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the evening of the 15th, steering to the N.; and, by computation, eighty-seven leagues off. Nelson's diary at this time denotes his great anxiety, and his perpetual and all observing vigilance.-"June 21. Midnight, "nearly calm, saw three planks, which I "think came from the French fleet. Very "miserable, which is very foolish." On the 17th of July he came in sight of Cape St. Vincent, and steered for Gibraltar."June 18th," his diary says, ❝ Cape "Spartel in sight, but no French fleet, nor information about them. How sor

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any "rowful this makes me ! but I cannot help "myself." The next day he anchored at Gibraltar; and on the 20th, says he, "I "went on shore for the first time since ❝ June 16, 1803; and from having my foot "out of the Victory, two years, wanting "ten days."

Here he communicated with his old friend Collingwood; who, having been detached with a squadron, when the disappearance of the combined fleets, and of Nelson in their pursuit, was known in England, had 1

taken his station off Cadiz. He thought that Ireland was the enemy's ultimate object, that they would now liberate the Ferrol squadron, which was blocked up by Sir Robert Calder,-call for the Rochefort ships, and then appear off Ushant with three or four and thirty sail; there to be joined by the Brest fleet. With this great force he supposed they would make for Ireland, the real mark and bent of all their operations: and their flight to the West Indies, he thought, had been merely undertaken to take off Nelson's force, which was the great impediment to their undertaking.

Collingwood was gifted with great political penetration. As yet, however, all was conjecture concerning the enemy; and Nelson, having victualled and watered at Te-. tuan, stood for Ceuta on the 24th, still without information of their course. Next day intelligence arrived that the Curieux brig had seen them on the 19th, standing to the northward. He proceeded off Cape St. Vincent, rather cruising for intelligence

VOL. II.

than knowing whither to betake himself: and here a case occurred, that more than any other event in real history resembles those whimsical proofs of sagacity which Voltaire, in his Zadig, has borrowed from the Orientals. One of our frigates spoke an American, who, a little to the westward of the Azores, had fallen in with an armed vessel, appearing to be a dismasted privateer, deserted by her crew, which had been run on board by another ship, and had been set fire to; but the fire had gone out. A log-book, and a few seamen's jackets, were found in the cabin; and these were brought to Nelson. The log-book closed with these words: "Two large vessels in the "W. N. W.:" and this led him to conclude that the vessel had been an English privateer, cruising off the Western Islands. But there was in this book a scrap of dirty paper, filled with figures. Nelson, immediately, upon seeing it, observed, that the figures were written by a Frenchman; and, after studying this for a while, said, “I "can explain the whole. The jackets are

"of French manufacture, and prove that "the privateer was in possession of the 66 enemy. She had been chased and taken "by the two ships that were seen in the "W. N. W. The prize master, going 46 on board in a hurry, forgot to take with "him his reckoning: there is none in the "log-book; and the dirty paper contains "her work for the number of days since "the privateer last left Corvo; with an "unaccounted-for run, which I take to "have been the chase, in his endeavour to ❝find out her situation by back reckonings. "By some mismanagement, I conclude, "she was run on board of by one of the "enemy's ships, and dismasted. Not lik❝ing delay, (for I am satisfied that those "two ships were the advanced ones of the "French squadron,) and fancying we were "close at their heels, they set fire to the "vessel, and abandoned her in a hurry. If "this explanation be correct, I infer from "it, that they are gone more to the north"ward; and more to the northward I will "look for them." This course accordingly

Still

he held, but still without success. persevering, and still disappointed, he returned near enough to Cadiz to ascertain that they were not there; traversed the Bay of Biscay; and then, as a last hope, stood over for the north-west coast of Ireland, against adverse winds, till, on the evening of the 12th of August, he learnt that they had not been heard of there. Frustrated thus in all his hopes, after a pursuit, to which, for its extent, rapidity, and perseverance, no parallel can be produced, he judged it best to reinforce the channel fleet with his squadron, lest the enemy, as Collingwood apprehended, should bear down upon Brest with their whole collected force. On the 15th he joined Admiral Cornwallis off Ushant. No news had yet been obtained of the enemy; and on the same evening he received orders to proceed, with the Victory and Superb, to Portsmouth.

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