded his life with so much activity that it is quite impossible to follow it in detail within the limits of the present space. Active to restlessness, he wearied beyond endurance of perfunctory duty and official routine, and if active service did not come in his way he sought it. The death of his uncle, Captain Suckling, soon after he had obtained his lieutenancy, threw him upon his own resources, and compelled him to look out for himself. This naturally strengthened his self-reliance and helped to develop his character.
On the day following his examination for a lieutenancy Nelson was appointed to the Lowestoffe frigate,—Captain William Locher then fitting out for Jamaica,—from whence he passed to the Bristol flag-ship and soon became first lieutenant. On December 8th, 1778, he was appointed to the command of the Badger brig. While the Badger was lying in Montego Bay an incident occurred which showed the coolness and readiness of resource of the young officer. The Glasgow, a craft of twenty guns, having entered the bay and cast anchor, was found to be on fire, the steward having carelessly caused the conflagration while taking rum from the after hold. Many of the crew sought safety in flight, leaping into the water to escape the inevitable explosion of the magazine. Nelson, however, was soon upon the spot, when he compelled the remainder of the crew to throw the powder overboard and point the cannon upwards, thereby minimising the evil consequences of the catastrophe.
Shortly after this Nelson was employed in conveying five hundred men from Port Royal to Cape Gracias a Dios in Honduras, in furtherance of a project of General Dalling to take Fort San Juan and cut off the communication of the Spaniards between their northern and southern possessions in America.