On the 15th of January, while Lord Nelson, who had no desire to restrain the enemy from putting to sea, was busily engaged in observing the whole line of the Italian, French, and Spanish coasts, from Palermo, Leghorn, Toulon, and Barcelona, to the Straits of Gibraltar, and picking up all the French and Spanish vessels which his cruisers could meet with in that wide extent of ocean, Admiral Villeneuve, with a formidable squadron, consisting of eleven sail of the line and two frigates, suddenly pushed out of Toulon harbour. The Seahorse, Lord Nelson's look-out frigate, accordingly, narrowly escaped being taken: and the Venus sloop of ten guns, with his lordship's dispatches, was actually captured; having, however, previously thrown the dispatches overboard. The Seahorse, instead of watching, at a safe distance, the course of the enemy's fleet, till their destination should have been in some degree ascertained, hastened to acquaint his lordship that they had sailed, without being able to afford the smallest additional information. This, indeed, was sufficient to call forth our hero's energies; but he was, at the same time, checked by the dread of proceeding in a wrong direction. Strong circumstances induced his lordship to suppose, that another attack on Egypt might possibly be intended by this armament; which, indeed, was the current report. He deemed it likely, however, that they might first, as they formerly did at Malta, make an insiduous attempt on Sicily, in their way to the grand scene of their perfidious operations. Actuated by the force of these reflections, Lord Nelson sent to apprize the Ottoman Porte, as well as the Commandant of Coron, that the Toulon fleet had sailed, having a considerable number of troops on board, with the probable intention of making a descent either on the Morea or on Egypt. He also dispatched, on the 25th, the Seahorse to Naples, and Le Tigre to Palermo, with similar intimations. Next day, the Phoebe joined the fleet; who had, on the l9th, seen a French eighty-gun ship get into Ajaccio, in Corsica, having lost all her topmasts, and being otherwise much crippled. This, it should seem, was the effect of that storm which, as it was afterwards found, had almost immediately occasioned the French armament's return to Toulon. His lordship, however, unaware of any such consequence, and deceived by the artful promulgation of false reports, kept running for Sicily; and, when in sight of Maritimo, sent Le Tigre, Captain Hallowell, to communicate with Sir John Acton at Palermo. Le Tigre joined next day, without any news whatever of the French. In the evening, the fleet passed round Strombolo, which burnt very strongly all night; and, having left the Sophia to cruize three days off Strombolo for information, and sent the Bittern to Tunis, proceeded for the Faro of Messina. On the 30th, off the Faro, his lordship was joined by the Seahorse from Naples; where, also, nothing had been heard of the French. At noon, on the 31st, having sent the Seahorse off Toulon, round Cape Corse, and Morgiana, to look into Elba, St. Fiorenzo, and Ajaccio, the fleet got through the Faro of Messina without any accident. On the 2d of February, they passed Candia; being unable, from the state of the wind and weather, to make that island: and, on the 5th, sent forward the Anson, with letters to the Governor of Alexandria; to the British resident, Major Bissett; and to the pro-consul, Mr. Briggs. Next day, his lordship saw the Arab's Tower; and, on the 7th, at seven in the morning, came within sight of Alexandria, but there were no ships in the port. His lordship immediately sent Captain Hallowell ashore, with duplicates of his letters, the Anson being unable to get up. At three o'clock, Captain Hallowell returned. The Turks, who were very much alarmed at the appearance of the fleet, had heard nothing of the French; and were in no condition to defend this most important place from an attack, by surprise, of even five hundred men. Such is the shocking supineness of these people! The Turks and Mamelukes were, however, at war; the former being in possession of Grand Cairo, and the latter of Upper Egypt. Immediately on the receipt of this intelligence, by Captain Hallowell, the fleet bore up, and made sail for Malta.
On the 11th, the Phoebe having joined off Candia, was dispatched to Malta with orders. At daylight, on the 19th, his lordship saw Malta; and, at eight in the morning, communicated with Vallette. The Phoebe made the signal for no information; and, at nine, the fleet bore away for Maritimo. The Superb picked up a boat, and made the signal for intelligence from Malta: but his lordship would not stop; for he wanted, he said, no intelligence, but where to find the French fleet. His anxiety, therefore, may be easily imagined. It was little less, in fact, than what he had formerly suffered, on his first vain pursuit to Alexandria. By a vessel met with, in the afternoon, eight days from Barcelona, his lordship now learned that the French fleet had returned to Toulon; wanting, however, at that time, three sail of the line and a frigate. On the 28th, while employed in watering the fleet, at Palla, in Sardinia, a letter arrived from Captain Munday of the Hydra, dated February 17th, who had reconnoitred the French fleet in Toulon on the 12th, when it consisted of seventeen sail.
On Thursday, the 7th of March, a cartel ship came into the fleet, then at anchor under Tolaro in the Isle of Rouse, with Captain Layman, the officers, and crew, of the Raven brig, which was wrecked off Cadiz, on the night of January the 29th. The Captain General of Andalusia, Lord Nelson was told, had treated them with the greatest kindness—"Which," generously exclaimed his lordship, "I will return, whenever fortune may put it in my power!" Having weighed, in the morning of the 8th, the fleet, at six in the evening, anchored in the Gulph of Palma; where a court-martial was held on the officers and crew of the late Raven brig, which passed a slight censure on the captain for not having approached the shore with greater caution. In the evening, the fleet beat out of Palma, and steered between Vache and the reef off Antioch. On the 12th, in the Gulph of Lyons, they were joined by the Active, Seahorse, and Juno; who had, the day before, seen the French fleet perfectly ready for sea. The Renown also joined that evening; on board of which, invalids, &c. were next day sent. It was a calm, all day; but, in the evening, light breezes springing up, the fleet stood out for St. Sebastian's. On the 16th, the Renown was dispatched for Gibraltar and England; on the 17th, the fleet was beating to the eastward, off Tarragona; and, on the 20th, in the afternoon, passed Minorca, standing for Sardinia, which they saw on the 23d in the evening, when his lordship sent the Juno with orders for the transports to join him. At sunset, on the 26th, the fleet anchored in the Gulph of Palma; where Lord Nelson found his old friend, Admiral Louis, in the Ambuscade, who had sailed from England the 16th of February. The whole of this night, and the three following days, were employed in clearing transports. On the 29th, the Seahorse brought intelligence that the French fleet were safe in port on Sunday the 24th. The day following, the signal was made to prepare for sea; and, our fleet having sailed from Palma, anchored at Palla, on the 31st in the evening. Next morning, April 1, at day-light, they commenced watering; and, at sun-set, every ship was compleat, and the fleet moved farther off shore. Their activity, his lordship remarked, was never exceeded. On the 3d, at day-light, they sailed from Palla; and, next morning, were joined by the Phoebe, with the signal that the enemy's fleet was at sea. At nine, Captain Capel went on board the Victory; and reported to his lordship, that he had seen the French fleet on Sunday morning at eight o'clock, and kept with them till sun-set, but lost sight of them during the night. Lord Nelson immediately sent the Ambuscade to Gaieta, and the Active to the coast of Africa, for intelligence respecting them. Next day, the Amazon and transports joined from Malta; and a Turkish corvette also arrived from Constantinople, with letters of gratitude from the Grand Vizier and the Capitan Pacha, to which his lordship immediately returned respectful answers. The Moucheron brig, too, having this day joined, from Malta, was sent to cruize seven days between Gaieta and Africa, and to call at Tunis for information. After clearing transports next day, and sending the Bittern to Gibraltar with dispatches, his lordship stood to the northward in the evening: and, the following morning, sent the Active to Cagliari, the Amazon to Naples, the Seahorse to Maritimo, and Le Tigre to Palermo, for information. The Active brought no news from the coast of Africa; but the Seahorse, returned from Maritimo with intelligence from the officer at the port, that fourteen ships of war had passed the island on the 28th of March, steering to the southward; and that two frigates had, on the 4th of April, also passed, steering to the northward: neither of which reports his lordship believed; and, in fact, they appear to have been totally false. In the evening, steering for Palermo, they were joined by the Ambuscade and Astrea, neither of whom had obtained any information of the enemy's fleet, though they had seen many vessels. On the 9th, having cleared transports, which arrived the preceding evening, they compleated the fleet to four months provisions and sixty days wine and spirits. Le Tigre joined next day, from Palermo: where they knew nothing of the French fleet's having sailed; but sent information that an expedition had left England, and that a Russian squadron was expected in the Mediterranean. This information led his lordship to suppose that the French fleet might, probably, with a view of intercepting them, be somewhere about Minorca; he stood, therefore, to the westward of Sardinia, in the hope of falling in with the enemy. The Hydra and Childers joined, this day, from Magdalena, but brought no intelligence. At sunset, seven leagues south of Maritimo, the Active also joined, from Cagliari; and informed his lordship, that the Ragusan consul had received a letter from St. Pierre's, giving him an account, brought by a Ragusan brig, which had arrived there from Marseilles, that the French fleet sailed from Toulon the 30th of March, having a great number of troops on board.
This intelligence turned out to be the fact. Admiral Villeneuve having succeeded in leading his dreaded antagonist to a safe distance, and compleated all his preparations for the grand design, which was that of forming a junction with the Spanish fleets, and then proceeding to the West Indies, had in truth left Toulon, on the 30th, with eleven sail of the line, a frigate, and two corvettes, in which were embarked ten thousand select troops under the command of General Lauriston. This armament first sailed to Carthagena; where the six ships expected to be ready, under Admiral Salcedo, not being quite prepared to join, and fearful of losing a moment's time, during the absence of Lord Nelson, Admiral Villeneuve pursued his course to Cadiz. There he had, for some time, been expected by Admiral Gravina, who was waiting his arrival with six Spanish sail of the line, and two thousand two hundred and eighty troops. On the approach of the French fleet off Cadiz, the 9th of April, Sir John Orde, who was blockading that port with five ships of the line, incapable of preventing their junction with the Spaniards, retired from his station; unpursued by the French fleet, which might easily have forced him into action. L'Aigle, a French ship of the line, which had been some time at Cadiz, immediately came out of the harbour; and was soon after followed by six Spanish sail of the line, and five frigates, under Admiral Gravina: when, having compleatly effected their junction, a strong easterly wind expeditiously carried them out of sight.
At this period, it has been seen, Lord Nelson had, from circumstances, supposed the Toulon fleet likely to be met with in the Sicilian seas. Having sent frigates, in all directions, to gain intelligence of the enemy, the moment it was ascertained that they had actually sailed, he was beating to windward, off the coast of Sardinia, on the 16th of April, when he was informed, by an Austrian vessel from Lisbon, that sixteen ships of war had been seen, the 7th inst. standing to the westward. His lordship, now, justly apprehensive that this must have been the French fleet, felt extremely uneasy, that they had thus eluded all his vigilance. His agony is not to be described; and he was only consoled, at length, by reflections that, in assuring himself of the safety of Naples, Sicily, the Morea, Egypt, and Sardinia, before he proceeded to the westward, he had certainly done what was perfectly right. "I must ever regret, however," writes his lordship, "my want of frigates which I could have sent to the westward; and I must also regret, that Captain Mowbray did not cruize until he heard something of the French fleet. I am unlucky, but I cannot exert myself more than I have done for the public service!"
In fact, the exertions of Lord Nelson, during the whole of this arduous and perplexing service, were inconceivably great. He had, besides the usual cares of a commander in chief, the very difficult task of conciliating a variety of discordant states, from whom he was under the necessity of drawing constant supplies of fresh provisions and other requisites, which they were deterred from affording by the dread of a powerful and unprincipled enemy, perpetually menacing them with destruction, whatever degrees of amity they might either possess, or profess, for this country. The address of our hero, in counteracting the enemy's designs, with what may be denominated diplomatic combat, and thus obtaining needful supplies as well as useful intelligence, has scarcely ever been equalled. In corresponding with the various powers with whom it was necessary thus to communicate, the abilities of the Reverend Mr. Alexander Scott, now Dr. Scott, from his acquaintance with most of the modern languages, proved eminently favourable to his lordship's views. This gentleman was not only chaplain of the Victory, but private and foreign secretary to Lord Nelson, who also often employed him in confidential communications on shore. They had known each other ever since the year 1793; when Mr. Scott was chaplain to Sir John Collins in the Mediterranean, and Lord Nelson captain of the Agamemnon. On the death of Sir John Collins, Captain Nelson asked Mr. Scott to go with him as his chaplain; which he was under the necessity of declining, having previously engaged to go with Sir Hyde Parker in the St. George. During the expedition to Copenhagen, Lord Nelson, not having his chaplain, Mr. Comyns, with him, borrowed Mr. Scott, then Sir Hyde Parker's chaplain and foreign secretary, to read prayers in his ship; and, on his lordship's going ashore, he chose Mr. Scott to accompany him, as secretary to the commission for arranging the convention: the articles of which were, in fact, penned by this gentleman. Lord Nelson kindly advised Mr. Scott to subscribe the Convention with his name, as secretary; but he diffidently declined the honour: for which Lord Nelson greatly blamed him; and he has since often blamed himself, as his lordship predicted would one day be the case. From this period, Lord Nelson was always greatly attached to Mr. Scott, and constantly kept up a correspondence with him. He had then first asked this gentleman if he would attend him as his confidential foreign secretary, in case of his ever getting the Mediterranean command; which Mr. Scott readily promised to do, should his old friend, Sir Hyde Parker, "be laid on the shelf." Had the then war continued, that arrangement would have taken place. On the peace, Mr. Scott went to the West Indies: from whence he returned, just before the present war broke out, in a very deplorable state of health; having been struck by lightning, and severely wounded. He had, however, no sooner arrived in London, than Lord Nelson was at his bed-side: where the generously humane hero continually visited him, during his confinement; and, soon after, took him, in the Amphion, to the Mediterranean, on this expedition. It is somewhat remarkable, that his lordship's regular secretary, though no relation of this gentleman, should also be a Scott: the former, the Rev. Mr. Alexander Scott; and the latter, John Scott, Esq. So numerous were his lordship's correspondences, that both secretaries were often fully employed: his lordship, from the time of his having engaged Dr. Scott, constantly accompanying his original letters to foreign courts, by translations into the respective languages; a point of etiquette always highly gratifying to the power addressed, and frequently attended with other beneficial consequences. There was, in short, no point of probable advantage to his country, however minute it might appear, which Lord Nelson ever thought unworthy of his strict regard.
On the 17th of April, in the evening, the Amazon brought a confirmation of the intelligence respecting the French fleet, from a vessel which had seen, on the 8th at noon, eleven sail of the line, four frigates, and three brigs, pass Gibraltar with their colours flying. To add to the mortification, westerly winds, and a heavy sea, prevented the British fleet's gaining any ground, either this or the following day. A vessel five days from Cadiz, still to augment his lordship's distress, now also informed the Amazon, that the Spanish squadron had joined the French, and were gone with them to the westward. Having appointed the general rendezvous at Gibraltar, his lordship sent every where to procure additional frigates. He also dispatched the Active to Ireland, the Channel fleet, and England, with an account of his intended pursuit of the enemy. His passage to Gibraltar was prodigiously impeded by continual foul winds, and heavy swells. "Nothing," writes his lordship, at this anxious period, "can be more unfortunate, than we are in our winds; but, God's will be done! I submit. Human exertions are absolutely unavailing. What man could do, I have done. I hope that the wind will come to the eastward. What ill fortune! but, I cannot help myself." Thus did the hero complain, and thus did he console himself.
On the 1st of May, near the coast of Barbary, he was joined by the Martin sloop, which sailed from Plymouth the 17th of April; and brought his lordship a letter from the Admiralty, dated the 15th, which informed him that five thousand troops were coming to the Mediterranean. On the 30th, at ten in the morning, the fleet anchored in Tetuan Bay; or, rather, in the little bay to the eastward of Tetuan, where there is a very fine river of fresh water. The day was chiefly employed in watering the fleet; and clearing a transport with wine, which had been brought out from Gibraltar. No information of the combined fleet was, however, obtained from thence, nor in letters dated at Lisbon the 27th; but it seemed generally credited, that they were gone to the West Indies. "Surely," exclaimed his lordship, "I shall hear something of them from Sir John Orde's cruizers; which he must, naturally, have sent after them!" Sir John, however, very unaccountably, had not taken any measures for ascertaining their course. On Sunday, the 5th, at eight in the morning, light easterly breezes springing up, the fleet weighed at ten; but, in the evening, the wind, having first shifted northerly, unfortunately came again fresh from the westward. At two in the afternoon, next day, the fleet anchored in Gibraltar Bay. At four o'clock, a Levanter came on: at six, the fleet again weighed; and, by midnight, they were abreast of Cape Spartel, where nothing had been heard of the enemy. In the evening of the 7th, having steered for Cape St. Vincent, Le Tigre was sent to call the transports left by Sir John Orde, who had sailed for England, out of Lagos Bay. On the 9th, Le Tigre returned with the transports; and the Amazon, arriving from Lisbon, brought intelligence, communicated by Admiral Knight, that Sir John Orde had joined the channel fleet. At nine, in the evening, the fleet anchored between Cape St. Vincent and Lagos Bay. The next day, and succeeding night, were busily occupied in clearing the transports, and compleating the fleet to five months. Early on the 11th, his lordship sent the Wasp, and the Doris transport, to England, with dispatches: at ten o'clock, the fleet weighed; at noon, were off Cape St. Vincent; and, at one, saw the convoy under Admiral Knight. They joined at four; and at six, parted company: Lord Nelson having given Admiral Knight the Royal Sovereign; which, he observed, would make him superior in force to any thing ready, either in Carthagena or at Cadiz. At seven o'clock, the Martin sloop was dispatched to Barbadoes; and, at the same time, his lordship likewise made all sail to the westward with his comparatively small fleet. The French had twelve ships of the line, a frigate, and two corvettes; the Spaniards, six sail of the line and five frigates; to say nothing of the Rochfort squadron: while the whole fleet under Lord Nelson consisted only of ten ships of the line and three frigates. The French had, also, upwards of ten thousand troops, and the Spaniards more than two. Notwithstanding this inferior strength, which would have deterred many a brave man from risking the responsibility of so hazardous an undertaking, Lord Nelson had resolved that he would follow them, as he emphatically expressed himself, "even to the Antipodes." The ships he had were well equipped, and his confidence in all the officers and men was precisely the same as they themselves felt in their adored commander—he believed them to be absolutely invincible. The ships which accompanied his lordship in this memorable pursuit, were—the Victory of a hundred and ten guns, Vice-Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson, Rear-Admiral Murray, and Captain Hardy; the Canopus of eighty, Rear-Admiral Louis, and Captain Austin; Le Tigre of eighty, Captain Hallowell; the Donegal of eighty, Captain Malcolm; the Spencer of seventy-four, the Honourable Captain Stopford; the Conqueror of seventy-four, Captain Pellew; the Superb of seventy-four, Captain Keates; the Belleisle of seventy-four, Captain Hargood; the Leviathan of seventy-four, Captain Bayntun; the Swiftsure of seventy-four, Captain Rutherford; the Decade frigate of thirty-six, Captain Stuart; the Amazon of thirty-eight, Captain Parker; and the Amphion of thirty-two, Captain Sutton.
His lordship, now in high spirits, since the destination of the enemy seemed evident, and the wind had shifted in his favour, jocosely remarked to his assembled captains—"There is just a Frenchman apiece for each English ship, leaving me out of the question to fight the Spaniards: and, when I haul down my colours, I expect every captain of the fleet to do the same; but, not till then."
Having got fairly into the trade winds, they run, on the 21st of May, in the last twenty-four hours, a hundred and ninety miles. The next day, they passed the tropic, vulgarly called crossing the line; when Neptune performed the usual ceremony, to the no small diversion of the fleet. There were, in the Victory alone, his lordship remarks, who highly enjoyed the scene, no less than five hundred persons by whom the tropic had never before been crossed.