with the aid of Ganteaume. The united fleets were then to set sail towards the channel. Upon land, and until the day when success and presumption disturbed the clearness of his judgment, and the penetrating light of his genius, Napoleon was accustomed to judge soberly of the obstacles he calculated on overcoming, and of his power to do so. Without maritime experience, and struggling against the recognized superiority of the English navy, he constantly committed the error of counting on the mistakes of the enemy and of looking on the chiefs of his squadrons as equal in talent to Nelson. No sooner had the latter learnt the direction of Villeneuve than he dashed off in pursuit, caring little as to the number of vessels he might have to confront. Napoleon had miscalculated the length of the voyage. "Nelson will have been first to Surinam, thence to Trinidad, and from that to Barbadoes," wrote he on the 28th of June to Admiral Decrès; "he will lose two days at Cape Verd; he will lose much time in collecting his ships, on account of the vessels and frigates to which he will give chase on his way. When he learns that Villeneuve is not in the Windward Islands he will go to Jamaica, and during the days lost in provisioning and waiting, great blows will be struck. This is my calculation. Nelson is in America and Collingwood in the East Indies. Nelson will not venture before Martinique; he will stay at Barbadoes in order to plan a junction with Cochrane." Nelson had already quitted Barbadoes and was pursuing his adversary from anchorage to anchorage. Troubled by this formidable proximity, and pressed by the formal orders which enjoined him to transfer his efforts to the seas of Europe, Villeneuve crowded all sail to reach Ferrol. Nelson soon followed him, directing his course towards the Mediterranean, but careful to warn the Admirality, who sent Admiral Calder with fifteen vessels to the neighborhood of Cape Finisterre. It was in these waters that Villeneuve encountered Nelson on July 22nd, 1805. The weather was foggy, and the sea rough; the engagement ended without any important result, two Spanish vessels being captured by the English. Villeneuve set sail speedily towards Ferrol, without entering the Channel, the order having arrived to take his course to Brest immediately; but he lingered at Corunna, persuaded that Nelson had joined Admiral Calder, and that both would combine with Lord Cornwallis for his destruction. In again taking to sea, he let it be thought that he was setting out for Brest; General Lauriston, aide-de-camp to the emperor, and who had accompanied Villeneuve in his expedition, wrote so immediately to the emperor. But the discouragement of Villeneuve, more profound than ever, showed itself in a letter to his friend, Admiral Decrès. "They make me the arbiter of the highest interests," wrote he; "my despair doubles in proportion as more confidence is placed in me, because I cannot pretend to any success, whatever plan I adopt.