Talk:Horatio Nelson

this is a quote? -sasha-

"Kiss me, Hardy." NOT ""Kismet, Hardy."

Kiss me Hardy, Or Kismet? - Mintguy@Wikipedia

"Screw me, Hardy." - these are sometimes reported as his last words, but this was not the case, and in contemporary accounts he is reported to have made several more comments afterwards, before dying a short time later. ~ Kalki 22:37, 24 Aug 2004 (UTC)

I just reverted a great deal of speculative and incorrect commentary on these last words. That he said, and meant, "Kiss me, Hardy" in his last hours, after being mortally wounded is extensively documented in contemporary accounts, including that of people actually present. That they were not his actual last words is also extensively documented, though not as clearly in many popular accounts. "Kismet Hardy" is a phrase that seems to have become popularly substituted as if they "certainly" had been his "actual" words by some, but thus far I have absolutely no indication that this tale has anything but speculative origins to it, or that it even existed prior to the internet. I have not read the accounts in some time, but I believe that Hardy was reported to have kissed Nelson on the forehead in response, and all this occured hours before he actually ceased to talk. ~ Kalki 20:08, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Actually rereading my comment on the page, which was made fresh after reading several early accounts, he kissed his cheek and then his forehead, though at least one account mentioned only the kiss on the forehead. ~ Kalki 20:38, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I also have replaced this from the Famous last words page:

• Kismet Hardy / Kiss me, Hardy
  • Who: British Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson. Nelson is rumoured to have said "Kismet Hardy" or "Kiss me, Hardy" whilst he was dying. Kismet means Fate. However, the OED gives the earliest use in the English language of "kismet" as 1849. Both versions are speculative and there's no record of anyone who was present at his death reporting either of them. These words were allegedly spoken to his Flag Captain, Thomas Masterman Hardy, who was alleged to have kissed his cheek and then his forehead.

And, because they are not entirely fiction, I also removed these from the Famous last words in fiction section of that article:

• "Kiss me, Hardy!"
  • Who: Horatio Nelson, in Monty Python's famous deaths sketch.

Kalki 21:33, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)

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"I see no ships"

I'm surprised not to find this here, but I gather it's a misquote from the rather less pithy "I really do not see the signal" (e.g. [1], [2]). I've also heard it as "I see no signal" (e.g. [3]).

Quote regarding the US Navy?

Hi.

I saw a line in this link stating

Although Constitution and Victory never went yardarm-to-yardarm, which Bullard notes was lucky for "Old Ironsides," they did come within sight of each other off the northern coast of Africa in the early 19th century. Lord Horatio Nelson, then aboard Victory, is credited with saying "[I see] in the handling of those trans-Atlantic ships a nucleus of trouble for the navy of Great Britain."

Is there an appropriate reference for this quote, and whether it is sourced or attributed? --Nerroth 22:41, 21 March 2009 (UTC)

Unsourced

Wikiquote no longer allows unsourced quotations, and they are in process of being removed from our pages (see Wikiquote:Limits on quotations); but if you can provide a reliable, precise and verifiable source for any quote on this list please move it to Horatio Nelson. --Antiquary 18:09, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

• Bonaparte has often made his boast that our fleet would be worn out by keeping the sea and that his was kept in order and increasing by staying in port; but know he finds, I fancy, if Emperors hear the truth, that his fleet suffers more in a night than ours in one year.

• Desperate affairs require desperate measures.

• Gentlemen, when the enemy is committed to a mistake we must not interrupt him too soon.

• I cannot command winds and weather.

• I could not tread these perilous paths in safety, if I did not keep a saving sense of humor.

• I have always been a quarter of an hour before my time and it has made a man of me.

• Never break the neutrality of a port or place, but never consider as neutral any place from whence an attack is allowed to be made.

• Now I can do no more. We must trust to the Great Disposer of all events and the justice of our cause. I thank God for this opportunity of doing my duty.

• Recollect that you must be a seaman to be an officer and also that you cannot be a good officer without being a gentleman.

• The bravest man feels an anxiety 'circa praecordia' as he enters the battle, but he dreads disgrace more.

• The business of the English commander-in-chief being first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

• Time is everything; five minutes make the difference between victory and defeat.

• I am Lord Nelson, and this is my Fin.