The same spirit of eager anxiety to get early into battle prevailed everywhere, coupled with the utmost friendliness and good-comradeship. The _Tonnant_, the second ship in Collingwood's line, was ordered in the course of the morning to give up the place of honour to the faster _Belleisle_. As the _Belleisle_ was passing her. Captain Tyler of the _Tonnant_ on a carronade slide and called across to the other captain (Hargood): 'A glorious day for old England: we shall have one a-piece before night!' A moment later the _Tonnant's_ band, by way of greeting to the _Belleisle_, began to play 'Britons Strike Home.'[99] Such was the spirit in which Nelson's Captains went into battle at Trafalgar as the hour for the opening of the fight drew on. There is, as it happens, no note in the _Temeraire's_ log of Nelson's famous signal, 'England expects that every man will do his duty'; but it is on record that it was received by Signal Midshipman Eaton, who acknowledged it to the _Victory_. We know from Captain Blackwood, who was with the Admiral at the time, how it was received by all the ships near by with 'a shout of answering acclamation,' and the _Temeraire_ was the nearest ship of all to the _Victory_ at that moment. After the battle the _Temeraire's_ officers had the words engraved on a brass plate which was let into the quarter-deck in front of the steering wheel, where it remained till the ship came to her end. * * * * * At noon, almost to the minute, the first shot was fired--by the enemy. It came from a French ship lying nearly opposite the head of Collingwood's line, the _Fougueux_. It was aimed at the _Royal Sovereign_--to try the range. The shot went home, and at once other French and Spanish ships near by took up the firing. The _Royal Sovereign_ was about 400 yards off at the moment, about three-quarters gunshot. At the same time the enemy all along their line hoisted their colours, the Spaniards in addition hanging up large wooden crosses at their gaffs. Why they did so has never been explained. Some of the Spanish captains had held special religious services on board their ships at an earlier hour that morning,[100] but it is not known that that had any connection with the display of the crosses.