Page:Public School History of England and Canada (1892).djvu/172

 '''7. Peace of Amiens.'''—Addington, the Speaker of the Commons, now became Prime Minister, and was supported by Pitt. In April of the same year, the English attacked the Danish fleet at Copenhagen, the Danes having shown signs of hostility. Sir Hyde Parker was the English Admiral, but Nelson did the fighting and won a hard-fought battle. Once during the struggle Parker signalled Nelson to retire, but Nelson put his telescope to his blind eye, and said he could see no signal, and went on fighting. Bonaparte, to serve his own ends, was now ready to make a truce, and so in March, 1802, the Peace of Amiens was signed. England gave up most of her conquests, and France restored the south of Italy to Austria.

8. Trafalgar.—The Peace of Amiens was but a hollow peace and Napoleon soon found a pretext for renewing the war. In defiance of the treaty he seized Parma and Piedmont, and placed an army in Switzerland. He found fault with England for not restoring the island of Malta to the Knights of St. John, and for harbouring French refugees. In 1804, his ambition was gratified by being made Emperor of France, and he was now eager to extend his empire, and dictate to Hurope. To do this he saw he must first crush England, and to this end he began to gather a large army at Bolougne which was to be carried across the Channel in flat-bottomed boats. When news of Napoleon's designs reached England, nearly 400,000 volunteers offered their services to defend their country, and formed themselves into companies and regiments for purposes of drill and discipline. But Pitt who had been called back to his old post, in 1804, depended on England's navy, and it did not fail her in this hour of danger. Napoleon hoped to draw the English fleet away from the Channel, by sending it in pursuit of the French and Spanish fleets which sailed, apparently, for the West Indies. The plan partially succeeded, for Nelson went in pursuit of them, but after a while found that they had turned back, for the purpose of escorting Napoleon's army across the Channel. The Spanish fleet was, however, met by an English fleet at Cape Finisterre and driven into Cadiz, and Nelson having found out his mistake, returned in great haste, and coming up with the French fleet at Cape Trafalgar, October 21st, 1805, fought and won the greatest naval battle of the war. When the action was about to begin, Nelson gave the signal, "This day England expects every man to do his duty," and nothing