immediately opened their
broadsides, supporting an awful and tremendous fire. In a very short
time afterwards, Mr. SCOTT, Public Secretary to the Commander in Chief,
was killed by a cannon-shot while in conversation with Captain HARDY.
Lord NELSON being then near them, Captain ADAIR of the Marines, with the
assistance of a Seaman, endeavoured to remove the body from His
LORDSHIP'S sight: but he had already observed the fall of his Secretary;
and now said with anxiety, "Is that poor SCOTT that is gone?" and on
being answered in the affirmative by Captain ADAIR, he replied, "Poor
fellow!"

LORD NELSON and Captain HARDY walked the quarter-deck in conversation
for some time after this, while the Enemy kept up an incessant raking
fire. A double-headed shot struck one of the parties of Marines drawn up
on the poop, and killed eight of them; when His LORDSHIP, perceiving
this, ordered Captain ADAIR, to disperse his men round the ship, that
they might not suffer so much from being together. In a few minutes
afterwards a shot struck the fore-brace-bits on the quarter-deck, and
passed between Lord NELSON and Captain HARDY; a splinter from the bits
bruising Captain HARDY'S foot, and tearing the buckle from his shoe.
They both instantly stopped; and were observed by the Officers on deck
to survey each other with inquiring looks, each supposing the other to
be wounded. His LORDSHIP then smiled, and said: "This is too warm work,
HARDY, to last long;" and declared that "through all the battles he had
been in, he had never witnessed more cool courage than was displayed by
the Victory's crew on this occasion."

The Victory by this time, having approached close to the Enemy's van,
had suffered very severely without firing a single gun: she had lost
about twenty men killed, and had about thirty wounded. Her
mizen-topmast, and all her studding-sails and their booms, on both sides
were shot away; the Enemy's fire being chiefly directed at her rigging,
with a view to disable her before she could close with them.[11] At four
minutes past twelve o'clock she opened her fire, from both sides of her
decks, upon the Enemy; when Captain HARDY represented to His LORDSHIP,
that "it appeared impracticable to pass through the Enemy's line without
going on board some one of their ships." Lord NELSON answered, "I
cannot help it: it does not signify which we run on board of; go on
board which you please; take your choice."

At twenty minutes past twel