his ships by the stern. For this purpose, his cables were passed out of the stern-ports, carried along the side, and bent to the anchors. His object in doing this was to deprive the enemy of the advantage of raking him, as he would have swung round, and exposed the bow, or the stern of his vessels, had he brought up in the usual way. At three o'clock the signal was made to prepare for battle, and the fleet stood in under a crowd of sail; as they approached within two miles of the enemy, the Culloden grounded on the reef, and stuck fast.

The best and most authentic description of this famous day is to be found in the work of the Rev. Cooper Willyams, who was chaplain of the Swift-. sure on the occasion. That author says, the Goliath, commanded by Captain Foley, led the fleet, and by a quarter past six in the evening, the French began the engagement; but the Goliath did not return their fire until she had doubled their line, and came to an anchor alongside the Conquerant, second ship in their van, and in ten minutes shot away her topmasts. Hood, in the Zealous, followed; and, having anchored on the bow of the Guerrier, the van ship, in twelve minutes dismasted her. Next came the Orion, commanded by Sir James Saumarez; La Serieuse, a frigate, lying within the line, gave him a broadside, which

This mode of anchoring was common among the ancients, and is mentioned in sacred history, Acts xxvii. 29.

+ Voyage up the Mediterranean, 4to. London, 1802, p. 47.

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Sir James returned with his starboard-guns; and she instantly sunk. He then proceeded to take his station on the bow of the Franklin and the quarter of Le Souverain Peuple, engaging both. The Audacious came next, and let go her anchor on the bow of the Conquerant; having passed between that ship and the Guerrier, Captain Gould instantly began a destructive fire. The Theseus, commanded by the lamented Miller, was the fifth and last ship that came inside of the line. Passing between the Zealous and her opponent the Guerrier, he poured in a broadside as he brushed her sides; for this friendly act the Goliath gave him three hearty cheers, which the Theseus returned: the French also attempted to imitate the animating sound; but the effort produced loud peals of laughter on board the Theseus, as she passed on to her proper opponent, in the order of succession; this was the Spartiate. The Captain of the Guerrier owned that those cheers did more to damp the ardour of his men than the broadside of the Theseus.

Nelson, having seen his five van ships begin the action" to his heart's content," now came himself to their support. It appears from the information. of Sir James Saumarez, that the plan of placing the enemy between two fires was not preconcerted, that it originated with Nelson himself, and probably but a minute previous to its execution. He took his station without or on the starboard*

Willyams says, larboard, but that must be an error, as the heads of the enemy's ships lay to the westward.

side, and within pistol-shot of the Spartiate, then engaged with the Theseus: the French ship could not support their united cross-fire, and very soon surrendered. Louis, in the Minotaur, followed his admiral, and brought the Aquilon to action, which soon terminated by her surrender. Then came Darby in the Bellerophon, his orders were to anchor in the bow of L'Orient, the flag-ship of Admiral Bruies,-and this he fully intended; but unfortunately, having too much way, his cable was not stoppered in time, and he brought up exactly abreast of that tremendous ship, whose broadsides very soon killed and wounded two hundred of his men; among the former, three of his lieutenants; and about eight o'clock he cut his cable, and stood out, or rather drifted out of the bay. The Defence, Captain Peyton, came to an anchor a-head of the Minotaur, and engaged the Franklin of eighty guns, laying on her starboard bow; this ship bore the flag of Rear-admiral Blanquet du Chelard, second in command. Next came the Majestic, commanded by the gallant Westcott, who fell in the action. He engaged the Heureux on her starboard bow, while he received the fire of the Tonnant, which lay astern of the L'Orient: the heavy fire from her two powerful opponents was almost an overmatch for the Majestic, and Westcott fell in the heat of the battle. The command fortunately devolved on Mr. Cuthbert, the first lieutenant, who supported his own and his country's honour to the end of the day.

The Swiftsure and Alexander, commanded by Captains Hollowell and Ball, having been sent early in the morning to look into the port of Alexandria, did not come to action till late in the evening: these ships would inevitably have got on shore upon the reef, on the western side of the bay, but for the accident which had previously placed the Culloden there. The unlucky Trowbridge, burning with desire to share in the glorious conflict, beheld the fight from his quarter-deck. It has been said, that this second Nelson resigned himself to despair, and was with difficulty prevented throwing himself overboard: this is a mistake, no man ever possessed himself more fully in the hour of danger than Trowbridge: his ship on shore in a most perilous situation, it was the time of all others for a display of those talents he was known to possess; nor was it without their utmost exertion that he succeeded in saving his ship, and getting her off the reef, on the morning of the 2d of August, with the loss of her rudder, and discharging the incredible quantity of one hundred and twenty tons of water in an hour.

It was eight o'clock at night, and totally dark, when the two ships approached the scene of action. The Swiftsure had got within range of the enemy's guns, when she fell in with the Bellerophon, drifting out of the bay under her foresail and fore-topsail; and having no fighting lights displayed, it was only by a fortunate application of judgment that Hollowell was prevented firing into