e's
squadron, after getting from under the shelter of the land into the
open sea, lost some of their spars and sails, and one vessel, it is
recorded, was dismasted, which means, in seafaring interpretation,
that all her masts were carried away; as she succeeded, however, in
getting into Ajaccio, she can only have lost her royal topgallant, and
possibly a topmast or two. If her lower masts had been carried away,
she could not have got into refuge without assistance, and the rest of
the fleet apparently had enough to do in looking after themselves, as
they lost spars and sails too, and became somewhat scattered, but all
appear to have got safely into Toulon again to refit and repair the
damage done by the heavy gale they encountered.

Meanwhile, Nelson, in dismay at losing touch with them, searched every
nook and cranny in the Tyrrhenian Sea, and making sure that none of
them were in hiding and that the sea was clear, he proceeded to act on
his fixed opinion that their objective must be Egypt. So to Egypt he
went, and the bitter disappointment at not finding them stunned his
imagination, so sure had he been that his well-considered judgment was
a thing to which he might pin his faith, and that his lust for
conflict with the "pests of the human race" could not escape being
realized in the vicinity of his great victory at the battle of the
Nile. His grievance against Villeneuve for cheating him out of what he
believed would result in the annihilation of the French Power for
mischief on the seas brought forth expressions of deadly contempt for
such astute, sneaking habits! But the Emperor was as much dissatisfied
with the performances of his admirals as Nelson was, though in a
different way. Napoleon, on the authority of the French historian, M.
Thiers, was imperially displeased. He asks "what is to be done with
admirals who allow their spirits to sink _into their boots_ (italics
are the author's) and fly for refuge as soon as they receive damage.
All the captains ought to have had sealed orders to meet at the Canary
Islands. The damages should have been repaired _en route_. A few
topmasts carried away and other casualties in a gale of wind are
everyday occurrences. The great evil of our Navy is that the men who
command it are unused to all the risks of command." This indictment is
to a large extent deserved, and had his fleet been out in the Atlantic
or outside the limits of the vigilance of Nelson's ships, the putting
bac