Finally, there is the statement of Clarke and McArthur that Nelson before leaving England deposited a copy of his plan with Lord Barham, the new first lord of the admiralty.  This however is very doubtful.  The Barham papers have recently been placed at the disposal of the Society, in the hands of Professor Laughton, and the only copy of the memorandum he has been able to find is an incomplete one containing several errors of transcription, and dated the Victory, October 11, 1805.  In the absence of further evidence therefore no weight can be attached to the oft-repeated assertion that Nelson had actually drawn up his memorandum before he left England.

Coming now to the time when he had joined the fleet off Cadiz, the first light we have is the well-known letter of October 1 to Lady Hamilton.  In this letter, after telling her that he had joined on September 28, but had not been able to communicate with the fleet till the 29th, he says, ’When I came to explain to them the Nelson touch it was like an electric shock.  Some shed tears and all approved.  It was new—­it was singular—­it was simple.’  What he meant exactly by the ‘Nelson touch’ has never been clearly explained, but he could not possibly have meant either concentration or the attack on the enemy’s rear, for neither of these ideas was either new or singular.

On October 3 he writes to her again:  ’The reception I met with on joining the fleet caused the sweetest sensation of my life....  As soon as these emotions were past I laid before them the plan I had previously arranged for attacking the enemy, and it was not only my pleasure to find it generally approved, but clearly perceived and understood.’[16]

The next point to notice is the ‘Order of Battle and Sailing’ given by Nicolas.  It is without date, but almost certainly must have been drawn up before Nelson joined.  It does not contain the Belleisle, which Nelson knew on October 4 was to join him.[17] It also does include the name of Sir Robert Calder and his flagship, and on September 30 Nelson had decided to send both him and his ship home.[18]

The order is for a fleet of forty sail, but the names of only thirty-three are given, which were all Nelson really expected to get in time.  The remarkable feature of this order is that it contains no trace of the triple organisation of the memorandum.  The ’advanced squadron’ is absent, and the order is based on two equal divisions only.

Then on October 9, after Calder had gone, there is this entry in Nelson’s private diary:  ‘Sent Admiral Collingwood the Nelson touch.’  It was enclosed in a letter in which Nelson says:  ’I send you my Plan of Attack, as far as a man dare venture to guess at the very uncertain position the enemy may be found in.  But, my dear friend, it is to place you perfectly at your ease respecting my intentions and to give full scope to your judgment for carrying them into effect.’  The same day Collingwood replies, ’I have a just sense