ath of duty, through all
opposition, to the goal of success. It is reported that an officer of
the "Boreas," speaking to him of the vexations and odium he had
undergone, used the word "pity." Nelson's reply showed the profound
confidence which throughout had animated him, keenly as he had
undoubtedly felt the temporary anxieties. "Pity, did you say? I shall
live, Sir, to be envied; and to that point I shall always direct my
course."

By the departure of Sir Richard Hughes Nelson was left senior officer
upon the station until his own return home, a twelvemonth later. In
November he renewed his acquaintance with Prince William Henry, whom
he had known as a midshipman in 1782, and who now came to the Leeward
Islands a post-captain, in command of the frigate "Pegasus." The two
young men were not far apart in age, and an intimacy between them soon
arose, which ended only with the death of Nelson. The latter had a
profound reverence for royalty, both as an institution and as
represented in its members; and to this, in the present case, was
added a strong personal esteem, based upon the zeal and efficiency in
the discharge of official duties, which he recognized in one whose
rank would assure him impunity for any mere indifference. The prince,
on the other hand, quickly yielded to the charm of Nelson's
intercourse, so vividly felt by most who knew him, and to the
contagious enthusiasm which animated his conversation when talking of
his profession. This, also, his ardent imagination endowed with
possibilities and aspirations, not greater, indeed, than its deserts,
but which only the intuitions of a genius like his could realize and
vivify, imparting to slower temperaments something of his own fire. To
this association the prince afterwards attributed the awakening of
that strong interest in maritime affairs which he retained to the day
of his death. The two friends dined alternately one with the other,
and, in their association of some six months at this time, they
together fought over all the naval battles that during the recent war
had illustrated the waters through which they were then cruising.

The incessant energy displayed by Nelson, and the agitations through
which he passed during the three years of this stay upon the West
Indian station, again produced distressing symptoms in his general
health. To use his own words, the activity of the mind was "too much
for my puny constitution." "I am worn to a skeleton," he writ