THE ENGLISH CAPTAIN.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SID,—In the curious poem rendered from the Norwegian by Herman Merivale, and published in the Spectator of October 20th, there is a very strange historical blunder. The "English Captain" on the eve of the battle of Copenhagen speaks of the wounds and the medals he received and won at Trafalgar, one of the most peculiar instances of second-sight on record, and not altogether a pleasant one. Of course, the battle of Copenhagen was prior to that of Trafalgar.—I am,
Berkshire Club, Reading.
[Mr. Merivale's history is quite sound. It is evident from the poem that the second action at Copenhagen is alluded to, and not the first. The second action under Admiral Gambier and Lord Cathcart took place in 1807, two years after Trafalgar. The first action was of course in 1801.—ED Spectator.]
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