them drift so. You have given me a lesson in coast-defence, and now you

shall be boarded by the ladies. You possess some gifts of the tongue,

my friend, as well as great gifts of hand and eye; but I will back my

daughters to beat you there. Come up to the house. No turning of tail."

"I spoke very well in the House of Lords," said Nelson, in his simple

way, "in reply to the speech of his Majesty, and again about the

Commissioner's Bill; or at least everybody tells me so. But in the House

of Ladies I hold my tongue, because there is abundance without it."

This, however, he failed to do when the matter came to the issue; for

his godchild Horatia, more commonly called Dolly, happened to be in the

mood for taking outrageous liberties with him. She possessed very little

of that gift--most precious among women--the sense of veneration; and to

her a hero was only a man heroic in acts of utility. "He shall do it,"

she said to Faith, when she heard that he was come again; "if I have to

kiss him, he shall do it; and I don't like kissing those old men."

"Hush!" said her elder sister. "Dolly, you do say things so recklessly.

One would think that you liked to kiss younger men! But I am sure that

is not your meaning. I would rather kiss Lord Nelson than all the young

men in the kingdom."

"Well done, Faith! All the young men in the kingdom! How recklessly you

do say things! And you can't kiss him--he is MY godfather. But just see

how I get round him, if you have wits enough to understand it."

So these two joined in their kind endeavour to make the visitor useful,

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