`Salvador del Mundo' of 112, the others being of 80
and 74 guns. For nearly an hour we pounded away at them, till Captain
Collingwood, in the `Excellent,' came up, and gave us a helping hand by
pouring a tremendous broadside into the `San Nicolas.'

"Our captain now let us fall close alongside that ship, and then he
called for boarders, and away we dashed into her. Right through her we
went; her flag was hauled down, and then, more boarders coming up, on we
dashed aboard the big `San Joseph,' and in a little time we had her
also. We followed our captain to the quarterdeck, and then the Spanish
officers assembled, and their captain and all of them presented their
swords to Commodore Nelson. As he received them he gave them to one of
his bargemen, William Fearney, who, with no little pleasure, tucked them
under his arm, just as you see in the picture in the Painted Hall
yonder. All the seven ships were taken, and if the Spaniards had had
any pluck we should have taken the remainder; but they hadn't, and made
off while we were unable to follow. That is the worst of fighting with
cowards. If they had been brave men they would have stopped to fight,
and we should have captured every one of their ships. That was the
battle of Saint Vincent.

"The commodore was made an admiral and a knight, and now everybody in
England, high and low, rich and poor, had heard of him, and sung his
praises.

"You've seen a picture of Sir Horatio Nelson, as he was then, in a boat
attacked by Spaniards, and his coxswain, John Sykes, defending him, and
receiving on his own head the blow made at him by one of the enemy.
I'll tell you how it was:--

"His flag was flying on board the `Theseus,' and he had command of the
inner squadron blockading Cadiz. The Spanish gunboats had annoyed us,
and he resolved to attack them with the boats at night. In we pulled.
In the admiral's barge there were only his ten bargemen--I was one of
them--Captain Freemantle, and his coxswain, John Sykes, when suddenly we
found ourselves close up with a Spanish launch carrying twenty-six men
or more. To run was not in our nature, so we tackled to with the
launch. It was desperate work, and the Spaniards fought well. Sir
Horatio was foremost in the fight; but the enemy seemed to know who he
was, and aimed many a blow at his head. Sykes, not thinking of himself,
defended him as a bear does her whelps. Blow after blow he warded off,
till at last his own arm wa