But when sudden opportunity offered, of a kind he had not anticipated, he is found unequal to it.  Neither natural temper, nor acquired habit of mind, respond to the call.  To pass through the French line, when the wind shifted, was an instigation too sudden and a risk too great for his own initiative.  The balance of evidence shows that it was due to the suggestion, and even more to the pressure, of Sir Charles Douglas.  Carried beyond his habitual submission by the impulse of a great thought, and unburdened by the ultimate responsibility which must remain with the admiral, the Captain of the Fleet not only urged luffing through the enemy’s line, but—­so the story runs—­in the excitement of the moment, and seeing the chance slipping past, even under the then sluggish breeze, he ordered the helm down.  The admiral, thus faced, countermanded the order.  A moment of silence followed, during which the two men stepped apart, the admiral even entering the cabin, which would be but a few paces from the wheel.  Returning, he permitted Douglas to have his way; an act which, whether done courteously or grudgingly, does not bespeak professional conviction, but the simple acceptance of another’s will in place of one’s own indecision.

The incident is in entire keeping with the picture of Rodney’s irresolution, and consequent uncertain course, drawn in successive touches by Hood in the hours and days succeeding the victory.  Events had called him to deeds beyond his limitations.  Age of course counted for much; fatigue, after three days of doubtful chase and one of prolonged battle, for more; but it may here be recalled that an older man, after a more wearisome and doubtful exposure, willed of his own motion to do what Rodney left undone.  Sir Byam Martin has recorded,[10] “After the battle of the 1st of June, Lord Howe was quite exhausted, as well indeed he might, considering that they had been manoeuvring and fighting for three days.  Although feeble in body, and so exhausted as to be obliged to sit down in a chair on deck, he expressed a wish to pursue the flying enemy; but Sir Roger Curtis, the Captain of the Fleet (Chief of Staff, as Douglas to Rodney) said, ’I vow to God, my lord, if you do they will turn the tables upon us.’  This anecdote I had from the late Admiral Bowen, who was master of the Queen Charlotte and a party to the conversation.”  Under circumstances approaching similarity,—­so far as North Atlantic fogs and weather resemble West India climate,—­Howe was sixty-eight, Rodney sixty-three, at the moment of testing.  The one lost the support of the man—­Curtis—­upon whom he must chiefly rely for observation and execution; the other was urged in vain by the officer who held the same relation to him.  Nelson once spoke slightingly of “a Lord Howe’s victory, take a part, and retire into port;” as a trait of official character, however, Howe’s purpose was far in advance of Rodney’s, as this was viewed by Nelson’s ideal admiral, Hood.  It is now known, by a letter