The life and services of Lord Exmouth are of no common interest; not
more because he has advanced the reputation of his country, and
connected his name with her history, than that he began his career an
almost unfriended orphan, and rose to the highest honours of his
profession without having been indebted to fortune or to patronage. One
of the most interesting spectacles is that of rising merit struggling
from its difficulties. The most encouraging, is the honour which rewards
its exertions. The young officer, who, like him, has devoted himself to
an arduous service, with nothing to rely on but his sword, may derive
instruction from his example, and encouragement from his success.

Edward Pellew, Viscount Exmouth, descended from a family which was
settled in the west of Cornwall for many centuries, but came originally
from Normandy, where the name is still met with. After the close of the
war he received a letter from a family there, claiming kindred, and
offering the name and armorial bearings in proof. The original
orthography, "Pelleu," was retained until a comparatively recent period.
They are said to have landed at Pengersick Castle, near St. Michael's
Mount, and appear to have remained in that part of the county until the
beginning of the 17th century. They had a family tomb in Breage, a
parish on the eastern side of the Mount's Bay, in which they had
acquired property, and they still possess a small estate in that
neighbourhood. Part of this early history, it will be seen, can rest
only upon tradition; and indeed, it is of very little importance. The
weakness of seeking credit from remote ancestors, for one whose personal
honours require no further illustration, may well be exploded. But there
is one kind of ancestry where an inquiry will always be
interesting--that where the traits which distinguished the founder of a