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Smiles, Samuel, 1812-1904

"A Publisher and His Friends Memoir and Correspondence of John Murray; with an Account of the Origin and Progress of the House, 1768-1843"

"
With respect to "Salmonia" the following anecdote may be mentioned, as
related to Mr. Murray by Dr. Gooch, a valued contributor to the
_Quarterly_.
"At page 6 of Salmonia," said Dr. Gooch, "it is stated that 'Nelson was
a good fly-fisher, and continued the pursuit even with his left hand.' I
can add that one of his reasons for regretting the loss of his right arm
was that it deprived him of the power of pursuing this amusement
efficiently, as is shown by the following incident, which is, I think,
worth preserving in that part of his history which relates to his
talents as a fly-fisher. I was at the Naval Hospital at Yarmouth on the
morning when Nelson, after the battle of Copenhagen (having sent the
wounded before him), arrived in the Roads and landed on the Jetty. The
populace soon surrounded him, and the military were drawn up in the
marketplace ready to receive him; but making his way through the crowd,
and the dust and the clamour, he went straight to the Hospital. I went
round the wards with him, and was much interested in observing his
demeanour to the sailors. He stopped at every bed, and to every man he
had something kind and cheering to say.


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