238 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



sternaHori produced by the misfor- 

 tunes of Austria, in tho mind of the 

 British public, it may easily be con- 

 ceived liow timely tlie intelligence of 

 the glorious -vittory obtained over 

 the enemy by lord Nelson's fleet 

 must liave been, and its value can 

 only be ap^ireciatcd by its being put 

 in apposition with the former caia- 

 niilous event. It at once made the 

 scale of war even, and put England 

 on a level in point of successes with 

 her boastful antagonist, brilliant as 

 his conquests had been. The vaunt- 

 ed navy, which, in the beginning of 

 the year, was destined to strike a 

 blow, which would be felt by Clreat 

 Britain in every quarter of the globe, 

 was, before its close, disgraced, beat- 

 en, and iinally annihilated by an in- 

 ferior British force. All apprehcn- 

 sion of invasion of England, or ruin 

 to her colopies, was now at end, 

 while all hope of France ever ob- 

 taining power by sea, or protefting 

 her commerce, faded like a morning 

 <lream ; and the renown of Great 

 ]5ritain, and her nation<il cbarafter, 

 those best proj)s of her power, fixed 

 upon the firmest foundation. Such 

 were the results of the last and great- 

 est of the viftorics of Jord IVelson, 

 Wc shudder at the bare contempla- 

 tion of the consequences, had the 

 rnini'd fleet obtained a momentary 

 advantage, and, by evading that of 

 Kngiand, have forced its way into 

 (he JMediferranean. With the ad- 

 dition of the Spanish ships ill Car- 

 lhau;ena, and those of France re- 

 maining in Toulon, a tern jjorary su- 

 periority would have been acquired 

 by f!ic> latter power, which even the 

 intrepidity and genius of lord Nel- 

 son Avoiild have found it difficult to 

 fope with. Sicily would have fallen, 

 Malta itself have been in danger, 

 and the commerce of England in 

 that quarter annihilated. The battle 

 iii Trafalgar left England the domi- 



nion of the seas, and the cxaaple of 

 the life and death of lord Nelson for 

 its preservation. 



Such, and so great, were the ad- 

 vantagc:4 which his country derived 

 from the actions of the noblest of 

 her sons, and which wc hare enu- 

 merated here, only in order to shew, 

 that she was worthy of him, for 

 great as they were, and essential as 

 they must be allowed to be, even 

 to her very existence, when the ti- 

 dings of the glorious victory off 

 Cape Trafalgar, with all the train of 

 blessings which it brought with it, 

 reached England, and, that it was 

 known, that they were purchased 

 with the life of her hero, not an in- 

 dividual in the country, even him be., 

 fore the most desponding of its fate, 

 who did not feel that it was pur- 

 chased at too dear a rate ; nor was 

 there an individual in it, who woultl. 

 not have given up the victory to have 

 saved the victim !— Can more be 

 said for England or lord Nelson ? 



We are now obliged, reluctantly, 

 to proceed to a train of calamities 

 attendant on the victory of Trafal- 

 gar, and which, in some degree, di- 

 minished the acfvantages, which it 

 otherwise would have been of to the 

 country. The action had scarcely 

 terminated before a tremendous gale j 

 of wind arose, which not only 

 j)laccd the captured ships, but also 

 the captors, in a most dangerous Si- 

 tuation, Both had suffered severe- 

 ly, and were in no condition to suf- 

 fer tho extremity of weather, to 

 which they were now to be expos- 

 ed. In fact the wind increased to 

 such a degree, that the whole fleet 

 were most perilously circumstanc- 

 ed : many dismasted, all shattered, 

 and in thirteen fathoms water, offl 

 the shoals of Cape Trafalgar. Ia| 

 this dangerous state, the skill and I 

 experience of admiral Collingwood,, 

 now commauding, asd wbose con- f 



ducil 



