out the fleet, to insure success by boarding, and their ships were furnished with fire balls aud combustibles of every description, in the hope of setting the British ships on fire. The French commander-in-chief was Admiral Villeneuve, with Rear-Admirals Dumanoir and Magon; the Spanish by Admirals Don Ignacio Morea d'Alva, Domingo Guaddalharas, and Commodore Don Baltazar.

The structure of the enemy's line of battle was somewhat new.

It formed a crescent, converging to the leeward; every alternate ship being about a cable's length to windward of its second a-head and astern, so as to seem as a double

line. Admiral Villeneuve, in the Bucentaure, occupied the centre; and Admiral Gravina's flag was bore by the Prince of Asturias, in the rear. The French and Spanish ships were mixed, and there seemed no regard to national arrangement.

The mode of attack having been long determined on by Lord Nelson, and recently communicated, as has been seen, on the 10th inst. to the flag officers and captains, few signals were necessary. On first discovering the combined fleet, his lordship had immediately made the signal to bear up in two columns, as formed in the order of sailing, to avoid the inconvenience and delay of forming a line of battle in the usual manner. Lord Nelson, as commander-inchief, led the weather column, in the Victory; Vice-Admiral Collingwood, as second in command, that of the lee, in the Royal Sovereign.

While they were approaching the enemy's line, Lord Nelson repeatedly declared, that it was the happiest day of his life; and that, from the plan of his intended attack, he entertained not the smallest doubt that, before night, The No. 13.

should gain possession of at least twenty of their ships. The last signal which preceded the battle was issued about twelve o'clock at noon, it was a private signal to the fleet, and so long as time shall last, the memorable, the emphatic words of brave Nelson shall be remembered―

"ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN TO DO HIS DUTY.”

The battle instantly commenced by the leading ships of the columns attempting to break through the enemy's line; Lord Nelson, in the Victory, about the tenth ship from the van; Vice-Admiral Collingwood, in the Royal Sovereign, about the twelfth from the rear. When Vice-Admiral Collingwood, at the head of the division under his orders, began the attack, and broke through the enemy's line, Lord Nelson, turning round to his officers, with the highest exultation, said" Look at that noble fellow! Observe the style in which he carries his ship into action!" The Victory, at four minutes past twelve, opened its fire on the enemy's van, while passing down their line; in about a quarter of an hour after which, finding it impossible to penetrate through, the Victory fell on board the eleventh and twelfth ships. The Temeraire, Captain Hervey, by which the Victory was seconded, in consequence of the closeness of this part of the enemy's line, fell also on board one of them. These four ships were thus, for a considerable time, engaged together as in a single mass, so that the flash of almost every gun fired from the Victory, set fire to the Redoubtable, its more immediate opponent. In this state, amidst the hottest fire of the enemy, was behield a very singular spectacle; that of numerous British seamen employed at intervals in very cooly throwing buckets of water to extinguish the flames on board their enemy's ship, that both might not be involved in one common destruction. His lordship had been particularly desirous to have begun the action, by passing a-head of the Bucentaure, Admiral Villeneuve's ship, that the Victory might be a-head of the French commander-in-chief, and astern of the Spanish Santissima Trinidada of a hundred and thirty-six guns, the largest ship in the world. The Bucentaure, however, shooting a-head, his lordship, who was thus obliged to go under that ship's stern, immediately raked it, and luffed up on the starboard side. The Bucentaure fired four broadsides at the Victory, before our hero ordered his ports to be opened, when the whole broadside, which was double-shotted, being poured in, the discharge made such a tremendous crash, that the ship was instantly seen to heel. Lord Nelson now shot a-head to the Santissima Trinidada. In contending with this ship on the celebrated 14th of February, 1797, our hero had already acquired considerable renown. Having got alongside his tremendous opponent, which he familiarly called his old acquaintance, he ordered the ships to be lashed together. The battle was now raging with a fury not to be described; and the enemy's ship being full of men, many of them engaged muzzle to muzzle of the gun with ours, the carnage was most horrible. The crash, too, of the falling masts, yards, &c., incessantly mowed down by the respective shots on both sides, with the almost general blaze, and incessantly tremendous roar, had an awful grandeur which no verbal or graphic description or delineation can ever faithfully convey to the eye and ear. Our hero, amidst this most terrific scene, appeared to be literally in his glory. He was quite enraptured with the bravery and skill of all under his command: he was not displeased to find that the enemy in general fought like men worthy of being conquered; of being themselves conquerors in a better cause. In a dress richly covered with the honours which he had acquired by his prowess in former battles, he stood a conspicuous object of emulative worth to all the heroic men who surrounded him in this. Never had his aspiring and enraptured heart beheld a victory more brilliantly glorious awaiting their noble exertions. He doubted little the success of his country, for he knew in what he confided; but

he was not presumptuous, for he had early been instructed, that "the battle is not always to the strong." His own personal fate was ever humbly resigned to the will of the Great Disposer; live or die, he was alone solicitous that he should live or die in glory. While victory, however, from all observation, appeared within his grasp, he could not but be conscious that individual danger everywhere hovered around. The Santissima Trinidada carried full sixteen hundred men, including a corps of troops, among whom were several sharpshooters. Many other ships had also Tyrolese riflemen on board. Amidst the conflict of cannon, fired muzzle to muzzle, showers of bullets were directed on the quarter-deck, where the distinguished hero stood, fearlessly giving his orders, and cheerfully abiding every peril. His heart was animated, and his spirits were gay. The stump of his right arm, which he always pleasantly denominated his fin, moved the shoulder of his sleeve up and down with the utmost rapidity, as was customary when he felt greatly pleased. Captain Hardy, apprehensive that Lord Nelson's peculiar attire pointed him out as too obvious a mark, advised the hero to change his dress, or cover himself with a great coat, but he no otherwise regarded the precautionary advice, than by observing that he had not yet time to do so. It probably struck his great mind that such an act might evince too much personal attention for a commander-inchief to possess. In the meanwhile the murderous desire of the enemy to single out the officers, continued growing more and more manifest. Of a hundred and ten marines stationed on the poop and quarter-deck, upwards of eighty were either killed or wounded. Mr. Pascoe, first lieutenant of the Victory, received a severe wound, while conversing with his lordship; and John Scott, Esq., his lordship's secretary, was shot through the head, by a musket-ball, at his side. Captain Adair, of the marines, almost at the same instant, experienced a similar fate. This was about a quarter of an hour past one o'clock; and a few minutes afterwards, Captain Hardy, who was standing near his lordship, observed a marksman in the mizen top of the Bucentaure, which then lay on the Victory's quarter, in the very act of taking a deliberate aim at his beloved commander. Scarcely had he time to exclaim" Change your position, my lord! I see a rascal taking aim at you !" when the fatal bullet unhappily smote the hero; and having entered near the top of his left shoulder, penetrated through his lungs, carrying with it part of the adhering epaulette, and lodged in the spinal marrow of his back. A shout of horrid joy from the enemy seemed to announce their sense of their cruel success. His lordship was prevented from falling, by Captain Hardy, to whom he said, with a smile" They have done for me at last."

As the officers were conducting him below, his lordship deliberately remarked that the tiller rope was too slack, and requested that Captain Hardy might be told to get it tightened. In the meantime, Mr. Pollard, a young midshipman of the Victory, not more than sixteen years of age, having levelled a musket at the man who shot at his lordship, the fellow was seen instantly to fall. All the surgeons being busily engaged with the wounded, our hero, as usual, insisted on waiting till his turn. The surgeon who examined the wound soon clearly discovered what must be its fatal effect. Lord Nelson had attentively regarded his countenance; and on beholding him turn pale, calmly said— It is, I perceive, mortal!"

66

The Rev. Dr. Scott, who was looking for his wounded friend, Lieutenant Pascoe, in the cockpit, to his utter astonishment and horror, discovered that his lordship had that moment been brought down. He immediately seated himself on the floor, and supported his pillow during the whole time of the surgeon's operations; indeed, except for a few moments, when he was sent to call Captain Hardy, he never left him. After enquiring about the state of the battle, which the dying hero far more regarded than that of his wound, his lord