which was done, and the
fleet immediately returned to its station off the Texel. At last, on the
morning of the 11th October, 1797, the Dutch fleet came out in great
force, and formed in line of battle; that is, with their broadsides
towards our ships. Then Admiral Duncan said to my father, "Fairfax, what
shall we do?"--"Break their line, sir, and draw up on the other side,
where they will not be so well prepared."--"Do it, then, Fairfax." So my
father signalled accordingly. The circumstances of the battle, which was
nobly fought on both sides, are historical. Nine ships of the line and
two frigates were taken, and my father was sent home to announce the
victory to the Admiralty. The rejoicing was excessive; every town and
village was illuminated; and the Administration, relieved from the fear
of a revolution, continued more confidently its oppressive measures.

When Admiral Duncan came to London, he was made a Baron, and afterwards
Earl of Camperdown; and, by an unanimous vote of the House of Commons,
he received a pension or a sum of money, I forget which; my father was
knighted, and made Colonel of Marines. Earl Spencer was First Lord of
the Admiralty at the time, and Lady Spencer said to my father, "You ask
for the promotion of your officers, but you never have asked a reward
for yourself." He replied, "I leave that to my country." But his country
did nothing for him; and at his death my mother had nothing to live upon
but the usual pension of an Admiral's widow, of seventy-five pounds
a-year. Our friends, especially Robert Ferguson, junior, of Raith, made
various attempts to obtain an addition to it; but it was too late:
Camperdown was forgotten.

I remember one morning going to Lord Camperdown's house in Edinburgh
with my mother, to see a very large painting, representing the
quarter-deck of the "Venerable," Admiral Duncan, as large as life,
standing upright, and the Dutch Admiral, De Winter, presenting his sword
to my father. Another representation of the same scene may be seen among
the numerous pictures of naval battles which decorate the walls of the
great hall at Greenwich Hospital. Many years afterwards I was surprised
to see an engraving of this very picture in the public library at
Milan. I did not know that one existed.

At a great entertainment given to Lord Duncan by the East India Company,
then in great power, the President asked my father, who sat at his left
hand, if he had any relation in India? H