The first thing to be noted concerning him is that he is the only man who has ever lived who by universal consent is without a peer.  This is said in full view of the new constellation rising above the Eastern horizon; for that constellation, brilliant as it is, has not yet reached the meridian.  In every walk of life, except that which Nelson chose as his own, you will find several competitors for the first place, each one of whom will have many supporters.  Alexander of Macedon, Hannibal, Caesar, Marlborough, Frederick the Great, and Napoleon have been severally put forward for the palm of generalship.  To those who would acclaim Richelieu as the first of statesmen, others would oppose Chatham, or William Pitt, or Cavour, or Bismarck, or Marquis Ito.  Who was the first of sculptors? who the first of painters? who the first of poets?  In every case there is a great difference of opinion.  Ask, however, who was the first of admirals, and the unanimous reply will still be—­’Nelson,’ tried as he was by many years of high command in war.  It is not only amongst his fellow-countrymen that his preeminence is acknowledged.  Foreigners admit it as readily as we proclaim it ourselves.

We may consider what it was that gave Nelson this unique position among men.  The early conditions of his naval career were certainly not favourable to him.  It is true that he was promoted when young; but so were many other officers.  Nelson was made a commander only a few months after the outbreak of war between Great Britain and France, and was made a post-captain within a few days of the declaration of war by Spain.  An officer holding a rank qualifying him for command at the outset of a great war might well have looked forward confidently to exceptional opportunities of distinguishing himself.  Even in our own days, when some trifling campaign is about to be carried on, the officers who are employed where they can take no part in it vehemently lament their ill-fortune.  How much more disheartening must it have been to be excluded from active participation in a great and long-continued conflict!  This was Nelson’s case.  As far as his hopes of gaining distinction were concerned, fate seemed to persecute him pertinaciously.  He was a captain of more than four years’ seniority when the treaty of Versailles put an end to the war of American Independence.  Yet, with the exception of the brief Nicaragua expedition—­which by the side of the important occurrences of grand naval campaigns must have seemed insignificant—­his services during all those years of hostilities were uneventful, and even humdrum.  He seemed to miss every important operation; and when the war ended—­we may almost say—­he had never seen a ship fire a broadside in anger.