of them had furnaces for
heating red-hot shot, which several times nearly set our ships on fire.
No men ever fought better than the Danes, and several times when we had
killed or wounded all the defenders of a battery, their places were
supplied by fresh hands from the shore, who worked away at their guns as
bravely as the first, till they, poor fellows, were shot down. More
than once the ships of the enemy had hauled down their flags, and when
we were going to take possession again opened fire on us. This enraged
us, as you may suppose; but we cut them up terribly, and many of their
ships and floating batteries were sinking or on fire. For three hours
or more we were at it, pounding away without being able to silence them.
They were cutting us up too, let me tell you, riddling our hull, and
round-shot, and red-hot shot, and chain-shot, and bar shot flying
around, about, and through us. It seemed a wonder that a man was left
alive on our decks. Lord Nelson kept pacing the quarterdeck, watching
everything that was going on. A young Danish officer had got a big
raft, with a breastwork mounting some twenty guns, and in spite of our
marines, who kept up a sharp fire on him, he held his post till the
battle was over. The admiral praised him for his gallantry, and, I
believe, would have been very sorry if he had been killed, much as he
was annoying us. A shot now struck our mainmast, sending the splinters
flying on every side. I saw the admiral smile. `This is hot work,' he
observed to one of the officers; `in another moment not one of as may be
alive, but, mark you, I would not be anywhere else for thousands.' It's
my opinion that most men would have thought we were getting the worst of
it; and if we hadn't had Lord Nelson for our chief, we should have
thought so likewise.

"Sir Hyde Parker's flag-ship was near enough for us to make out his
signals. It was reported that the signal for discontinuing the action
had been made. `Acknowledge it!' cried Lord Nelson. `Is our signal for
close action still hoisted?' `Yes, sir,' was the answer. `Then keep it
so,' he replied. Soon afterwards he put his glass up to his blind eye,
and turning to Captain Foley, he exclaimed, `I have a right to be blind
sometimes, and really I don't see the signal. Never mind it, I say,
nail mine to the mast.' Admiral Graves in like manner disobeyed the
order, and the rest of the squadron, looking only to Lord Nelson,
continued the actio