d not dim his sympathy for the
afflicted man, who, on more than one occasion, had allowed envy to
rule his conduct towards him. After the battle of St. Vincent, for
instance, Calder, in conversation with Jervis, criticized Nelson's
action in departing from the plan of attack laid down by the Admiral.
Jervis admitted it to be a breach, and added "if ever Calder did the
same thing under similar circumstances, he would forgive him."

Nelson knew Calder was envious of his growing fame, but this did not
prevent him from acting as though he had always been a loyal friend.
On the morning of the 19th October, 1805, the signal was passed from
ship to ship acting as lookouts to the main fleet that the combined
fleet were putting to sea, and it was soon discovered that their force
consisted of eighteen French line-of-battle ships, seven large
frigates, and two brigs. The Spanish numbered fifteen sail of the
line. The British had twenty-seven sail of the line and four frigates,
so that Nelson was outnumbered by five of the line, three frigates,
and two brigs. The whole of the allied fleet did not get clear of the
port until the 20th. The commander-in-chief was Villeneuve, and his
obvious intention was to get the Straits open and, by a cunning
evasion of the British fleet, make a dash through. His elusive tactics
had hitherto been skilfully performed, but the British Admiral, always
on the alert, anticipated that an effort would again be made to cheat
him of the yearning hope of his heart, and had mentally arranged how
every contingency should be coped with to prevent escape and to get to
grips with the enemy. "I will give them such a shaking as they never
before experienced," and at least he was prepared to lay down his life
in the attempt.

It is pretty certain that, after all his ships had got into the open
sea, Villeneuve's intention was to see how the land lay as to the
British strength, and his manoeuvring indicated that instructions had
been given to hoodwink the British and slip through the Straits of
Gibraltar; but seeing that the entrance was cut off for the moment, he
headed westward, possibly to mislead, but always with the intention of
getting into the Mediterranean. When this information was signalled by
Blackwood, instructions were sent back to him that the Admiral relied
on the enemy being kept in sight. Here is a letter to Lady Hamilton,
dated the 19th October, 1805:--

CADIZ, BEARING E.SE. 50 MILES.

M