upon his pay as captain of the BOREAS." Nevertheless, the sense of what
he thought unworthy usage did not diminish his zeal. "I," said he, "must
buffet the waves in search of--What? Alas! that they called honour
is thought of no more. My fortune, God knows, has grown worse for the
service; so much for serving my country! But the devil, ever willing to
tempt the virtuous, has made me offer, if any ships should be sent to
destroy his Majesty of Morocco's ports, to be there; and I have some
reason to think that, should any more come of it, my humble services
will be accepted. I have invariably laid down, and followed close, a
plan of what ought to be uppermost in the breast of an officer,--that
it is much better to serve an ungrateful country than to give up his
own fame. Posterity will do him justice. A uniform course of honour and
integrity seldom fails of bringing a man to the goal of fame at last."

The design against the Barbary pirates, like all other designs
against them, was laid aside; and Nelson took his wife to his father's
parsonage, meaning only to pay him a visit before they went to France;
a project which he had formed for the sake of acquiring a competent
knowledge of the French language. But his father could not bear to lose
him thus unnecessarily. Mr. Nelson had long been an invalid, suffering
under paralytic and asthmatic affections, which, for several hours after
he rose in the morning, scarcely permitted him to speak. He had been
given over by his physicians for this complaint nearly forty years
before his death; and was, for many of his latter years, obliged to
spend all his winters at Bath. The sight of his son, he declared, had
given him new life. "But, Horatio," said he, "it would have been better
that I had not been thus cheered, if I am so soon to be bereaved of you
again. Let me, my good son, see you whilst I can. My age and infirmities
increase, and I shall not last long." To such an appeal there could be
no reply. Nelson took up his abode at the parsonage, and amused himself