may be thought presuming; but, I trust, General Acton will forgive an
honest seaman for telling plain truths. _As for the other minister,
I do not understand him_; we are different men! He has been bred in
a court, and I in a rough element. But, I believe, my heart is as
susceptible of the finer feelings as his, and as compassionate for the
distress of those who look up to me for protection.
The officer sent here should have brought supplies, promises of
protection, and an answer from the King to their memorials: he should
have been a man of judgment, bravery, and _activity_. He should be the
first to lead them to glory; and the last, when necessary, to retreat:
the first to mount the walls of the Bormola, and never to quit it.
This is the man to send. Such, many such, are to be found. If he
succeeds, promise him rewards; my life for it, the business would soon
be over.
God bless you! I am anxious to get this matter finished. I have sent
Ball, this day, to summon Goza; if it resists, I shall send on shore,
and batter down the castle.
Three vessels, loaded with bullocks, &c. for the garrison, were taken
yesterday; from Tripoli ten more are coming, but we shall have them.
I had almost forgot to mention, that orders should be immediately
given, that no quarantine should be laid on boats going to the coast
of Sicily for corn. At present, as a matter of favour, they have
_fourteen_ days only. Yesterday, there was only four days bread in the
island. Luckily, we got hold of a vessel loaded with wheat, and sent
her into St. Paul's.
Once more, God bless you! and ever believe me, your obliged and
affectionate
HORATIO NELSON.
This day, I have landed twenty barrels of gunpowder (two thousand
eight hundred pounds) at Malta.
IX.
Palermo, January 10th, 1800.
SIR,
Your Excellency having had the goodness to communicate to me a
dispatch from General Acton; together with several letters from
_Girganti_, giving an account that a violence had been committed,
in that port, by the seizing, and carrying off to Malta, two vessels
loaded with corn--I beg leave to express to your Excellency my real
concern, that even the appearance of the slightest disrespect should
be offered, by any officers under my command, to the flag of his
Sicilian Majesty: and I must request your Excellency to state fully to
General Acton, that the act ought not to be considered as any intended
disrespect to his Sicilian Majesty; but as an act of the most absolute
and imperious necessity, either that the island of Malta should have
been delivered up to the French, or that the King's orders should be
anticipated for these vessels carrying their cargoes of corn to Malta.
I trust, that the government of this country will never again force
any of our Royal Master's servants to so unpleasant an alternative.
I have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, your Excellency's
most obedient and faithful servant,
B.N.
X.
March 8th, 1800.
MY DEAR SIR WILLIAM,
I thank you kindly for all your letters and good wishes. It is my
determination, _my health requiring it_, to come to Palermo, and to
stay two weeks with you.
I must again urge, that four gunb-oats may be ordered for the service
of Malta; they will most essentially assist in the reduction of the
place, by preventing small vessels from getting in or out.
I think, from the enemy, on the night of the fourth, trying and
getting out for a short distance, a very fast-sailing polacca, that
Vaubois is extremely anxious to send dispatches to France, to say he
cannot much longer hold out: and, if our troops, as Captain Blackwood
thinks, are coming from Gibraltar and Minorca, I have no idea the
enemy will hold out a week.
I beg General Acton will order the gun-boats.
Troubridge has got the jaundice, and is very ill.
As I shall so very soon see you, I shall only say, that I am ever,
your obliged and affectionate
BRONTE NELSON.
XI.
Palermo, March 30th, 1800.
MY DEAR SIR WILLIAM,
As, from the orders I have given, to all the ships under my command,
to arrest and bring into port all the vessels and troops returning
by convention with the Porte to France--and as the Russian ships have
similar orders--I must request that your Excellency will endeavour to
arrange with the government of this country, how in the first instance
they are to be treated and received in the ports of the Two Sicilies:
for, it is obvious, I can do nothing more than bring them into port;
and, if they are kept on board ship, the fever will make such ravages
as to be little short of the plague.
It is a very serious consideration for this country, either to receive
them, or let them pass; when they would invade, probably, these
kingdoms. In my present situation in the King's fleet, I have only to
obey; had I been, as before, in the command, I should have gone one
short and direct road to avert this great evil: _viz._ to have sent a
letter to the French, and the Grand Vizir, in Egypt, that I would not,
on any consideration, permit a single Frenchman to leave Egypt--and I
would do it at the risk of even creating a coldness, for the moment,
with the Turks.
Of two evils, choose the least; and nothing can be so horrid, as
permitting that horde of thieves to return to Europe.
If all the wise heads had left them to God Almighty, after the bridge
was broke, all would have ended well! For I differ entirely with
my Commander in Chief, in wishing they were permitted to return to
France; and, likewise, with Lord Elgin, in the great importance of
removing them from Egypt. No; there they should perish! has ever been
the firm determination of your Excellency's most obedient and faithful
servant,
BRONTE NELSON OF
THE NILE.
XII.
Palermo, April 10th, 1800.
MY DEAR SIR WILLIAM,
Reports are brought to me, that the Spanish ships of war in this port
are preparing to put to sea; a circumstance which must be productive
of very unpleasant consequences, to both England and this country.
It is fully known, with what exactness I have adhered to the
neutrality of this port; for, upon our arrival here, from Naples, in
December 1798, from the conduct of his Catholic Majesty's minister, I
should have been fully justified in seizing those ships.
We know, that one object of the Spanish fleet, combined with the
French, was to wrest entirely from the hands of his Sicilian Majesty
his kingdoms of the Two Sicilies.
The Spaniards are, by bad councils, the tools of the French; and, of
course, the bitter enemy of his Sicilian Majesty and family.
The conduct I have pursued towards these ships, circumstanced as they
are, has been moderate, and truly considerate towards his Sicilian
Majesty.
The time is now come--that, profiting of my forbearance, the Spanish
ships are fitting for sea. It is not possible, if they persist in
their preparations, that I can avoid attacking them, even in the port
of Palermo; for they never can, or shall, be suffered to go to sea,
and placed in a situation of assisting the French, against not only
Great Britain, but also the Two Sicilies.
I have, therefore, to request, that your Excellency will convey my
sentiments on this very delicate subject to his Sicilian Majesty's
ministers, that they may take measures to prevent such a truly
unpleasant event happening; which would be as much against my wish as
it can be against their's: and I request that your Excellency will,
through its proper channel, assure his Sicilian Majesty, that his
safety and honour is as dear to me as that of our Royal Master.
I have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, my dear Sir
William, your Excellency's most affectionate, humble servant,
BRONTE NELSON OF
THE NILE.
THE END.
Printed by Macdonald and Son, Cloth Fair, London.