advent of Divine vengeance on those who doubted or threatened
the awful supremacy of British dominion on land or sea was stimulating
to him. Like the Domremy maiden, who saved her king and country, he
had "visions and heard voices."

Whatever the mission of the French fleet may have been, there was
certainly no apparent lust for aggrandizement. We may be certain that
Napoleon's orders were to carry out vigorous bombardments on British
possessions, and instead of doing so, Villeneuve seems to have been
distractedly and aimlessly sailing about, not knowing what to do or
whither to go. Apparently without any definite object, he arrived off
Antigua on the 9th June, and had the good fortune, whether he sought
for it or not, of capturing fourteen British merchant vessels; but he
would appear to have been quite phlegmatic about making the haul. He
was more concerned about the news the crews were able to give him of
Nelson's arrival at Barbadoes; not that he was constrained to give him
the opportunity of measuring strength with his now twenty-six of the
line, but as a guide to the best means of making his escape; this may
have been a strategical move of wearing down; or he may have been
carrying out a concerted plan for leaving Nelson in bewilderment and
proceeding with all speed to some British European point where
resistance would be less and success assured, since there was no
outstanding naval figure, bar Collingwood, who could stand up against
so powerful a combination of ships of the line. It is questionable
whether Villeneuve ever took this man of great hidden power and
foresight into account. It was Nelson, his chief, who put terror into
the fleet. In any case, whatever his plans may have been, the
intelligence he gleaned from the seized merchant seamen caused him to
make arrangements to sail from Antigua the next day for Europe. The
present writer's opinion is that he may have had secret orders from
Napoleon to make an attack on Ireland, as the Emperor never faltered
in his view that this was the most pregnable spot in which to hazard
an invasion and strike a crushing blow at the main artery. He little
knew the real loyalty of the great mass of Irishmen to their own and
to the motherland, and only realized later that his way to England
was not through Ireland.

The exit of the French was hard fate for Nelson, who had fired his
enthusiasm with the hope of a great conflict and a sure victory. It
was a creeping nightma