BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS OF CHARLES EDMUND NUGENT, ESQ VICE-ADMIRAL OF THE BLUE SQUADRON

Summary

“—Fierce in the fight;

“Bold as the roving monarch of the woods;

“But, in the hour of peace, serene and mild,

“And gaily cheerful as the morn of spring.

“Benignly placid, too, he smiles on all,

“Each gentler virtue beaming in his eye.”

Anon.

Vice-admiral nugent, the respected officer whose memoirs we now present to the public, was grandson to the late Earl of Nugent, an immediate descendant from Richard Nugent, the twelfth Lord Delvin, who, in 1621, was created Earl of Westmeath.

In all professions, and in every rank of life, from the sceptred monarch to the humblest trader, there is a certain spirit of jealousy and envy, which is unceasingly occupied in its baneful endeavours to corrode the peace of individuals, and to cast a shade over the brightest actions of humanity. Much to the honour of the Navy, however, as far as our opportunity for remark has extended, that profession exhibits less jealousy, less envy, and less narrow-mindedness than any other. The British sailor is open, candid, and generous; he scorns to withhold from a comrade his just portion of well-earned praise; and rather than attempt to rob him of his laurels, would be himself the unbought herald of his fame.