Hewson withdrew to a neighboring alehouse, boasting of the character the admiral had given him.  Month after month passed away, but Hewson returned not—­his shop-tools were abandoned, and no one could account for his absence.  At length a stripling, in a sailor’s jacket, entered the manufactory and said, “he was come to settle his father’s affairs.”  This was no other than Hewson’s son, from whose account it appeared, that when Hewson, somewhat elevated with liquor, but more with the praise the admiral had bestowed on him, quitted Birmingham, he walked his way down to Portsmouth, entered once more on board Lord Nelson’s ship, and fell with him in the battle of Trafalgar.

At the battle of Trafalgar, Collingwood, in the Royal Sovereign, led the lee-line of fourteen ships, Nelson, in the Victory, was at the head of the weather-line, consisting of fourteen ships.  Besides these there were four frigates.

The ships of France and Spain, opposed to the British, were in number thirty-three, with seven large frigates.  The odds were great against the English, but the superior tactics, and well-known bravery of Nelson, clothed him with power, that more than made up the difference.  When every thing was prepared for the engagement, Nelson retired into his cabin alone, and wrote down the following prayer.

“May the great God, whom I worship grant to my country, and for the benefit of Europe in general, a great and glorious victory, and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it, and may humanity after victory, be the predominant feature in the British fleet!  For myself, individually, I commit my life to Him that made me; and may his blessing alight on my endeavors for serving my country faithfully!  To him I resign myself, and the just cause which is entrusted to me to defend.  Amen!  Amen!  Amen!”

He wore on the day of the battle his admiral’s frock coat, and on his left breast, over his heart, four stars of the orders of honor, which had been conferred upon him.  Those around thought it was dangerous to wear his stars, lest he should be too plainly seen by the enemy, but they were afraid to tell him so, because he had said, “In honor I gained them, and in honor I will die with them.”

The effect produced by the signal given by Lord Nelson, “England expects every man to do his duty!” was wonderful; it ran from ship to ship, from man to man, from heart to heart, like a train of gunpowder.  Officers and men seemed animated with one spirit, and that was a determination to win the day, or at least never to surrender to the enemy.

The captains commanded on their quarterdecks; the boatswains in the forecastle; the gunners attended to the magazines, and the carpenters with their plug-shots, put themselves in readiness with high-wrought energy, nor were the seamen and marines a whit behind hand in entering on their several duties.  The guns, the tackle, the round, grape, and canister-shot, the powder-boys, the captains of guns, with their priming-boxes, and the officers with their drawn swords, cut an imposing appearance; and the cock-pit would have made a rudy face turn pale.