the French admiral, he was enabled to throw two of his ships upon every one of the weathermost of the enemy's line, thus attacking his foe in the very way that he most dreaded. The battle was fearful, lasting through the night, with the exception of a short pause at midnight-a fearful pause.

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Why did they stop fighting at midnight?"

"There was good reason for it, for the French admiral's ship L'Orient, a beautiful vessel of a hundred and twenty guns, was set in flames, and blew up with so dreadful an explosion, that, for a season, the rage of battle was suspended, and every one was struck with awe. The horrors of war were then indeed seen in the fearful destruction which had taken place. The French admiral had perished."

"What a number must have been killed in that ship!"

“There were only two ships out of the whole fleet of the enemy that made their escape! And thus was the better part of the French navy destroyed, the coast blockaded, and Buonaparte, who had invaded Egypt, cut off from holding communication with France. When the Orient blew up she had plunder on board, obtained from Malta, amounting to more than half a million of money. But what is money compared with human life!"

"What would Buonaparte do when he knew the best part of his navy was destroyed?"

"When Buonaparte heard of what had taken place he heaved a sigh. To France,' said he, 'the Fates have decreed the empire of the land; to England that of the sea.' Nelson said, that victory was not a word strong enough for the occasion. He sent orders through the fleet that a general thanksgiving might be offered up to Almighty God for the success which had attended his Majesty's arms."

"He never forgets that."

"It was an odd thing, that Captain Hallowell should have had a coffin made out of the mast of the Orient, but so it was, and he sent it to Nelson, with the following letter::

“‘I have taken the liberty of presenting you a coffin, made of the main-mast of L'Orient, that when you have finished your military career in this world, you may be buried in one of your trophies. But that that period may be far distant is the earnest wish of your sincere friend,

BENJAMIN HALLOWELL.'

"Nelson accepted it kindly, in the spirit in which it was sent."

"It was a very odd present to make.”

"It was, and the more so because sailors are very superstitious. I knew an instance myself wherein the better part of a ship's crew were

thrown into consternation by a noise which they heard day and night; a shrill tapping against the ship's side. This turned out to be no more than a suspended frying-pan tapping, with the motion of the vessel, against an iron or a copper bolt."

"What brave fellows they must have been!" "About the middle of the war which commenced in 1672, a party of French officers, dressed as fiends, with large tails, and pitchforks, presented themselves at midnight on the glacis of Valenciennes, then garrisoned by a Spanish corps. The terrified guards abandoned the covert way, and sought shelter in the town. Closely the French pursued, and secured one of the gates before the portcullis could be lowered. The garrison fled at their approach, and permitted them, without resistance, to occupy two of the bastions. Joined by a regiment of dragoons, Vauban, who commanded the party, took possession of what was then deemed the strongest fortress in Flanders.

"At the siege of Saragossa, in 1709, the Conde del Pueblo, who commanded for King Charles, succeeded in persuading the garrison and the citizens that the investing army consisted only of phantoms, raised by enchantment. For several days the people continued under this delusion; nor were they undeceived till a party of them, making a sortie, contrary to the orders of the court, had their heads cut off by the French light horse.

"It is not generally known that the capture of

Missolonghi by the Egyptians, was owing to the superstition of the Greeks. One of their augurs, looking through the blade-bone of a newly-killed sheep, prognosticated that all attempts to relieve it would be baffled. The Spezziote fleet immediately sailed away, leaving the brave Suliots to their fate."

Admiral Nelson. — The loss of his eye and his arm. — Struggle between Nelson's barge and the armed launch.-Sykes the coxswain. -Nelson's thanksgiving for his recovery. His coolness in danger. -Battle of Copenhagen.-Hewson the seaman.-Battle of the Nile. - Nelson's prayer before the battle of Trafalgar. His signals on board the Victory.-His wound.-His death.