frequently fired single guns, in order to ascertain whether she was within range. A shot having passed through her main-top-gallant-sail, they opened a tremendous fire, by which the Victory had about 20 men killed, and 30 others wounded, before she returned a shot. Her spars, sails, and rigging, were also much injured; when at length she opened her larboard guns on the combined van. Captain Hardy soon afterwards informed his chief that it would be impossible to break through their line, without running on board the Santissima Trinidada or the Bucentaure (the latter a French 80-gun ship, bearing the flag of M. Villeneuve), and begged to know which he would prefer. “Take your choice, Hardy,” replied the hero, “it does not much signify which.” The helm was now put a-port, and a raking fire poured into the sterns of those ships; after which, and being raked herself by the Neptune, a French 74, the Victory, in the act of coming to the wind, fell on board the Redoubtable 74; which ship, after discharging a broadside, let down her lower-deck ports, probably that she might not be boarded through them; nor were they again opened. Some time after this the Fougueux, another French 74, ran foul of the Temeraire, which ship had been previously lashed to the Redoubtable on her starboard side: so that the extraordinary and unprecedented circumstance occurred, of four ships of the line being on board of each other in the heat of battle, forming almost as compact a tier as if they had been moored together, their heads all lying nearly in the same direction.
In the first heat of the action, Mr. Scott, the Admiral’s Secretary, was killed by a cannon-shot, whilst in conversation with Captain Hardy. A few minutes afterwards a shot struck the fore-brace bits, and passing between Lord Nelson and Captain Hardy, drove some splinters about them, one of which bruised the foot of the latter officer, and tore the buckle from his shoe. They mutually looked at each other, when Nelson smiled and said, “This is too warm work to last, Hardy.” His Lordship also at this time noticed the coolness displayed by his crew, and declared, that in all his battles he had seen nothing that could surpass it.
The Redoubtable, in lieu of her great guns, kept up a heavy fire of musketry from her decks and tops, by which alone
