the clear
intuitions, and firmly grasped principle, which placed Nelson always,
in desire, alongside the enemy's fleet, and twice carried him, at
every risk, to the end of the Mediterranean to seek it. "We are now in
danger of a war, directly on Admiral Nelson's account; you see fairly
our position; will Admiral Nelson run to the Levant again _without
knowing for certain_ the position of the French, and leave the Two
Sicilies exposed in these moments? Buonaparte has absconded himself,
but in any port he has taken securitys not to be forced. God knows
where he is, and whether we shall not see him again in a few days, if
we do not hear of what a course he has taken. I present all this to
your consideration." To this letter, which oddly enough was written on
the very day the Battle of the Nile was fought, Nelson might well have
replied then, as he did in terms a year afterwards, "The best defence
for His Sicilian Majesty's dominions is to place myself alongside the
French fleet."

The fleet left Syracuse on the 25th of July, just one week before the
discovery of the enemy in Aboukir Bay put an end to Nelson's long
suspense. The course was first shaped for the southern capes of the
Morea, and on the 28th Troubridge was sent into the Gulf of Koron for
information. He returned within three hours, with the news that the
French had been seen four weeks before from the coast of Candia, and
were then steering southeast. This intelligence was corroborated by a
vessel spoken the same day. Southeast, being nearly dead before the
prevailing wind, was an almost certain clew to the destination of an
unwieldy body which could never regain ground lost to leeward; so,
although Nelson now learned that some of his missing frigates had also
been seen recently off Candia, he would waste no time looking for
them. It may be mentioned that these frigates had appeared off the
anchorage of the French fleet, and had been recognized by it as
enemies; but, so far from taking warning from the incident, the French
admiral was only confirmed by it in a blind belief that the British
feared to attack. Immediately after Troubridge's return, the fleet
bore up under all sail, and at 2.45 in the afternoon of the 1st of
August, 1798, the masthead lookout of the "Zealous" discovered the
long-sought-for enemy, lying in Aboukir Bay, on the coast of Egypt,
fifteen miles east of Alexandria.

Suspense was ended, but Nelson's weightiest responsibility had yet to