222 THE CALL OF THE SEA 



poor Scott that's gone?" and being informed that 

 it was indeed so, exclaimed, " Poor fellow ! " 

 Presently a double-headed shot struck a party 

 of marines, who were drawn up on the poop, 

 and killed eight of them : upon which Nelson 

 immediately desired Captain Adair to disperse his 

 men round the ship, that they might not suffer so 

 much from being together. A few minutes after- 

 wards a shot struck the fore brace-bits on the 

 quarter-deck, and passed between Nelson and 

 Hardy, a splinter from the bit tearing off Hardy's 

 buckle and bruising his foot. Both stopped, and 

 looked anxiously at each other, each supposing 

 the other to be wounded. Nelson then smiled, 

 and said, " This is too warm work, Hardy, to last 

 long." 



The Victory had not yet returned a single gun : 

 fifty of her men had been by this time killed or 

 wounded, and her main-topmast, with all her 

 studding sails and their booms shot away. Nelson 

 declared that, in all his battles, he had seen nothing 

 which surpassed the cool courage of his crew on 

 this occasion. At four minutes after twelve she 

 opened her fire from both sides of her deck. It 

 was not possible to break the enemy's line without 

 running on board one of their ships : Hardy in- 

 formed him of this, and asked which he would 

 prefer. Nelson replied : "Take your choice. Hardy, 

 it does not signify much." The master was then 



