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On the quarter deck of the Vanguard, a slim, slender man in his late 30s, pale and sandy haired, bowed his head in silent prayer.
At long last, God had given Horatio Nelson the battle he wanted.
Now on every ship in the fleet, the drums were pounding and every face was glowing with eagerness, excitement and just a hint of nerves.
On his flagship, Nelson turned to face the east.
The light was fading, but for the first time in months, he felt happy.
All his life he had been preparing for this moment.
Now was his chance to join the heroes of history.
He did not intend to waste it.
So, ladies and gentlemen, Forrester, O'Brien, Sandbrook, Modern Masters of prose who have brought the age of Nelson to life.
And that, of course, was from Nelson, hero of the seas, by our very own Dominic Sambrook, describing the scene on the evening of the 1st of August, 1798, as the British fleet sails towards the Battle of the Nile.
Dominic.
Unbelievable drama.
It is an incredibly melodramatic scene.
Tomorrow, the sun setting over the coast of Egypt, the Nile and the Nile, yeah.
This place of legend, this place of classical history, which is the classical history that has fascinated so many people in the late 18th century.
And now, on the greatest stage of all, Horatio Nelson is meeting his moment of destiny.
So listeners who've stuck with us from the beginning of this series will remember that Nelson had been sent into the Mediterranean with A squadron of 14 ships of the line to search for Napoleon Bonaparte and the armament, this enormous fleet and expeditionary force that has been sailing south.
The British didn't know where it was going.