DIGITISED MANUSCRIPTS

( 28 ) So great was his coolness in the face of danger, it is related of him, that once hastily awakened in the night by a lieutenant, in great agitation, who said that the ship was on fire near the powder magazine, ‘If that be the case,’ replied Lord Howe, ‘ we shall soon hear a further report of the matter.’ The lieu- tenant flew back to the scene of danger, and returned instantly, exclaiming, ‘ You need not, Sir, be afraid ; the fire is extinguished.’ ‘ Afraid!’ roared Howe ; ‘what do you mean by that, Sir?’ and, looking the officer full in the face, ‘ Pray, how dses a man feel, Sir, when he’s afraid? I need not ask how he looks.’ But the acme of British valour was reached by Nelson. Every Englishman knows the words which he addressed to his men on the morning of the victory of Trafalgar—‘England expects this day that every man will do his duty’—words for which he paid with his life. Far beyond the seas Lord Clive had already laid the foundation of that empire which is now the pride of England and the envy of the world. Having started as a clerk in the East India Company’s service, at the age of nineteen, he soon aban- doned the pen for the sword, and rose to command the English force in India. In 1783 Warren Hastings became the first Governor-General of India, and by his acquisition of native states, and his rare