poor Lady Collingwood. It was five when we received the letter; your
father immediately enclosed the letter to the Vicar, to desire he
would break it to the family, and I wrote to the Mistress of the
School to acquaint the second girl. She wished to see no one or I
should have called the next day. Mr Reay heard of the event before we
did and recollecting that the Papers at Newcastle were delivered an
hour before the letters, wisely sent off an Express; therefore I trust
there was time for her to be somewhat prepared for the worst.

"With respect to ourselves, I need not tell you how shocked we were,
and unfortunately, we had not only a large party to dinner that night,
but some people in the evening. Amongst those who dined with us was
Captain Waldegrave, who had not heard of it till he came here, and I
never saw anyone so distressed, for Lord Collingwood had been a Father
to him as well as to William; and he is one of the most pleasing young
men I ever met with. Two days afterwards he brought here Mr Brown, the
flag-lieutenant of the _Ville de Paris_, who gave me many interesting
particulars, and spoke highly of William.

Your father has seen Lord Mulgrave twice, and it is settled that a
monument at the Publick expence shall be executed for Lord
Collingwood. He cannot have a publick funeral, but they wish the
family to bury him at St Paul's near Lord Nelson, which your father is
this day to write to propose, and I think it impossible Lady
Collingwood can have any objection, in which case it will be attended
by the Lords of the Admiralty & his own private friends. The Body is
now at Greenwich, for it arrived at Portsmouth as soon as the letters
announcing his death. He died like a hero, and when that character is
added, as it was in him, to the Christian, it is great indeed.