The letters, and indeed the life of Nelson have been
treated so universally as mere themes for the art of improvisation, that the ordinary reader, hoping to gain from them some in- sight into one of the most brilliant and intricate periods of history, is commonly left with an impression as of an indifferent show of wax-works under garish limelight. As a corrective against the bewildering mixture of romance and inaccurate dullness so often served up, the one remedy is the study of con- temporary documents, exactly reproduced, as in this admirable volume, The Nelson Collection at Lloyd's (Macmillan, 10s.). The whole book is a model of its kind. No smallest spelling- mistake of the most exalted admiral or meanest ship's clerk stands corrected ; the type is clear ; the footnotes serve to illumine and not to obscure the text. Unlike most specialists, the compiler can explain technical matters in lucid English ; his exposition of a ship's log is but one example out of many. If all historical documents in private possession could be set before the public with such exactitude and clarity, the art of
writing, and the pleasure of reading history, would be revo. lutionized and given new life. Lloyd's have a rich collection and in the best public spirit allow us to share it here.
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