‘4. I had gone to look for moths, which always fly by night.' Mr. Bunby gave a sigh of relief, and called up his own class to construe their Horace.

When morning-school was over, Vane sent a boy to fetch Stretton to him in the class-room, which was now available for a confidential interview, the boys being all outside in the playground.

'Stretton,' said Vane-and the triumph which he felt made him unusually magisterial in his manner-I was pained and surprised to hear from Mr. Bunby last night that he had found it necessary to expel you. Your work and behaviour, as far as I have had an opportunity of judging them, had, however, up to this point given me every satisfaction; and in consideration of that I asked Mr. Bunby, as a personal favour to myself, to overlook your offence. You will be pleased to hear that he has done so.'

Thanks awfully, sir,' said Stretton. I was fearfully cut up about it, but I thought you'd get me off, because He paused in some embarrassment.

Why, my boy?' asked Vane kindly.

'Because, sir, you see, I knew that you thought the same way as I did about smoking?'

'How could you possibly know anything of the kind?' 'Well, I can hardly say.'

'But I insist.'

'Well, sir, after the Plain Bun-I mean, after Mr. Bunby had expelled me I didn't consider that I belonged to the school any more, or that I need trouble about the rules. And Pilbury hadn't given up his cigars when I gave up mine. So I got one of Pilbury's cigars last night, and let myself out through Wilkins's bedroom window. And I went down to the shrubbery to smoke it, and when I got there I saw

'Not another word,' said Vane hurriedly, 'not another word. I quite understand you. Of course I could explain everything to you, but I think it would be better simply to say nothing about it to any one.'

And Stretton thought so too.

277

THE BATTLE OF COPENHAGEN.

A DANISH ACCOUNT OF THE ACTION.

ON March 12, 1801, a great British fleet got under weigh in the roads of Yarmouth. It consisted of twenty ships of the line and a large number of frigates, brigs, and bomb vessels. Its destination being Copenhagen, its course was laid for the Cattegat in the Danish waters. The fleet was under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker; the renowned Nelson, the hero of the Nile, being second in command. On board the fleet was a land force consisting of a line regiment, two companies of rifles, and a detachment of artillery, the whole under the command of Col. Stewart; also a minister-plenipotentiary, Mr. Vansittard, whose mission it was to make a last attempt to induce Denmark to abandon the League of Armed Neutrality. He left the fleet at Skagen and proceeded in a fast sailing frigate direct to the Danish capital. But as the Danish Government refused any negotiations while England maintained her hostile attitude, he accomplished nothing, and soon after left Copenhagen accompanied by Drummond, the British Minister Resident at the Danish Court.

The

After a stormy passage the fleet was at last sighted above the entrance to the Sound, where it hovered for several days waiting for a fair wind before it attempted to force the passage of the fortress of Kronborg. At last a northerly wind sprung up during the night of March 29, and the following morning the whole fleet sailed with a fresh breeze towards the mouth of the Sound, which is commanded by the castle of Kronborg, the traditional Prince Hamlet's Castle, near the town of Elsinore, at the entrance to the strait that separates Denmark from the coast of Sweden. Castle opened a brisk fire, but the fleet, after casting a few bombs into the town, prudently gave the castle a wide berth and sheered off to the Swedish coast, beyond the range of its guns. Although Gustavus IV. was a member of the Armed Neutrality League, no fortifications had been erected on the Swedish side to bar the passage of the hostile fleet. It was successfully accomplished, and towards nightfall the British Armada came to an anchor in a widely extended line between the Isle of Hveen and Copenhagen; the southern ships being within four miles of the Danish capital.

Although the fortress of Kronborg had not been able to hinder the passage of the fleet, yet it detained it for some days, while Parker was waiting for a fair wind. It was a precious time gained for the Danes, who worked day and night in preparing for the coming conflict.

Already in the month of January had the Danish Government, in view of the strained relations with England, commenced preparations to make her fleet effective, but even if time had been sufficient, it would have been impossible to man it, seeing that the great majority of Danish seamen were absent in distant seas in peaceable merchantmen, and had not yet had time to respond to the call of arms in defence of their country. Accordingly a makeshift was adopted. Along the sea front of the city were anchored a line of old men of war, condemned hulks, mastless and with the spar-deck cut away, the only top-hamper being a jury pole for signalling purposes and to show the pennant. Astern, of course, flowed the split flag of old Denmark, the Danebrog, a white cross in a red field. These hulks were moored fore and aft and in a position sufficiently removed from the city to protect it and the arsenals from the guns and bombs of the enemy.1

The water of the Sound is nowhere of considerable depth, and between Saltholm and the city a great shoal (the Middle ground) divides it in two channels, the eastern known as the Dutchdeep and the western as the Kingsdeep. To the west of this last is another shoal, called the Refshaleground, on the northern extremity of which is the strong fort or battery of the Threecrowns. In the Kingsdeep along this Refshale shoal the Danish line of defence had taken up its position. The first ship at the south was Prövesteen [touchstone], next to that Vagrien, then Vylland, Dannebroge, Sjælland, and Holsteen. Between these hulks, or blockships as they were called, were some frigates, prams, and a floating battery. Only the prams Rensborg and Nyborg and two small corvettes carried sails. Sjælland and Holsteen were still in the service, full-rigged ships but with no sails bent, for which there was indeed no use, as they, like the other Danish ships, were immovable, being moored fore and aft. Sjælland was a 74-gun ship; the hulks carried from 50 to 60 each, but as they all were stationary, only the starboard batteries could be used.

1 Why we did not utilise the effective ships available is hard to say. To the last it was believed that England was not in earnest. The actual departure of the British fleet roused at last the nation to a sense of its danger.

The Northern Division, which did not take part in the action, was supported on one side by the Threecrown battery and on the other by the City Castle. It consisted of two great block ships, Elephanten 70, and Mars 64 guns, and a movable squadron of two line-of-battle ships, a frigate and two brigs, under the command of Steen Bille, the hero of Tripolis. The brunt of battle was borne by the immovable line of defence under Commodore Olfert Fisher, whose flag flew on the Dannebroge.

As soon as it was known in Copenhagen that the British fleet was off the Sound, business came at once to a standstill, and all able-bodied men hastened to make ready for the coming conflict. A noble enthusiasm prevailed among all classes. The love of the fatherland and the old flag were stimulated by the poets of the day, and recollections were awakened of our old victories in the days of Juel, Hvidfeldt, and Tordenskjold. Our last naval war terminated early in the eighteenth century, and we had enjoyed an uninterrupted peace for eighty years. The students of the University enrolled themselves as volunteers, a thousand strong, and were at drill from morning to night. Their band must probably have been the best ever known, as it comprised the whole orchestra of the Royal Theatre, who volunteered their services. Although there was a great scarcity of seamen, yet the manning of the ships was readily effected. All sorts and conditions of men reported themselves ready to fight for their flag and country; but these people who were thus to contend with the veterans of old England consisted, apart from militia and artillerists, mainly of farmers, artisans, and day-labourers-a scratch crew with hardly a sailor in twenty. It may safely be said the greater part had never handled a gun till a few days before the battle, during which the gun drill never ceased. A few of the officers had seen service in their younger days in the English and French navy, but the majority had yet to receive their baptism of fire. The number was limited, too, and most of the lieutenants were skippers and mates of merchant ships serving as such. The Commander-in-Chief, Olfert Fisher, was considered an able seaman, and had saved his ship in a hurricane at the Cape of Good Hope, while several foreign men-of-war went ashore with the loss of nearly their whole crews; but like most of his officers he had never smelt powder. To oppose with such material the splendid English battle-ships, manned by trained seamen inured to war, and commanded by the renowned Nelson himself, seemed indeed

an act of temerity, yet, in the result, it proved by no means so audacious as it appeared.

In the meantime, the British fleet remained where it was during two whole days; its time being occupied in ascertaining the depths of water in the Dutchdeep, the left channel looking south. At the edge of the Middle ground some small craft were anchored as a guide to the great battle-ships.

At a council of war held on board the London, Parker's flagship, several officers doubted that an attack upon the 'strong' position of the Danes could prove successful; but Nelson held a different opinion, and boldly offered to annihilate the Danish line of defence within an hour if the admiral would give him ten ships of the line and all the frigates and bomb-ships. The offer was accepted, and Parker added two more liners. In the course of the protracted battle, Sir Hyde is said to have remarked that it was a 'devilish long hour' that Nelson took to make his promise good. The council then discussed the plan of attack. Some of the

captains were in favour of an attack on the northern wing, whilst others recommended an attack from the south. On the north, the Danish line was supported by the strong battery of the Threecrowns (sixty guns), to engage which, Nelson remarked, would indeed be to take the bull by the horns.' The southern division was much weaker and had no support, and an attack from that point would have the additional advantage of cutting Copenhagen off from any possible relief from Russia or Sweden. Nelson's opinion prevailed the more as a brisk southerly breeze had sprung up, which would be a fair wind for the British after having passed the eastern channel. During the night Nelson explored personally in an open boat the Dutchdeep with the leadline, strange to say, without being noticed or molested by the Danes. The day after, he made a fresh reconnaisance in the frigate Amazon. On the morning of April 1, his fleet weighed and stood southward. It comprised in all thirty-six sail, of 1,190 guns, with a crew of upwards of 7,000 men. Parker's division of eight ships of the line kept cruising between Hveen and the city, menacing the Danish northern wing.1

1 The Danish line of defence carried 630 guns, and the Crown battery 60, manned by 5,063 men. The British had a decided superiority in ships, guns, and men, and had the action taken place in the open sea, the Danes would have been nowhere; but in this case the attacking party had to solve the difficult problem of navigating an intricate and little-known channel, running the risk of stranding several of their ships and unable to secure a retreat. Nelson's action was bold in the extreme; but he trusted to his lucky star, and it did not fail him,