the arrival of a cutter from England; which brought considerable
supplies, both of consolation and money, for his Sicilian Majesty. On
the 21st of April, his lordship now writes to Captain Ball, that his
efforts to obtain a small sum of money for the unhappy Maltese had been
useless, till the arrival of this vessel from England; "which," says he,
"brought the court such accounts of goodness, that Sir William and
myself again touched the point about Malta, when the queen gave up seven
thousand ounces; for, although the island has granted two millions of
money, yet not one sixpence is collected; therefore, they are in
distress enough. If any person can keep the Maltese in good humour, it
is, my dear friend, you and you only; therefore, for all our sakes, try
hard till the arrival of the Russians, who cannot now be long before
they make their appearance." Then, adverting to Naples, his lordship
adds--"All goes on as it should, on the other side. The lower order only
want a little support from the regular troops, and the business is
over."
Captain Troubridge, indeed, was proceeding with great vigour; but the
Sicilian judge, it appears, did not accord with our naval heroes in his
notions of criminal justice. Cardinal Ruffo, too, seems to have
entertained what they considered as erroneous ideas of lenity. If the
judge and the cardinal really meant to be merciful; whatever might be
the effect of such good intentions, the motive is not possible to be
condemned: they might be weak, but they would not be criminal. On the
other hand, the possessors of that wisdom which perceives when it is
necessary to make examples of the incorrigibly guilty, for the
preservation of the menaced innocent, as well as of those who are yet
unconfirmed in crimes; and of that firmness and fortitude which then
induce them to risk all the obloquy of contrary appearance, for the sake
of producing true lenity in it's fullest extent; are not to be
considered as by any means less inclined to mercy than those who,
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