a.
For if Quebec was not what it had been in the days of Sir Guy and
Lady Carleton, the sterner _regime_ of Haldimand had deeper influences
behind it than the militarism of a rigid soldier. Nevertheless, Nelson
and his gay company helped to lighten the heavy cloud, and for the
space of a few weeks dinners and dances, on shore and on board the
_Albemarle_, enlivened the autumn season in the capital. Southey's
_Life of Nelson_ contains rather a quaint picture of the commander of
the _Albemarle_ about this time. Prince William Henry, then known as
the Duke of Clarence, regarded him as the merest boy of a captain he
had ever seen. Dressed in a full-laced uniform, an old-fashioned
waistcoat with long flaps, and his lank, unpowdered hair tied in a
stiff Hessian tail of extraordinary length, he made altogether so
remarkable a figure that, to use the Prince's own words, "I had never
seen anything like it before, nor could I imagine who he was nor what
he came about. But his address and conversation were irresistibly
pleasing; and when he spoke on professional subjects, it was with an
enthusiasm which showed he was no common being."

[Illustration: The Fourth Duke of Richmond.
Governor General of Canada 1818-1819.]

Freemasons' Hall, at the top of Mountain Hill, was the fashionable
rendezvous ashore, and not since the days of Murray's garrison had the
old stone hostel been so merrily possessed. One Miss Mary Simpson
appears to have been a _belle_ of the period; and Sir James Le Moine,
the antiquary, has identified her as the lady whose charms might have
changed the course of history. "At Quebec," writes his biographer,
"Nelson became acquainted with Alexander Davison, by whose
interference he was prevented from making what would have been called
an imprudent marriage. The _Albemarle_ was about to leave the
station, her captain had taken leave of his friends, and was gone down
the river to the place of anchorage, when, the next morning, as
Davison was walking on the beach, to his surprise he saw Nelson coming
back in his boat. Upon inquiring the cause of his reappearance, Nelson
took his arm to walk towards the town, and told him he found it
utterly impossible to leave Quebec without again seeing the woman
whose society contributed so much to his happiness, and then and there
offering her his hand. 'If you do,' said his friend, 'your utter ruin
must inevitably follow.' 'Then let it follow,' cried Nelson; 'for I am
resolved to