leet there were thirteen battle-ships, but the French ships
were the larger and more heavily armed. They carried forty-six more
guns, and the weight of their broadside was 14,029 pounds to 10,695
pounds, while they carried 2300 more men, and were 5000 tons heavier.
They had, too, in addition, four frigates, besides the mortar vessels,
gun-boats, and the battery on the island of Aboukir. Soon after six
o'clock, the two leading vessels of the British fleet being within
range, the French opened fire, as did the guns of the battery. Edgar
uttered an exclamation of disgust as one of the largest of the English
ships was seen to stop suddenly in her course.

"She has run on the shoal!" he exclaimed. "Look, our ships are steering
for the head of the French line; they mean to go inside them."

As the British vessels reached the head of the French ships they
anchored one after another, each laying itself broadside to broadside
against an opponent, and the battle commenced with terrible energy, the
tremendous roar of the guns astounding the Arabs who were gathered on
the sand-hills. At first the French reply was feeble. They were taken
entirely by surprise by Nelson's manoeuvre. Believing that he could
only attack them from outside, they had prepared only on that hand for
the fight, and in clearing the decks for action all the useless gear and
fittings had been piled over on the other side, and it was some little
time before this could be cleared away and the guns got ready for
action. Then for a time their fire was as heavy as that of the British.
Nevertheless some of them had suffered terribly before they were able to
return a shot, and this contributed in no small degree to the British
victory.

The loss of the _Culloden_, which was the vessel which struck on the
sands, and of the _Leander_, which went to her assistance, was serious,
and had the French rear-admiral, Villeneuve, who commanded the five
vessels at the rear of the French line, cut his cables and come to the
assistance of his comrades, the eight British ships, engaged with as
many French, would have been in a serious position. He did not do so,
however, possibly fearing to run his ships aground. Consequently the
_Alexandria_ and the _Swiftsure_ came in to the assistance of the
British ships, some of which were being terribly damaged by the greatly
superior weight of the French fire. The _Bellerophon_, dismasted and
disabled by the enemy's fire, dropped out of the