On Feb 2, 2009, at 12:13 , Bob W wrote:
Napoleon!? We the People of Greenwich don't erect bronze statues
outside
their pubs (called The Trafalgar, I might add) to that upstart
Corsican
gangster. That stout fellow with the well-filled codpiece is Admiral
Lord
Horatio Nelson, conqueror of the finest whore in Christendom!
And it seem the good Admiral came to an inglorious end:
Nelson was one of those hit: a bullet entered his shoulder, pierced
his lung, and came to rest at the base of his spine. Nelson retained
consciousness for four hours, but died soon after the battle was
concluded with a British victory. The Victory was then towed to
Gibraltar, with Nelson's body on board preserved in a barrel of
brandy. Upon his body's arrival in London, Nelson was given a state
funeral and entombment in St. Paul's Cathedral. He was laid to rest in
a wooden coffin made from the mast of L'Orient which had been salvaged
after the Battle of the Nile.
According to a legend, naval rum rather than brandy was used to
preserve his body. It was supposedly illicitly half drunk by the time
it reached London; the crew were supposed to have sucked out the rum
using thin straws. This gives rise to the slang term "tapping the
Admiral", meaning illicit drinking, and may be related to the nickname
given to Naval rum rations later, "Nelson's Blood", (although this is
possibly a deliberate echo of the Communion ritual).
Joseph McAllister
Lots of gear, not much time
http://gallery.me.com/jomac
http://web.me.com/jomac/show.me/Blog/Blog.html
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