watchdogs or drive them off; if that succeeded (which it did not), he would then wait for a strong fair wind that would assure him of a speed that would outdistance and take him out of sight of the British squadron, and make sure that no clue to his destination was left.  The wind was strong NNW.; the French fleet were carrying a heavy press of canvas and steering SSW.  The British ships that were following concluded that they were out for important mischief, and returned to convey the news to Nelson, who quickly got under weigh and followed them.  Meanwhile, Villeneuve’s squadron, after getting from under the shelter of the land into the open sea, lost some of their spars and sails, and one vessel, it is recorded, was dismasted, which means, in seafaring interpretation, that all her masts were carried away; as she succeeded, however, in getting into Ajaccio, she can only have lost her royal topgallant, and possibly a topmast or two.  If her lower masts had been carried away, she could not have got into refuge without assistance, and the rest of the fleet apparently had enough to do in looking after themselves, as they lost spars and sails too, and became somewhat scattered, but all appear to have got safely into Toulon again to refit and repair the damage done by the heavy gale they encountered.

Meanwhile, Nelson, in dismay at losing touch with them, searched every nook and cranny in the Tyrrhenian Sea, and making sure that none of them were in hiding and that the sea was clear, he proceeded to act on his fixed opinion that their objective must be Egypt.  So to Egypt he went, and the bitter disappointment at not finding them stunned his imagination, so sure had he been that his well-considered judgment was a thing to which he might pin his faith, and that his lust for conflict with the “pests of the human race” could not escape being realized in the vicinity of his great victory at the battle of the Nile.  His grievance against Villeneuve for cheating him out of what he believed would result in the annihilation of the French Power for mischief on the seas brought forth expressions of deadly contempt for such astute, sneaking habits!  But the Emperor was as much dissatisfied with the performances of his admirals as Nelson was, though in a different way.  Napoleon, on the authority of the French historian, M. Thiers, was imperially displeased.  He asks “what is to be done with admirals who allow their spirits to sink into their boots (italics are the author’s) and fly for refuge as soon as they receive damage.  All the captains ought to have had sealed orders to meet at the Canary Islands.  The damages should have been repaired en route.  A few topmasts carried away and other casualties in a gale of wind are everyday occurrences.  The great evil of our Navy is that the men who command it are unused to all the risks of command.”  This indictment is to a large extent deserved, and had his fleet been out in the Atlantic or outside the limits of the vigilance