LET the country mourn their hero; I grieve for the loss of the most fascinating companion I ever conversed with — the greatest and most simple of men — one of the nicest and most innocent — interesting beyond all, on shore, in public and even in private life.
Men are not always themselves and put on their behaviour with their clothes, but if you live with a man on board a ship for years; if you are continually with him in his cabin, your mind will soon find out how to appreciate him.
I could for ever tell you the qualities of this beloved man. I have not shed a tear for years before the 21st of October and since, whenever alone, I am quite like a child.
Précis
After Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, his navy chaplain, Alexander Scott, wrote about the man behind the national hero, testifying that Nelson was honest, approachable, and full of interesting conversation. Scott admitted that the memory of his friend moved him tears on every anniversary of the Trafalgar battle. (55 / 60 words)
