the conquering Hero comes!” Being introduced, by the Duke of Norfolk, to the corporation, who were waiting to receive his lordship, he was immediately addressed, by Lacon Lambe, Esq. town-clerk, in an appropriate speech, complimentary of the hero’s splendid achievements during the war; and soliciting his acceptance of the freedom of the city, presented in a box cut from the apple-tree—­“the pride of the country; and of whose noble juice,” concluded Mr. Lambe, “many libations will not fail to be offered to the long health, prosperity, and happiness, of the great and glorious conqueror of the Nile!” Lord Nelson, respectfully putting the box to his lips, returned his sincere thanks, for an honour which, he said, he should never forget—­that of having his name enrolled among the freemen of Hereford.  It was true, he had stood forward in the defence of his king and country, in many engagements:  yet the honour and renown, for the brilliant victories which the fleets under him had obtained, were not attributable to himself, but must be ascribed, first, to the Deity; and, next, to the undaunted courage, skill, and discipline, of those officers and seamen whom it had been his good fortune to command—­not one of whom, he was proud to say, had ever in the least swerved from his duty.  “Should this nation,” concluded his lordship, “ever experience a state similar to that from which it has been recently extricated, I have not the slightest doubt, from the result of my observations during this tour, that the native, the inbred spirit of Britons, whilst it continues as firmly united as at present, is fully adequate successfully to repel any attack, either foreign or domestic, which our enemies may dare to make.  You have but to say, to your fleets and armies—­Go ye forth, and fight our battles; whilst we, true to ourselves, protect and support your wives and little ones at home.”  The impression made by this speech is inconceivable.  The Reverend Mr. Morgan, canon-residentiary, also addressed his lordship, on the part of the bishop and clergy of the diocese; and, being charged, by the venerable bishop, to express his regret at being deprived, by extreme age and infirmity, of the honour of paying his personal respects to Lord Nelson in the town-hall, his lordship immediately replied that, as the son of a clergyman, and from having been bred up in a sense of the highest veneration for the church and it’s able ministers, while he sincerely lamented the cause of absence, he conceived it a duty, which he would perform with the utmost willingness, to wait on his lordship at the episcopal palace.  This, on returning from the hall, he accordingly did; and, soon after, the party proceeded to Downton Castle, near Ludlow, the seat of Richard Payne Knight, Esq.

On approaching near Ludlow, the populace took the horses from his lordship’s carriage, and drew it into the town; and, at his departure, drew him out of town, in the same manner, on the road to Downton Castle.