Makers of the world's history and their grand achievements . 7th Nelson was reinforced by ten sail of the .ine ;but his frigates had all parted company, and, under some misapprehen-sion of orders, did not rejoin him. He was thus left without means oflearning anything about the French further than that they had sailedfrom Toulon. His hope to get news at Naples proved vain, and it was only whenhe arrived off Messina that he heard that the French had captured Malta,but had sailed again some days before. Their destination was unknown ;he conjectured that it might be Egypt, and he hastened thither,
Makers of the world's history and their grand achievements . 7th Nelson was reinforced by ten sail of the .ine ;but his frigates had all parted company, and, under some misapprehen-sion of orders, did not rejoin him. He was thus left without means oflearning anything about the French further than that they had sailedfrom Toulon. His hope to get news at Naples proved vain, and it was only whenhe arrived off Messina that he heard that the French had captured Malta,but had sailed again some days before. Their destination was unknown ;he conjectured that it might be Egypt, and he hastened thither, only to ADMIRAL LORD NELSON. 131 fiud that there was no trace of them. He had iu fact passed within a fewleagues of them, but without seeing them. He returned by the coast ofAsia, put into Syracuse, where he watered, and was meditating going upthe Archipelago to Constantinople, when he at last learned that, after all,they had gone to Egypt. Thither he immediately followed, and on theexLimii; of August ist found their fleet Ijing at anchor in Aboukir THK BATTLK OF THE NILE, OR ABOUKIR. His plans had long before been formed and discussed with the severalcaptains under his orders, everything was ready, and no explanatorysignals were needed. His fleet was numerically inferior to that of theFrench, and became still more so by the accident of the CuUoden gettingaground and being unable to take au}^ part in the battle but the windwas blowing along the Fretich line, and, by concentrating his attack on i:52 ADMIRAL LORD NELSON. the weather eudof it, it was crushed by superior force, while the leeward-most ships were unable to render an} assistance ; and thus, creepinggradually down the Hue, he captured or destroyed the whole, with theexception of the two rear-most ships, and two of the frigates, which , in recent times, had there been a victory so complete, sooverwhelming ; and when Nelson, with his shattered fleet, returned toNaples he was the object of an enthusiastic
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbiography, bookyear19
