consonant to his own temper,
always disdainful of mere defensive measures. "Our active force is
perfect," he wrote to St. Vincent, "and possesses so much zeal that I
only want to catch that Buonaparte on the water." He has satisfied
himself that the French preparations were greatly exaggerated;
Boulogne in fact could not harbor the needed vessels, unless enlarged,
as afterwards by Napoleon. "Where is our invasion to come from? The
_time_ is gone." Nevertheless, he favors an attack of some sort,
suggests an expedition against Flushing, with five thousand troops,
and proposes a consultation. St. Vincent replied that he did not
believe in consultations, and had always avoided them. "I disapprove
of unnecessary consultations as much as any man," retorted Nelson,
"yet being close to the Admiralty, I should not feel myself justified
in risking our ships through the channels of Flushing without buoys
and pilots, without a consultation with such men as your Lordship, and
also I believe you would think an order absolutely necessary." "Lord
St. Vincent tells me he hates councils," he writes rather sorely to
Addington. "So do I between military men; for if a man consults
whether he is to fight, when he has the power in his own hands, _it is
certain that his opinion is against fighting_; but that is not the
case at present, and I own I do want good council. Lord St. Vincent is
for keeping the enemy closely blockaded; but I see they get alongshore
inside their sand banks, and under their guns, which line the coast of
France. Lord Hood is for keeping our squadrons of defence stationary
on our own shore (except light cutters to give information of every
movement of the enemy).... When men of such good sense, such great
sea-officers, differ so widely, is it not natural that I should wish
the mode of defence to be well arranged by the mature consideration of
men of judgment?"

Meanwhile he had again gone off Boulogne, and directed an attack in
boats upon the line of vessels moored outside. He took great care in
the arrangements for this hazardous expedition, giving personal
supervision to all details. "As you may believe, my dear Emma," he
wrote to her who had his closest confidence, "my mind feels at what is
going forward this night; it is one thing to order and arrange an
attack, and another to execute it; but I assure you I have taken much
more precaution for others, than if I was to go myself--then my mind
would be perfectly at eas