“Almost all the wounded suffer from thirst; but whether it be from faintness or from the fever occasioned by pain, or from both, I cannot tell. The battle of the Nile was a very severe fight.”
“It was Nelson who commanded the English, was it not?”
“Yes. In the bay of Aboukir the French fleet was moored in a half circle, so close to the shore that their admiral felt certain he could only be attacked on one side, and that the favourite manœuvre of the English of breaking the line, was altogether out of the question; but he little knew the daring spirit of his opponent.”
“Why, what did Nelson do, then, if he could not break the line?”
“By forcing a way between the shore and the French fleet, to the surprise and consternation of the French admiral, he was enabled to throw two of his ships upon every one of the weathermost of the enemy’s line, thus attacking his foe in the very way that he most dreaded. The battle was fearful, lasting through the night, with the exception of a short pause at midnight—a fearful pause.”
“Why did they stop fighting at midnight?”
“There was good reason for it, for the French admiral’s ship L’Orient, a beautiful vessel of a hundred and twenty guns, was set in flames, and blew up with so dreadful an explosion, that, for a season, the rage of battle was suspended, and every one was struck with awe. The horrors of war were then indeed seen in the fearful destruction which had taken place. The French admiral had perished.”
“What a number must have been killed in that ship!”
“There were only two ships out of the whole fleet of the enemy that made their escape! And thus was the better part of the French navy destroyed, the coast blockaded, and Buonaparte, who had invaded Egypt, cut off from holding communication with France. When the Orient blew up she had plunder on board, obtained from Malta, amounting to more than half a million of money. But what is money compared with human life!”
“What would Buonaparte do when he knew the best part of his navy was destroyed?”