We know how catholic Nelson was in his religious views; and his feats of expressive vocabulary, which was the envy of his class at the time, became their heritage after he had accomplished his splendid results and passed into the shadows.  Such things as the strength of the adverse sea winds, his experience of the capriciousness of the official mind—­a capriciousness which might be reflected in the public imagination were he not to be wholly successful in getting hold of the French fleet, and the indignity of having a man like Sir John Orde put over him, all filled his sensitive nature with resentment against the ordinances of God and man.  His complaints were always accompanied with a devotional air and an avowal of supreme indifference to what he regarded as the indecent treatment he received at the hands of the amateurish bureaucrats at the Admiralty.  At times they were out of humour with the great chieftain, and perhaps at no time did they make him feel their dissatisfaction more than when adverse winds, a crazy fleet, and deadly current were eating deep into his eager soul at a time when the genius of seamanship was unavailing in the effort to get through into the Atlantic in pursuit of the French fleet, which his instinct told him was speeding towards the West Indies.

Sir John Orde, who was an aversion to him (as well he might be), had seen the French fleet off Cadiz, and failed to procure him the information as to their course.  Nelson believed, and properly believed, that an alert mind would have found a way of spying out the enemy’s intentions, but Sir John’s resource did not extend to anything beyond the fear of being attacked and overpowered.  He obviously was devoid of any of the arts of the wily pirate or smuggler.  A month after the French had passed through the Gut, Nelson got his chance.  A change of wind came within five hours after a southerly slant brought his ships to anchor in Gibraltar bay for water and provisions.  He immediately gave the signal to heave the anchors up, and proceeded with a fair wind which lasted only forty-eight hours.  He anchored his fleet to the east of Cape St. Vincent, and took on board supplies from the transports.  He received from different sources conflicting accounts as to the objective of the French, but the predominating opinion was that they had gone to the West Indies.  Nelson was in a state of bewilderment, but decided to follow his own head, and pinned his faith on the instinct that told him to follow westward “to be burnt in effigy if he failed, or Westminster Abbey if he succeeded.”  The adventure was daring, both in point of destination and the unequal strength of the relative fleets.  Nelson had ten ships of the line and three frigates, against Villeneuve’s eighteen and two new line-of-battle ships.