nelson hunts the french.
at this time sir horatio nelson had been despatched to the mediterranean with a small squadron to ascertain the object of the great expedition which was fitting out, under napoleon bonaparte, at toulon.
nelson had for a long time past been displaying, in a series of complicated and difficult operations in the mediterranean, those splendid qualities which had already won for him unusual honours and fame, and which were about to raise him to that proud pinnacle which he ultimately attained as england’s greatest naval hero. his address and success in matters of diplomacy had filled his superiors and the government with sentiments of respect; his moral courage in risking reputation and position, with unflinching resolution, by disobeying orders when by so doing the good and credit of his country could be advanced, made him an object of dread to some, of admiration to others, while his lion-like animal courage and amiability endeared him to his officers and men. sailors had begun to feel that where nelson led the way victory was certain, and those who were ordered to join his fleet esteemed themselves most fortunate.
the defeat of the french armament was considered by the english government a matter of so great importance, that earl st. vincent, then engaged in blockading the spanish fleet, was directed, if he thought it necessary, to draw off his entire fleet for the purpose, and relinquish the blockade. he was, however, told that, if he thought a detachment sufficient, he was to place it under the command of sir horatio nelson. the earl did consider a detachment sufficient, and had already made up his mind to give the command to nelson, being thoroughly alive to his great talents and other good qualities. he accordingly sent him to the mediterranean with three ships of the line, four frigates, and a sloop of war.
this force was now, by the addition to which we have referred, augmented so largely that nelson found himself in possession of a fleet with which he might not only “watch” the enemy, but, if occasion should offer, attack him.
he was refitting after a storm in the sardinian harbour of st. pietro, when the reinforcements hove in sight. as soon as the ships were seen from the masthead of the admiral’s vessel, nelson immediately signalled that they should put to sea. accordingly the united fleet set sail, and began a vigorous search for the french armament, which had left toulon a short time before.
the search was for some time unsuccessful. no tidings could be obtained of the destination of the enemy for some time, but at length it was learned that he had surprised malta.
although his fleet was inferior in size to that of the french, nelson—and indeed all his officers and men—longed to meet with and engage them. the admiral, therefore, formed a plan to attack them while at anchor at gozo, but he received information that the french had left that island the day after their arrival. holding very strongly the opinion that they were bound for egypt, he set sail at once in pursuit, and arrived off alexandria on the 28th of june 1798.
there, to his intense disappointment, he found that nothing had been seen or heard of the enemy. nelson’s great desire was to meet with napoleon bonaparte and fight him on the sea. but this wish was not to be gratified. he found, however, that the governor of alexandria was endeavouring to put the city in a state of defence, for he had received information from leghorn that the french expedition intended to proceed against egypt after having taken malta.
leaving alexandria, nelson proceeded in various directions in search of the french, carrying a press of sail night and day in his anxiety to fall in with them, but being baffled in his search, he was compelled to return to sicily to obtain fresh supplies in order to continue the pursuit.
of course nelson was blamed in england for his want of success in this expedition, and earl st. vincent was severely censured for having sent so young an officer on a service so important. anticipating the objection, that he ought not to have made so long a voyage without more certain information, nelson said, in vindication of his conduct:—
“who was i to get such information from? the governments of naples and sicily either knew not, or chose to keep me in ignorance. was i to wait patiently until i heard certain accounts? if egypt were their object, before i could hear of them, they would have been in india. to do nothing was disgraceful; therefore i made use of my understanding. i am before your lordships’ judgment; and if, under all circumstances, it is decided that i am wrong, i ought, for the sake of our country, to be superseded; for at this moment, when i know the french are not in alexandria, i hold the same opinion as off cape passaro—that, under all circumstances, i was right in steering for alexandria; and by that opinion i must stand or fall.”
it was ere long proved that nelson was right, and that earl st. vincent had made no mistake in sending him on a service so important; for we now know that in all the british fleet there was not another man so admirably adapted for the duty which was assigned to him, of finding, fighting, and conquering, the french, in reference to whom he wrote to the first lord of the admiralty, “be they bound to the antipodes, your lordship may rely that i will not lose a moment in bringing them to action!”
re-victualled and watered, the british fleet set sail on the 25th of july from syracuse. on the 28th, intelligence was received that the enemy had been seen about four weeks before, steering to the south east from candia.
with characteristic disregard of the possible consequences to his own fame and interest, in his determination to “do the right,” nelson at once resolved to return to alexandria. accordingly, with all sail set, the fleet stood once more towards the coast of egypt.
perseverance was at length rewarded. on the 1st of august 1798, about ten in the morning, they sighted alexandria, and saw with inexpressible delight that the port was crowded with the ships of france.
and here we venture to say that we sympathise with the joy of the british on this occasion, and shall explain why we do so.
not every battle that is fought—however brilliant in military or naval tactics it may be, or in exhibitions of personal prowess—deserves our sympathy. only that war which is waged against oppression is entitled to respect, and this, we hold, applies to the war in which the british were engaged at that time.
france, under the directory, had commenced a career of unwarrantable conquest, for the simple purpose of self-aggrandisement, and her great general, bonaparte, had begun that course of successful warfare in which he displayed those brilliant talents which won for him an empire, constituted him, in the ordinary acceptation of the word, a hero, and advanced france to a high position of tyrannical power. but brilliant talents and success could not free him from the charge of being a wholesale murderer.
to oppose such pretentions and practices was a bounden duty on the part of those who loved justice, just as much as it is the duty of every one who has the power to thwart the designs of, and forcibly overcome, a highwayman or a pirate.
observe, reader, that we do not intend here to imply an invidious comparison. we have no sympathy with those who hold that england was and always is in favour of fair play, while france was bent on tyranny. on the contrary, we believe that england has in some instances been guilty of the sin which we now condemn, and that, on the other hand, many frenchmen of the present day would disapprove of the policy of france in the time of napoleon the first. neither do we sympathise with the famous saying of nelson that “one englishman is equal to three frenchmen!” the tendency to praise one’s-self has always been regarded among christian nations as a despicable, or at least a pitiable, quality, and we confess that we cannot see much difference between a boastful man and a boastful nation. frenchmen have always displayed chivalrous courage, not a whit inferior to the british, and history proves that in war they have been eminently successful. the question whether they could beat us or we could beat them, if tested in a fair stand-up fight with equal numbers, besides being an unprofitable one, is not now before us. all that we are concerned about at present is, that in the war now under consideration the british did beat the french, and we rejoice to record the fact solely on the ground that we fought in a righteous cause.
with these remarks we proceed to give an account of one of the greatest naval victories ever achieved by british arms.
