The Story of Nelson | Page 6

would have hove to to meet them, and still
managed to come off victorious by some means or other, even if the
admiral had not made the signal of recall. Though our sails and
rigging were much cut up, we had only seven men wounded, while the
`Ca Ira' lost one hundred and ten that day.
"The next day we were again at it, for we managed to cut off the `Ca

Ira,' and the `Censeur,' which had her in tow. This time we got one on
each side of us, and both of them fought well; but we fought better, and
at length both struck, and our boats were sent on board to take
possession I never before had witnessed such a scene as that I saw on
board the `Ca Ira.' On her decks lay three hundred brave fellows, dead
or dying, or badly wounded, besides those she had lost the day before,
while the `Censeur' had lost three hundred and fifty. Our captain
wanted to follow up the enemy, and it's my belief, if we had, we should
have taken every one of them; but the admiral would not let him, and
said we had done very well as it was. So we had; but, you see, our
captain was the man who always wanted to do something better than
well. Do well sits on the main-top--Do better climbs to the truck.
"The `Agamemnon' had been so knocked about, that the captain now
shifted his flag into the `Minerva' frigate, and took me and many other
men with him. One of our first duties was to carry off the English
garrison and privateers and merchantmen from Corsica, which had
declared for the French. We soon afterwards fought several actions
with the enemy, and then war broke out between England and Spain,
and we had a narrow escape from an overwhelming force of Spanish
ships. We had just sailed from Gibraltar, when two Spanish
line-of-battle ships followed us. We were keeping pretty well ahead
when a man fell overboard. To let a man drown without trying to help
him was against our captain's nature. A jolly-boat, commanded by
Lieutenant Hardy, was lowered, and away she pulled to try and pick up
the poor fellow. The boat was within range of the enemy's guns: the
man was not to be seen. The captain had been anxiously watching all
that took place. `I'll not lose Hardy,' he exclaimed. `Back the
main-topsail!' No order was ever obeyed more readily, and soon we
were dropping back towards our boat, and towards the enemy. We fully
expected to be brought to action, but we did not care for that; we got
back Mr Hardy and our boat, when what was our astonishment to see
the headmost Spaniard shorten sail to wait for his consort. There can
be no doubt he thought we had assistance not far off. The Spaniards
were very timid of us in those days--they had good reason to be so.
With flying colours we sailed out of the Straits, laughing at our enemy.

"Both officers and men were constantly being shifted from ship to ship
in those days; and, as soon as we reached Cadiz we found ourselves
transferred to the `Captain,' a fine seventy-four. Captain Nelson
hoisted his pennant, as commodore, on board of her, with Captain
Miller under him. You have heard speak of the battle of Saint Vincent.
Sir John Jervis, who was made Earl Saint Vincent, was our admiral,
and Commodore Nelson was second in command. He was now going to
show all the world what he really was. The Spaniards had twice as
many ships as we had. They were much bigger, and carried heavier
guns; but what did Nelson or we care for that. It is the men who fight
the battles, and Nelson knew the stuff British seamen are made of.
"Early in the morning of the 14th of February, the Spanish fleet hove in
sight, and we bore down on them. They were in line, that is, one
following the other. We managed to break that line, and cut off one
part from the other, just as you cut a snake in two. We followed the
head, the biggest part. That part bore away before the wind to join the
tail. The `Captain' was instantly wore round, instead of tacking,
according to a signal just then made by the admiral, and away after
them we went, followed by the `Culloden,' `Blenheim' and `Diadem.'
The `Captain' was in the rear of the British line; but by the manoeuvre
just performed, we came up with the Spaniards, and in a short time we
and the `Blenheim' were tooth and nail with no less than seven Spanish
line-of-battle ships--one, the `Santissima Trinidade,' of 130 guns, and
the