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Our fleet consisted of twenty-seven sail of the line and four frigates; theirs, of thirty-three and seven large frigates. Their superiority was greater in size and weight of metal than in numbers. They had four thousand troops onboard; and the best riflemen that could be procured, many of them Tyrolese, were dispersed over the ships.
我方舰队拥有27艘军舰和4艘巡防舰，对方舰队则拥有33艘军舰和7艘巨大的巡防舰。他们舰队的优势在于体积和金属重量而非军舰的数量。他们的军舰上有4000名士兵，还有可以被调用的最优秀的火枪手，这些火枪手有许多都是提洛尔人，他们被分散在军舰各处。
Soon after daylight Nelson came upon deck. The 21st of October was a festival in his family, because on that day his uncle, Captain Suckling, in the Dreadnought, with two other line-of-battle ships, had beaten off a French squadron of four sail of the line and three frigates. Nelson, with that sort of superstition from which few persons are entirely exempt, had more than once expressed his persuasion that this was to be the day of his battle also; and he was well pleased at seeing his prediction about to be verified.
不一会儿，纳尔逊走到甲板上，对他的家庭来说10月21日是一个节日，因为就是在这一天他的叔叔萨克林上尉带领着无畏战舰和另外两只军舰打败了有着4艘军舰和3艘巡防舰的法国中队。纳尔逊曾不止一次表露自己的迷信——几乎没有人能够摆脱这种迷信，那就是：他也会拥有属于自己的战役的日子。而后来他也很欣慰地看到了自己的信念成真。
The wind was now from the west, —light breezes, with a long, heavy swell. Signal was made to bear down upon the enemy in two lines; and the fleet set all sail. Collingwood, in the Royal Sovereign, led the lee line of thirteen ships; the Victory led the weather line of fourteen. Having seen that all was as it should be, Nelson retired to his cabin, and wrote the following prayer:—
现在是西风，——微风，伴着久而强的阵风。信号发出化作两道线快速向敌方逼近，所有的战舰开始起航。皇家军权号战舰上的科林伍德带领着另外13艘军舰，维多利亚战舰则带领着剩下的军舰。看到所有的战舰各司其职，纳尔逊便回到自己的船舱里，并写下了祈祷词，内容如下：——
"May the great God, whom I worship, grant to my country, and for the benefit of Europe in general, a great and glorious victory; and may no misconduct in any one tarnish it; and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the British fleet! For myself individually, I commit my life to Him that made me; and may His blessing alight on my endeavours for serving my country faithfully. To Him I resign myself, and the just cause which is intrusted to me to defend. Amen, amen, amen."
“我全能的上帝，愿您能为了欧洲的利益，赐予我英格兰一场伟大而光荣的胜利；愿您不要让这场战役因错误的指挥而蒙上污点；愿胜利后的英国舰队能充满仁慈！我愿以我个人的名义起誓，我愿将我的生命献给造就了我的上帝；愿我对祖国忠诚的奉献可以换来上帝的福音。我愿将我自己以及我捍卫的正义事业都托付给您。阿门，阿门，阿门。”
