LESSON 29 The Overland Route
At the south-western angle of Portugal we are off Cape St. Vincent—a lone, romantic promontory, with some fractured rocks at its base standing out into the ocean, and having on its summit a fine light-house with a brilliant light revolving every two or three minutes. The cape was the scene of two great victories gained by the English fleet over that of Spain; in connection with the second of which it gave his title to one of England's foremost sailors. There the Spaniards were defeated by Sir George Rodney in 1780, and still more signally by Sir John Jervis (afterwards Earl St. Vincent) in 1793. It was on the latter occasion that Nelson, then bearing the rank of commodore, took one of the Spanish ships, the San Nicolas, by entering through its cabin windows! Seeing this, the captain of the San Josef discharged a volley on the captors. Nelson thereupon closed with the San Josef and boarded her from the deck of the San Nicolas.