tory by a turbot.' 'A turbot!' 'Yes, my lord, I well recollect your
great desire to catch a turbot, and your astonishing many, by
insisting upon its being immediately sent to Sir Hyde, who
condescended to return a civil note; without which opening your
Lordship would not have been consulted in the Cattegat, and without
such intercourse your Lordship would not have got the detached
squadron; without which there would not have been any engagement, and
consequently no victory.' Lord Nelson smilingly said, 'You are
right.'"[26]

On the 19th of March the fleet was collected off the northern point of
Denmark, known as the Skaw. From there the broad channel, called the
Kattegat, extends southward, between Sweden and the northern part of
the Danish peninsula, until it reaches the large Island of Zealand,
upon the eastern shore of which Copenhagen lies. The two principal
entrances into the Baltic are on either side of Zealand. The eastern
one, separating it from Sweden, is called the Sound, that to the west
is known as the Great Belt; each, from the military point of view,
possessed its particular advantages and particular drawbacks. "We are
slow in our motions as ever," wrote Nelson, whose impatient and
decided character would have used the fair wind that was blowing to
enter the Kattegat, and to proceed at once to Copenhagen, "but I hope
all for the best. I have not yet seen Sir Hyde, but I purpose going
this morning; for no attention shall be wanting on my part." The next
day he reports the result of the interview to his friend Davison: "I
staid an hour, and ground out something, but there was not that degree
of openness which I should have shown to my second in command." The
fleet advanced deliberately, a frigate being sent ahead to land the
British envoy, Mr. Vansittart, whose instructions were that only
forty-eight hours were to be allowed the Danes to accept the demands
of Great Britain, and to withdraw from the coalition. The slowness
here, like every other delay, chafed Nelson, whose wish from the
beginning was to proceed at the utmost speed, not merely from the
Skaw, but from England, with whatever ships could be collected; for he
reasoned perfectly accurately upon the safe general principle that
delay favors the defence more than the offence. "I only now long to be
gone," he wrote before leaving Yarmouth; "time is precious, and every
hour makes more resistance; strike quick, and home." It was
particularly true in thi