concludes--"No doubt, by this time, the Austrians are at Leghorn; and,
if this event had not happened, we should have been in Naples."
Lord Nelson remained at sea till the latter end of May; when, having on
the 28th been informed, off Trappano, by the Earl of St. Vincent, that
he might, from the then state of the French and Spanish fleets, act as
he thought best, in the situation of affairs; his lordship determined on
returning to Palermo, for the purpose of completing the provisions of
his squadron to six months, with as much wine as they could stow, that
they might be in momentary readiness to act as circumstances should
require. In the mean time, by continuing on the coast of Sicily, to
cover the blockade of Naples, he was certain of preserving the former
from any attack; to which it would not only be more exposed, were the
ships withdrawn, but the spirits of the people receive such a damp that
they would make little or no resistance.
On the 30th, Lord Nelson arrived at Palermo; and, having learned that
the Bey of Tunis had stopped several vessels with his lordship's
passports, he immediately wrote a very spirited letter to Mr. Magra, the
consul, and another to the bey, which he dispatched in the Earl of St.
Vincent cutter on the 4th of June. In these letters, however, he again
offers his services, as the mediator of a truce, or peace, with his
Sicilian Majesty, as well as with the Portuguese; and observes, that the
Marquis De Niza is ready to send a ship for this latter purpose. His
lordship assures the Bey of Tunis, that he has granted no passports to
any vessel which his highness, and every good man, will not highly
approve of; and, that those who would, or dare, counsel his highness to
prevent food from being given to those who are fighting in the cause of
God against those vile infidels the French, are no better than
Frenchmen. "I will," says his lordship to the consul, "have my passports
respected, given only to serve the cause in which his highness ought to
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