Two of his own squadrons, meantime, had, in pursuance of the great scheme traced for the ruin of England, escaped early in this year out of Rochefort and Toulon.  The former, passing into the West Indies, effected some trivial services, and returned in safety to their original port.  The latter, under Villeneuve, had like fortune; and, venturing on a second sortie, joined the great Spanish fleet under Gravina at Cadiz.  The combined fleets then crossed the Atlantic, where they captured an insignificant island, and once more returned towards Europe.  Nelson had spent the summer in chasing these squadrons across the seas—­and on this occasion they once more eluded his grasp:  but on approaching Cape Finisterre (22nd July), another English squadron of fifteen sail of the line and two frigates, under Sir Robert Calder, came in view:  and the allied admirals, having twenty sail of the line, three fifty-gun ships, and four frigates, did not avoid the encounter.  They were worsted, notwithstanding their superiority of strength, and Calder captured two of their best ships.  But that they escaped from an English fleet, howsoever inferior in numbers, without sustaining severer loss than this, was considered as a disgrace by the British public.—­Calder, being tried by a court-martial, was actually censured for not having improved his success more signally; a striking example of the height to which confidence in the naval superiority of the English had been raised, at the very time when no arm appeared capable of thwarting the career of French victory by land.

Villeneuve and Gravina now made their way to Vigo, and thence finally to Cadiz:  while Nelson, having at length received accurate intelligence of their motions, took the command in the Mediterranean, and lay watching for the moment in which they should be tempted to hazard another egress.  The coasts of Spain being strictly blockaded, some difficulty began to be felt about providing necessaries for the numerous crews of the allied fleets; but the circumstance which had most influence in leading them to quit, once more, their place of safety, was, according to general admission, the impatience of Villeneuve under some unmerited reproaches with which Napoleon visited the results of the battle off Cape Finisterre.  Villeneuve, a man of dauntless gallantry and the highest spirit, smarting under this injury, was anxious to take the noble revenge of victory.  And, in truth, had numbers been to decide the adventure, he ran little risk:  for Nelson commanded only twenty-seven sail of the line, and three frigates, manned in the ordinary manner; whereas the fleet in Cadiz mustered thirty-three ships of the line, and seven frigates; and, besides the usual crews, carried 4000 troops, chiefly rifle-men.  The result was the most glorious day in the proud annals of the English Marine.  The combined fleets sailed from Cadiz on the 19th of October, and on the morning of the 21st—­the very day after Mack surrendered at Ulm—­they came in sight of the English Admiral, off Cape Trafalgar.