ed the same night. The Redoutable suffered so
much from shot received between wind and water, that she sunk while in
tow of the Swiftsure on the following evening, when the gale came on;
and out of a crew originally consisting of more than eight hundred men,
only about a hundred and thirty were saved: but she had lost above three
hundred in the battle.[21]

It is by no means certain, though highly probable, that Lord NELSON was
particularly aimed at by the Enemy. There were only two Frenchmen left
alive in the mizen-top of the Redoutable at the time of His LORDSHIP'S
being wounded, and by the hands of one of these he fell. These men
continued firing at Captains HARDY and ADAIR, Lieutenant ROTELY of the
Marines, and some of the Midshipman on the Victory's poop, for some
time afterwards. At length one of them was killed by a musket-ball: and
on the other's then attempting to make his escape from the top down the
rigging, Mr. POLLARD (Midshipman) fired his musket at him, and shot him
in the back; when he fell dead from the shrouds, on the Redoutable's
poop.

The Writer of this will not attempt to depict the heart-rending sorrow,
and melancholy gloom, which pervaded the breast and the countenance of
every individual on board the Victory when His LORDSHIP'S death became
generally known. The anguish felt by all for such a loss, rendered
doubly heavy to _them_, is more easy to be conceived than described: by
his lamented fall they were at once deprived of their adored commander,
and their friend and patron.

The battle was fought in soundings about sixteen miles to the westward
of Cape Trafalgar; and if fortunately there had been more wind in the
beginning of the action, it is very probable that Lord NELSON would
still have been saved to his Country, and that every ship of the line
composing the Combined Fleets would have been either captured or
destroyed: for had the Victory been going fast through the water, she
must have dismasted the Redoutable, and would of course have passed on
to attack another ship; consequently His LORDSHIP would not have been so
long nor so much exposed to the Enemy's musketry. From the same
circumstance of there being but little wind, several of the Enemy's
ships made off before the rear and bad-sailing ships of the British
lines could come up to secure them.

THE Victory had no musketry in her tops: as His LORDSHIP had a strong
aversion to small arms being placed there, from the danger of their