at his expense."

This is only one of the noble traits in Nelson's character, and is the
secret why he unconsciously endeared himself to everybody. His comical
vanity and apparent egotism is overshadowed by human touches such as
this worthy intervention on behalf of Sir Robert Calder, who he had
reason to know was not professionally well disposed to him. But his
defence of Calder did not close with Fremantle, for in a letter to his
brother soon after he got home he says, "We must now talk of Sir
Robert Calder. I might not have done so much with my small force. If I
had fallen in with them, you might probably have been a lord before I
wished; for I know they meant to make a dead set at the _Victory_."
These lines alone show how reverently the writer adhered to the
brotherly tie of the profession. He seems to say, "Let us have no more
talk of puerilities. I am the stronger. I have recently been
frustrated myself. I know this business better than Calder's traducers
do, and therefore conceive it my duty to defend him. He also has
rendered great services to his country."

When it was known that he had arrived in England, he was overwhelmed
with generous tokens of affection and gratitude from all classes.
Thousands crowded into Portsmouth to see him land, and the cheering
was long and lusty. In London the mob, drunk with excitement,
struggled to get sight of him, many crushing their way so that they
might shake him by the hand or even touch him. Lord Minto said he met
him in Piccadilly, took him by the arm, and was mobbed also. He goes
on to say: "It is really quite affecting to see the wonder,
admiration, and love for him from gentle and simple the moment he is
seen," and concludes by stating that it is beyond anything represented
in a play or in a poem of fame.