This was the
crowning effort of seven years spent in virtually independent
command in time of war--seven years, too, illustrated by more
than one great victory.
The more closely we look into Nelson's tactical achievements,
the more effective and brilliant do they appear. It is the same
with his character and disposition. The more exact researches
and investigations of recent times have removed from his name
the obloquy which it pleased some to cast upon it. We can see
now that his 'childlike, delighted vanity'--to use the phrase
of his greatest biographer--was but a thin incrustation on noble
qualities. As in the material world valueless earthy substances
surround a vein of precious metal, so through Nelson's moral
nature there ran an opulent lode of character, unimpaired in
its priceless worth by adjacent frailties which, in the majority
of mankind, are present without any precious stuff beneath them.
It is with minds prepared to see this that we should commemorate
our great admiral.
Veneration of Nelson's memory cannot be confined to particular
objects or be limited by locality. His tomb is wider than the
space covered by dome or column, and his real monument is more
durable than any material construction. It is the unwritten and
spiritual memorial of him, firmly fixed in the hearts of his
fellow-countrymen.
X
THE SHARE OF THE FLEET IN THE DEFENCE OF THE EMPIRE[89]
[Footnote 89: Written in 1907.
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