the initiative, which he has
yielded his opponent. The formation at which they aimed, the customary
order of battle in that day, was a long, straight, single column,
presenting from end to end an unbroken succession of batteries, close
to one another and clear towards the foe, so that all the ships should
sweep with their guns the sea over which, nearly at right angles, the
hostile columns were advancing. Instead of this, embarrassed by both
lack of wind and lack of skill, their manoeuvres resulted in a curved
line, concave to the enemy's approach; the horns of the crescent thus
formed being nearer to the latter. Collingwood noted that this
disposition facilitated a convergent fire upon the assailants, the
heads of whose columns were bearing down on the allied centre; it does
not seem to have been remarked that the two horns, or wings, being to
windward of the centre, also had it more in their power to support the
latter--a consideration of very great importance. Neither of these
advantages, however, was due to contrivance. The order of the combined
fleets was the result merely of an unsuccessful effort to assume the
usual line of battle. The ships distributed along the crescent lay
irregularly, sometimes two and three abreast, masking each other's
fire. On the other hand, even this irregularity had some
compensations, for a British vessel, attempting to pass through at
such a place, fell at once into a swarm of enemies. From horn to horn
was about five miles. Owing to the lightness of the breeze, the allies
carried a good deal of sail, a departure from the usual battle
practice. This was necessary in order to enable them to keep their
places at all, but it also had the effect of bringing them
continually, though very gradually, nearer to Cadiz. Seeing this,
Nelson signalled to Collingwood, "I intend to pass through the van of
the enemy's line, to prevent him from getting into Cadiz," and the
course of the "Victory," for this purpose, was changed a little to the
northward.

After this, towards eleven o'clock, Nelson went below to the cabin. It
was his habit, when an engagement was expected, to have all the
bulkheads[139] upon the fighting decks taken down, and those of his
own apartments doubtless had been removed at least as soon as the
enemy's sailing was signalled; but it was possible to obtain some
degree of privacy by hanging screens, which could be hurried out of
the way at the last moment. The "Victory" did not