est of his friends to give the dangerous post
at the head of the line to another ship, and though it was known that the
enemy had soldiers on board, and there would be a heavy musketry fire at
close quarters, he wore on his admiral's uniform a glittering array of
stars and orders.

To the advancing fleet the five miles of the enemy's line presented a
formidable spectacle. We have the impressions of one of the midshipmen of
the "Neptune" in a letter written after the battle, and he tells how--

"It was a beautiful sight when their line was completed, their
broadsides turned towards us, showing their iron teeth, and now
and then trying the range of a shot to ascertain the distance,
that they might, the moment we came within point-blank (about
600 yards), open their fire upon our van ships--no doubt with
the hope of dismasting some of our leading vessels before they
could close and break their line. Some of the enemy's ships were
painted like ourselves with double yellow streaks, some with a
broad single red or yellow streak, others all black, and the
noble Santissima Trinidad with four distinct lines of red, with
a white ribbon between them, made her seem to be a superb
man-of-war, which, indeed, she was."

The Spanish flagship was the largest ship afloat at the time, and she
towered high above her consorts. It was not the first time Nelson had seen
her in battle, for she was in the fleet that he and Jervis defeated twelve
years before off Cape St. Vincent.

As the fleets closed the famous signal, "_England expects that every man
will do his duty!_" flew from the "Victory." At half-past eleven the "Royal
Sovereign," leading the lee line, was within a thousand yards of the enemy,
making for a point a little to rearward of his centre, when the "Fougueux,"
the ship for which she was heading, fired a first trial shot. Other ships
opened fire in succession, and the centre began firing at the "Victory" and
her consorts. Not a shot in reply was fired by the British till they were
almost upon the allies. In the windward line the "Victory," already under
fire from eight ships of the allied van, began the battle by firing her
forward guns on the port side as she turned to attack the French admiral's
flagship, the 100-gun "Bucentaure."

Just as the "Victory" opened fire, at ten minutes to twelve, Collingwood,
in the "Royal Sovereign," had dashed into the allied line. He passed
bet