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THE 
 
 HAMILTON AND NELSON PAPERS 
 
THE COLLECTION 
 
 OF 
 
 AUTOGRAPH LETTERS 
 
 HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS 
 
 FORMED BY 
 
 ALFRED MORRISON 
 
 (Second Series, 1882- 1893). 
 
 X3 
 
 THE HAMILTON & NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 1756-1797. 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION. 
 
 1893. 
 
L 
 A187 
 
 Zcl "Zitit % 
 
 i 
 
 A'^H & ^ 1^ 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THE sources from which Mr. Morrison became possessed of 
 the letters and documents, which are here printed under 
 the title of The Hamilton and Nelson Papers, arc sufficiently 
 indicated in the footnotes to pages i and 76 of this volume. 
 Such a work as this scarcely needs a preface to introduce it. 
 Many of the letters have already been used by biographers of 
 Nelson and of Lady Hamilton, and are therefore partially known ; 
 but, as ' a lie which is half a truth is ever the blackest of lies,' 
 so may half a letter often give the falsest impression of the 
 whole. The correspondence now appears in print in its entirety 
 for the first time. 
 
 The papers which are printed in the present volume extend 
 from 1756 to 1797; those which will form the second volume 
 date from 1798 to the death of Lady Hamilton in 181 5. The 
 earliest papers form the correspondence of Sir William Hamilton, 
 and are almost exclusively of the period after his appointment as 
 Ambassador to the Court of Naples ; they include letters to and 
 from some of the best-known men of the time, and are full of 
 details of the most interesting social and political events of the day. 
 
 But the central figure around which all the others^ seem to 
 move in subordinate interest is that of Emma Hart, the poor 
 obscure girl whose strange fate was to raise her to a position 
 of romantic prominence ; who, however, does not here appear 
 upon the scene until the year 1782, and then only in two letters. 
 Yet in that same year took place the event which first opened 
 the path which she was destined to follow. Had not Hamilton's 
 first wife died at this period, the career of the woman who was 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 to become his second wife would surely have been widely different. 
 In the three short papers from the hand of the first Lady Hamilton, 
 which are to be found under date of this year not long before 
 her death, we discern the pure spirit of a true and pious woman, 
 whose removal left a perhaps unsympathetic husband free to 
 seek for other ties. Three years later was struck that strange 
 compact whereby the nephew made over to the uncle the mistress 
 whose affections he had won but did not care to keep. However 
 austere a judgment we may form of Emma Hart's character of 
 mind, few of us can refuse to extend our sympathy to the 
 woman whose piteous appeals to the lover who was selling her 
 stand out in such favourable contrast to the mean and 
 calculating spirit of Charles Greville's negotiations with her 
 future protector. Nor are we here called upon to reflect upon 
 the fickleness of a nature ■ which, once it found its appeals to 
 be in vain, could so accommodatingly divert its affections into 
 another channel. Let us read Emma Hart's letters after her 
 settlement in Naples, simply for the curious and interesting 
 scenes which they bring before us of the development of a 
 strange career — Sir William's growing affection or infatuation 
 for her, her education by him, and her entry into society, 
 where she seems at once to have assumed a leading part. That 
 the letters describing all this should have been addressed to 
 her quondam protector may shock our sensibility, but does not 
 lessen our interest in her career. 
 
 It will be seen that it was not till September, 1793, that 
 Lady Hamilton first met with Nelson ; but we must wait for 
 the correspondence of the second volume to describe the 
 relations which have so inextricably interwoven her fortunes 
 with those of the Victor of the Nile. 
 
THE 
 
 HAMILTON AND NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 1. A. L. S. from the Earl of Pembroke* to Captain Hamilton.f Dated 
 Colchester, 30th July, 1756. 2 pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal. [H.] J 
 
 ' I am very much obliged to you for your goodness to us candidates for the 
 Provostship of King's Colledge, Cambridge. 
 
 ' I find nothing is fixed about our encampment, so I suppose it will end in no 
 camp at all. If this is not too far ('tis but a morning's ride) for one of our excur- 
 sions, we should be exceedingly glad to see you here. Binel has a good room ; 
 'twill do for a Capt°, & he will only be at the trouble of moving his breeches, &c., 
 over the way to an inn. 
 
 ' I have told Mathison by this post that you'll give him some orders about a 
 buck, which you may do as and when you please ; I was obliged to refer him to 
 you, as I did not know Mr. Herbert's exact directions. I beg my best compli- 
 ments to Dr. Brook, and that he will be so good as to always command me, my 
 venison, &c. 
 
 ' I am glad West § has been so well received, and hope the other will meet 
 with his deserts, whatsoever they are, though I dare say he won't. A friend of 
 ours says, " Damn him, Mil be honourably acquitted, Sr' at his death Mr. Colcraft 
 will go into mourning for him." 
 
 ' When you go to your manage remember your arms. Halden behaves well. 
 Lady P., who desires her compt^ to you, rides the Curatino every day, and likes 
 him prodigiously. I send you back L'' Brooke's letter, by way of being exact, not 
 that I imagine it's of any consequence. 
 
 ' I wish you'd let Dampier know your success, or at least your hopes of it. I 
 know he really esteems your honour much, and will take it kind. Do just mention 
 at the same time that I've heard from Mrs. Grey, who has wrote to Lady Carlisle,|| 
 that I'll let him know too how things stand there as soon as Mrs. Grey has let me 
 know Lady Carlisle's answer. Adieu. Ever most sincerely,' &c. 
 
 * Henry, loth Earl. He had just married Lady Elizabeth Spencer, second daughter of the 
 3rd Duke of Marlborough. 
 
 t Captain, afterwards Sir William, Hamilton, 1730-1803, was the fourth son of Lord 
 Archibald Hamilton, seventh son of William, Duke of Hamilton. He was the foster-brother 
 of George III., and was Ambassador at the Court of Naples from 1764 until 1800. 
 
 X The initial H. thus following the description of a letter indicates that it comes from the 
 papers of Sir W. Hamilton, which were sold by Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson, & Hodge in 
 March, 1886. These papers were the property of the late Mr. E. H. Finch Hatton, to whom 
 they had been left by his mother, Lady Louisa, daughter of Robert Fulke Greville, by 
 his marriage with the Countess of Mansfield. Robert Greville had himself inherited them from 
 his brother Charles, the favourite nephew and heir of Sir William Hamilton. 
 
 § Temple West, 1714-1757, an admiral, who was second in command of the squadron under 
 Admiral Byng, with whom he was arrested and sent home prisoner. West, however, was very 
 differently received both by the king and the people. It is said that the unhappy fate of Admiral 
 Byng hastened West's death. 
 
 II Isabella, daughter of William, 4th Lord Byron. She married Henry, 4tn Earl of Carhsle, 
 in 1743, and died in 1795. 
 
 VOL. I, B 
 
THE HAMILTON AND [1762, 1763. 
 
 A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated 'Camp at Wetter, Sept. 
 1 8th, 1762.' 2 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' I have but this day, my dear Hamilton, received yours of the 25th Aug. I 
 can never sufficiently thank you for your friendship for me. I shall therefore not 
 attempt it, but shall be always sensible and gratefuU of it. I hope to see you soon, 
 though peace, notwithstanding the respective peregrination of the two Dukes, is 
 no longer so much expected here as it was some time ago, and our deep politicians, 
 ever those who hoped for it most, seem now more afraid, since the articles of it 
 have been made publick, of its happening, than they ever desired it. I am but a 
 passenger, I own a selfish one. Far from wishing, as some tired warriors do, a 
 bad one rather than none, my private affairs make me beast enough to wish for 
 another campaign, which I flatter myself, as every fool does, that I could employ 
 with advantage to myself in a military light as well as in other respects. Our 
 getting this ground will not, I dare say, be much talked of in England, as no 
 blood was spilt, yet we look upon it here, and I believe with reason, as one of the 
 greatest manceuvres ever made. We are told that not only Ld. Tyrawly* has put 
 Portugal out of fashion with justice, but even that the clairvoyant Mr. Bule has 
 discovered that it is not an Island, as he has hitherto imagined, but that it has 
 something, if our eyes are true, very continental about it. 
 
 ' Be that, however, as it may, if the riot ceases here, I shall be glad to be 
 employed then. You cannot conceive how near our camps are. If the city saw 
 us, and not at loggerheads, not a halfpenny more would they give us, but the 
 Lahn, which they would not see, is indeed betwixt us. It is for distance litterally 
 the each other's watch , & the armourer's hammering up the knights in Harry the 
 5"". Each camp might cannonade the other, but, that being the case, neither 
 chuse to begin a useless affair. The advanc'd posts now and then one, now & 
 then the other, being driven respectively over the river, are so close as to be 
 confounded, but they are so ridiculously friends, unless a wrong-headed officer 
 now and then intervenes, that nothing happens. I shall be glad to scape and sail 
 with you, & with your leave will omit neither. As you talk of going to town 
 so soon I don't venture anything in this, as I shall send it through other hands. 
 You say you want to say many things to me, under cover, as was your last, to 
 P. G. Cockbum, you may venture anything. Y' friend Conway is a very honest 
 good man. He has been very ill, but is recovering. Adieu, my best compts. & 
 wishes are yours, and Mrs. Hamilton's.! I hope she is well. I shall hope at your 
 leisure to hear from you. Remember me to all friends, & believe me,' &c. 
 
 ' In your next pray mention your directions. You often see S' W"> Boothby, I 
 believe ; pray remember me to him.' 
 
 A. L. S. from Lady Garliesj to Mrs. Hamilton. Dated 'Wednesday' 
 (January 5th, \^6i).% 3 pages 4to. [H.J 
 
 ' I am much obliged to you, my dear Mrs. Hamilton, for your kind letter ; I am 
 quite well now and was at the play last night, my S"^ had a box and the company 
 consisted of S' L., || L^ Euphemia herself, and me. Sir Harry,!' my two bros., and 
 a Mr. Pyat. It was at Covent Garden. The play was Alts well that ends well, 
 and Harlequin Sorcerer, a detestable play, and instead of being very pretty, as Sr. 
 
 * James O'Hara, Lord Tyrawly, 1690-1773, a marshal and a diplomatist, for some years 
 Ambassador at Lisbon. 
 
 t Sir William married first, in 1758, Catherine, daughter of Hugh Barlow, of Laurenny Hall, 
 Pembroke. She died at Naples in August, 1782. 
 
 X Charlotte Mary, third daughter of Francis, Earl of Warwick. She had married in 1762 
 Lord Garlies, afterwards 7th Earl of Galloway, and died in 1763. 
 
 § The only occasion about that period on which the two plays mentioned later in the letter 
 were played together was January 4th, 1763. 
 
 li Lady Louisa Greville. She married in 1770 William Churchill, Esq., of Henbury, 
 Dorsetshire. 
 
 IT Sir Henry Harper, who had married in 1 763 Lady Frances Greville, the writer's eldest 
 sister. She died in 1825. 
 
1763, 1765.] NELSON PAPERS. 3 
 
 Harry and Mr. Pyat informed us is what gentlemen may like, but I think ladies 
 may as well stay at home. As to the farce it was high entertainment to my 
 brothers, there being a great number of hideous witches, thunder and lightening 
 and so forth. Poor S' Louisa sat upon thorns the whole time, being apprehensive 
 of the fright it might put S'^ F. and I into. L. sent this morning to know if I 
 dreamt of the witches. Sir Harry is gone to Caulk, and L. Rob' Manners. My 
 Lord was asked to go, but he don't chuse to leave his little wifey. Mama is going 
 to keep Fridays, and has sent her cards about her first ; wonders will never cease. 
 I don't know what you do, but I am sure I wish this hard weather would not 
 continue, I am afraid our husbands will come to some mischief. Pray does yours 
 scale ? mine talks of it, but I have as yet prevented his attempting it. I hear the 
 Thames is so much frozen at Twitenham (I can't spell) that carriages pass over it. 
 The reason why you have not heard from my sister is that her letter was forgot to 
 be sent. Pray when do you return } I long to see you. Talking of seeing puts me 
 in mind that I saw the D'^, Sr. George Warren at the play last [night], the company 
 agreed that he did not look very tempting. I think he is blacker than ever. I 
 don't know if he observed it, but as soon as we found him out there was a general 
 whisper among us, and then our eyes were turned towards him. I have, luckily 
 for you, no time to scribble any more nonsense ; therefore adieu, my d' Mr s. 
 Hamilton. Ever most affectionately yours,' &c. 
 ' My love to my good uncle and to L^ Spencer.'* 
 
 4. A. L. from the same to William Hamilton. Dated Edinburgh, 
 
 May iQth.t 1763. if pages 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' I return you many thanks, my dear Uncle, for your kind letter of the loth, it 
 is very good in you to write so soon after I had been so impertinent as to take you 
 to task for your neglect. I wish you joy of your little nephew ; sister Louisa tells 
 me it is a very pretty child. She need not have told me that, I had no doubt of 
 Fanny's child being otherwise, & I am sure it has judged very properly to take 
 after her. You will agree with me in this, I am sure. I am very happy that you 
 had an opportunity of speaking to papa. I show'd your letter to my brother, who 
 was as much pleased with that circumstance as myself I am sorry Mrs. Hamilton's 
 health is such as makes it impossible for one to hope to see you here. Ly. Cathcart J 
 mentions her having been plagued with the asthma. I hope she has got the better 
 of it now, at least for some time. Sister Louisa writes me word they are going 
 abroad after the Warwick races ; this vexes me not a little, especially on her 
 account, as I know she dislikes it very much, and no wonder I think. However, 
 I hope their stay won't be long, as papa, I hear, don't like the scheme. I suppose 
 I shall lose you likewise ; pray are you to go ? I hope not. 
 
 ' I must leave off, my Lord made me promise not to write on the other side, as 
 I have wrote some more letters, and he thinks it bad for me, so excuse me, its not 
 my fault. 
 
 ' Dear Hamilton, I wish you and Mrs. Hamilton joy of your nephew, I expect 
 soon we shall have something in that way. What becomes of you now with these 
 changes ? Does the former scheme of your going abroad, &c., take place ? My 
 respects to Mrs. Hamilton, and I ever am most affectionately, yours,' &c.§ 
 
 5. A. L. S. from Lord Mountstuart II to the same. Dated Rome, May 7th, 
 
 1765. 3 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' It is with inconceivable pleasure, my dear Mr. Hamilton, that I leave 
 Dutchesses & my indolence to thank you a thousand times for the polite friendly 
 manner you treated me in, when at Naples. I would make you many civil 
 
 * Georgiana Louisa, daughter of the Right Hon. Stephen Poyntz, and wife of Sir John 
 Spencer, Bart, afterwards 1st Earl Spencer. 
 
 t Lady Garlies died twelve days after the date of the letter. 
 
 X Jane, Lady Cathcart, was Sir William's youngest sister. She died in 1 77 1. 
 
 § This last paragraph written and signed by Lord Garlies. 
 
 II John, Lord Mountstuart, afterwards ist Marquis of Bute, 1744-1814, eldest son of John, 
 3rd Earl of Bute, He was created a Marquis in 1796. 
 
4 THE HAMILTON AND [1765. 
 
 speeches, & with great sincerity tell you what a quantity of craye blanche I could 
 make use of to mark everything in a proper manner, dans lesfastes de ma vie, did 
 not I believe you will think it came from my heart, when I tell you that I little 
 know myself if I have not a lasting remembrance of your kindness & civility. 
 
 ' With regard to our journey it was rather unfortunate, for what with the 
 Colonel's having his mouth open, & Mr. Mallet's wanting a crust of bread, they 
 let my strong box drop out of the chaise, & though found again by the great 
 diligence and politeness of the Governor of Rome, so broke to pieces as to be 
 entirely useless, & all my rings, antiques, & every other little trifle I had in the 
 world, I am afraid irrecoverably lost ; the letters, I believe, are most of them safe, 
 yet it has put me a little out of sorts, as there are two or three from my Father of 
 the highest consequence ; besides, yoti know, ladies secrets in abondance. My 
 Dutchess, though she receiv'd me astonishingly well, cannot put this out of my 
 head, or, indeed, make me forget how agreeably I spent my time at Naples. My 
 departure from Rome is not in the least settled ; 1 wish it much, not having any 
 ckarfns more to keep me. Most probably my indolent disposition will prolong 
 my stay, does not my health interfere, which is at present in a bad way, imputed 
 to my bathing in the sea so much. Something or other has certainly brought 
 back my complaint in my liver to a greater degree than people think who see me. 
 Rome does not add much to myamendment,& if the country air which I mean to take 
 has not a quick effect I shall post back as fast as I can to Dr. Tronchin* at Geneva. 
 For you, sir, I envy you much, la belle baronne is no bad an acquisition (by the 
 bye, she left my picture behind her, very politely realy). I live with my belle ; but 
 a belle no longer so to me, for the Colonel, he & I, at last, have met, made a 
 mutual confession of our grievances before a third person, & have agreed to Uve 
 comfortably together, Lord Mountstuart being Lord Mountstuart, & master of 
 himself, so you may wish me joy for the rest of my tour. I will now take my leave 
 of you, having wrote too many things that don't interest you ; still, if I was not 
 such a strange idle fellow, would desire your patience in hearing now & then that 
 there was a person alive who had the greatest regard for Mr. Hamilton. To go 
 on, I will repeat again that I am soon to be in England, where I shall find 
 myself an eldest, I may say a favourite, son to the inaccessible Lord Bute, but 
 hope not to find him so to me, if ever it can be of the least service to you, being, 
 my dear Mr. Hamilton, more than I can tell you, your real friend and well 
 wisher,' &c. 
 
 ' I take the liberty of enclosing my arms for D'Ankerville,t & will beg the favour 
 of you to send me another lava box, begging many pardons for using you so 
 little like an Envoye Extrordinaire. 
 
 ' Many compliments to Mrs. Hamilton. I will take, with her permission, 
 another opportunity to thank her for the dog. Much yours, dear Mr. Hamilton.' 
 
 6. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Venice, July 12th, 1765. 
 
 2 pages 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' A few lines, my dear Mr. Hamilton, from Venice, to lett you see I have not 
 forgot Naples. I readily seize this opportunity, as I believe you are the first 
 person I ever wrote two letters running to ; put that out of the question, I have a 
 peculiar pleasure of holding a little conversation with you, & regret much that 
 time I spent so agreably with you, always wishing it to come over again. I have 
 no news from this part of the world, which is so stupid that I sett out to-morrow 
 for Bologna, & from thence to Florence. I imagine you know something of all 
 these changes, in that case I beg you will give me some information. You will 
 have the great Stanley^ with you soon ; he left only two days ago, & intends going 
 from Leghorn to Naples in a frigate order'd for that purpose. Stanley is so 
 close, it is impossible to get a word out of him. You will have Count Walmeden 
 
 * Voltaire's friend. 
 
 + Pierre Hugues, called d'Hancarville, 1719-1805, a French antiquary, who settled at Naples, 
 and was much employed by Sir William Hamilton, particularly in the compilation of the work 
 on Etruscan, Greek, and Roman antiquities. 
 
 X Hans Stanley, grandson of Sir Hans Sloane, at that time one of the Lords of the 
 Admiralty. He cut his throat in the high toad while staying at Althorpe. 
 
I76S, 1766.] NELSON PAPERS. 5 
 
 also, he is a very amiable man, & I like him for his being a friend to the poor 
 Baron de Werpup ; apropos, I beg you would send me iDack that account I lent 
 you, I by no means meant to give it. Adieu, my dear Mr. Hamilton, pray write 
 to me soon, indeed I have great pleasure to hear from you; you don't know 
 what a warm friend I am, & how affectionately so yours,' &c. 
 
 ' Direct to me at Charles Hatfield's, Florence. 
 
 ' I need not desire you to make many kind compliments for me to Mrs. 
 Hamilton.' 
 
 7. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Venice, July iSth, 1765. 
 
 I page 4to., with Superscription and Seal. [H.J 
 
 ' I ha^e only time to tell you that affairs of consequence has oblig'd my Father 
 to send for me back to England, & that I sett out immediately, I beg you will 
 direct for the future to me at my father's in London. I am so stupid & so 
 hurryd I hardly know what I say, but I can still perceive I have a great friendship 
 for you & Mrs. Hamilton, to whom I beg many compliments. Adieu, my dear 
 sir, jusgu'au revoir en Angleterre, where I shall be ever sincerely yours,' &c. 
 
 8. A. L. S. from Lord Pembroke to the same. Dated London, March 6th, 
 
 1766. 2 pages 4to. [h.J 
 
 ' Much obliged to you for yours of the i8th of last month. I can safely assure 
 you that I have regularly answered every letter you have been so good as to send 
 me. This town has been of late beyond its usual bustle, and politicks, joined by 
 the repealing of Stamp Acts, changing y^ Cyder Act, &c., have ran higher than 
 ever, I think, which, with an almost constant and always melancholy attendance 
 on my mother since poor Bernard's* death, has made my time disagreeable 
 enough of late. I shall be much obliged to you for the colt and Oliver whenever 
 you will send them me. I must be unconscionable enough to beg you will provide 
 a condittore, &c., and send him off as soon as possible, so as to be clear of Italy 
 before the hot weather. As I have troubled you so fully on this business before, 
 par precaution, I will not plague you with any more particulars. I had some 
 thoughts, as I told you, of sending old Ignace on this business, but I find he will 
 not do by any means. I know my countrymen to be a hungry crew, and I fear 
 an ungrateful! one too, when their bellys are full. Was I in your place, they 
 should live more empty at Naples, unless Government would allow properly for 
 filling them. Your chastity merits to be recorded to future ages. Tell me 
 honestly, how long do you think it will last.' Resist temptation, too! that's too 
 much. The boots shall be carefully sent as you desire. You should have told 
 me whether they should be popes, archbishops, bishops, dignified clergy, chaplains, 
 or curates, but I will do my best in the medio iutissimus way. I should be very 
 happy to take a bark with Mad. La M. Perhaps I may yet, 'ere I die. I can't 
 say so much for t'other ; she must be quite an old hag. Pay my respects, however, 
 to them both, if you please. I honor perseverance. I hope 'tis not oxAypar habitude, 
 as Gallati said of your stable ; y^ friend, L^ P", and my comp'' attend you, & 
 Mrs. Hamilton. I hope she is perfectly well. Adieu, my d"^ H. Ever yours,' &c. 
 
 ' Have ye fixed no time yet of thinking at least of a visit to England? I heard 
 some good trios of your Barbellas et Graidini's t'other night. I fear the historical 
 death & resurection solos will never answer printing.' 
 
 9. A. L. S. from Lord Mountstuart to the same. Dated Luton Park, 
 
 September 2Sth, 1766. 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I am quite at a loss, my dear Mr. Hamilton, how to begin a letter to you 
 after so long a silence. You indeed make half my excuses for me in your last by 
 saying you know me too well to think that my laziness in writing means any 
 alteration in my regard for you, and you would do me great injustice to think 
 otherwise, for ever since I have had the pleasure of knowing you it has been in 
 
 * After his father's death, Lord Pembroke's mother married IVIr. W. Ludlow Bernard. 
 
6 THE HAMILTON AND [1766, 1767. 
 
 me a natural inclination to keep up a strict friendship and intimacy with Mr. 
 Hamilton, & I can safely lay my hand upon my breast & say I have never once 
 deviated from those sentiments from the first moment I professed them till now. But, 
 not to say anything more on this subject, I will endeavour to answer some of the 
 questions you make me in your last obliging letter, which are chiefly about myself. 
 I set out last winter with being what they call in fashion, but kept a very short 
 time, for I did not at all enter into the plan of living which was necessary for to 
 keep it up. I never flirted with the fine ladies, & did not go much about. I am 
 of the Macaroni,* & never was there but four times, and am in the House of 
 Commons without being a party man or politician. I confined myself to the 
 company of two or three friends, whom I enjoyed more than all the great world. 
 I lived, too, almost entirely with my own family, yet with all this I led such a dis- 
 sipated wild life that I say plainly it could not long continue, & therefore, being 
 most inclined to a domestick turn, I determined to marry ; & the English may, as 
 you say they do, call me a fortune-hunter ; for 'tis very true I foUow'd two ladies, 
 & am in a fortnight to be married to one, the eldest daughter of the late Lord 
 Windsor. I will not pretend to give you my description of her, for I know opinions 
 vaiy ;t but this is certain, that she has a great deal of cleverness & remarkable 
 sweetness of disposition, & I have formed my ideas so much to mariage that I 
 think of nothing but happiness. I suppose with all this the ensuing winter will 
 make me a politician. As for you, Mr. Hamilton, I suppose your hfe is much the 
 same. Lord and Lady Holland,! with a great number of young people, are already 
 set out, I believe, for Naples ; that will at least make the country more agreable 
 to you. I envy you much the night you passed on Mount Vesuvius, it must have 
 been glorious. I think you richly deserve F.R.S. for the pains you have been at 
 to send them a description of it. Pray tell me is your collection of antiquities 
 much encreas'd since I saw you? I had almost forgot to thank you for the 
 antique ring you was so good as to send me. I assure you I am much oblig'd to 
 you, and will obey your orders not to part with it. Talking of rings and collections, 
 I would beg the favour of you to make a collection of Mediterranean shells for 
 me, if it does not give you too much trouble. You know I begun one at Naples, 
 but it never came to anything. I have no kind news to tell you, not even of the 
 Colonel, for he left me directly to be married, as you may have heard perhaps, 
 and he is now gone to his regiment in Ireland. I bought the lava-table of him, 
 but have not yet opened it. I beg you to give me some news about D'Ankerville 
 map ; I long to see it. 
 
 ' And now, my dear Sir, I will take my leave of you, begging my best compli- 
 ments to Mrs. Hamilton, and will assure you that nobody can have a more sincere 
 regard or friendship for you than me.' 
 
 10. A. L. S. from Lady Holland to the same. Dated H. House, June 
 ye 20 (,1767). I page 4to, with Superscription and Seal. [H.J 
 
 ' I hope you'l forgive my taking the liberty of reminding you by this letter of 
 the tables you so very obligingly undertook to get for me, they were to be of Sicilian 
 agathe, & I should be very glad to have them sent as soon as possible, directed 
 to Lord Holland in Piccadilly. L. Holland, whose health is more mended by the 
 last than the first journey, desires his best comp^ to you & Mrs. Hamilton, to 
 whom I beg leave to join mine. I am very happy to have this opportunity of 
 returning you both my thanks for your civilities to us at Naples, and to assure 
 you that I am. Sir, with the greatest regard imaginable,' &c. 
 
 'P.S. — 1? Mary and my son§ desire their compliments.' 
 
 * Horace Walpole described the Macaroni Club as being composed of 'all the travelled 
 young men who wear long curls and spying-glasses. ' 
 
 + Walpole says she was ugly. 
 
 X Henry Fox, ist Baron Holland, 1705-1774, filled several high political situations in the 
 reign of George II. He married Georgiana Carolina, eldest daughter of the Duke of Richmond. 
 She only survived her husband a few days. 
 
 § Stephen, 2nd Baron Holland, 1746-1774, only survived his father and mother six months. 
 His wife, Lady Mary, was the daughter of the Earl of Ossory. She died of consumption in 1778, 
 at the age of 32. Some interesting particulars of her are given both in Selwyn and his 
 Contemporaries, and in Walpole's Letters. 
 
1767, 1768.] NELSON PAPERS. 7 
 
 11. A. L. S. from Lord Mountstuart to the same. Dated London, 
 
 November 29th, 1767. 3 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' It is so long since you & I had anything to say to one another that I protest 
 I don't know how to begin a letter to you to give you an account of my life. It is 
 very domestick ; I have almost entirely lost my taste for the beau monde, & can 
 set quietly by the fireside dangling my little child* with a great deal of pleasure ; 
 I hope you now begin to grow tir'd of being abroad, & that we shall see you soon 
 in England at least for a little time. I beg that you will let me hear from you, & 
 that you will give me an account of what you are about. I behave so ill, I have 
 no right to expect this from you, but I am sure you are persuaded of my great 
 regard for you amidst all my indolence ; I beg you will tell me what progress 
 you have made in the collection of shells you promised to make for me. I had a 
 commission given me a year ago which I intended to desire you to do for me, but 
 have been so idle I never have wrote, I, therefore, now beg of you to get me two 
 fan sticks compleat of the Neapolitan white tortoise-shell & gold work, & that 
 you would be so good as to send them as soon as possible, for it is of consequence 
 as well as that you keep my secret of being so long before I wrote. I receiv'd 
 your pictures, & think them mighty well done. I have had the misfortune to 
 mislay your letter, therefore beg you would let me know again what I am indebted 
 to you. You see how indolent I always remain, but amidst all, my dear Mr. 
 Hamilton, let me assure you of my being with the warmest friendship, your,' &c. 
 
 ' I beg my best compliments to Mrs. Hamilton. There is no news at all. The 
 present ministry is likely to continue.' 
 
 12. A. L. S. from Horace Walpole to the same. Dated Strawberry 
 
 Hill, September 22nd,t 1768. 2 pages 4to. [h.J 
 
 ' I have just been a progress with Mr. Conwayt to Lord Hertford's, Lord 
 Strafrord's,§ & other places, & at my return three days ago found the cases arrived. 
 I tore them open with the utmost impatience, & cannot describe how agreably I 
 was surprized to find the contents so much beyond my expectation. They are 
 not only beautifuU in themselves & well preserved, but the individual things I 
 should have wished for, if I had known they existed. For this year past I have 
 been projecting a chimney in imitation of the tomb of Edward the Confessor, & 
 had partly given it up on finding how enormously expensive it wou'd be. Mr. 
 Adam had drawn me a design a little in that style, prettier it is true, and at half 
 the price. I had actually agreed to have it executed in scagliuola, but have just 
 heard that the man complained he could not perform his compact for the money 
 settled. Your obliging present is, I am certain, executed by the very person who 
 made the Confessor's monument ; and if the scagliuola man wishes to be off his 
 bargain I shall be glad ; If not, still these materials will make me a beautiful 
 chimney-piece for another room. I again give you ten thousand thanks for them, 
 d"^ Sir. I value them for themselves, and much more for the person they come 
 from. If you cou'd like to be a moment out of Italy, you woud be charmed with 
 Lord Stafford's new front, which for grace, proportion, lightness, and every beauty 
 in Architecture, I sincerely think the most perfect building I ever saw in any 
 country. 
 
 'We are here all triumphs, balls, and masquerades. The King of Denmark is 
 to give one of the latter at Ranelagh, to which the whole earth is invited ; and as 
 the whole earth will make something too great a crowd, I shall dispense with 
 myself from attending it. He has a jackanapes of a favourite, a young Count 
 Holke, who had chosen to be in love with Lady Bel Stanhope, || and his master 
 
 * John, Lord Mountstuart's eldest son, then a few months old He died in 1794, in the 
 lifetime of his father, and his son John became 3rd Marquis. 
 
 t This letter is not published in Walpole's Letters. 
 
 X General Conway and Francis, 1st Marquis of Hertford, were brothers. 
 
 § William Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, 1722-1791. He married Lady Anne Campbell, 
 daughter of John, Duke of Argyll. 
 
 II Lady Isabella Stanhope married Charles, 1st Earl of Sefton, a month after the date of the 
 letter. She died in 1819. 
 
8 THE HAMILTON AND [1768, 1769. 
 
 wrote to Lady Harrington with every kind of offer to obtain her for him, but 
 Lady Bel had too much sense to trust the caprices of such boys. The 
 Duke of Portland* gives a great masquerade at Welbeck on the birth of his son. 
 Two masquerades are such crying sins that our Bishops wou'd be as much 
 obliged to you as I am if you would send them over five cases of earthq^uake from 
 Vesuvius. I forgot to tell you that we called at Warwick Castle, which, to my 
 taste, is the first place in the world. The new eating-room will be magnificent. 
 Lady Ailesbury is not quite well, and cou'd not go with us, but designs to go to 
 Bath. Adieu, dear Sir. I am, Mr. Hamilton, yours,' &c. 
 
 13. A. L. S. from James Barryf to the same. Dated Rome, November 
 
 29th, 1768. 2 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' Not to make the liberty I take in writing to you too intollerable by keeping 
 you in suspense with apologies & excuses for it, I shall just beg to acquaint you 
 that Lord Fitzwilliamf & Mr. Crofts, in a conversation they had on their return 
 home with Mr. Burk (a friend of mine), said many civil good natur'd things of my 
 picture of Adam & Eve & my other little studies, all of which they quoted you for. 
 The satisfaction my friend had in hearing that anything of mine was honor'd with 
 your favourable notice (whose character as a man of taste I find he is no stranger 
 to) is a thing that very much affects my concerns, as I am supported during my 
 stay abroad by that gentleman & another of the same name. 
 
 ' Indeed, were it not for this single account my friends in England had of me, 
 'tis more than probable they must have imagined that I had done nothing, & 
 slept away my time here, as care has been industriously taken that I should be 
 kept out of the way of acquiring here either freinds, character, or anything that 
 may be useful or agreeable in the carrying of a man thro' life. Except yourself, 
 who I heard had set out with the resolution of seeing all the artists in Rome, & 
 Lord Fitzwilliams and Mr. Crofts, who came with your name in their mouths, I 
 have never been shown to any other of the many travellers & people of distinction 
 who have about amongst the artists here ; however, a man whose mind is occupied 
 with studying the antique, and the people of the sixteenth century, may bring 
 himself to that pass as to be content for a time to give up the profits of his profession, 
 although the profits in this, as in most other professions, are inseparably linked 
 to & followed by reputation and character, which we all have a hankering after. 
 
 ' Sir, you will, I hope, forgive the liberty I have taken in writing to you, as I 
 don't believe 'twill be in my power to have the honour of waiting upon you at 
 Naples, & gratitude would not suffer one to think of leaving Italy (which I shall 
 do in about half a year) without returning you my most sincere thanks for the 
 obligation you have conferred upon me. I am,' &c. 
 
 14. A. L. S. from Charles Greville§ to the same. No date. (Rome, 
 
 March, 1769). 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I begin with a subject that I have resolved every time I have wrote to 
 mention, & now particularly I am under an obligation to remember as for the 
 first time my handkerchief has been knotted on the occasion, it is to desire you 
 to enquire for two books I left in my room at your house ; 2 pocket vols, of 
 Milton's works. I borrowed them, & left them with an intention they should be 
 sent to Mrs. Harfrere, to whom they belong. She is in great anxiety about them, 
 & has asked me for them, be so good as to enquire about them, & send them by 
 the first opportunity. The ink bottle has this moment oversett, but you see I am 
 not disconcerted, so pray don't make observations, & the letter is as good as it 
 
 * This was the 3rd Duke. He married Dorothy, only daughter of William, 4th Duke of 
 Devonshire. The son in whose honour the masquerade was given was William Henry, 4th Duke 
 of Portland, who had been bom the May preceding. 
 
 + James Barry, the Irish painter, 1741-1806, at that time studying in Rome. His 'Adam 
 and Eve ' was exhibited in 1771. In 1782 he was appointed Professor of Painting at the Royal 
 Academy, but was deprived of this, and expelled the Academy in 1799. 
 
 X William, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam, 1748-1833. He was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland for a short 
 period in 1795. 
 
 § Charles Francis Greville, 1749-1809, znd son of Francis, Earl of W.arwick. . 
 
1769] NELSON PAPERS. 9 
 
 was. Pray let me beg you to avoid every mention of prices, I have done so once 
 before. Pray let me send & be favoured with the acceptance of some baubles. 
 Give me a commission for anything & you shall pay for it. The others are but 
 scarce worth thanks. I am in the best of humours. I received this morning a 
 line from L* Exeter, who informed me of the Douglas cause* being decided in 
 his favour, without a division of the house. Duke Newcastle, L'' Mansfield, &c., 
 for D. ; L* Sandwich 3 hours & half against. However, he is free now from of all 
 persecutions, thank Heaven. 
 
 ' I am running about the antiquities from 9 to n with Byers, from 1 1 to 2 with 
 Miss A., so you see I gain Horace's happiness, omne tulit punctum qui miscuit 
 utile dulci. I am wishing for the prospect of seeing you, & Naples, & Sicily. I 
 shall envy you the excursion if I cannot join it. 
 
 ' Pray let me lay on you a disagreeable task, choose me a handsome pattern 
 for an applicee, have it wrought for me instantaneously, and sent to Rome. I 
 wish an Etrusc figure could be introduced. It must be handsome & rich as to its 
 elegance ; anything, particularly Etrusc, conducted by your taste, cannot but be 
 elegant ; in silver, yea, & in good silver. If a contrivance could be hit on for 
 making it less regular and strait— I wanted to define my objection, but stop— I 
 should be pleased. Yours is charming, but rather too much like a lace. However, 
 that same would delight me if a variation does not easily occur, particularly if the 
 mouldings be properly managed and made light. The spangles must be caution'd 
 against & well fastened. My embroidery looses a mint a day. 
 
 ' I will deliver your messages, &c. Many thanks for the watch. Gaudin is 
 for ever bound, &c. There have been some fine conversations since the Emperor 
 has been here. The G. D. asked after you of me. I was presented & dined with 
 him, & have conversed in the conversation for three times, once for a long half 
 hour. Of Gen. Schuowolf (a kittle name to write), his first enquiries were how 
 you & Mrs. Hamilton did. The Emperor has lessened the talk about the D., 
 however, I like the D. best ; more engaging & gentlemanly deportment, & more 
 of the Prince, or rather the world. The E. is certainly very amicable, he refuses 
 every honor & all presents. Even the Miserere in the Holy Week. I wish he 
 had not for my sake, as there will be none. There is to be a Gerandola on St. 
 Angelo, & two or three balls, one a masqued at the Venet. Ambass. The 
 Emperor, as you may know, setts out the end of next week for Naples, where he 
 stays a shon time. The G. D., I believe, stays. So much for Dukes & Emperors. 
 I am cross at Sudley's luck. 
 
 ' I give you a bad account of my satisfaction in my first page, so shall end with it. 
 
 ' I was waked with the news of my friend Douglas having gain'd his cause ; 
 Wilkes's expulsion & disqualification on a precedent in Q. Anne's time in the case 
 of 5=^ Robert [Walpole] ; the Duke of Portland's case being sustain'd, & by that 
 our rights ascertained & defended by the question of nullum tempus. I went to 
 antiquitys with Byers ; at 1 1 with a young lady went to see the Belvidere, to be 
 sure I enjoyed the Apollo ; what a happy man you are in a fest of it ; I saw the 
 vases, some of which I wish for you, came home, & received your line. 
 
 ' By the bye, if you can pick up any vases, of which you have duplicates, lay 
 them aside for me ; don't buy them if not well conserved and good ; nor many of 
 a shape, a few elegant &. good. 
 
 'Adieu, my D"^ Hamilton, my kind remembrances to Mrs. Hamilton. I hope 
 little Checille is quite recovered ; send the enclosed to Neville ; if gone, bum it.' 
 
 15. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to the same. No date (Rome, 1769). 
 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal. [H.] 
 ' By Mr. Ingenhouse,t of whom you must have heard, as famous in Germany 
 
 * The great Douglas cause excited the interest of all Europe. The point at issue was the 
 filiation of Archibald Stewart, whose claim to be the son of Lady Jane Douglas was disputed by 
 the Duke of Hamilton. The final decision was in Lord Archibald's favour, who succeeded to 
 the estates, and was created Baron Douglas in 1790. 
 
 t Jan Ingenhousz, 1 730-1 799, an eminent Dutch naturalist and chemist, who came to England 
 ■ in 1767, with a view of obtaining information on the Suttonian method of inoculation for small- 
 pox, and in the following year went to Vienna to inoculate the Archduchess Theresa, He 
 afterwards returned to England, and became a Member of the Royal Society. 
 
lo THE HAMILTON AND [1769. 
 
 in the medical way, I send a parcel for you. He desired a letter to you, & I was 
 sure that it would not be disagreeable to you to know him, therefore I complyed 
 with his request. He has been three years in England, speaks the language, & 
 is particularly attached to the country, & was particularly acquainted with Pringle, 
 & other famous physicians. You will see by the first sight that he is not a shewy 
 man, but you will find a very sensible & honest bottom. He has but a few days, 
 8 or 10 at most, to be at Naples, has a curiosity which would make him desirous 
 of more, and he beg'd me particularly to mention to you how much obliged to 
 you he would be if you would give him some general hints of the volcanic system, 
 & a few of the things best worth seeing at or about Naples. As far as you please 
 you can inform him. 
 
 ' He loves porter mightily. Pray, is my hogshead arrived .'' When I arrived 
 at Rome I found a letter from my father, who tells me that on my first mentioning 
 porter a hogshead was put into another barrel, & waited the first ship to sail, 
 so probably by this time it may arrive. 
 
 ' I send you a grandissime collection. 
 
 ' Inprimis, a very curious & (without joke) valuable spentira, at least, if the 
 names not right, Tiberius & Sessara, well preserved on the curious side. I send 
 likewise of his head, & the number, & a woman's ticket, with number, which is 
 rare, but for the first mentioned all the antiquarians have been at me for it. 
 
 ' 2. The hook I mentioned, & a fragmented hook which had 4 hooks. 
 
 ' 3. A most elegant nail. 
 
 '4. A pes votiva, in bad conservation. 
 
 ' 5. A head in bronze, which probably served for some vessel or vase, &c., 
 which as it is warranted antique I sent. 
 
 ' 6. An idol, I don't know what, but as it may be a subject of conjecture I send 
 it. I'll not swear to its antiquity, tho' Genassi does. 
 
 ' 7. A boar rampant, or gallopant, may have served for what you please, who 
 knowes but what it was some favourite standard, rather too small ? 
 
 ' 8. You talk of asbestos, of uncombustible paper, & linen, what say you to 
 uncombustible wood ? —a rarety as yet unknown. Take care of a little piece of 
 wood, which was it not for this property would deserve to be burned. It has 
 been proved & re-proved, & only dirtied, it stands unburned — an extreordinary 
 phenomenon. 
 
 ' 9. A worm-eaten paper be-painted ; it has the property of heightening the 
 complexion & improving nature ; it comes from China, & by whetting it and 
 rubbing gently a fine red appears — fingers and spittle may do — apply the pre- 
 paration to the cheek gently, the effect is marvellous. 
 
 ' 10. The intaglio vase for i sequin. 
 
 '11. A httle intaglio vase picked up since for you with the far-fall going to 
 settle on it,' &c. 
 
 ' 12. The piece of bronze spoken of formerly. 
 
 ' 13. A good Roman hook. 
 
 ' 14. A star, or spur, or what you please. 
 
 ' 15. A little Harpocrates, with a cornucopia for a vow. 
 
 ' 16. Another little entaglio, a lion's head or 2 palm branches may be some 
 cirus & victory. 
 
 ' I am just going to the Venetian Ambassador ; find I am too late, so 
 must break my dissertation. Adieu, & believe me yours, &c. 
 
 'The Princess Justiniani is recovered, & I am to be admitted to-morrow. 
 
 ' News about the G. Duke another time ; he goes to the Conversations, which 
 on that reason are pric'd to-night. Venetian Bracciano the night before last. . . .' 
 
 16. A. L. S. from Lord Bruce* to the same. Dated London, March i8th, 
 
 1769. I page 4to. [h.J 
 
 ' I hope you will excuse my being once more troublesome to you about the 
 Herculaneum work in behalf of Lord Charlemont,+ Mr. Ward, and myself, as we 
 
 * Thomas Brudenell, 2nd Baron Bruce, 1730-1814. He was created Earl of Ailesbury in 1 776. 
 + James, 1st Earl of Charlemont, 1728-1799, a distinguished patriot, Commander-in- 
 chief of the volunteer army of Ireland in 1779. 
 
1769] NELSON PAPERS. 11 
 
 have receiv'd no more volumes than those that you had the goodness to get us ; 
 we flatter'd ourselves that no more difficulties wou'd have attended the com- 
 pleating our sets, as we were on the original list, & have been since favour'd with 
 S"' James Gray's & your kind assistance on that occasion. I have heard of a sort 
 of appendix that has been sent to some persons belonging to that work, but we 
 have none of us receiv'd it. 
 
 ' Mr. Lipyeatt, who travell'd with Mr. Montagu, tells me that you was at the 
 trouble of subscribing to the valuable performance from the Etruscan Vases 
 (which you so justly encouraged) for Lord Charlemont and me, but we have heard 
 nothing of it in any other way. 
 
 ' I hope Mrs. Hamilton & you, dear S"^, continue to enjoy your health at 
 Naples, the delices of which place are greatly heightened, I understand, by the 
 hospitality everybody, particularly the English, meet with under your roof. 
 
 ' I should be glad by your means to be kindly remembered to my good cousin 
 & friend, the Countess Mahony, & I shall never forget the many favours I received 
 from the Princess Francavilla. 
 
 ' With every good wish to Mrs. Hamilton & yourself, I remain, yours,' &c. 
 
 17. A. L. S. from Sir Joshua Reynolds to the same. Dated London, 
 March 28th, 1769. 3 pages 4to.,with Superscription and Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' I ought to be ashamed to acknowledge the receipt of your kind letter so 
 many months since, but really my not answering it sooner proceeded rather from 
 a mistake than neglect, your saying I should receive another letter from you soon 
 I understood to imply that I should delay answering it till I had received the 
 second, but, as no second letter is arrived, I now suspect I was mistaken. I hope, 
 however, you will never think this delay proceeds from any want of proper 
 attention, or that I should be so different from other artists as not to be allways 
 proud of the honour of being remembered by so great a patron and judge of Arts 
 as Mr. Hamilton. 
 
 ' I admire the work which is published under your patronage exceedingly, it 
 is not only magnificent, as it should be, being published with your name, but it is 
 likewise usefull to antiquarians, and will tend to the advancement of the arts, as 
 adding more materials for genius to work upon. The grace and genteelness of 
 some of the figures are exquisite, particularly the Atalanta, and it is that kind of 
 grace which I never observed before in the antique, it is much in the Parmegiano 
 style. 
 
 ' I hope you have been able to pick up some capital pictures, as well as 
 Etruscan vases. I remember I saw m a palace at Naples, which had but few 
 pictures (I think it was that of Francavilla), a small picture of Paulo Veronese, a 
 great number of figures at table, and Mary Magdalen at Christ's feet, I thought 
 it the most brilliant picture of the Master I had ever seen ; tho', perhaps, they 
 may be too rich to sell it, yet possibly it may be got at by exchange. I thmk it is 
 worth at least a hundred pounds. 
 
 ' I have the pleasure to acquaint you that the Arts flourish here with great 
 vigour ; we have as good artists in every branch of the art as any other nation 
 can boast, and the King has very seriously taken them under his protection ; 
 he has establish'd an Academy which open'd the first of January, the rooms 
 which formerly belonged to Lamb, the Auctioneer in Pall Mall, serve for the 
 present till a proper building can be erected. It would take up too much room to 
 give you our whole plan, when it is printed I will take the first opportunity to 
 send it to you, however, I cannot avoid just giving the outline. It is composed 
 of forty, and cannot exceed that number, out of which are chosen all the officers. 
 To the surprise of everybody I have the honour of being President, and it is only 
 honour, for there is no salary annex'd to this dignity. Mr. Chambers, the 
 Architect, is Treasurer, 60/. per ann. ; Secretary Mr. Newton has likewise 60/.; 
 the Keeper, Mr. Moser, 100/. We have four Professors : Mr. Penny, of Painting ; 
 Mr. Chambers, of Architecture ; Mr. Wale, of Geometry and Perspective ; and 
 Dr. Hunter, of Anatomy ; each gives six Lectures every year, the salary 30/. per 
 annum. We have nine visitors who attend every evening for a month alternately. 
 
12 THE HAMILTON AND [1769. 
 
 He must be in the Academy two hours whilst the young men are drawing, for 
 which he receives half a guinea. Eight other members are appointed to forme 
 the laws, and it is this body, which is call'd the Councill, who govern the 
 Academy. The King interests himself very much in our success ; he has given 
 an unlimited power to the Treasurer to draw on his privy purse for whatever 
 mony shall be wanted, for the Academy we have already expended some hundred 
 pounds in purchasing books relating to the Arts. If you should think it proper to 
 mention to the King of Naples of the establishment of a Royal Academy he 
 would probably make a present of the antiquities of Herculaneum. I am,' &c. 
 
 18. A. L. S. from William Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated 
 
 Naples, April i8th, 1769. 2\ pages 4to, with Superscription and 
 Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' My head is where it was, tho' some people's wou'd certainly have been turned 
 had they met with the distinguished honours which I have from His Imperial 
 Majesty. In short, he has carried it so far as to come of himself to my house, & 
 after approving of Mrs. Hamilton's playing upon the harpsichord, went down 
 into my lumber room ; but, by the bye, I had put my collection in a little better 
 order than when you was here. He stayed an hour and half, & expressed great 
 satisfaction. He allowed the picture to be the best he had ever seen. I will tell 
 you what he said when he went away taking me by the hand, tho' I wouldn't to 
 anybody else least they shou'd think me vain. On vous rends justice, on vous 
 estime, vous etes honete homine; dest tout dire. These were his very words. 
 Yesterday I was with him all day on the mountain at Herculaneum & Pompeii. 
 Indeed he is truly amiable, & the' a great Prince, he is ever reflecting that he is a 
 man. I did not think it was possible to unite so much dignity & simplicity. Mrs. 
 H. has just received the unfortunate account of her mother's death, & is in a 
 situation you can imagine, as you know the tenderness of her nature. I shall 
 hasten my departure to Sicily in order to divert her, but you shall hear from me 
 before I go. I believe we have got a good ship, to-morrow I shall be certain if 
 we have or not. Adieu for to-night, my dear Greville. Yours,' &c. 
 
 ' The Emperor will be at home before this will reach you.' 
 
 19. A. L. S. from Lord Bessborough* to William Hamilton. Dated 
 
 London, June 21st, 1769. 2 pages 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' I return you many thanks for the favour of your letter, which I should have 
 answered sooner, but waited for the arrival of the ship from Naples. She is 
 now come, and I have received the two books, one of them for the University 
 of Cambridge. I have sent it with your compliments to Dr. Hinchliffe,t who 
 is one of the chief persons there, and desired him to deliver it to the University 
 from you. I have, according to your instructions, inclosed a note to the Marquis 
 Jannucci, which you will be pleased to send him if you think proper. Should 
 the books come to be sold, I will not give His Excellency the trouble of ordering 
 them for me. I have got the first volume of the Etruscan vases, which I like 
 much ; it is a very fine work, and must do you honour in the world, and particu- 
 larly amongst the virtuosi, and I give you joy of it. It would give me great 
 pleasure the being of use to you in this part of the world, and be assured I am 
 with great regard and esteem,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. I am so bad a writer of the Italian, that I have taken the liberty of 
 writing in English to the Marquis, and you will be pleased to do what you 
 think proper with the letter.' 
 
 * William, 2nd Earl of Bessborough, 1704-1793. He filled several high political situations, 
 was Lord of the Treasury and Postmaster-General, &c. 
 
 t John Hinchliffe, 1731-1794, Head Master of Westminster School for three months in 1764, 
 appointed Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1768, and made Bishop of Peterborough in 
 1 769. He was famous in his day as a speaker and preacher. 
 
1769.] NELSON PAPERS. 13 
 
 20. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to the same. Dated Vienna, October 
 9th, 1769. 7 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 'You may be sure your line gave me infinite pleasure, since it had been so 
 long since I had heard from you. I wait with impatience to have the pleasure 
 of running over Sicily with you. I regret much I could not make one of the 
 party. I must now inform you what I have done and do at present at Vienna. 
 I must begin with wishing that you could contrive to come here as Ambassador, 
 as I am sure you would like it extremely, and be adored. I came in a very 
 unfortunate season for a foreigner, most of the great people being out of town. 
 Mad. Kaunitz had been so good as to give me a letter to her Aunt, Prince Kaunitz'* 
 sister, and likewise mentioned me to her sister, Princess Lichtenstein ; both one 
 and the other have been of the greatest use. Prince Kaunitz took a liking to me, 
 and we became good friends from a comparison of antiques. He asked me to his 
 country house, from whence I am returned but a few days. Prince C. Lichtenstein, 
 who is a great sportsman, took me to a friend of his, Count Zinzendorf, to shoot 
 deer. I stay'd there 10 days, shooting every day in his woods, which are very 
 extensive, fine, and full of game. I had amazing success for my time. I shot 15 
 times at deer, & killed 9 with ball. Besides this Prince Charles has shown me 
 every possible courtesy, making me always welcome at his house when I don't 
 dine elsewhere. This is particularly agreeable, as it has given me the opportunity 
 of getting the acquaintance of his wife, Mad. Kaunitz's sister, and, tho' as like Mad. 
 Kaunitz as possible, is very handsome ; she is to the full as devout & strict as her 
 sister, & if any one was to be in love with her the flame would never be extinguished 
 Ijy her favors, and indeed her character is so well established that tho' the town 
 is as greedy after scandal as any in the world, it never even shewed its shadow on 
 the Princess, and the young men, &c., pay no kind of attention to her, none having 
 esprit to court her acquaintance for her conversation. I, however, am an exception, 
 & find her conversation very agreable. I am to go to the country house of P. 
 Charles in 8 days tp shoot woodcocks and boars, after our return I am to go with 
 him to his uncle's. Prince Lichtenstein, to shoot likewise, you see that I have 
 engagements enough on my hands. The game here is in very great abundance. 
 I have been at a pheasant chasse, in about 2 hours 6 shooters, of whom I was one, 
 killed 1 50, & we did not think much of it. The hares are very numerous, when I 
 was at Count Zinszendorffs he gave a chasse de lievre, in 8 days 7 shooters 
 killed 3500 hares. I stared as much when I heard this as you will when you read. 
 At P. Kaunitz's, where the chasse was only begun to be preserved last year, in 
 walking out for 2 or 3 hours in the fields you might shoot 30 or 40 shots at hares. 
 Of the ladies I can tell you that as in other places favours are to be obtained in 
 spite of the strict orders of the Empress ; however, it is not from that quarter 
 Vienna has its agriesment. Dinners here are very frequent ; every day at least 
 3 or 4 great ones. I am invited everywhere, in some places from the acquaint- 
 ances I have formed, but chiefly owing to the civility I receive from P. Kaunitz 
 and the Lichtensteins. I came here only for three weeks, & am here now probably 
 for the winter. I regret a little the want of searching for antiques. En revenge, 
 if you was here, for a mere trifle you might pick up pictures, as the taste for them 
 is now gone, & good & bad are in the same estimation ; except indeed some 
 pictures which, from what I cannot tell what reason, have acquired reputation are 
 dear. I am very glad of your success in finding vases in Sicily. You must 
 remember my commission. Your collection is very rich in number & in excel- 
 lence, you hardly would augment it with vases which in shape resemble those you 
 have already, or are same in subject. As some might be offer'd in this class & 
 
 * Wenceslaus Anton, Prince von Kaunitz, 1711-1794, the famous Austrian Diplomatist and 
 Statesman. After going as Minister to various European Courts, he was placed at the head of 
 affairs at Vienna, both Maria Theresa and Leopold II. having the most complete confidence in 
 him ; but on the accession of Francis II. he resigned his various offices, and retired from public 
 life. He was so afraid of death that no one dare mention the word in hi< presence without 
 running the risk of being severely reprimanded. His eldest son, Ernst Christophe, married the 
 Princess Maria Theresa Sophia von Oettinger-Spielberg, whose sister, the Princess Maria 
 Eleonora, married Prince Joseph von Lichtenstein, 
 
14 THE HAMILTON AND [1769. 
 
 might be refused, be so good as to lay them aside for me, but as I am a younger 
 brother and only desire to follow your rule of few and good, don't buy on my account 
 the vases of bad earth or much damaged, as my fancy leads me to be more ready 
 to give for one good one more than for 6 bad ones. I have risked in this letter 
 an antique ring which will be valuable to you amongst your gold ornanrients, it 
 was generally admired at Rome by the antiquarians ; you will at first sight see 
 that it is Prometheus & the vulture. I have not the least doubt of its antiquity, & 
 it never was in an antiquaries hands. Jenkins and Byers both admired it. 
 
 ' By the byei, I told you in the former part of my letter of the quantity of game 
 here. The late Emperer, a few years ago, in 9 or 10 dayes, with 7 or 8 shooters 
 killed 49,950 of different sorts of game. This is a fact, as I doubted it I was told 
 that the Ambassador of this court at court in Spain told this. The King of Spain 
 looked as if he discredited it so strongly that the Ambassador sent to Vienna & 
 had it attested & a certificate in form was sent to Spain. 
 
 'Without ever thinking what I am about or what I say, I find I am quite void 
 of all compassion to you, who are to be at the trouble of reading my nonesence, I 
 feel something in the situation a lover does when he is going to his mistress. He 
 thinks he has a thousand things to say, and when he has an opportunity he does 
 not know with which to begin. I am just so, for I have a million of particulars 
 which I should be glad to converse with you, but few are important enough to 
 fill up my paper or to be the subject of your examen. But after all I believe all 
 my subjects may be resolved in the desire I have of seeing you. I have not the 
 prospect of gratifying that desire, as I do not see any likelyhood of your coming 
 soon to England or of my returning to Naples. I have thought often of what you 
 was so good as to think of for me ; if you should next spring twelve months think 
 of coming to England, I could arrange in a manner to get to Naples & be your 
 depute & charge, &c. That certainly would be a very great advantage to me & 
 make me a man de prMention. If you should think of England before that time, 
 I do not see how I could get leave to go back to Naples. I am eager after the 
 scheme for many reasons, but amongst them Mad. Tschudi must not be included. 
 It is very singular & I cannot account for my behavour. I have since been 
 contented with worse, but she contrived to make me perfectly disgusted with her ; 
 however, I have addressed a friend of mine, Mr. Leighton, to her, and wrote a 
 very genteel letter in Italian. I am not the least anxious how she receives it, but 
 I did it merely intending to flatter her vanity, which (tho' she is not void of desire) is 
 her predominant passion. I can give you no news either domestic or political. I am 
 almost the only Englishman here & have not the prospect of many countrymen 
 this winter. I say this winter, for the 3rd of this month the snow began, ever 
 since which I believe it has froze, at least it is ten degrees colder than I ever felt 
 it at Naples. The snow is melted in the low country, but the rain which falls by day 
 in town in the country is snow. The hills round are all white, a pleasing prospect 
 for the winter. Your friend the Count, now Prince, Parr is not yet returned from 
 Paris ; the Princess is from Italy; in the spring she is to go as grande Maitresse to 
 the Dauphine. I have not yet been presented to her, she as well as all the court 
 ladies being never seen. I am much obliged to you for having thanked Mad. Kaunitz 
 for her goodness to me, do the same to Count Kaunitz & tell him I receive every 
 civility from his father & brothers, & that I look on myself as indebted to him for 
 them. Don't forget to give my compts. to Mad. Kaunitz, & to tell her that I am 
 not silent in my acknowledgments to her. I am glad Mrs. Hamilton is well. I 
 hope the journey has quite established her health, I must beg you to give my love 
 to her. Remember me sometimes when a rainy day keeps you at home, it will be 
 conferring a particular favor on me, & flatter me that I continue in your favour [I 
 will], as often as I think you can excuse me for tro[ubling] you, write a line to 
 assure you as I [do at] present that with the greatest sincerity I am, your,' &c. 
 
 ' I must not forget poor Preston's compt». He is, I fear, in a bad way, having 
 for some weeks spit blood.' 
 
 21. A. L. S. from Earl of Pembroke to the same. No date (1769?). [h.] 
 ' It is with great reluctance that I trouble you with more dying words, but, for 
 
1770.] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 IS 
 
 my numerous countrymen's sake, I cannot help it. We came here with two 
 horses to our chaise, which is very lightly laden, Medows & I being very 
 sparingly wardrobed. The postmaster here insisted on putting on three, the 
 consequence of which would have been that we must have had them on all the 
 way through. When I asked for the Tariffa, I got an answer little better 
 than to go and get myself ******, and on Tanucci's name being mentioned, I was 
 very drily told that everybody wanted to make themselves pass for his relations, 
 but that this time that trick would not do. The postilions then offered to take 
 the third horse for a ducat, which, of course, I would not give, but sent for horses 
 for Capua to another place. Moreover it is to be observed that the horses were 
 sent for at one o'clock, & more than ten messages kept on going for them con- 
 stantly, notwithstanding which they did not come till five. I find by the master 
 of our inn, who is a very sensible fellow, that they generally serve strangers in this 
 way, and allways the English in particular. I dare say you'll think this rascal a 
 proper object for punishment, & that you will get him trounced for the common 
 cause, or we Inglesi shall fare very ill indeed very soon in the post way. Once 
 more, adieu, God bless you, auplaisir,' &c. 
 
 ' P. S. The postmaster refused to return me the order for horses, & answered very 
 insolently for some time, as the master of the inn, the bearer of this, will tell you. 
 The postilions swore they would blow his house up, by swearing every body did 
 HoHci in it, & unless you are so good as to have at least one of them well punished 
 they will really ruin his house. Upon his account, do then at least contrive to 
 have them drove out of the post. He knows the postilions very well. The man 
 of the house is so very honest and obliging, that I must beg the favour of you at 
 any rate to have the postilions punished for his sake as well as the postmaster 
 for all us vagabond English. The postilions names are Vincenzo, Nicola Cesena, 
 & Michel Balsamo. Curse them all for making us lose a night's rest in bed, and 
 probably an Opera at Rome, for it is now past — o'clock, & we are going to try 
 our fortunes, which are still doubtful, for we are resolved not to be imposed upon 
 farther on, by setting out with hired mules, for the postmaster has laid an embargo 
 on all the horses in the town. 
 
 22. A. L. S. from Lord Cowper* to the same. Dated Florence, May i sth, 
 
 1770. I page 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I received the pleasure of your letter some time ago, which I should have 
 answered sooner had I not been a little out of order. I have, according to your 
 desire, delivered your letter to the Grand Duke, as he has been so good as to 
 invite once for all to go and spend the evening with them when I chuse. H.R.H. 
 seemed extremely pleased, and desired me to present his compliments, trh em- 
 presses, to you (the very word he made use of) ; he moreover added that he had a 
 great regard for you, and should be glad to see you again. I am extremely obliged 
 to you for the attention you have shewn to Meiseur, contre son merite; I cannot say 
 I like his singing, but he is a poor fellow, an honest German, and I could not help 
 troubling you on his laehalf I am very sorry you have not received the Messiah I 
 sent you about five months ago by the Spanish courier, translated from the English 
 in Italian. I sent to the Abbd Vernaccini, the King of Naples' agent here, that 
 assured me it had been delivered to the courier ; in short, if you don't find it I 
 will send you another. I hope Mrs. Hamilton is well ; I beg my respects to her, 
 and believe me to be, yours,' &c. 
 
 23. A. L. S. from Lord Pembroke to the same. Dated Wilton House, 
 
 September nth, \\i\70- 2 pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal. [H.] 
 
 'We here are told, my dear Hamilton, that you have already got leave to 
 make a trip to this island of blessed concord & reunion, & that you are commg 
 
 * George Nassau, 3rd Earl Cowper, 1738-1789. He passed thirty years at Florence, and 
 was created a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire by the Emperor Joseph H. 
 
i6 THE HAMILTON AND |[i77i, 1772- 
 
 to make us a visit immediately. I hope the report is true. If this should reach you 
 before you set out from Naples, do, my dear old friend, buy a nimble, young, lively, 
 active colt of any color. The custom of the country is to put as many people as 
 their length will allow of on them in their very juvenile days, but I desire mine 
 may never have had one Christian **** on him, nilmihi rescribasj but send me 
 something, pray, at any rate, & at any price, immediately, so that he may arrive 
 here before the good weather is over ; by land, of course, & led by a man on another 
 horse, a good one, if you can too, with only a cavesson on his nose. All you do 
 will be right, & greatly oblige me. Pray lose no time. A friend of mine and 
 yours has been told administrationly that he shall have the Naples consulship, if 
 the present incumbent and he can make terms of resignation. At his desire I 
 have wrote by this post to Jamineau, as he often expressed, whilst I was at Naples, 
 a desire of leaving it and returning to England. Che pazzo ! Probably you know 
 the total clear annual income of it. If you do, pray let me know it as exactly & as 
 soon as you can. The Fagnaninis have spent a week here. La Marchesina all 
 the time in bed .... L^ P. desires her compts. to you & Mrs. H. Pray make 
 mine acceptable to her also, & remember me to all friends. Ever yours,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. After this pressing horse-begging I need not say my stable is grown old. 
 The Arabian, however, stout as ever at twenty.' 
 
 24. A. L. S. (in French) from Feodor, Count Orloff, to the same. Dated 
 
 Rome, March 25th, 1771. 3 pages 4to. [H.J 
 
 ' L'impatience de faire votre connoissance et la satisfaction de I'avoir fait ont 
 etd dgalement vifes en moi ; mais vous avez trouve le moyen de me rendre encore 
 plus sensible au regret de m'arracher de votre soci^t^, dont je n'ai eu le temps 
 que de sentir toute I'utilitd et de goiiter toute la douceur, sans en jouir. Avec 
 quelle joye. Monsieur, je m'y retrouverois dans un endroit oil je la cultiverois, 
 sans cramdre d'en etre privd. A present je suis dans une ville ou tout me rappelle 
 votre gout et vos lumilres, et comme je ne doute pas que vous ne soyez tout 
 aussi habile k p^ndtrer dans I'avenir que vous I'etes k approfondir le passd vous 
 vous apperceverez done que vous avez fait en moi une acquisition, dont le temps, 
 qui ne marque son passage que par des ravages, ne fera qu'augmenter la stability. 
 II depend de vous d'en essayer la v^rrtd, en me fournissant une occasion ou mon 
 empressement d'ex^cuter vos ordres vous prouveroit jusqu'ou s'^tend ma con- 
 sideration, mon estime, et mon attachment pour vous, Monsieur. Votre,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. Je vous prie de faire agr^er k Madame Hamilton mes sincferes respects 
 et ma reconnoissance pour toutes ses bontds. 
 
 ' Toute ma compagnie vous assure de ses respects.' 
 
 25. A. L. S. from the Earl of Abercorn* to the same. Dated 'Tuesday 
 
 morning' (Dec. 1771). [h.] 
 
 'Your unsettled situation leaving a possibiUty of doubt that advices from 
 Petersburgh may not be directly conveyed to you, which is encreased by hearing 
 yesterday that you was not apprised of the former bad account which had come 
 from thence, I think it in some measure necessary to communicate the enclosed 
 letter to you, which came last night. 
 
 ' I make my sincere condolence to Mrs. Hamilton and you upon this melan- 
 cholick occasion, and remain,' &c. 
 
 26. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton f to Charles Greville. Dated Venice, 
 
 November 23rd, 1772. 5 pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 
 Seal. [H.J 
 
 'No farther have we got as yet, my dear Charles ; you know how difficult it is 
 
 * James Hamilton, 8th Earl of Abercorn. He died unmarried in 1789. The letter refers to 
 the death of Sir William's youngest sister Jane, Lady Cathcart, who had just died at 
 St. Petersburg, at which Court Lord Cathcart was then Ambassador. 
 
 t Sir William Hamilton was made a K.C.B. in January, 1772. 
 
177,3-] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 17 
 
 to leave Vienna ; besides, the agreable society Lord Stormont* let us into, we met 
 with such a particular reception from the Court that it was impossible to stay 
 there less than three weeks. I forget whether I wrote to you from Vienna after 
 the dinner the Empress gave us at Laxenburg, where she & the Emperor went 
 on purpose, & where the Arch Dutchess Elizabeth sang, & where L'' Hamilton 
 play'd, & so tickled their Majesties' ears that the Empress kissed her, & gave her a 
 gold enammeld snuff-box with her cypher set in brillants. I am afraid to tell you 
 more, as I have a strong notion that I wrote you the particulars of our Laxenbourg 
 honors from Vienna. The last night we passed at Lord Stormont's, & contrary 
 to his maxim the Emperor came in (having never been at a Minister's house), ran 
 up to Ly. H., saying, " Madame, je viens en courier vous porter des lettres de la 
 part de L'Imp&atrice," & gave her letters for the great Duke & Dutchess, & for 
 the Queen of Naples, & with this pretence passed the evening with us. Prince 
 Kaunitz & I were quite well together, & he told me plainly how much he wished 
 that I had succeeded Ld. Stormont.* Ly. H. caught cold at Vienna & at Spital 
 in the Tyrole was laid up with a fever, & I was obliged with the assistance of 
 Mons. Tissot'st bookto undertake her cure, which I completedin 5 days ; luckily there 
 was a lake close by, & 1 amused myself with catching pike. The road we took by 
 Clagenfurst is delightfull, well kept, and, excepting a few precepices, no way allarm- 
 ing. WetookVerona&Vicenzaon our way here, but the rains overtook us, & between 
 these two places we had liked to have been drowned, as there was 35 ft. of water 
 in the road for three miles. I met with a delightful fossil man at Verona, his 
 name Moreni, a deca^d apothecary. He is ready to sell himself and his collection, 
 which is admirable, & the British Museum would do well if they took him into 
 their service to arrange their Natural History, as he loves and understands this 
 business. Near Roveredo, between Trent and Verona, I saw most noble havock, 
 certainly made by volcanick explosion, tho' no one could give me any account of 
 it. The earth has opened in many parts for the space of 4 miles, & thrown up 
 the rocky soil in huge masses m a most wonderful! manner. Had I been alone I 
 shou'd have stopped, &, I am sure, have had matter for a letter to the R. Society. 
 I am seeing the pictures here, but as the season is far advanced shall proceed to 
 Bologna on Saturday next. Ld. Rich. CavendishJ is here, I saw him yesterday ; 
 he is now well, but has been ill of a flux for some time, as he told me. I can con- 
 ceive that a gondola with a fine woman in it must seem a most luxurious convey- 
 ance for a young man in his prime ; but as I mean only to satisfy my eyes I think 
 a week here will be sufficient, & am in no fear of following your example. Be so 
 good as tell Lord W. our motions, as I cannot write this post, also Ld. Cathcart. 
 I expect to find a heap of letters from you at Naples, where we shall most probably 
 arrive before Xmas. I am delighted with Paul Veronese, but as yet rather 
 disappointed with Titian, I don't know what may come ; a certain Bonifaccio was 
 a fine fellow, some of his pictures equal to Titian. At Vicenza in a convent, 
 Monte Virgifie., there is a charming picture of a Paul, & a delightful one at the 
 Pisani Pallace here. How does my dear Venus f There is nothing like her, 
 believe me. Do make Bartolozzig engrave it, with Cipriani's 1| assistance, if it is 
 still mine. Adieu, yours ever,' &c. 
 
 * David Murray, 7th Viscount Stormont, and afterwards 2nd Earl of Mansfield, 1727-1799. 
 He married first, in 1759, Henrietta Frederica, daughter of Count Bunaw, who died in 1766, 
 and secondly, in 1776, Sir William Hamilton's niece, Lady Louisa Cathcart, who eventually 
 .succeeded as Countess of Mansfield, and married secondly, in 1797, Robert Fulke Greville, 
 Charles Greville's elder brother. 
 
 + Simon Andre Tissot, 1728-1797, a Swiss physician of great repute. The book was no 
 doubt Avis au peuph sur sa santi. 
 
 X Lord Richard Cavendish, 1750-1781, was the second son of William, 4th Duke of 
 Devonshire. For mention of his death see Letters Nos. 100, loi, and 103. 
 
 § Francesco Bartolozzi, circa 1730-1816. The celebrated engraver. He was a Florentine 
 by birth, came to England in 1764, and was elected Member of the Academy in 1769. In 1802 
 he went to Portugal to superintend a school of engraving, and he is said by some to have died 
 there. 
 
 II Giovanni Battista Cipriani, 1727-1785, a well-known painter and draughtsman, most of 
 whose designs Bartolozzi engraved. He repaired the ceilings of the chapel at Whitehall, and 
 the paintings of Verrio at Windsor. 
 
 VOL. I. C 
 
i8 THE HAMILTON AND [i773- 
 
 27. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 St. James's Sq., February 1 2th, 1773. 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 ' You may be sure that the news of your safe arrival gave me infinite pleasure, 
 particularly as it was accompanied with so good accounts of Lady Hamilton. 
 Since I wrote nothing new relative to your affairs offer ; an universal scarcity of 
 money may be the occasion of the backwardness I find. I have set proper people 
 to sound different persons who appear most likely. Cuningham I sent to y" 
 D. of Marlborough, but he says he hates a raffle. I see y'' picture dayly, & dayly 
 regret that you will ever part with it. I will inform you in the course of this 
 letter what I have been thinking for you. 
 
 ' Sir James Wright's pictures have been sold by auction. I will send a cata- 
 logue with y"' prices. They met with y" desert I wish every bad picture may have. 
 The Russian Minister, Mouskin, 2 days before y*" sale, met me & beg'd me to 
 give my opinion & advise about y» pictures, & shew'd me a catalogue with 70 or 
 80 pictures mark'd. I immediatly guessd the truth of y'' affairs & went. I told 
 him the truth that there was not a picture worth the Empresses purchasing ; he 
 was in a sad dilemma, for he had unlimited credit & positive orders. I pledged 
 myself to him that he would meet with eternal disgrace if he purchased such 
 trash, & on my opinion he did not go near the auction. I went & bought a large 
 picture, realy among the best there, for lol. \os. — Lot 61, ist day. It was a true 
 picture, all over new paint, but not worse than y" best & highest priced ones. I 
 sent it after the sale was over to Mouskin as a present, & told him that the event 
 of y" sale justified my opinion of the merit of y" pictures, that I begg'd his accept- 
 ance of y'' picture I sent to justify him at home, that I could not advise otherwise, 
 especially as there was a chance that S'^ W. H. fine picture would in 2 or 3 months 
 be free from y" preference he had given to his countrymen, & that I fear'd some 
 foreign Cabinet would possess it. 
 
 ' This note I expect he will send, as he did not know what to write, & my letter 
 I worded purposely to be in every respect proper for him to send in his own 
 defence ; probably an offer may be sent from Russia. I am melancholy when I 
 think there is a chance of your parting with it, yet I do all I can to part with it. 
 I wish you could keep it, or that I could get it ; yet when I wish I know that the 
 object cannot be great to you, as you so seldom can enjoy it. 1 am a greater 
 enthusiast every day about it, & poor as I am I would 50/. per annum to have it 
 my own, for 1 find that I spend more than that a year, & have no pictures I can 
 enjoy like it. I collect, however, & have half a doz. that would make a figure in 
 any cabinet choisie. Lord Stormont has just seen it ; he admires it much, but 
 nobody admires it as I do. I think they are so accustomed to bad & middling 
 pictures that they are not equal to the admiration of fine ones. I set off to-morrow 
 with Banks* & Capt. Bentick for Holland to see some cabinets, &c., for 3 or 4 
 weeks only. I enclose a visiting ticket of Dr. Lind ;+ it is a section of part of 
 Iceland, where there is a crater of 58 feet diameter, which occasionally once or 
 twice a day, or in two day, fills with boiling water, & when it overflows a spout 
 of the same diameter of boiling water rises in y^ air (c), they saw it spout 94 feet 
 perpendicular, & it is known sometimes to rise 300. I dare say you will find a 
 substance they call Lebos, the sediment of vapour ; the pipes of fire engines often 
 lined with it, & in Iceland there are whole tracts of it. 
 
 ' You will remember Jack Hunter.J Every skeleton, all fish, male, & female, 
 polyps, &c. in a barrel of rectify'd spirit ; rather more than y" weight of y** fish in 
 spirits, or else they spoil. I am just come from a masquerade at Almack. Triste 
 au dernier point, only 3 or 4 girls of town ; one (Harriet Powel or Lamb) with 
 L* Seaforth.§ He has bought Blackwood's Salvator Rosa, 400/., when he marries 
 or dies. Adieu, believe me yours,' &c. 
 
 * Sir Joseph Banks, 1743-1820, the eminent naturalist and philosopher, for some years 
 President of the Royal Society. 
 
 t Dr. James Lind, an English physician, who wrote several professional works. Hediedini794. 
 
 X The celebrated Dr. John Hunter. 
 
 § Kenneth Mackenzie, Earl of Seaforth, grandson of the attainted 5th Earl. He was created 
 Earl of Seaforth in 1771, and died in 1781. He married Miss Harriet Powell, the beautiful 
 actress and singer, although there seems to be some secrecy about it, and the fact is not 
 mentioned in the ' Peerages. ' 
 
1 773-] NELSON PAPERS. Ig 
 
 28. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Messrs. Wedgewood and 
 
 Bentley. Dated Naples, March 2nd, 1773.* 
 
 ' Monsieur de Breteuil,t Ambassador from Malta to the Court of Rome, has 
 desired me to procure him a compleat service of your white ware with the purple 
 edge. Be so good as pack up such a set, & direct it for His Excellency at 
 Rome, & send it off by the first ship that goes to Civita Vecchia, sending me the 
 bill of loading, and likewise your bill, which I shall immediately order my banker 
 to pay you. I am now in very great hopes that the two other volumes of my 
 Vases will come out. I found the rogue I employed in prison at Florence, and 
 the plates pawned, but I have engaged the creditors to contribute to finish the 
 work, & the great Duke is so good as to order him to finish it before he begins 
 on another project he had taken up. Your Etruscan ware is universally admired. 
 I hope you continue to meet with the encouragement you deserve. I will surely 
 send you some drawings of the fine shaped vases soon ; continue to be very 
 attentive to the simplicity and elegance of the forms, which is the chief article, & 
 you cannot consult the originals in the museum too often. 
 ' I am, Sirs, with great truth,' &c. 
 
 20. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 St. James's Square, May nth, 1773. 3 pages folio, with Super- 
 scription. [H.J 
 
 ' You must not discredit me as a politician because my last details of plans, 
 &c., are blown over, or are said to be so. I only wrote what was true, and what 
 I thought you would wish to hear, not to convince you that we are sad bunglers, 
 & trks pen exp^rimentis dans Us usages du monde; however we compleat the 
 equippement, tho' probably they will not go to the Mediterranean. There is 
 nothing new in my situation. I am still kept in suspense ; on my brother's X 
 determination to retire he wrote to L* Dartmouth,§ and received no answer for 
 some time till he chanced to meet him, when he told him he might apply, but 
 there was little hopes of success. He wrote to L* N[orth],|| and represented his 
 situation as being sufficiently occupied by the attendance of his duty in Parliament 
 & to his private affairs. He considered himself in my way, his wish was to see 
 me in office, & if his resignation would secure it that he was willing to give up, 
 that it could not interfere with his engagements because it must be equal to the 
 expectants whether I or L* G. was at the Board, as there would be no vacancy. 
 L* N. as usual sent no answer. My father called on him, and gave him a week, 
 at the expiration of which he sent word he was sorry he could give not his answer 
 so soon. He answered that he would take it off of his shoulders & go into the 
 King. L* N. begged he would defer for a short time, & voilcl. oii nous y sommes. 
 
 ' Remember L* Carmarthen's^ pictures ; he made me promise to write again 
 to you, he is surprised he has received none. I suppose by this time you have 
 all your aparatus in order. Your little Dr. here said he sent your machine many 
 months ago. I expect your minerals and fossils. If you intend to have a collec- 
 tion of them you will be obliged to chuse some particular branch of them, or you 
 will be all confusion, & without purchasing a large collection as foundation you 
 will find the connection of the specimens very little instructive, & merely pretty 
 specimens are only half interesting if not considered in a philosophic connection. 
 I find this so much the case that I have sent to Germany to purchease a very 
 
 * Two other letters of Sir William to the same firm in Mr. Morrison's collection are printed 
 in the Catalogue, First Series, vol. ii. pp. 229, 230. 
 
 + Elisabeth Theodose, Abbe de Breteuil, 1710-1781, Chancellor of the Duke of Orleans. 
 
 f Lord George Greville, afterwards 2nd Earl of Warwick, 1746-1816, the writer's eldest 
 brother, at that time a member of the Board of Trade. His father dying two months after the 
 date of the letter, he resigned his seat on the Board, and was succeeded by the writer. 
 
 § William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, 1731-1801, grandson of the ist Earl, whom he 
 succeeded in 1750. At the date of the letter he was Head of the Board of Trade. 
 
 II Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, 1732-1792, better known as Lord North. Prime 
 Minister from 1770-1780. 
 
 H Afterwards Sth Duke of Leeds 
 
20 THE HAMILTON AND [i773- 
 
 large compleat collection ; before it arrives in England it will cost me 5 or 600/. 
 You may be sure I am in anxiety for the answer if my offer is accepted, which I 
 expect every day. If you realy intend to collect I will lay aside the duplicates ; 
 I will make up your collection, & you will give me of yours what I have not. 
 
 'As they take up so much room, & till reduced to order & a collection is 
 complete, specimens should never be refused or thrown away, I wish you to 
 collect for me, & to send all you can get, & I will make for you a small cabinet 
 which shall have the general details. I shall refer you to my collection, which 
 will be a very great & expensive one, as your view is merely for your own 
 information, & for ye advancement of science in general, not ye mere desire of 
 collecting. I dare say you will accede to my proposal, & I think your money may 
 be applied to the various interesting phenomena of Nature, your observation of 
 which you may reduce to some order on paper. Minerals are not so great a general 
 produce of your country, therefore I think you had better make that a secondary 
 view for my benefit. This may be selfish, but I will shew that it is not so by 
 offering to you that, if you wish to have a collection of minerals, & will go about 
 it in the only waylaying a good foundation, the purchase I am going to make 
 shall be on your account, & I will give you all what I have collected. I will keep 
 them till you come, & shall consider them as my own ; that is to say, I shall have 
 as much pleasure in arranging & adding to them, & if they remain'd mine. This, 
 however, will be hardly accepted, as your money & plan hardly coincide with 
 bulky collections, & your views are not those of Dutch collectors ; or if you chuse 
 we will go halves in purchases, &c. ; but I only mention these plans, not knowing 
 how far you intend to take up a collection of Nat : History. I let you know the 
 plan I am pursuing to give you the choice of executing it yourself, of sharing it, 
 or of assisting it. 
 
 ' Yesterday there was a call of y" House, & L'' North intended bringing in a 
 Bill for y= regulation of y'^ E. Indies ; but a motion was made by Gen. Burgoyne 
 that all territory obtain'd by military or by treaty with foreign sovereigns were 
 by right belonging to the State. It was carried without a division, & as probably 
 Ld ]S[)B Bill supposed y" property in the hands of y'' Company, no notice was taken 
 of his bill, nor did he propose it. You will see by this post y' y" proclamation is 
 call'd in and war disappear'd. 
 
 ' I now mention your affairs. The pictures remain in statu quo, nor is there a 
 chance of getting them off. There have been many sales of fine pictures, which 
 have been sold many to 6 or ^700, & yet no body has been willing to add their 
 name to a raffle or thought of a purchase. I own to you I am not surprized at 
 them, for they do not buy from their own judgement. I am sorry that you can 
 not see it every day, or you would not regret y'' not selling it. Patoun has from 
 his own copy made another, which he intends for my father. I am sorry for it, 
 as I must confess to you it is a poor thing ; he has aim'd at warm coloring & 
 spoil'd the hue, & y" copy of a copy is, of course, many degrees further from 
 y" original, yet it is admired by the few who he lets see it, & he is extolP'd 
 astonishingly, & his copy realy prefer'd to the original by many of our 
 connoiseurs. The picture my father bought dear to give him is much admird. 
 It is a woman sitting with a child on her lap naked, & in a reflected light ; the 
 composition is very remarkable, & n[ot out] of the way. The coloring, 
 preservation, & . . . . like your Venus. He swears it is by the same hand, & 
 indeed it looks like it ; but there is a deficiency in the profile of y= woman which 
 if it was possessed of, I should accede to its being Corre[ggio ?] It is certainly of 
 great merit, & is much admired now, tho' it was sold for 6 7 or 8 at a sale where 
 a picture sold for 600 & another 460. Patoun bought it afterwards for 100. I am 
 sorry that I do not give you better accounts of y' affairs, tho' I do not suppose 
 you will consider it as my fault. I have employ'd Cunningham, &c., & did not 
 despair of doing something this winter till long after they had given over hopes. 
 Pray get some Malta fossils ; some fine specimens of cinnaber from solfatarra. 
 If you can get any native sulphur attach'd to stones, &c., orpiment or auri- 
 pigmentum, which is nearly the same combination as what is call'd at Naples 
 cinnaber, tho' improperly, being a compound of sulphur & arsenic Any of these 
 specimens must be very fine, or I do not want them, having tolerably good ones 
 already. Gumming is making a watch ; it is to be plain with a second hand. It 
 
1773-] NELSON PAPERS. 21 
 
 will cost £i^o. If it is too dear I advise you to sell yours & keep it for yourself. 
 It will be as cheap as a good watch can be made for. My love to Lady 
 Hamilton. I am preparing an entertaining letter for you, & soon I will compleat 
 it. Y"^,' &c. 
 
 ' Our Friend L^' Craven* is gone to the country for some time ; une passion 
 de son Excell. de France is the reason. How far it went I know not, but y" 
 world is sure to make y" reports equal if not surpass truth ; but with so absurd a 
 man as L'* Cr. it is probable the hlat has been more than necessary. He was 
 obliged to force her to go into the coach, il y a de plus qui ne doit pas se disperser 
 oil, selon les apparanres, le Mart doit rotigir & S. Ex., si il a M favorisi, doit 
 briiler. Ly. Berkley & Ly. Craven's Brother are the exclaimers against infidelity ; 
 in short, the world is topsy turvy.' 
 
 30. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 June 8th, 1773. 3J pages folio, with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 ' My dear Charles, — I wrote to you some time last month ; what I said to you 
 the Lord knows, for I have forgot. I have now your letter of the nth of May 
 before me ; first I heartily wish you success in your plan of getting into employ- 
 ment, but from what has passed already I do not think you will just now get into 
 the Board of Trade ; I hope, however, Ld. G. will not give up upon any other 
 condition. 
 
 ' Lord Carmarthen's pictures are with the painter Antoniani, waiting for his 
 Lordship's directions. I will now direct Mr. Lee, who was, I think, Ld. C.'s 
 banker, to pack them up & send them to him, but I do not recollect he ever 
 before gave me directions about them. 
 
 ' I have receiv'd the electrical aparatus from Nooth, & I wish you wou'd pay 
 him for it (it will not be much) when you see him. As you will have a ballance 
 to pay me, we must keep an account current. I have told Ramsden, also, you 
 will pay him a little bill of mine when due. By the by, I have heard nothing of a 
 curious account I sent to Dr. Maty,t for the Royal Society, of the lightening 
 which fell at Lord Tylney's here, there was a drawing with it ; I hope it has been 
 read, for I am sure it wou'd be satisfactory to all lovers of electricity — do enquire 
 about it ; the date of that letter was March 23rd. As to my collecting minerals, 
 I have not an idea of it ; I love every specimen that can serve to prove that there 
 is nothing in its primitive state upon the surface of the globe within our reach, 
 which I am confident is the case ; therefore, fossils with a nucleus of agate flints, 
 crystals, minerals, &c., proving their after growth, I shou'd be glad to have, but 
 your having a compleat collection is quite sufficient for me. I have bought of 
 Count Wurmbrand | a very pretty collection, consisting of 293 specimens of the 
 Saxon minerals, there is a catalogue with it in German ; the Count was several 
 years Minister at Dresden, & as he is going back to Germany, & is low in cash, 
 he was tempted to part with it for near 25/. I shall send them to you by the first 
 ship, &, if they suit you, you may keep them for the same price ; if not, I will keep 
 them myself, as it is a Httle collection compleat of its kind. As to the minerals 
 which I have of these kingdoms, & are not in any order, I shall not send them 
 yet, as I hope to get some one to put them in order for me. I will write to Malta 
 for all fossils of that island, & I promise you exceplent] specimens from Solfaterra, 
 &c. You are like me, & don't like to do anything by halves. 600/. for minerals — 
 cattercl non e una bagatella ! To be sure I am a little disappointed that my 
 
 * Elizabeth Berkeley, Lady Craven, afterwards Margravine of Anspach, 1750-1828. She 
 was the daughter of Augustus, 4th Earl of Berkeley, and married first, in 1767, William, after- 
 wards Lord Craven, from whom she separated in 1780, and after his death (in 1791) the 
 Margrave of Anspach. In 1825 she published her Memoirs. 
 
 t Matthieu Mathy, 1718-1776, an eminent Dutch physician and writer, who, after taking his 
 degree at Leyden, came to England in 1740, and began to publish at the Hague the Journal 
 Britannique. In 1758 he became Fellow and in 1765 Secretary of the Royal Society; in 
 1772 Principal Librarian, British Museum. No reading of any such 'curious account' is noticed 
 in the Philosophical Transactions of the period. 
 
 % Franz Joseph I., Graf von Wurmbrand, 1737- 1806. Ambassador to Copenhagen, 
 Dresden, and Naples successively. 
 
22 THE HAMILTON AND [i773- 
 
 Corregio is not sold, as it wou'd so nicely free me from debt, thb' I will answer for 
 it no one will ever enjoy it more than I have, or shall still if it remains mine. 
 Ld. Spencer & the D. of D[evonshire] shou'd, in point of honour, push the raffle, 
 for they prevented my offering it to the Empress of Russia. You and I think 
 exactly alike of the English connoisseurs— few indeed there are who merit that 
 name. I am sorry for Ly. Crav., she is a sweet little creature, qui a I'honneur de 
 me plaire. I have made a collection of antique fragments of glass, for nothing 
 whole of this sort but one vase in the Barberini Library exists at present. I am 
 sure that vases of this nature were what the ancients call'd Murrhins, & were in 
 so great esteem. A little box containing my whole collection is sent to you, as 
 you will see by the inclosed bill of loading, & I desire you will send them 
 immediately to Mr. Bolton, at Birmingham, that he may endeavour to profit by 
 these specimens. Vases of good forms of this kind of composition, imitating 
 onyx, verd-antique, serpentine, &c., with or moulu, wou'd be charming. I have 
 wrote him a letter with my remarks c& hints, but I hope you will go this summer 
 & see that he works at the Murrhine new manufacture, for so he may call it if he 
 succeeds. 
 
 'P.S. — I have filled my paper. Remember to charge the Birmingham 
 dressing-boxes to my acct. also. Ever yrs.,' &c. 
 
 31. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated St. 
 James's Square, July lOth, 1773. 3 pages 4to. [H.J 
 
 ' I am sorry to communicate to you the loss we have had in our family. My 
 father for these two months past suffer'd several violent attacks of a disorder in 
 his bowels, the situation of his constitution was such as to give us little hopes of 
 his living long, but did not expect that his time was so near. On Tuesday last he 
 died, and Nature seem'd exhausted, & his death was easy, and by him hardly 
 expected. He had prevailed on me a week before to go on a little party into 
 Wales. I thought he would have survived his complaints, and returned only the 
 day after he died. I must feel greatly for a father at this period. I am indebted 
 to him for much during his lifetime, & I do not at all regret that his last will 
 proves me to have acted a very disinterested part ; for, considering the terms 
 which he was in with my brother & the stile in which he talked to me, it was easy 
 to have play'd my own game ; the sums in his own power were great, and he 
 mentioned more than once that Ld. G. did not seem to be obliged to him, 
 therefore he thought himself free to do with his own what he pleased. Patoun 
 was likewise a confidant of his intentions, and I was so afraid, & took some pains 
 to remove the possibility of appearing to act a double part to the detriment of my 
 brother, that he has left me .£100, to buy a ring and a declaration that my 
 annuity is in lieu of the sums settled on me by marriage settlements ; to Robert 
 the same ; therefore, as he has his commission of lieutenant, he is the richer 
 man. My father allowed me ;£2oo pr. ann. during his pleasure which now 
 ceases, on the whole I am 200 pr. ann. poorer than when he was alive. 1 know 
 my brother will make it up, indeed he very handsomely said he would make us 
 each a present of ^5000, whether of the principle or interest I do not know, but I 
 am confident he will act very handsomely by us. I hope to get my brother's 
 place, & then I shall do very well as a single man, but as the greater part of it 
 will be from hand to mouth, and the remainder for life only, I shall never be able 
 to settle in a family way ; very few chances there are of my being made miserable 
 by such a negative, but such is the perverseness of mankind, may be I may be 
 the more eager about it. 
 
 ' I shall be tied down to London, as I shall attend Parliament, being almost 
 certain of being elected. I shall endeavour to pass my time happily, and to be 
 of use to my brother ; if I ever see him misconstrue my readiness, I will then 
 change my plan, and turn myself to foreign affairs, and think I have a right to 
 live anywhere. My brothers bore the loss properly ; I hope that living among 
 friends will make my elder brother happy in his stile of life. It is a time of great 
 consequence to him, & if he chuses may make a great figure in his own stile, he 
 has a noble place to work on, and I should be content with such a field. 
 
 ' I will write more fully another time. Believe me,' &c. 
 My amitih to L^ Hamilton.' 
 
I774-] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 23 
 
 32. A. L. S. from Sir Robert Murray Keith* to Ciiarles Greville. Dated 
 
 Vienna, January sth, 1774. 2| pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I defer'd answering your obliging letter of the 22nd October, till I could 
 assure you that your commissions are in a fair way of being speedily and 
 carefully executed. Prince Charles Lichtenstein very readily undertook the 
 direction of them, and I gave him in writing a copy of all the instructions (to 
 speak in the stile of my diplomatical profession), with which you had honour'd 
 me. When the fire-arms are ready, I shall pay for them, and send them to 
 Trieste, to be ship'd from thence for the River Thames. This I take to be the 
 best and surest conveyance. 
 
 ' It would be superfluous to tell you how much the whole Leichtenstein and 
 Kaunitz families as well as many others here interest themselves in whatever 
 concerns you. Not a week passes but there are repeated enquiries made on all 
 hands of what Mr. Greville is doing? what establishment he has in view? and, 
 above all, why he does not write to his old Vienna friends ? I tell thtm that Mr. 
 Greville is a very honest fellow, who thinks much more about other people than 
 himself, who must be handsomely provided for soon, but in his own careless 
 way, and that at present, being a younger brother, he does not dip deep in 
 correspondences to avoid the expence of postage. How do you like my apology? 
 It is the best I can make for you. But I send you inclosed a letter from the 
 Princesse Frangoise, which, nolens, volens, must produce an answer. It ought to 
 have been accompanied with a silver medal of the late Prince Joseph Wenzel, 
 which I am in possession of, but cannot forward to you till some traveller 
 sets out from hence for England. To tell the truth, I am not sorry to 
 keep back the piece of money till you have made a proper return to the 
 lady's letter, lest your breaking so long a silence should be imputed to the love 
 of lucre. 
 
 ' Pray let me know if the Forte Piano your Father sent to the Empress has 
 been paid for in England, or if I am to get the money, & likewise (if the last is 
 the case) what is the exact price. I could scold you for your excuses in regard to 
 the trouble you have given me. I hope you are convinced of the sincere regard 
 and attachment with which I ever am,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — Tell your Vienna friends whether or not you still intend to go in quest 
 of new worlds ? They say that no man has better reason to be pleased with the 
 old one than yourself 
 
 33. A. L. S. from the Earl of Pembroke to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 
 Wilton House, February iSth, 1774. [h.] 
 
 ' Many thanks to you, my dear Hamilton, for a letter I have just received 
 from you, I do not how, dated 24th August, '73. Probably the Signora Marchetti, 
 tired of not hearing of me in London, has sent it to my house there, from whence 
 my porter, I suppose, has forwarded it to me here. I have not seen her yet, so 
 can say nothing of her beauty or other qualitys, but will wait on her the first 
 opportunity. The only two operas which were performed during the little time I 
 staid in London were both serious. How is Lady Hamilton? Well, I suppose, 
 by your saying to the contrary. Lady P. & I join in best comp^ & wishes 
 to you both. When, pray, do you think of seeing England again ? Soon, I hope. 
 Why don't you make them give you some comfortable place here ? Half pay at 
 least, & live amongst your friends ? For, after all, the Foreign Ministerial trade 
 is a sort of banishment, though an agreable one, where you are, I believe. I take 
 for granted our friend Huntingdon has visited you. I hear he is a charming 
 mixture of a great man dismissed, & a bear-leader governor. There is nothing 
 
 * Sir Robert Murray Keith, 1730-1795, lieutenant and diplomatist, who, after serving at 
 Minden, was, through the interest of General Conway, sent in 1769 as minister to Saxony, 
 whence he was transferred in 1771 to Copenhagen, when he distinguished himself by his spirited 
 conduct in rescuing Sophia Matilda, Queen of Denmark, sister of George III. In 1772 he was 
 transferred to Vienna, where he remained for twenty years. 
 
24 THE HAMILTON AND [i774. 
 
 new here. You must have heard of Fox's fire after the play.* I went off in the 
 fools coat, in which I acted, George Selwyn says. Poor Ste. all his receipts are 
 burnt. Adieu ! Ever yours,' &c. 
 
 ' If anybody remembers me, pray remember me to them.' 
 
 34. A. L. S. the same to the same. Dated, Wilton House, April i6th, 
 
 1774. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' Our friend Huntingdon may say what he pleases, my dear Harnilton, but I 
 will be hanged if he does long most miserably for a Court station again. I do not 
 recollect the Princess Piedemonte, but y" Neapolitan Ladys are very fond of the 
 old trade, & his Lordship loves it vastly, you know, so that sure there must be a 
 litde business betwixt them after the vingt-un. How comes it that the Count of 
 Dublin, got so far as Rome, does not see Naples ? That sounds not wise at least. 
 Pray how is Jamineau.? The Dutchess of Kingston] should in my mind turn 
 Catholick, & end her days at Rome. Indeed it would be a nobly proper measure, 
 & answer all her purposes of pride & dclat wonderfully well. I knew the pretender's 
 wife at Brussels, & liked her exceedingly, so well that I should be happy to endeavor 
 to prevent the extinction of the Stuart line, with the view of mending the breed 
 too, for hithertoo it has been a miserable one. Pray how and where do the 
 English see her ? In any societys mixed ? You are certainly right to prefer 
 living well abroad to starving at home, but have you not been long enough an 
 exile to expect half pay & something of credit & comfort at home ? I have a 
 little daughter nine months old, but nothing more coming, I thank you. I write 
 by this post to order the payment of £12 12s. 6d. for you to Messrs. Ross & Gray, 
 many thanks to you. Lady P's and my best compliments wait on Ldy. Hamilton 
 & you. She is perfectly well, I hope. I just saw the appearance of your protetta 
 on the stage, but she hit my eye so little, that, being persuaded too of your 
 indifference about her, I kept aloof, & took no notice of my being the person to 
 whom she sent a letter of yours. How is La Principessa delle Cinque Piaghe, 
 pray? Seaforth has taken Hariet Powell from Charlotte Hayes's, & keeps her in 
 the French stile, ma.gn\{ictnt maison ?«(?«//£, Jewells &c., & is not at all jealous. I 
 shall hardly cross the water again, till my sont is abroad, but I hope you will be 
 settled at home amongst us ere that. He will probably set out in about two 
 years, & be absent about four, during which I may make two or three trips after 
 him. Adieu, ever yours. 
 
 'P.S. — Is it true, pray, that your quondam virtu French acquaintance has 
 whitewashed all the statues in the Florence Gallery ? Are you as lava wise, I 
 had almost said mad, as ever ? Remember me kindly, pray, to Huntingdon, 
 & tell him that I beg he will come home & be a good boy, for that I miss him 
 vastly at St. James always still. Why don't you get yourself moved from your 
 Equerryship to a Groomship?' 
 
 35. L. S. from the Duchess of Kingston to the same. Dated Rome, 
 
 May 7th, 1774. [h.] 
 
 She hears the palace is very fine, but as there is no garden she fears it will 
 not do. Cardinal Albani has lent her his villa, and she proposes to spend the 
 winter months in Italy. 
 
 36. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Vietri, 
 
 near Salerno, June 28th, 1774. 5 pages 4to., with Superscription 
 
 and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I am anxious, my dear Charles, to hear that you have gained strength & 
 are perfectly recover'd ; the Newspaper informed me of your having been at 
 
 * Referring to the fire at Winterslow House, near Salisbury, the seat of Lord Holland, which 
 was burnt to the ground on Sunday morning, January 9th. The plays of The Fair Penitent and 
 High Life Below jVazVjhad been performed on the Saturday evening, the principal partsbeing filled 
 by Lord Pembroke, the Hons. Stephen and Charles Fox, Lady Mary Fox, and Miss Herbert. 
 
 + George Augustus Lord Herbert, afterwards nth Earl of Pembroke, 1759-1827. 
 
I774-] NELSON PAPERS. 25 
 
 Court, which was some comfort to me. We are retired to this place to breath a 
 little fresh air, & as I have my boat here I can explore the gulph of Salerno, 
 which is by much the most beautifull I ever saw. We were yesterday at 
 Amalphi, no scene that can be described, of hanging rocks, orange, lemon trees, 
 olive, myrtle, villages of white houses intermixed, huge mountains on the back- 
 ground, semicircular bays of white pebles, in the midst of these rocks with 
 fishermen's houses, boats and nets, cascades tumbling from these rocks into the 
 sea, can come up to what we saw yesterday. It is realy worth your while to 
 come here again to see this coast. You saw something of the lava in your way 
 to Paestum, & was pleased with it. I suppose you upon some ramble, but hope 
 your head quarters will be at the Castle, or I shall be sorry for your Br. I think 
 I told you in my last of poor Wittich. Her parents will not consent to her 
 marrying Guido & have order'd her home, she will not obey; we have turned 
 away Guido & as I realy think she will not be happy in this country I endeavour 
 to persuade her to forget him, but that will not do. The struggles between love 
 and duty make her very interesting. I take her hand, the poor thing squeezes it 
 when she thinks of Guido, & cries, & in the midst of all this distress the 
 devil will have it that ....&! grow confoundedly confused in all my 
 councils I dare say she will elope & change her religion, without which she 
 cannot marry him ; however, I must do all in my power (seemingly at least) to 
 prevent the loss of a sheep from our Protestant flock. She is 22 years old ; one 
 cannot force her, & her father, whom I advised to come & fetch her, says he 
 cannot leave his business. You see how it will end. I forget when I wrote to 
 you last, but it was not long since, so have not much to add. I have made a little 
 Picina in a rock near my villa at Pausillipo, where the sea water has free ingress 
 & egress, by which I have the means of examining the manners of many curious 
 sea productions. I have all sorts of insects & will have all the polype kind, 
 besides I have a longer reservoir for the great fish. I am at work upon the 
 torpedo of which I have many living. I never knew that the skuttle fish of all 
 that tribe swim indifferently head or tail foremost. The skuttle fish have laid 
 eggs in my stew. I opened one the other day, &, having taken off" the black 
 outward skin, found the embryo in a transparent bladder in which it swam, & 
 being disturbed it squirted its ink even into the egg. If I had more time & 
 any one to partake of these experiments, I am sure very great discoveries might 
 be made. These peaceable seas abound with a variety of plants, insects, & frutti 
 di mare, as they call them, which are easily got by the means of divers. I will at 
 least have drawings made of every thing new and as I think extraordinary. I 
 must torment you again for Bancks's observation on Hecla, as I am going on with 
 the subject of Volcanoes, and if anything new should [come out] relative to 
 Natural History or Elec[tricity] order Cadell the Bookseller to [send it] to me ; 
 what are those Tours of [Wales] of Pennants ? My Dear Charles, it is too hot to 
 write any more even if my paper would allow of it. Ever yours,' &c. 
 
 37. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated ' Naples, 
 August 2nd, 1774. Farenheit's thermometer at 83I. One o'clock.' 
 5 pages 4to. and folio, with Superscription and Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' Tho' my head is not in the best state owing to this confounded heat, I will 
 not neglect answering your two last of the ist of July. I am quite happy that the 
 lining of the Corregio has succeeded so well, and think with you that Patoun had 
 better not touch it. I know that he is the cause of my not having sold the 
 picture, yet do not believe that he did it maliciously. You may be very sure that 
 I shall be always ready to come into any proposal of yours when I can do it with 
 any degree of satisfaction to myself, but I cannot come into your present proposal. 
 Enjoy my excellent piece now she is sound, till I can possess her again. I shou'd 
 not like to make you pay 25/. per annum for an enjoyment you may have some 
 time gratis. God knows how long ; but if I ever settle in England she will be a 
 comfort to me, as I know there is not a better picture in Europe. If from lining 
 the hurt on the leg, & some little chips appear, you can without any danger let 
 them be stippled in with water colours, that the picture may not lose of its effect. 
 
26 THE HAMILTON AND [1774. 
 
 There was a certain painter & picture cleaner call'd Moreland, a friend of mine, who 
 wou'd do anything for me. If you can find him one of these days do take him home 
 with you & see if he will undertake it, but mind it must be in water colour, not oil, 
 for that can hurt nothing, it was the method I did at Naples. On the nose there is 
 a little speck & many little ones on the body, these touched with the tints such as 
 those nearest them prevent a false effect that spoils union. I stick to my text, 
 unless I get 3000/. for it I shall not part with it. I went to Boranellos upon the 
 receipt of your letter, & have secured only two little pictures for you, St. Catherine 
 of Sienna by Parmegiano, & a he-saint by Lod. Caracci, both original, & the 
 former excellent of its kind, tho' blisterd, as I told you. On that account, & the 
 he-saint being a little dark, I haggled till I got them both for 100 ducats instead 
 of 70 each, & I can assure you that the Parmegiano is worth three times the sum, 
 for originals of that Master are very scarce. It is exactly in the stile of L'' 
 Spencer's Anunciation at Althorpe, which is likewise, if I recollect, also blister'd ; 
 that picture cost his Lordship's father a great sum. The characters of the boy & 
 girl in the Anibal Carach are vulgar, but finely touched ; however the price is 
 kept up to 500 ducats, & the price of the others you wish for are still too high. 
 Perhaps I may get the Guido Cagnacci, which is a fine picture. I have laid out 
 there for your brother (a portrait of a boy with a racket & ball in his hands) 30 
 ducats. It will make an excellent family picture, & I know he will thank me for 
 it. It shall be sent with your two by the first ship. I was just going to order 
 some porter, but as you will send me some I shall depend thereon. There is a 
 sort of porter brew'd on purpose for exportation. I wish you cou'd dispose of my 
 Luca Jordanos to the Duchess of Devonshire,* they wou'd make her a delightful! 
 closet. As to the other pictures, I see that of late it has not been in your power 
 to think about them. Take care they don't suffer, & in time I daresay I shall 
 dispose of those I do not wish to keep. I am glad you regain strength ; take 
 care of yourself. The heat makes me so stupid that I cannot write more than 
 that Wittich is gone off to Guido, & is changing her religion, & . . . . like a devil. 
 I can't help it, & so I have told her father. It is a great distress to L^ H., but 
 as I am like yourself, a philosopher, I take the good & the bad as they come, 
 patiently. ' Yours,' &c. 
 
 38. A. L. S. from the Duchess of Argyllf to SirW. Hamilton. Dated 
 
 'Argyll House, Aug. y" I2th, 1774.' 3f pages 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' I have with great pleasure received your congratulations upon my daughter's 
 marriage. It is an event that gives me the greatest satisfaction. Lady Betty 
 might have taken the name of Stanley long ago, if she had chose it. A very 
 sincere attachment on his side has at last produced the same on hers, & I have 
 the comfort of knowing that she is really happy. You will do her great injustice 
 if you imagine that her great vivacity prevents her thinking when it is of real con- 
 sequence, & I am confident she will make a good wife, she has all the ingredients 
 necessary, having the very best temper in the world, a good understanding, & 
 good principles. You must forgive my enlarging upon my daughter's merits, & I 
 am sure would easily excuse me if you could guess to what a degree I love her. 
 The Duke of Argyll desires me to say many kind things for him, you must imagine 
 them, but pray give my best compts. to Lady Hamilton, & believe me,' &c. 
 
 * Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, 1757-1806, eldest daughter of John, 1st Earl Spencer. 
 By her marriage in June 1774 with William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, the first match 
 in England, she became the reigning queen of Society, and was the theme of several popular 
 ballads. 
 
 t Elizabeth, Duchess of Argyll, 1730-1790, one of the beautiful Misses Gunning. She 
 married first, in 1752, James, 6th Duke of Hamilton, and secondly, in 1759, John, 5th Duke of 
 Argyll, and was created Baroness Hamilton in her own right in 1766. The daughter referred 
 to was Lady Elizabeth Hamilton, 1757-1797, who married in June 1774 Edward Stanley, 
 I2th Earl of Derby. Horace Walpole, writing of the marriage, says : ' He gives her a most 
 splendid entertainment to-morrow at his villa in Surrey, and calls it a fHe champHre. It will 
 cost five thousand pounds. Everybody is to go in masquerade, but not in mask. He has 
 bought all the orange-trees round London, and the haycocks, I suppose, are to be made of 
 straw-coloured satin.' 
 
1774.] NELSON PAPERS. 27 
 
 39. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 
 October 2nd, 1774. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal. [l-l.J 
 
 ' Least I shou'd mislay this bill of loading I send it you directly. You will 
 find in the case a hairy Magdalen of Cambiasi in the stile of Corregio, which I 
 make you a present of, & will do well enough hung up high or over a door as the 
 character is sweet, but the picture has suffer'd a little, & was probably longer. 
 You will likewise find the little St. Catherine of Siena by Parmegiano ; it is 
 sweetly painted, & most undoubtedly original, & I do assure you that originals of 
 this master are as scarce as Corregio's. This is worth all your money. The little 
 saint of Lod. Carracci is also original, but a little black. I have not attempted to 
 clean either. At the bottom of the case is the boy's portrait, which will do very 
 well for your brother's purpose at the Castle, & may be christened Fulk, as the 
 Spanish dress was worn in Eng* in Elizabeth's time. 
 
 ' I hope you have perfectly recoverd your health & strength by your summer 
 jaunts. It is no news to you that the Pope is dead. He was govern'd much by a 
 Padre Buontempo. The day after the Pope's death the statue of Pasquin 
 iVEarforio was coverd with a cloak & an umbrella [on which] was written efinito tl 
 Buo7i\tempo\ Ha ! ha ! ha ! Adieu, I have no more time. Ever yours,' &c. 
 
 'P.S.— I directed the case of pictures to \^ Warwick, as the full length 
 occupies the most place ; that & your little pictures have decent frames.' 
 
 40. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Naples, Dec. 20th, 1774. 
 
 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I was in hopes by this post to have informed you that I had made the pur- 
 chase of the three best pictures in Baranello's collection for you, that is the Anibal 
 Carrach, the Guido Cagnacci, & the Albano. He insists upon 950 ducats, & I 
 will positively give but 750. If you get them for that, which I think you will at 
 last, you will thank me, for I am sure you may sell the Carrach, if you should not 
 like it, for the whole sum, & enjoy Lucretia & the Graces for nothing. If I do 
 make the purchase I must draw on you at once for the money, for I have worse 
 than nothing in Ross's hands, owing to the great arrear of the Civil List. By the 
 by, I expect you will get up when the Civil List is before the House & urge the 
 necessity of paying the King's debts, or at least as much as will prevent foreign 
 Ministers from being drove to expose themselves abroad. Without a joke some- 
 thing very good might be said on the subject. There is an Englishman here who 
 imitates medals in sulphur, so that it is impossible to know the copies from the 
 originals. He has had the liberty of copying from the Vatican & best collections. 
 I have taken a set for myself & one for Lord Warwick, 800 in the collection, at a 
 Paul a piece, so that it will not ruin him, & will answer every purpose of a real 
 collection of medals. They are excellent, or I wou'd not have bought them for him. 
 
 ' I thought I made Bolton a very valuable present when I sent him the collec- 
 tion of fragments of antique glass, & have in return never heard a word from him 
 or you upon the subject. 
 
 ' Pray go to the Antiquary Society when my account of Pompeii is laid before 
 them. I suppose Dr. Milles,* the President, has already received it. I am plagued 
 to death about the inclosed commission. Do let it be executed exactly & sent me 
 by the fir^t opportunity. He is a powerfull man at Court, & I must oblige him. 
 Remember also to charge all my commissions to my account, for I am sure 
 neither you or I have any design of wronging one another, but we are both con- 
 foundedly negligent on money matters. 
 
 * I wish you was here, there is a fine girl. Miss St. George. Her father died 
 yesterday, & left her clear 6000/. per ann. She dances admirably, & is accom- 
 plished, le nez un peu retrouss^ ; but I wish you was here to at her. Adieu, my 
 dear Charles. Ever y",' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — I rejoice at the Cathcarts't intended marriages.' 
 
 * Jeremiah Milles, 1714-1784, a divine and antiquary, made Dean of Exeter in 1762, and 
 President of the Society of Antiquaries in 1765. 
 
 t On the day the letter was written two of Sir William's nieces, Lady Jane and Lady 
 Mary Cathcart, were married; the former to John, 4th Duke of Atholl: she died in 1791 ; and 
 the latter to Sir Thomas Grab' n, the hero of Barossa; she died in 1792. 
 
28 THE HAMILTON AND [i774- 
 
 41. A. L. from the Princess Elizabeth* to Sir W. Hamilton. No date 
 
 (1774). \ page 4to., with Envelope and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' La Princesse Elisabeth prie son Excellence d'Amilton d'agreer ses remerci- 
 ments pour la bontd que son Excellence a eu de lui faire exp^dier les pieces 
 ndcessaires pour son depard. EUe est fachee de ce qu'elle n'a pas eu le bonheur 
 de parler k votre Excellence ; mais le terns ne s'acomode pas k notre volenti. 
 Nous devons nous soumettre au concours des causes. Dans quelle dtat que ce 
 trouveras la Princesse elle ce fera gloire de tdmoigner k votre Excellence toute 
 I'etendue de son estime et attachement pour la nation Anglaise. Le sort ce lasse 
 enfin de persecuter I'inocence. Le terns montrera tout. 
 
 42. Copy-f- of Letter from the same to the same. Dated Rome, 
 
 December 21st, 1774. 8 pages folio. [h.J 
 
 ' Pour votre Excellence seul. 
 
 ' Votre Excellence — J'ai, I'honneur d'ecrire k V. E. en bien des vues. Le 
 premier motif qui m'y engage est votre procedd noble et poll k mon egard qui 
 m'a donnd tant de confiance et d'estime ; ne soyez pas surpris, je vous prie, tout 
 ce que je fait est pour le bien commun, le ciel envoye des personnes qui sont des 
 fleaux pour le genre humain, et des autres qui les consolent. 
 
 ' J'ai balance longtemps k faire ce pas ; je voie que la raison, le bons sens m'y 
 autorise, et ce qui appui le plus ma demarche c'est que j'expose mes pens^es k 
 un ministre ^claire et juste, qui fait voir son caract^re noble et juste dans toutes 
 les occasions. Vous le serai encore plus k mon dgard, car mon sort est trop 
 touchant pour qu'une 4me susceptible de sentiment comme la votre s'y refuse. 
 J'ai fait tout ce qui a dte possible, tout a i\.€ inutile k cause que les personnes qui 
 devaient travailler systematiquement se sont perdues dans des esperances, qui 
 paroissoit etre fondees ; elle I'dtaient en effet, mais elle n'etaient pas soutenu par 
 la force, ni meme raisonnee. 
 
 'Je commencerai k faire une tableau juste de toutes les ^v^nemens et 
 epoques k votre Excellence. J'attends des conseils et lumieres dans I'effet de 
 votre bonte, et si le ciel me favorise je pourrai par une retour de reconnaissance 
 vous etre utile ; la voye est sure par lequelle je fais les pr^sentes copies ci-jointes 
 k votre Excellence. Pour que personne ne se doute de rien, tant ici qu'k Naples, 
 j'ai fait partir une estafet k un correspondent d'une personne k qui je puis me fier. 
 
 'Voici un abregd de tout les fails qui m'ont amen6 dans ces pays, et les 
 motifs qui me font agir, et les raisons qui m'autorisent k prier votre Excellence 
 de vouloir m'accorder des passeports de sa main pour passer par les pays de 
 I'empereur, et quelques lettres de recommendation pour le ministre de votre cour 
 k Vienne, et pour celui de Constantinople ; il est impossible que je passe autre- 
 raent. Je ne puis me decouvrir k personne. Les uns ont perdu, les autres n'ont 
 pas de pouvoir, et peut-etre pas de bonne volontd Je ne puis m'adresser done 
 qu'k un ministre qui reunis la droiture, le pouvoir et la bonne volont^. 
 
 ' Depuis que je suis arriv^ ici je n'ai parle k personne k cause qu'il n'y a pas 
 moyen de s'y fier ; les uns sont d'une parti, les autres d'une autre, et d'autres 
 garde une parfaite neutrality. 
 
 ' Mon ^tat n'en souffre point k cause que je dois vaincre ou mourir. J'ai de 
 grandes facilitds de r^ussir, et voici comment ; mon parti est le plus fort dans le 
 pais. Mons. de Bouhachew est en grande avantage ; il est bon gdndral, bon 
 mathematicien ; il a beaucoup de practiquej'sgait la tactique mihtaire k fonds, il 
 
 * The person calling herself alternately the Princess Elizabeth, the Princess of Bamberg, 
 the Princess Vladimir, and the Princess Tarakanof, was an adventuress, of German birth, i7.'io- 
 1 775> ^^° pretended to be the daughter of the Empress Elizabeth and Count Alexis Razoumofski, 
 whom Elizabeth had secretly married, but whose children by her had all died. In 1773 
 she went to Germany, and made a conquest of Philip Ferdinand, Count of Limburg. As 
 will be seen from Letters Nos. 40 et seq., she eventually arrived in Italy. Count OrlofPs 
 instructions being that he should by any means in his power get her conveyed to Russia ; he 
 pretended to marry her, put her on board a Russian man-of-war, and in May 1775 she arrived at 
 St. Petersburg, where she died in prison the December following. 
 
 + This copy is in the handwriting of Lady Hamilton. 
 
1 774-] NELSON PAPERS. 2g 
 
 a le talent de gagner le peuple, sgait la langue du pais, vu qu'il est lui-meme de la 
 nation Cosaque du Donski. 
 
 'Lorsque Mens, de Rosomowski vint k St. Petersbourg il avait ce jeune 
 Bouhachew k sa suite. L'lmp^ratrice, ma m^re, decora Mons. le Comte de 
 Rosomowsky de I'ordre de St. Andrd, at le fit grande Hetman de tous las Cosaques, 
 at se maria en secret avec lui. Mons. de Bouhachew fut fait page de I'lmp^ra- 
 tnce; alle vit que ce jeune homme avait beaucoup de dispositions pour I'art 
 militaire, elle le fit aller k Berlin, ou il se forma et devint ce qu'il est \ pr(^sent. 
 
 ' Pendant ces antrefaites ma m^re mourut : J'dtais agee de huit k neuf ans. 
 Elle avait fait son testament en ma faveur, et Pierre trois devaient me faire (Slaver. 
 ' Je fut envoye en Sib^rie, oti je fut passe une an. J'en sorti par la compassion 
 d un pretre. II me mena k la capital de Donskoi, ou les amis de mon p^re me 
 cach&rent. Je fut empoisonn(fe dans la maison par une espfece de gouvernante ; 
 on me sauva la vie par des remedes, et on m'envoya en Parse chaz un parent de 
 mon pere, Mons. de Rosomowski, qui etait alia du tems que Scha Tamas etoit 
 encore roi de Perse. Ce monarque le combla de bont^ ; il s'y fixa pour sa vie ; 
 il posfede de grand biens ; il me fit donner toute I'education possible, fit venir 
 des maitras en diffdrents arts at sciences, et da diff^rentes langues. 
 
 ' Comme la Perse a une grande commerce en toutes las pais orientaux, et 
 surtout dans les provinces Asiatiques qui sont soumises k notre empire, il trouva 
 moyen de concilier beaucoup de personnes de la nation, qui dtoit intere'ssd par 
 aux-menies k entrer dans son plan. Mons. de Bouhachew d'una autre cote agissoit 
 comme il pouvoit, c'est-k-dire k la cour de Berlin indirectement et sacretement. 
 Las personnes qui s'etoiant unis avac mon parent en Perse firent aussitot dclore 
 leurs desseins par des voyes inconnues dans las provinces qui sont les plus 
 voisines de la Perse, dependante de la Russie. On vit tous les pauplades se 
 liguer ensemble. Mons. de Bouhachew abandonna aussitot I'Europe et vola k 
 la tete de toutes nos nations delivras toutes ces pauvres innocents qui gemissant 
 dans les cabanes de la Sib^rie entre la via et la mort. 
 
 'Mon parent me fit partir pour I'Europe accompagn^ d'un homma docte et 
 sage. Je passoit k travers de toutes nos nations, tant sauvaga que chretiennes. 
 J'arivoit dans le plus grande incognito k Berlin, at de Ik je vint dans toutes cas 
 pais. Je concihfes en passant quelques personnes utiles, et je pris la resolution 
 d'aller k Constantinople pour trailer en personne avec la Grand Seigneur. Tous 
 mes amis na purent qu'aprouver ma resolution. Ja me rendit k cat fin k Vanise 
 pour passer avec le Prince de Radziville jusqu'k Constantinople ; ja trouvoit le 
 Prince sur son depart pour Raguse. 
 
 'Avant mon depart pour Venise, Milord de Montague vint ma voir. II est 
 aussi prudent que sage, et a le coeur excellent, et il est de bon conseil. II 
 approuva mes entreprises, et fit pour moi ca qu'un frfera ne ferait pas. 
 
 ' Nous partimes le Prince de Raziville et moi pour Raguse, oii le Prince 
 devoit trouver le Firman du Sultan. Nous attendimes deux mois, nous 
 depensames des sommes, ayant 80 personnes k la suite. 
 
 ' Pendant ces entrefaites la nouvelle de la paix arriva. Quelle resolution 
 prendre dans des moments aussi critiques.? Quelques semainas avant cetta 
 nouvelle j'avais ecrit au grand Seigneur deux lettras, dont voici les copies.* 
 Nous avions plutot k craindre qu'k esp&er. Je persistoit k vouloir aller k 
 Constantinople, mais je n'y pus aller k cause que mas fonds etaiant epuise. II 
 fallut attandre ; nous trouvions partout des obstacles ; la mar, la saison, la longue 
 attente des lettras nouvelles qui restaient quelques fois 6 semaines en chemin. 
 Nous nous vimes oblig^ de prendre d'autres masures. Le Prince etoit oblige 
 d'allar k Venise, k cause qu'il avoit tant de monde de toutes les nations k sa suite, 
 et qui lui etoit plus nuisible qu'avantageux. 
 
 ' Ma santd ne me parmettoit pas de m'exposer k ^tre quelque semainas sur la 
 mar ; je pris la resolution de prendre la route de Naples. Je suis arrivee ici le 7; 
 je trouve que les nouvelles de difKrentes parts du monde, que la paix n'est pas 
 ratifi^ et que Mons. de Bouhachew etoit pris ; nous avons des lettres originelles 
 du contraire. 
 
 ' Le seul moyen qui me reste est de me transporter k Constantinople par la 
 
 * These copies and another enclosure follow this letter under Nos. 43, 44, and 45. 
 
30 THE HAMILTON AND [i774- 
 
 Hongrie ; mais comment passer ? Cette puissance est \\€ avec Catarine. Ici je 
 serais d^couverte ; cela ne ferait rien, mais pourquoi donner mati^re k la curiosity 
 et les d^penses ? Je suis mortifide de ce que je vous donne tant de peine, mais 
 que faire? Je ne crois pas au miracles, mais bien &. la possibility des choses qui 
 sont dans le pouvoir humain ; dirig^ par la droiture et le bon sens, mime par 
 la compassion, car tout etre raisonnable doit avoir compassion de mon sort. II 
 est cruel et terrassent, adoucissd-le, digne ministre, par une efifet de votre 4me 
 gdndreuse ; le ciel veillera sur vous. 
 
 ' Ma naissance, mon ^tat, ma vie m'est quelquefois k charge. Ce qui redouble 
 mon tourment et mon impatience c'est que je suis assur^, comme de mon 
 existence, que dfes que j'arriverai k Constantinople je renverserai cette irresolu- 
 tion qui provient d'une fausse politique, qui est une m^fiance naturelle que les 
 Orientaux ont des autres nations, et je perds ici mon temps. Je ddterminerai la 
 Porte k sauver son honneur, et k me seconder dans mes droits legitimes. Le 
 testament fait foi, je le tiens, je n'oublierai pas les int^rets de votre cour aupr&s de 
 la Porte ; car votre commerce souffre terriblement au Levant par ce traite qui a €\& 
 signd du Grand Vizir. Faites, je vous conjure, tout ce que vous pouvez. Je serai 
 toute ma vie en revanche avec les sentiments de reconnaissance pour toute la 
 nation Anglaise. 
 
 ' Ici les d^penses sont grandes ; je n'ai plus de fonds ; Milord de Montdgu 
 m'en preteroit s'il avoit les siens. Voici quelques unes de ses lettres. Si je 
 pouvois trouver une petite somme de 7000 sequins, je donnerai des assurances 
 sur des terres en Allemagne que le Due de Schleswig-Holstein, Prince, Comte 
 regnant de Limbourg, a eu en heritage de la maison de Linenge, fief de I'Electoral 
 de Treves. Le nom de ce comte est Oberstein, sur la Rhon frontifere de 
 Loraine ; car quand nous nous sommes vue sans argent nous avons commence k 
 contracter des dettes, qui doivent etre pay^ ici. Voyez mon 6tat, digne Ministre ; 
 vous ne pouvez pas me refuser par votre bon coeur quelques papiers qui me 
 serviront de surety partout oii je serai dans quelque danger. 
 
 ' Voici ce que votre Excellence peu faire sans se compromettre en rien ; ce 
 seroit de m'expddier une passeport sous le nom de Mad. Walmod, ou un autre, 
 comme si j'dtais Hanovrienne. Je sgai I'Allemand, une peu d'Anglois, par 
 consequent je ne serait pas trahi. Votre Excellence instruiroit le ministre de 
 votre cour k Vienne, et le meme ministre me donneroit les moyens de passer k 
 Constantinople. Je voulois aller moi-meme k Naples, mais j'ai craint que cela ne 
 feroit quelque mecontentement k V. E., comme il y a beaucoup d'Anglois ici V. E. 
 pouvoit dcrire k quelqu'un pour qu'ils s'interresse k mon ^gard, k condition qu'on 
 garderai le secret. Je laisse k V. E. de manager les choses selon son bon 
 plaisir ; vous avez plus de lumifere que moi. J'attends des conseils de votre part ; 
 toute ma vie sera accompagnd de la plus vive gratitude. 
 
 ' Je n'ai pas une moment k perdre. Je vous conjure faites des reflexions ; j'ai 
 une aveugle confiance en V. E. Si je pouvois vite partir d'ici j'arriverai encore 
 avant la fin de I'hyver k Constantinople, et avant que les troupes entre en campagne. 
 Vous voyez, digne ministre, que mon sort depend actuelleraent de V. E. Je ferais 
 de point en point tout ce que vous me dirai, et suis et serai toute ma vie avec 
 les sentiments les plus sinc^res,' &c. 
 
 'P.S. — J'ai beaucoup de lettres de personnes de votre nation ; je ne veux pas 
 vous fatigfuer.' 
 
 43, Copy* of Letter signed ' Montagu 't to 'Madame la Princesse 
 
 Elisabeth. Venice, September loth, 1774. 5 pages folio, [h,] 
 
 'Madame,— Mon destin est singulier, il faut qu'une personne comme Votre 
 Altesse, une Princesse nde pour faire le bonheur d'un empire, me rende malheureux. 
 Heias ! Madame, c'est cependant un fait. Ma liberty, mon independence, me 
 rendoit heureux et m'assuroit de tranquilite par une mediocrite, mais au-dessus du 
 
 * This copy is in the handwriting of Sir William Hamilton. 
 
 t This was apparently Edward Montagu, son of the celebrated Lady Mary Wortly Montagu, 
 the Duke of Kingston's sister. 
 
1 774-] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 31 
 
 besom. Informe des fortes pretensions de Votre Altesse je perdois ma liberty, je 
 ne pourrois plus faire de moins de m'int^resser \ son sort, et en m'y intdrressant 
 c en €toit fait de mon bonheur, men independence n'existe plus, et je ne peux plus 
 jouir de ma tranquility que quand je la sgaurai heureuse. Hflas ! Madame, que 
 la situation de Votre Altesse touche ! Cela n'est pas assez pour elle, il s'agit de la 
 seryir, il s'agit de I'^tre utile. C'en est trop pour moi, et il ne m'en reste qu'une 
 affliction ; qu'un desespoir de ne pas etre en etat de I'assister. La meme 
 raison qui m'empgchoit de pouvoir I'escorter quand elle partoit d'ici m'a toujours 
 emp^choit depuis de satisfaire h mon empressement de me rendre k ses ordres et 
 encore me met hors de pouvoir de voler k son aide ; le manque d'argent. L'affaire 
 del'hdntage du feu Due de Kingston* est loin d'etre finie; la princesse, sa veuve, 
 qui a I'honneur d'etre connue de Mons'' de Radiziville, n'est point encore arrive'e en 
 Italie. Je voulois au moins passer k Tunis, pour gtre dans un bon climat, pour 
 etre sur terre Mussulmane ; mais, non. Ton m'^crit que la crise en ces affaires, 
 tant de moi que de ma cousine germaine, ne me permet de m'^loigner un pas. 
 Qu'elle juge done de mon chagrin pour ce qui regarde Votre Altesse ; quand k 
 ma personne, je suis au-dessus de ma fortune. J'aurois refusd les emplois les 
 plus brilliants ; je croyois mon bonheur attach^ k son service, je me croyois d^jk 
 honore de sa protection, je me croyois distingu^ par un ordre de sa main, je la 
 voyois et la vois sur le trone. Le Sultan ne pent etre que touchd de son sort, il 
 ne pent que suivre son conseil ; j'aurais pu rdpondre du dernier, j'avois I'honneur 
 de le connoitre beaucoup, il m'honoroit d'une protection singulifere ; je ne connois 
 pas celui-ci, mais il a mal debute, il ne pent reparer sa faute que par deux maniferes ; 
 I'une de n'entrer dans aucune paix qui ne soit dictee par I'Angleterre et son 
 propre honneur, I'autre k mettre le sabre k la main, marcher k la tete de son 
 arm^e, combattre sous I'etendard de Mahomet, confondre ses ennemis par une 
 demarche bardie, et suivre les traces des premiers conqu^rants Arabes ; mais s'il 
 dcoute I'Autriche et la Prusse il n'en fera rien. Je le plains, je plains Votre 
 Altesse, mais comme Democrite je pleurs le sort des illustres malheureux parce 
 que je ne puis y remedier. V. Altesse a fait tout ce que la sagesse et la prudence 
 pouvoient dieter. Est-il possible que Mons. de Radziville ait depense I'argent 
 qu'il a regu ? Peu k la \6r\x6, mais beaucoup pour Raguse ; j'ai parle imm^diate- 
 ment k Mons. le Comte Polonois, qui me dit qu'il la pourroit assister, et qu'il la 
 ferait (peut-Stre). S'il s^avoit combien suffiroit ; je lui rdpliquai que 3 ou 4000 
 suffiroit ; il me repondit S. Altesse ne m'en a pas &rit ; je lui dit tout ce que 
 I'occasion et les circonstances me suggeroit, egard k I'importance du service, egard 
 k la mani^re de faire parvenir la somme k V. Altesse ; tout a etd inutile, sans 
 cependant donner d'autre raison que de repeter Pon ne m^en a pas ^crit. Ainsi 
 je ne vois pas qu'il soit possible de I'assister aussi promptement qu'il le faudroit et 
 qu'elle souhaitroit, mais je crois fermement que si Votre Altesse daignoit ^crire k 
 Mons. le Comte et lui demander une somme, pas trop forte, qu'il la fourniroit 
 immddiatement et je puis la faire toucher immddiatement k Raguse, car je connois 
 un negociant Raguso ici. A peine V. Altesse pourroit lire cette lettre, mon desespoir 
 tant m'affecte que je ne sgais quasi ce que je dis, et cette anxidtd empeche ma main 
 d'etre ferme ! Je sgaurois cependent toute ma vie dire et souscrire que je suis, et 
 que je serais toujours, avec le plus grand respect et I'attachement,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — Je souhaite que Votre Altesse trouve Mons. d'Holstein comme elle 
 dcrit. L'affaire de Valy me surprend ; I'officier de Mons. de Radziville a donner 
 k soupconner k Mons. le Comte Polonois qu'il reviendroit ici.' 
 
 44. Copy of Letter from the Princess Elizabeth to the Sultan of Turkey. 
 
 Dated Ragusa, August 24th, 1774. 3| pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' La Providence, qui veille toujours au bonheur de I'humanite, a revetu votre 
 Majeste Imperiale du sceptre attache k votre naissance ; mais les qualites qu'elle 
 y a jointes sont infiniment au-dessus du pouvoir absolu sur tant de peuples qui 
 
 * Evel3m Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston, who had died in 177 j. His widow was the 
 notorious Elizabeth Chudleigh, 1720-1788, afterwards convicted of bigamy, her first marriage, 
 with the Earl of Bristol, being considered valid. 
 
3-2 THE HAMILTON AND [1774. 
 
 adorent votre justice. Cette dquitd qui fait partie de votre 4me ^levde, fait que vos 
 ennemis baissent les yeux devant le plus grand empereur du monde, et que 
 d'autres qui ont dte persecutes par le sort implacable recourrent k votre cldmence 
 et justice. La force est naturelle k votre Majeste Impdriale ; par consequent 
 voilk tant de motifs k la fois qui ddterminent la Princesse Elisabeth, fiUe de feu 
 rimperatrice Elisabeth de toutes les Russies, &. rdclamer la supreme protection 
 de I'Empereur Ottoman. Elle dira en abreg^ les faits et malheurs qui I'ont 
 empeche de prendre cette rdsolution plustot. L'emprisonnement de la Princesse 
 en Sib^rie ^toit le premier obstacle ; le poison qu'on lui fit prendre la mirent 
 dans un etat que I'on fut longtemps k desesp^rer de ses jours ; la fuite chez un 
 parent de son pfere, le Hetman de Cosaques Prince de Rozumouski * — le tout se 
 suivit de prfes, de sorte que depuis I'age de neuf ans toute sa vie n'a eld qu'un 
 tissu de catastrophes, qui lui ont servi de guide dans toutes les occasions. 
 Voilk des raisons assez fortes pour affermir une 4me qui a €l€ toujours soutenue 
 par la Divine Providence. Le courage, I'amour de I'humanitd, la droiture, le tout 
 ne fait que la meme raison, par laquelle elle croit de son devoir de reclamer 
 les droits de la nature, et qui sont legitimes tant par la naissance de la Princesse 
 que par le testament qu'a fait rimp^ratrice, sa mfere. II n'est parie que d'elle 
 dans ce testament ; tfest pourquoi les ennemis de sa gloire et de son existence 
 I'ont fait subir toutes les peines et toumients, meme qui passent les bornes de 
 I'humanite. Voilk un tableau des faits en peu de mots qui ont ^te cause que 
 cette Princesse, heritifere de toutes les Russies, a €\.€ frustree, et eioignd du thr6ne 
 qui lui appartient, et qui lui a €\.€ usurp^ par Fenvie et la fausse ambition qui a 
 desole tant de peuples, et ruine tant de pais, qui ne connoissent que la tranquility 
 et la paix. A present que le ciel paroit prendre fait et cause de I'innocence, et 
 que notre parti etant en avantage, le tout est done un motif pour que la sublime 
 Porte se decide. II paroit que tout le sist^me en Europe soil tomb^, et les 
 puissances qui ont toujours soutenu un equilibre ne sont en aucune fagon 
 ddterminees. Voilk done encore des raisons qui ont empech^ que la Princesse 
 Elisabeth ait pu donner essor ^ son courage k toute ^preuve pour pouvoir passer 
 surement et tranquillement k la residence imperiale de Constantinople. Elle 
 prit le parti de se rendre k Venise, ou ^toit le Prince Charles de Radziville, 
 Palatin de Vilna. Nous pass^mes ensemble k Raguse, croyant que le firman que 
 ce Prince a demande k la sublime Porte arriveroit bientot. Son courage, sa 
 confiance, son attachement pour votre Majeste Imperiale sont des raisons trop 
 fortes pour qu'on se puisse refuser \ le seconder dans ses nobles entreprises de 
 tout quiter, d'abandonner tout bien pour sa patrie, et d'etre dans la ferme 
 resolution d'aller vaincre ou de mourir. La Princesse n'a pu se refuser k de si 
 belles resolutions, qui doivent servir d'exemple k la Pologne. C'est pourquoi 
 nous esperons de part et d'autre dans la justice de votre Majeste Imperiale, et 
 nous la conjurons par nos larmes de redoubler ses forces colossales pour an&ntir 
 une multitude d'ennemis ravissans, qui ddtruissent le genre humain. Passons un 
 moment aux avantages qui doivent rdsulter d'une alliance que feroit la sublime 
 Porte avec Elisabeth seconde. La sublime Porte faisant une alliance avec 
 Elisabeth seconde elle s'assureront d'une puissance pour toujours, avec la 
 condition que les deux puissances soutiendroient la Pologne dans ses anciens 
 droits. La Sufede seroit alliee de meme avec nous par la cession de quelques 
 places qui lui sont dues, tant d'autres articles que Ton n'osera confier au papier, 
 mais doivent gtre traite verbalement. 
 
 ' La Princesse attendra qu'elle soit arrivde k Constantinople pour exposer 
 toutes chozes k V. Mte Imple. Cette demarche n'est fait que pour disposer la 
 Sublime Porte k refuser toutes propositions de paix jusqu'k ce que nous soyons 
 arrives ; outrez cela, notre parti dtant en avantage, c'est k dire Mr. de Puhaczew ; 
 il seroit honteux k une puissance qui est aussi formidable que I'est le grand 
 Seigneur de faire la paix sans avoir atteint son but, et sans avoir €x.€ satisfait 
 hautement de tant de surprises qu'on a fait k sa Hautesse. La Princesse 
 Elisabeth a fait mille choses en secret qui plairont infiniment k V. Mte. Imple. 
 
 • Count Cyrill Razoumousky, 1728-1803, brother of Count Alexis, was elected to the 
 dignity of Hetman of the Cossacks of Little Russia in 1 750, when he was also made a Marshal. 
 The Empress Catherine deprived him of the dignity of Hetman in 1 764. 
 
1 774-] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 33 
 
 Rien ne la fait agir que le malheur tant de sa Nation, que d'autres ; meme il I'a 
 falu que ses amis, et ceux de feu sa mfere, I'encourageassent en lui disant qu'il 
 ^toit de son devoir de porter du secours k tant de peuples eplor^s ; meme il y en 
 a qui doivent se rendre k Constantinople, qui viennent de la Russie pour 
 repr^senter k V. Mtd Imple la cause legitime de I'hdriti^re de feu I'Impe'ratrice 
 Elisa.beth premiere. Comma nous avons eu le malheur d'attendre ici k Raguse 
 depuis deux mois tant le firman de la Sublime Porte, que des fonds, cela aura mis 
 de I'incertitude dans I'esprit des politiques, qui ne doivent pas ignorer des faits 
 autentiques, mais qui doivent encore ^tre caches jusqu'k ce que la Sublime Porte 
 ait public les Manifestes, que nous lui exposerons. La Princesse a envoye une 
 d^peche &, la flotte Russe k Livourne ; pour etre surs de notre vie nous avons 
 expedi^ une autre d^peche au premier Bacha le plus proche de Raguse, par la 
 voye de Commandant de Trownik, qui la lui doit faire parvenir. Aprfes le petit 
 detail que fait la Princesse, votre Majestd Imperiale jugera combien il est 
 important de soutenir une telle Princesse, et de la venger de tant de malheurs, 
 qui ne I'ont pas abandonn6 un moment depuis I'age de neuf ans. A present, et 
 dans votre empire, elle commence k respirer, et elle se fera gloire de tenir son 
 bonheur et le bonheur de sa nation, et de celle de la Pologne, de la main juste de 
 votre Majeste Imperiale. Elle en bfeira k chaque instant de sa vie le Tout- 
 Puissant. Y aurait-il rien dans le monde de plus satisfaisant k une ame aussi 
 flevee que celle de votre Majesty Impdriale d'avoir pris la defense de I'innocence. 
 Quelle delice pour le plus grand Empereur du monde que de se livrer aux nobles 
 penchans de son coeur bienfaisant. Douceur qui n'est r^servde qu'aux ames 
 elev6es et susceptibles de grandes et magnanimes actions ; en un mot il faut etre 
 grand pour reconnoitre la grandeur des vertus qui paroissent plus e'clatantes que 
 le soleil. 
 
 ' Que le grand Maitre du monde benisse vos armies, qu'il fasse la grace k tant 
 de peuples de conserver le plus grand, le plus juste des Empereurs, qu'il prend k 
 la tete de ses peuples, et qu'il aneantisse et couvre de fange tous ceux qui seront 
 ennemis de la gloire et de la grandeur de votre Majesty Imperiale. Voilk les 
 ardentes et sinc^res priferes de la Princesse Elisabeth, etant avec un attachement 
 inviolable.' 
 
 45. Copy of Letter from the ' Princess Elizabeth ' to the Sultan. Dated 
 Ragusa, September nth, 1774. Sf pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' II est impossible que votre Majesty Imperiale se refuse aux instances que 
 fait la Princesse Elisabeth au plus grand et plus bienfaisant monarque du monde. 
 Elle a eu le bonheur d'exposer k sa Hautesse le 24 d'Aout, en abrege, les faits et 
 les raisons qui I'ont empechd de prendre la resolution de reclamer la haute 
 protection du Grand Seigneur. II est inutile de repdter les faits qui ont eclate, 
 et qui seront publics dans peu ; non qu'elle se soit adress6e h. d'autres Puissances, 
 elle a tr^s bien observe qu'il ^toit dans I'ordre de remettre sa cause legitime 
 entre les bras de la clemence de V. M. I. C'est pourquoi elle n'a fait aucune 
 demarche ; voici la premiere, par la depeche du mois passe k la Sublime Porte, 
 et par celle-ci. Aprfes que la Princesse eut regu la nouvelle de la paix, qui 
 ne pent avoir lieu, elle n'a dte fait qu'entre les gen^raux, par consequent il y 
 auroit de la lichet6 dans les d-marches de la Princesse Elisabeth de ralentir sa 
 confiance et son attachement pour la Sublime Porte. Elle persiste au contraire 
 dans ses r&olutions immanquables dans leurs sources, et certaines dans la 
 r^ussite. Certaines dans leurs sources k cause que votre Majestd Impdriale est 
 le defenseur de I'innocence, le soutien de la justice, le protecteur des droits 
 legitimes, tant du cot^ de la naissance que par les sacres liens de la loix que 
 vous professez. Les exemples vertueux qui ont eclats dans des sifecles passds 
 reparoitreront, et se manifesteront eternellement par la reputation que s'est 
 acquise et qu'acquerrera votre Majeste Imperiale. Le motif de nos malheurs 
 n'est-il pas assez touchant pour determiner le plus grand Empereur en notre 
 faveur? Une Princesse, fille h^riti^re d'Elisabeth premiere, Imperatrice de 
 toutes les Russies ; ses souffrances inexprimables, le bonheur d'un empire qui 
 veut tenir son salut de vos mains justes et equitables ; la Pologne d^sol^e 
 ddchir^e, un peuple devore par ses ennemis, pers^cutd dans I'intdrieur, les 
 VOL. 1. D 
 
34 THE HAMILTON AND [i774, I77S- 
 
 fiddles et attaches \ leur patrie en danger de p^rir par la disette et perfidie de leurs 
 ennemis. Que I'Etre tout-puissant louche votre grand coeur. Que cette 4me 
 magnanime soil sensible aux larmes de I'innocence et du persecute. Quel parti 
 prendre si votre Majestd Imperiale nous abandonne. La politique ne doit avoir 
 de part dans les faits signal^s de gloire et de justice. Ella doit etre banni du 
 throne qui ne connoit que I'equit^ et la droiture. Le ciel bfeit toujours les armes 
 de la puissance de celle qui veut la soutenir dans I'ordre. Quel tableau frappant, 
 quelle gloire eclatante, quelle satisfaction pour la Sublime Porte d'etre d^fenseur 
 de I'opprime. La Princesse passera Idgerement sur les avantages qui doivent 
 rdsulter naturellement d'une alliance que nous ferions ; la Princesse ^tant elle- 
 menie dans la capitale impdriale de votre Hautesse, elle sera k meme de trailer 
 et d'exposer toutes chose k votre Majestd Imperiale. C'est pourquoi il sera bon 
 qu'elle pr^cipite son depart pour Constantinople. Elle n'a ni firman ni assurance, 
 mais son courage I'affirmit dans ses entreprises, et par I'aveugle contiance 
 qu'elle a pour la Sublime Porte le tout I'enhardit. Le malheur qui menace 
 sa nation et la Pologne lui font oublier tout danger, et elle est prete k vaincre ou 
 cL mourir. Elle apprend par des voies directes que la maison de Bourbon sera 
 ravie si elle peut trouver assez de forces pour seconder et satisfaire k I'inclination 
 naturelle qu'elle a k rendre la tranquilite k des peuples qui gemissent depuis si 
 longtems. Elle n'ambitionne pas un m^rite qu'elle devra k la Sublime Porte. 
 Outre cela les pas les plus ^pineux sent dejk faits vu que la nation est devoude de 
 sacrifier sa vie pour maintenir Thdriti^re d'Ehsabeth premiere. La preuve est 
 autentique, vu que Pouhaczew est en avantage, il s'agit seulement de ne pas 
 I'abandonner. Helas ! si le firman qu'a demande le Prince Radziwill k la 
 Sublime Porte etoit arriv^e, toutes les circonstances du tems auroient pris une 
 autre face. Voici comment la Princesse seroit arriv^e avec lui dans le capital 
 imperiale de votre empire ; on n'auroit r^pandu tant de sang innocent, on 
 auroit pris une resolution relative k la position de circonstances. Comme le tout 
 a ete retarde la Princesse reclame la sublime protection de votre Hautesse dans 
 toutes regies et dans tous les Aats. Elle est encore k Raguse ; elle partira 
 dans quelques semaines pour Constantinople. Elle conjure votre Majestd 
 Imperiale, au nom de vos loix sacres, de prendre fait et cause d'une Princesse qui 
 est prete de sacrifier sa vie pour le bonheur des Nations qui sont andanties. 
 Elle veut tenir de vos mains ^quitables cette douce satisfaction, qui sera un 
 monument d'action de gr&ce envers le Tout puissant. II benira votre rfegne, et 
 les nations chanteront vos exploits. II presidera k la tete de vos armies ; votre 
 gloire sera eclatante, et votre nom k jamais gravd dans les cceurs. Que I'Etre 
 tout-puissant vous inspire les mouvements que nous lui demandons, et veille au 
 bonheur et k la prosperite de votre empire ; qu'il accorde de longues annees k 
 votre Majestd Imperiale, etant avec le plus fidfele attachement,' &c. 
 
 46. A. Draft of Letter from Sir W. Hamilton to Count Orloff.* 
 Dated Caserta, January 3rd, 1775. 2\ pages folio, [h.] 
 
 ' Je ne ferais pas des excuses de la liberty que je prends en m'addressant k 
 Votre Excellence en droiture sur une affaire singuli&re qui vient de m'arriver, 
 etant persuade que ce pas sera approuvd du Roi mon maitre. Je me sens heureux 
 en meme tems d'avoir I'occasion de donner ce petit tdmoignage de mon attache- 
 ment respecteux k Sa Majeste I'Imperatrice de toutes les Russies, qui a bien 
 voulu combler de ses bontds une soeur qui m'etait chfere, la ddfunte Ambassadrice 
 d'Angleterre k St. Petersburg — Miladi Cathcart. Votre Ex. sgaura done que vers 
 le millieu du mois pass^ vint ici de Raguse une personne se nommant Comtesse 
 de Bamberg, Polonoise, avec une suite de neuf personnes ; elle passa chez moi, 
 mais ne m'ayant pas trouve elle m'envoya un Abbe pour me prier de la procurer 
 un passport de ce gouvernement pour pouvoir partir pour Rome. Je refusal, ne 
 
 * Alexei Gregorievitch, Count Orloff-Tchesmenski, was one of the murderers of Peter III., 
 and, though entirely ignorant of naval matters, had been put at the head of the fleet sent by 
 Russia against the Turks in I768,and acquired great notoriety for burning the Turkish fleet in 
 the port of Tchesme in 1770. He died in 1808. 
 
I775-] NELSON PAPERS. 35 
 
 le connaissant pas ; n'ayant pu r^ussir ci, procurer ce passport, elle renvoya I'Abbd 
 de nouveau chez moi, me peignant la tviste situation ou elle serait, ses fonds dtant 
 presque epuisds, si elle ne partait pas bientot ; enfin, croyant que cela ne pourrait 
 tirer k aucune consequence, je me suis laiss6 flaichir, et I'ayant procure ce pass- 
 port pour Rome elle partit. Encourage par le pas que je fis simplement par 
 piti^ pour une femme qu'on me disait belle et que je n'ai jamais vu, elle vient de 
 m'envoyer de Rome, par une estafette, les papiers singuliers, desquelles j'ai 
 I'honneur d'envoyer copies k Votre Exce. Aprfes les avoir tiroes, ces copies, pour 
 mettre fin k cette correspondence, j'ai renvoye les origineaux par le meme esta- 
 fette, sans une parole de rdponse. De Raguse on dcrit qu'elle avait €t€ traitde 
 avec beaucoup de respect par le Prince Radziville, mais que I'opinion g^n^rale 
 fut que c'ftoit une avanturifere, maitresse de ce Prince. Votre Excellence est k 
 present inform^ de tout ce que je sgais sur cette affaire singuliere, et j'esp^re 
 qu'elle voudra bien agrder le pas que je fais. N'ayant pas pu obtenir le passport 
 pour un Courier, que je desirois expedier k V. E., k cause de la prochaine couche 
 de Sa M. Sicilienne, j'ai du attendre ce moment que la Reine vient de metre au 
 monde un Prince, me servant du meme courier qui en porte la nouvelle au Grand 
 Due de Toscane. Sans incommoder davantage V. E., permettez que j'ai I'honneur 
 de me souscrire,' &c. 
 
 47. L. S. from Count Orloff to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 'a Pise le 
 
 ~ ?a°n 'i'^^'' -' ^^ pages 4to., with Envelope and Seal. [H.J 
 
 'Je ne sgaurois asses remercier Votre Excellance de votre bontd et amitid 
 pour moi, que vous aves d^montr^ par Votre Lettre du 3 de Janvier, laquelle j'ai 
 eu I'honneur de recevoir ce matin. Vous m'avez trfes sensiblement oblige par 
 I'avis que vous m'aves donne de cette affaire singuliere, laquelle, quoique n'est 
 fondee que sur de chimferes et de faussetes, ne laisse que d'etre interessante et 
 m'est necessair k savoir. Je ne manquerai pas d'en faire rapport k ma Souveraine, 
 et en meme terns de votre attachement et de vos soins k ses interests. Ce 
 personnage doit etre ou une folle, ou, comme vous dites, une Avanturifere ; pourtant 
 me fiant de votre honettete et de votre amitie pour moi, j'ose prier V. Ex. 
 d'avoir la bonte de me donner de ses nouvelles, autant que vous pourr^s en 
 aprendre, et surtout ou elle est et ou elle est intentionde d'aller. Aussi je ne serois 
 pas fache de la voir moi-meme, et comme j'ai vu par sa lettre k V. E. qu'elle a 
 une aveugle confiance en vous et est prete de suivre en tout vos conseils et 
 vos paroles, vous pourries y m'aider facilement, dont vous m'obligerie's infinement 
 et je vous en serois trfes redevable. Je suis,' &c. 
 
 48. A. L. S. from the ' Princess Elizabeth ' to the same. Dated 
 
 Rome, 'le 10 de Janvier, [i7]7S.' i page 4to., with Envelope 
 
 and Seal. [h.J 
 
 'Je suis charm^e I'ocasion que j'ai de pouvoir ^crire k Votre Excellence. Si 
 vous ne vous etes pas desid^ en ma faveur, du moi[ns] j'ai lieux de croyre que ce 
 ne sera pas autrement, vus que Vr. E. n'a pas repondu k la depeche que je lui ay 
 envoye elle n'etait consue que pour prier V. E. de me facilite quelques moyins 
 pour passer incognito dans les pais qui appartiennent k diferentes nations et qui 
 sent soumis k diferentes loix et usage et coutumes. En atendant, soyez bien 
 assure que tout ce que j'ai fait n'etait que dans I'ordre. Premi^rement Vr. E. m'a 
 fait I'amitid de me faciliter un passport ; secondement les drois des nations sont 
 partout excuses et je me fie beaucoup k la votre, k cause quelle est partout et en 
 tout droite et sincere. Je pars dans peux de jours, et soyez convaincu que je suis 
 autant sensible que touchee. Mon sort est digne de compassion. Je parle k un 
 ministrequi est autant ^clair^ que sage; quandje serais heureuse donnez moi de 
 vos nouvelles, et je me souviendrais de vous avec reconnaisance que je vous prie 
 de croyre toujours,' &g. 
 
36 THE HAMILTON AND [i775- 
 
 49. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Count Orloff. Dated Naples, 
 
 January 17th, 1775. [h.] 
 
 ' Hier j'ai eu I'honneur de recevoir la lettre obligeante de Votre Excellence en 
 date 9 de Janvier, et je suis trfes flatd de la manifere gracieuse qu'elle a bien voulu 
 accepter le petit tdmoignage de son respect et attachement pour la Patrie et la 
 personne de Votre Excellence. 
 
 ' Tout ce que j'ai sgu de la personage en question j'ai eu d^jk I'honneur de 
 communiquer k Votre Excellence. Je ne I'ai jamais vu, et naturellement, ayant 
 renvoy^ ses lettres originalles sans un mot de r^ponse, je n'aurais plus en droiture 
 de ses nouvelles. V. E. aura remarque dans sa lettre que son object ^tait de 
 passer par I'Allemagne k Constantinople ; mais comme elle ^tait sans argent, 
 faisant des dettes k Rome, il est trfes probable qu'elle y est encore. J'ai tach^ 
 d'en etre inform^ et V. E. peut etre persuadd que je I'informerai de tout ce que 
 j'aurais pu pdndtrer, ayant I'honneur d'etre,' &c. 
 
 50. L. S. from Count Orloff to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated ' Pisa, le 
 
 ItfS: I77S-' I page 4to., with Envelope and Seal. [H.J 
 
 ' Je vous rend mille remerciments de votre obligeante Lettre du 31 de Janvier, 
 laquelle j'ai eu I'honneur de recevoir depuis peu. Je vous suis trfes sensiblement 
 oblig^ de I'avis que vous m'av^s donnd de la Dame, je le prend comme un preuve 
 de votre bont^ et amiti^ envers moi. Je suis toujours pr&t de vous en t^moigner 
 ma reconnoisance, la bonne volenti y est, il ne manque I'occasion, laquelle je 
 desire infinement pour avoir la satisfaction de servir V. Ex. en ce qui pourroit 
 vous faire plaisir et de pouvoir vous etre utile. Je suis avec la plus parfaite 
 estime,' &c. 
 
 51. L. S. from the same to the same. ' Dated ' Pisa, le |t F^vrier, 
 
 I77S-' I page 4to., with Envelope and Seal, [h.] 
 
 'Je vous rends mille grices de votre obligeante Lettre du 14 de ce mois 
 laquelle j'ai eu le plaisir de recevoir depuis peu, et je vous suis infiniment obligd 
 de I'avis que vous avds eu la bont^ de me donner de la personne. Voyant par 
 des preuves dvidentes que vous avds de I'amitid pour moi, j'ose vous prier. 
 Monsieur, de vous informer autant qu'il vous sera possible d'elle, et de communi- 
 quer tout ce que vous en pourres apprendre, dont vous m'obliger^s sensiblement. 
 Je ne manquerai pas d'en etre reconnoissant, et je suis pret de vous rendre k la 
 premiere occasion tout service qui ddpendra de moi, je vous prie seulement de 
 me faire savoir en quoi je puis vous faire plaisir. Je suis avec la plus parfaite 
 estime,' &c. 
 
 52. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated 
 
 Naples, March 14th, 1775. 5 pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' It is very good of you, my dear Charles, in the midst of so much business 
 and dissipation, to find time to write me so very compleat an account of what is 
 going on in our great world. I can in return only tell you that I have been of 
 late on all his Sicilian Majesty's shooting parties, & lived with him more than 
 ever I believe a foreign Minister was ever permitted to do with any prince. He 
 has infinite good in him, and improves daily. The English, of whom we have 
 had a large flight this year, have felt the good effects of my being on such 
 a good footing at Court, for they have been particularly honoured at the 
 fetes at Court. I have remarked that one or two of the set always decide the 
 rest whether they shall follow the Arts, gaming, whoring, or drinking. Last -year 
 the Arts and gaming were the prevailing passions with the English, this year it is 
 drinking & gaming ; and as they made their party at cards at the Festini at 
 
177S-] NELSON PAPERS. 37 
 
 the palace the king looked on, liked their manner of playing, and as H. S. M. cares 
 not for ettiquette, but follows the dictates of Nature, he sat down with them 
 without one of his courtiers, & this he did every night. I thought it prudent, to 
 avoid any little disagreeable circumstance that might occur in the heat of play, to be 
 one of the party also'; but I play'd low, & my loss was small ; the English party 
 lost above two thousand pounds, most of which was won by H. S. M., who is 
 quite fond of the English. L* Geo. Cavendish,* l.^ Monson,t & IJ- Tylney,t 
 were of the party. I like L* Geo., though he has much of the Cavendish oddity. 
 We have had no less than 60 at one time this year, & the King's Arnzs, as you 
 may imagine, has had good custom. Your porter (thank you kindly) came just 
 in time, as my former stock was at an end, but the sailors had tapped the barrel 
 by the way, and drank near half. The captain insists upon it that the barrel was 
 leaky. I should think a barrel of Warwick strong beer would do well at Naples. 
 Ask L* Warwick what he thinks about it. 
 
 ' Little Sangro is just married to the Duke la Sallandra. He is one of the 
 best of the young Neapolitans ; she is charming, a little fat or so, but has learned 
 French, and has more fashion in her than most of the ladies here. 
 
 ' At present there is an end to the sale of Boranello's pictures, as the younger 
 brother has given in a memorial to the K. of Naples to prevent their sale, but it 
 is expected the affair will be decided in favour of the eldest, and I am to have the 
 pictures for you as soon as it is decided. 
 
 ' Reports having prevailed that L* Grantham § will not continue long in Spain, 
 I have laid in my pretensions to suceed his LP in case the report should prove 
 true. I have wrote to L* Rochford || & to L'* Dartmouth to speak to L'^ North. I 
 care not much about it, I shall never be happier out of England than I am here ; 
 but I think it right to endeavour at getting at the head of one's profession, & 
 naturally, when I retire from an Embassy, I may have better pretensions for 
 something comfortable at home the latter days of my life. 
 
 'Vesuvius is growing turbulent again, but no eiuption yet. Every day I find 
 fresh proofs of what I have advanced as to the formation of this country by eruptions 
 of fire & water. I have many pieces oftuffafrom Pausilippo& Baia, with sea-shells, 
 wood, and other matters that have been shut up therein. I will keep specimens 
 of the best sorts for your collection. I hope the foul air you breath so much of in 
 the House of Commons will not hurt you. My love to your brothers & all friends. 
 Ever yours,' &c. 
 
 53. A. L. from the same to the same. No date. (Endorsed June 
 5th, 1775.) 2 pages folio. [H.J 
 
 ' great vase of which you had the drawing, but tho' I offered it to him 
 
 for ^500 he did not take it, it is only now upon the point of being finished, & is 
 far beyond any monument of the kind at Rome, it has cost me near ^300, for I 
 was obliged to cut a block of marble at Carrera to repair it, which has been 
 hollowed out & the fragments fixed on it, by which means the vase is as firm & 
 entire as the day it was made. I only beg of you to take care that no damage 
 comes to my pictures. Can you persuade no lady to fit up a Cabinet with my 
 Luca's Jordano's, for they are upon very brittle materials, & I fear may be broken. 
 As to my Corregio, I will consent to its being lined provided it is done in your 
 presence, & when Patoun is returned, who will touch in with a fine brush the 
 little spots that may offend the eye, but not too much, & I beg you will be present 
 
 * Lord George Augustus Henry Cavendish, afterwards Earl of Burlington, 1754-1834, third 
 son of William, 4th Duke of Devonshire, and of Lady Charlotte Boyd, daughter and heiress of 
 Richard, 3rd Earl of Burlington. He was created Earl of Burlington in 1831. 
 
 + John, 3rd Baron Monson, 1753-1806, eldest son of the 2nd Baron, whom he had succeeded 
 
 in 1774. 
 
 J John Child, and Earl Tylney, eldest surviving son of the ist Earl. He died in 1784. 
 
 § Thomas Rohinson, 2nd Baron Grantham, 1 738-1 786, was Ambassador to Madrid from 
 
 II William Henry Nassau, 4th Earl of Rochford, had been Ambassador at Madrid, and at 
 Versailles, and was at the date of the letter one of the Secretaries of State. He died in 1781 
 
38 THE HAMILTON AND [1775. 
 
 even when Patoun shall operate, the right leg above the ankle is touched in with 
 water-colours as there was a damage there ; all these will appear terrible when 
 the picture is lined & washed, but I am sure if properly touched nothing will 
 offend the eye, & the picture will come out as bright as a diamond ; but if it is not 
 properly done the finest picture perhaps in the world will be ruined. As this 
 affair is of real consequence to me, for, besides the money'd value, I realy love the 
 picture so much that it would be an irreparable loss to me shou'd an accident 
 befall it, I make no appoligy in begging of you to inspect the whole of the 
 ceremony ; shou'd it succeed I shall look upon it as a new lease of the picture 
 without which I realy fear, e7itre nous, that the picture will not keep together 
 many years. Excuse my having dwelt so long on this subject, but it is indeed a 
 very interesting one for me, & I trust to your friendship entirely in this matter. 
 The present I sent Hunter was but trifling ; but, as he has been so good to you, 
 if you will find out what he wishes for most that can be got here, I will spare no 
 pains to procure it for him. I told Patoun you wanted the Borghese slab of 
 pliable marble, but unless you shou'd employ some one to steal it you will never 
 have it. I am most impatient for Banks's account of Iceland. I am making 
 drawings of every part described in my . . . .' 
 
 54. A. L. from the same to the same. Dated Naples, June 6th, 1775. 
 
 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I hope, my dear Charles, this letter may still reach you in England, I 
 receiv'd yours of the 12th of May with the bill of loading, & thank you a thousand 
 times for y' goodness & attention to me, but more still for the good news of your 
 intended visit to us. The Court will be at Portici in October, & we have a most 
 delightful country house in that neighbourhood, & a much pleasanter apartment 
 for you there than the one in Town. I am sure you will be more pleased with Naples, 
 & indeed with your whole tour than with your first. You are surely at liberty to 
 employ your leisure time as you please, but I agree with you that it is highly proper 
 when one has an office to perform the duties of it with the utmost exactness. 
 
 ' My Strasbourg friend's name is Baron Deidreck. I hope he will be at home 
 when you go there, for I was so unlucky as not to find him. If you go to Verona 
 there is an apothecary who has a noble collection of fossils, particularly of those 
 stones with the impressions of fish, & what is extraordinary, tho' found on the 
 spot, are chiefly such as belong to other seas & climates. At Vicenza, at the 
 Madonna di Monte, there is a Padre Guerra who has many of the stones with 
 waters, they call them Opals. I had a very fine one of him for which I paid 7 
 sequins, but having been polished at Venice & the pores too much open'd the 
 water is evaporated. I wou'd advise you to keep them unpolished, as you may 
 always see the water by help of a candle. There is a fine picture of P. Veronese 
 in that convent. 
 
 ' By the time you come here I hope the new edition of my volcanick letters, 
 with about forty colour'd prints by Fabris, & giving the clearest idea of every 
 stratum in this country of all the craters will be finished, & I will with great 
 pleasure accompany you with the book to the spots themselves. I wish every 
 book of natural history was executed with such fidelity, & we shou'd not be so 
 much in the dark as we are. 
 
 'We shall probably set out on our way home about April next, & I think with 
 you it is probable some event may prevent our return hither ; but I am very 
 aetei mined not to quit this hold unless I have a good temptation, for, after all, 
 what is desirable in life but passing one's time honourably & agreeably, both of 
 which I do here ? I only regret the want of a friend or two ; but where is 
 happiness compleat .^ ' 
 
 55. A. L. S. from Lord Clive* to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated Claremont, 
 
 June isth, 1775. 3J pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I have received your very obliging letter accompanied by one from 
 
 * Edward, 2nd Lord Clive, 1754-1839, eldest son of the great Lord Clive, was created Earl 
 of Powis in 1804. 
 
177 5-] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 3$ 
 
 Mons. de Sa ; the enclos'd answer will, I hope, relieve him from all his 
 difficulties. As the steel works of this country are very much admired by a'.l 
 foreigners, I imagine a sword of that manufacture and of the value of ^50 will be 
 full as acceptable as a present of wine ; I have therefore bespoken a sword 
 which will be one of the finest ever made in this Country, & when finished I shall 
 take the liberty of sending to you at Naples requesting the favour of you to 
 present it to Monsr. de Sa in my name. 
 
 ' I was very much surprised to find upon my arrival at Genoa that the 
 Madeira wine was got no further on its voyage than that place. I hope by 
 this time that you have received it, and that it proves a good stomakick, for I 
 must confess that I think the stomach stands in need of some assistance in the 
 relax'd climate of Naples. 
 
 ' Claremont goes on very briskly, and in all this year I hope to have done 
 with the architect ; furnishing is the next object, which I find will be expensive 
 and tedious. However, I hope to have the house in condition by the time you 
 mention to receive you & Lady Hamilton, to whom I desire to present my most 
 respectful compliments. 
 
 ' The India Judges and their ladies have been quarelling most violently 
 between England & the Madeiras, and if the Council General & their ladies 
 follow the same example, before they get to Bengal a flame will be lighted up 
 which the Ganges cannot quench ; nothing but unanimity among those entrusted 
 with such great and extensive powers can enable them to answer the expectations 
 of Parliament and the public. The American news you will learn from others 
 much better than from me ; however, it is the general opinion that the inhabitants 
 of Boston must & will submit ; perhaps it may be necessary to hang one or 
 two of the most mutinous in England to convince them that we are in earnest. 
 Wishing you and Lady Hamilton health and happiness at Naples, and a joyful 
 meeting of all your friends in England, I am,' &c. 
 
 56. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 
 July 4th, 1775. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' Tho' I am not sure this letter will be in time, I cannot delay a moment 
 returning you our warmest thanks for the cargo which we received a few days 
 ago. The dressing boxes k I'Etrusque are delightfull, I am sure that they must 
 meet with great success, for they are in as pure a taste as can be. I have wrote 
 to Mr. Clay to congratulate him on his success, & have said all I cou'd to 
 encourage him as he deserves. The glasses for making Selzer & Pyrmont water 
 are very acceptable ; in short, I cannot tell you how much I feel myself obliged 
 to you, is it you or L* Fortrose that gave me the sword and buckles ? I cou'd 
 not find the porter, the Captain swore that none was ever embarked for me. 
 Amongst the parcels was a small box with a sliding cover in which there was 
 nothing. A little brass tube with brass ferrils & a brass rod & ball within puzzles 
 me beyond measure, as I do not know its use. From the taste of the sword & 
 buckles I look upon them as your present. There seems to be a chance of 
 Boranello's pictures to be sold ; if so, you may be sure that 1 shall secure those 
 for you, but I cou'd wish that they might remain as they are till you come & 
 decide for y"^ self. One stone, No. 7 of the Labradore collection, is wanting, did 
 you take it ? I think I recollect your having said something of it in one of your 
 letters. The few specimens of Hecla are very acceptable, but I (want) to know if 
 Banks met with anything like what we call Tuffa here. 
 
 ' I have got a very fine pointer for L'^ Warwick of the best breed here, & tho' 
 but a year old does all his [tricks] already. I shall send it him by the [first] ship. 
 I have said enough to send [at] random, for God knows when & where [this] will 
 reach you. Adieu,' &c. 
 
 57. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated St. James's 
 
 Square, October 31st, 1775. 3f pages 4to. [h.] 
 ' I have been so much on the wing that I could not find leisure to write. I 
 
40 THE HAMILTON AND [1775. 
 
 arrived at Calais the 2'^^ in hopes of arriving for the first day of the meeting, but 
 a bad wind & terrible storm liept me till the 27, & I arrived on Saturday last- 
 well & in good spirits. I met the Spencers at Calais, & they made my stay very 
 agreable. They are all well, & are, I believe, yet waiting. They would not 
 venture the same day I embarked, & I fear will wait a long while if they expect a 
 fair wind. 
 
 ' I found everything & everybody employed in Politicks. The D. of Grafton* 
 has left y'= ministry, but as yet has not resigned. Gen. Conway is so likewise. 
 L'' G. Germaint is talked of to succeed Ld. Dartmouth, who is to be Privy Seal. 
 I wish the talk may be confirmed, because our friend Ld. D. will have repose & 
 an honorable retreat, and Ld. G. G. will have a very distinguished complem*. 
 to his abilities, & both will be well provided for, &, I should think, to both their 
 satisfactions. I passed Turin in a hurry. I only stayd two days. If S' W. Lynch 
 is a particular friend of yours, perhaps you may think 1 behaved ill, but I relate 
 you my story. The day I arrived I waited on him ; he was to receive a large 
 company to dinner. I left my name & letter. I heard nothing of him, & the 
 next day I sent my valet de chambre to his Secretary to beg that he would be so 
 good as to apply for leave to go out of town at 10 o'clock, as I wished to see the 
 opera before I went, & the innkeeper told me, if any person who was a gentleman 
 asked that favour, it would not be refused, & I troubled Sr. W. as the only 
 chance of appearing under that denomination. The Secretary said he would 
 deliver the message when Sr. W. rose. I heard nothing of him ; at 3 o'clock my 
 banker brought the money, & on my telling him I intended to leave Turin after 
 the Opera told me if I had not secured the gates that he would take care orders 
 were sent. I thankd him &: told him I had asked the favour of Sr. W. L. after 
 the Opera. I returnd in hopes of going away, & my servant told me he had sent 
 to Sr. W. & that he had sent word that I might go & ask for myself, that he 
 would not trouble himself with such commissions. I sent to my Banker to accept 
 the offer he had made me. When he perceived Sir W. Ly. would not do anything 
 for me, he sent word that he would have done it for me when he offer'd it, but 
 now he was with his friends & would not leave them. I was very angry, & oblig'd 
 to stay all that night, & all the gates were open in the morning. I wrote to Sir 
 W. L. : " Mr. G. presents his Comp'» to Sr. W. L. ; he could easily have over- 
 lookd his neglect in not returning his visit, but in that situation should not have 
 dreamt of asking a favor if the meeting of Parliament had given him more leisure 
 to return, or if he had not thought that Sir W. Hamilton's letter would have 
 inclined Sir W. Lynch to be of use to Mr. G., particularly in so small a favor as 
 to obtain leave to go out of Turin at 10 o'clock. He finds himself under the 
 necessity of waiting till to-morrow, & consequently must loose a whole day, as 
 the passage of M. Cenis is not so practicable in the night. As Mr. G. is sensible 
 he has asked no favour but which every minister would have condescended to 
 grant, he feels himself very little thankful to Sr. W. L. for his refusal, and as he 
 cannot stay to tell him so leaves this line." I do not enclose this note as a 
 specimen of my politeness or composition. I gratified the momentary anger I 
 felt at his incivility, & that he might be a little attentive to others did not let it 
 pass in silence. I found inconvenience. I was benighted — the mules fell with 
 my carriage, & I lost some things, but luckily did not break anything. The rest 
 of my journey was pleasant, & in my whole tour met with only that mark of 
 incivility. 
 
 ' The state of affairs is serious. America firm, and this country persisting in 
 vigor. I hope an end, but cannot forsee the period ; when we determine the 
 point of Foreign aid I will write ; that to me is the only mode, & when the whole 
 force is ready to fall to shew the state we intend to reduce them to, & give the 
 alternative. 
 
 ' I am in an hurry now, so only let me add love to L^ LL, & believe me,' &c. 
 
 * Augustus Henry, 3rd Duke of Grafton, 1735-1811, a well-known statesman, First Lord ol 
 the Treasury in 1765 and 1766, and Lord Privy Seal from 1771 to 1775, and again in 1782. 
 
 •\ Lord George Germaine, first known as Lord George Sackville, 1716-1785, on whom 
 Court-Martial was held after the battle of Minden. He afterwards filled some of the highe 
 offices in the administration, and, just after the date of this letter, was appointed Privy Seal. 
 1782 he was created Viscount Sackville. 
 
1775-] NELSON PAPERS. 41 
 
 58. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated 
 Naples, November 14th, 1775. 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I long to hear, my dear Charles, of your being safe and well at home. The 
 poor man we employ'd about the pictures of Boranello has not been able to 
 succeed, but, as the difference of our offer and the Duke's demand is only 100 Ds. 
 (about ^18), I have agreed to take them as soon as I hear of your arrival in 
 England. It would be a pity to lose so good an opportunity, for genuine and 
 virgin pictures of Old Masters are not frequently met with. I have bought for 
 you the Mater Dolorosa & Christ which I mentioned to you, & which is certainly 
 the best of the Cav' Calabresi's performances. I paid 120 Ducats for it. When 
 I have the whole Collection I shall draw upon you, for, as I mentioned in my 
 last, Fabris's demands keep me very short. That work goes on finely ; in two or 
 three months I hope 150 copies will be ready for the publick. I am sure he will 
 not be able to furnish fast enough the demand he will have for them. 
 
 ' I have asked leave to return home in Spring, & as I flatter myself I shall not 
 be refused we will set out the end of April. Mr. Becher has offered to let us his 
 house ready furnished ; it is out of Buckingham Gate, near Lord Cathcart's. I 
 wish you would look at it when you go that way, and tell me if you think it will 
 do. I believe that air would suit Lady H. 
 
 'To-morrow we go to Caserta, for the King has invited me to all his shooting 
 parties which are going to begin ; and then 1 am to go to Persano for the same 
 purpose — in short, my favour is very great. I supped in private en famille with 
 the K. & Q. of N. at Portici lately, after having accompanied H.S.M.'s singing— 
 and charming harmony we made. The Q. laughed, for she really sings well. 
 
 ' As far as you can put to paper, do let me know how matters go in America — 
 the prospect appears very gloomy to me in that quarter. 
 
 ' Picini's* 3 Songs are in the hands of Mr. Hodges, who proposes to deliver 
 them to you in London next month. Picini & his wife came here, & we had a 
 rehersal of them ; they are delightfull, and will, I am sure, perfectly answer your 
 purpose. By Astier's advice I gave him 10 Ounces each — in ail, 60 Ducats— 
 which will go to your account ; to be sure, it was paying en Milord Anglais. 
 They are sealed up, and Hodges has promised that if it is necessary to open them 
 at any Custom he will seal them up again directly. They are the originals in 
 Picini's own hand, & your divinity may be assured that no one is in possession 
 of another copy. 
 
 ' Desire L'^ W. to let me know if he chuses to have the copy of my vase ; I 
 think I wrote to him some time ago & offered it him ; it will do well at the 
 Castle. 
 
 ' I shall send home a picture or two of mine with yours. L^ H. desires her 
 tender love to you. Adieu, my dear Friend, ever yours,' &c. 
 
 'P.S. — If you like to have the other Mater Dolorosa we saw together, let me 
 know ; about 100 Ds. will purchase it. Call'd Spagnolette, and under a glass.' 
 
 59. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to the same. Dated December 3rd, 
 
 1775- si pages folio, with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' In the first place I inform you that of the 2 inclosed papers the one is the 
 receipt of the Captain for the large Prints of the Antiquarian Society, & the other 
 is a kind of advertisement, or rather a paragraph in the body of the Morning 
 Post of this morning. Clay called on me the other day and told me that he was 
 appointed japanner to the King, & begg'd that he might be allowed to print your 
 letter ; he had put a very awkard introduction to it. I told him that it could not 
 be displeasing to you to appear from a distance superintending the Arts in this 
 country, & I saw nothing improper in it, but that the leave of the writer was 
 generally asked. I removed all difficulties to myself by efacing his Introduction 
 and writing the one you see is printed, by which your leave is evidently not 
 
 * Nicolo Picini, 1728-1800, a famous Italian composer, who, in 1775, was invited to Paris 
 by Mary Antoinette, where he became the rival of Gliick. His most important work, Atys, 
 was produced in 1780. 
 
42 THE: HAMILTON AND [i775- 
 
 obtained, & I also efaced a paragraph in the letter which related to the 3rd Vol. 
 of your works, because I feared it might make the letter appear an advertisement 
 & a puff for your work, which it does not want, or as a promise to the subscribers 
 that you will soon deliver the 2 remaining volumes, which at present I do not 
 think you can promise. So far for the enclosures. I must now tell you what I 
 have been doing for you in other particulars. Knowing how much you set your 
 heart on placing the fine vase* in the Museum, & while you make them pay the 
 purchase money you in reality make them a present, a circumstance which the 
 world seldom can combine or give credit to, I have not neglected any oppor- 
 tunity of doing it justice & describing its merits. I have enquired the proceedings 
 at the Museum meetings. There have been more than one on the subject of 
 your offer, but none favourable, & on Saturday last it was determined to decline 
 your offer by the post. U- C. Cavendisht & some of the old Dons object to the 
 sum of that amount being given to one article, & particularly as it is bulky, & in 
 a kind of collection they do not aspire to {i.e.. Marbles) ; that they never had 
 money d'avance, & that Parliament would not refund nor encourage similar 
 generosity in the Trustees if giving credit to their indulgence they should exceed 
 on such occasions. 
 
 ' I waited on L'' Besborough, & afterwards dined with him at the Delittante, 
 when I renewed the subject & told him that he should not let the offer pass, that 
 I myself would willingly give the sum, & any antiquarian at Rome would not risk 
 if he gave 500 upon the prospect of reselling it, & if he would prevail upon the 
 others to purchase it I would answer they would upon its arrival be convinced 
 you had made a present and not a bargain ; and, further, if they did not like it 
 when it came, I would engage to give them ^300 for it on demand. This had its 
 effect, and he promised to have a meeting yesterday on the subject, & if you do 
 not receive a letter from the Museum this day depend upon it they are contriving 
 to get it. I do not say all this as merit — I wish at all times to serve you ; I know 
 you wished it placed in the Museum, but I realy think I have done more service 
 to them than to you in working towards your end. 
 
 ' I mentioned the turning loom at Naples to Douglas ; if you could get any 
 kind of description of it, by what Country workmen it is made, & for what work, 
 & in what state, & the lowest price, I will see if I can dispose of it. 
 
 ' I was desired to ask you a question. Mr. Cummings' foreman, an indus- 
 trious, clever Watch-maker, had determined upon a venture to Naples, with a 
 journey-man or two, to try if he could make a little fortune by his diligence, as 
 he is sensible how deficient the Italians are in work of that kind. Would such a 
 plan answer ? I stopt him till I could know, and altho' the enticing artists from 
 England is wrong, yet this is less exceptionable, & his prospect is only to get a 
 little money and bring it home. 
 
 ' I wrote to you some time ago to purchase both the Mad : Dolorosa's if you 
 liked them, & the others we chose in y" Buranello. If you should meet anything 
 else which you think fine and out of the class of furniture pictures, think of me, & 
 either draw upon me or let me know the sum, & I will send it by Herries note, 
 which will be paid at sight at Naples without trouble or any expence whatever. 
 
 ' There is no news from America ; no engagement has happened. We are 
 sending out troops. There are 8 Ratal : more ordered, so if all arrive safe in 
 America in Spring we shall have 42. 
 
 ' I really do not think there will be a campaign next year, altho' they say we 
 shall be overrun ; but how can paper currency support its credit ? It is now 
 crammed down, and it is death to refuse it ; but this may do for a time, but 
 people cannot for a long while give up reality for paper, when its value diminishes 
 dayly by the increase of that debt. The distress of clothes, &c., will be severe in 
 
 * The celebrated Portland Vase, which was purchased by the Duke of Portland, who, in 1810, 
 deposited it in the British Museum for exhibition, the property to remain in him. It was 
 broken to pieces by a lunatic in 1845, and is now exhibited in the Gem Room — a marvellous 
 monument of the mender's art. 
 
 t Lord Charles Cavendish, circa 1 701 -1784, third son of William, 2nd Duke of Devonshire, 
 one of the original elected Trustees of the British Museum, and father of Henry Cavendish, 
 the celebrated natural philosopher, founder of the Cavendish Society. 
 
1775, 1776.] NELSOIV PAPERS. 
 
 43 
 
 their army, & how can they keep an army in the field in the winter ? and, if they 
 disband, how will they collect it again in the Spring, with every prospect of 
 distress ? People are wise here, and say we are forcing them to desperation. If 
 we tease and irritate a wound, it must inflame ; but the desperate means are 
 frequently necessary for a radical cure, and the worst thing in the world for both 
 Countries would be a temporary and unsettled suspension of hostilities, for if we 
 cease on equal terms the parties will never submit to regulations which in justice 
 and policy are necessary to both Countries. My love to L^ H., & believe me,' &c. 
 
 60. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Caserta, 
 December 19th, 1775. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal. [h.J 
 
 ' I received your letter, my dear Charles, with the bill of loading for some 
 beer, & the news of the day, which is always acceptable to me. I received by the 
 same post another bill of lading for beer without any letter, & which had 
 been open'd at the post office in London for want of the postage having been 
 paid ; this must surely be Ld. Warwick's kindness ; if so, please thank him for me. 
 I never love to send anything by sea this season, but as the Court will return to 
 Naples in about a fortnight I will then finish your picture purchases, draw upon 
 you my reimbursement, and pack them up carefully, waiting for a good opportunity 
 of sending them when the weather is more settled than it is at present. Patoun 
 is arrived with Ld. Powis,* & they dine with me here to-day. lam constantly 
 with H. S. Majesty, and we killed yesterday 104 woodcocks, 5 foxes, & 3 hares. 
 I breakfasted & dined yesterday with him, & supped at Court the night 
 before, when I had the honour of exhibiting electrical experiments to their S. 
 Majesties, & of convincing them of the utility of conductors. In short, my power at 
 Court insures me as you know such attentions here as make my living here agreable. 
 
 ' I must desire you to send me two more of Ramsden's Repeating 
 Telescopes like those he sent me lately; they are for the Queen of Naples, there- 
 fore I hope you will send them as soon as possible. 
 
 ' I must likewise beg of you to employ Mr. Nussen to order Shudi'st heirs, if 
 they go on with the business, to make such a harpsichord as was sent by my 
 direction by old Shudi to the Empress at Vienna, when it is near ready he 
 may send his account to Count Firmian at Milan, who will direct how it may 
 be sent to Milan, & will order payment for the same ; it is for the Archduke 
 Ferdinand. The sooner this commission is executed the better, so pray do not 
 neglect either one or the other. 
 
 ' The work goes on well, but we cannot include everything curious under 50 
 plates, but it cost the devil all, btd I never give up ; I will not be at the trouble of 
 correcting my three buts. I have, according to your advice, secured the original 
 drawings. You cannot conceive how interesting the work is grown by the 
 additional drawings, all of which have been taken on the spot. 
 
 ' I rejoice much at Ld. Geo. Germaine's appointment ; now you are under him 
 do cultivate his acquaintance, you will have great pleasure in it, & we shall have 
 many comfortable dinners with him when I come home. I have not yet received 
 my leave. It will be about July, I suppose, before we get home. Adieu, my d"^ 
 Charles, yours,' &c. 
 
 61. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Caserta, January 2nd, 
 
 1776. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' You have indeed, my dear Charles, acted the part of a time friend, and done 
 just as I could have wished in both the affairs, I mean Clay's advertm' and the 
 
 * Henry Arthur Herbert, Earl of Powis, circa 1703-1772. He was the kinsman of William, 
 3rd Marquis Powis, on whose death in 1748 he was created Earl of Powis. He was made a 
 Privy Councillor in 1761, Treasurer of the Household in 1765, and was promoted to be a General 
 in the Army in 1772. 
 
 t Burkhardt Tschudi, 1702-1773. The founder of the firm of Broadwood & Sons, by the 
 marriage in 1769 of his daughter Barbara with John Broadwood. The harpsichord mentioned was 
 sent to the Empress in 1773, and is now in the possession of M. Victor Mahillon, of Brussels. 
 
44 THE HAMILTON AND [1776. 
 
 proceedings of the B. M. with respect to my vase. I shou'd realy be unhappy if 
 that superb piece of antiquity was not to be at the head of my collection. We are 
 so used to jobs at home that no one can imagine that another is acting a disinter- 
 ested part. I really could get £i>oo for my vase at Rome. The Pope wants to 
 keep it, for it is universally avow'd to be the first vase in the world. As I have 
 had no letter, it is very probable your last effort may have taken effect. I do 
 assure you I have the collection at the museum so much at heart that tho' I can 
 ill afford to lose such a sum as ^350, which is (I believe) ab* the cost of my vase, 
 I should rather give it to that collection than let it go elsewhere for twice the sum. 
 Do let the Hercules bust be well placed, Hamilton declares the head is better 
 than that of the Farnese. The presents I have made, & have further to make to 
 the Museum since my return here have, I am sure, cost me near £,yx>, tho' the 
 old dons do not so much as thank me when I send a work of art. They are 
 delighted with a spider or a shell, & send me many thanks for such presents. I 
 do not care, it is the honour of the Hamiltonian collection that spurs me on. We 
 go to settle in Town the nth, and the first thing I shall do will be to finish with 
 Boranello & pack up those pictures and the two others you are desirous of, I 
 mean the Dolorosa's, & draw upon you the payment, I have not time to wait for 
 Herries's bills, Fabris having run away with all my ready cash. That work goes 
 on well, & will surely be finished before I leave this country. We are arrived at 
 60 plates, & all interesting. 
 
 ' Was I to stay here I would encourage Cummings foreman to come and try 
 his fortune, as I am sure I could get him employment, but I fear it would be 
 hazarding too much to come without such a help, as there are several watch- 
 makers from Geneva in good business here. I will write you the particulars of 
 the turning loom as I get to Naples. 
 
 ' I have just received my leave to return to England, but I am not to leave 
 any one Chargd des affaires ; I am puzzled to find out the reason of this novelty, 
 & \J H., who has the art of ingeniously tormenting herself, will I believe write to 
 you to endeavour to find out the reason. I think it merely to avoid the 
 solicitations that are generally made by those that have been so employed. 
 
 ' I am glad you have so good an opinion of American affairs ; I own I have 
 great faith in Ld. G. Germaine. 
 
 ' We have noble shooting here our last few days sport : 24 wild boars, some of 
 200 weight each, & 367 ducks, woodcocks, &c. I often breakfast, dine, and sup 
 with H. S. My. We think of setting out about the middle of April, but you shall 
 know exactly our motions. Adieu, ever yours,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — More wine as you see.' 
 
 62. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Naples, January 30th, 
 1776. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I have this day got home the Guido Cagnacci, the Anibal Carach, the Albano, 
 and the portrait called Leonardo da Vinci, from Boranello's Collection ; the three 
 first for you, and the last for me, as they would not fail from their demand more 
 than selling the 4 for 1000 ducats. Instead of the looD. I offer'd, I shall pay 150 
 for the portrait, the remaining 850 goes to your account. They are charming 
 pictures, & will do you credit. I shall pack them up frames and all, which are 
 tollerably good, and send them off by the first ship. Next Tuesday the draft on 
 you will probably be sent from hence, but it shall be at 14 days sight as all my 
 bills are. 
 
 ' You will, I am sure, take a share in our present distress. Poor Giovannini, 
 the good humour'd fellow we had in England, and the best servant in our family, 
 was left at Caserta to take care of our goods, as we were to return there for 
 another shooting party. Yesterday he was unfortunately walking out and was 
 mixed somehow in a fray between some Sbirri & Liparotte soldiers, & one of the 
 latter shooting at the Sbirri shot him in the shoulder, & the ball came out of his 
 breast so that I fear there is little hope of his recovery. I have sent for the 
 particulars of the accident that I may immediately demand a proper satisfaction, 
 tho' it is not in the power of the King to make up for the loss of so valuable a 
 
1776.] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 45 
 
 servant. Indeed we are both much grieved, as you may well think from what I 
 dare say you feel. He has lived with us above lo years. 
 
 'I am waiting impatiently for better news from America; write me a line 
 whenever you can. Lady H.'s love to you. You may imagine the present state 
 of her nerves. Yours,' &c. 
 
 63. A. L. S. from Thomas Coutts* to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated Strand, 
 
 London, February 6th, 1776. 2 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' The bill endorst by Zannowich to Mr. Brancacio of Naples appearing from 
 circumstances to be the real one, and the other, which I had discounted, the 
 forgery. His Grace the Duke of Newcastlet ordered the first to be paid when it 
 fell due, & he very generously also paid me the value of that which I had dis- 
 counted, despairing of any possibility of recovering any part of the money from 
 the Count, which he certainly received for both bills (as appears by the evidence 
 we took here and transmitted to Naples), tho' the Endorsement was in his hand- 
 writing only upon the real Bill. 
 
 ' I hope & do not doubt that justice will at last overtake this rascall, without 
 Lord Lincoln or me being the immediate instrument to bring it about, an office 
 which I am sure we shou'd both very much dislike. 
 
 ' I am, with sincere respect,' &c. 
 
 64. A. L. from the Duke of Hamilton^ to the same. Dated ' Naples, 
 
 Monday' (1776). i page 8vo., vi^ith Superscription. [H.] 
 
 'The plot was discovered, swords & other deadly instruments were imploied 
 on her side, but without effect. My only consolation in this infernal bore is 
 looking upon myself as another .(Eneas, tho' not quite so fortunate. Excuse this 
 scrawl. You will offer the three hundred pounds ; perhaps the lady may be so 
 afflicted as to refuse the money, she has already threatened. She is quite foolish, 
 insists on not seeing you, — you must act accordingly. Fitzherbert will give the 
 money.' 
 
 65. A. L. from the same to the same. Dated Castello, ' Monday 
 
 eves.' I page 4to., with Superscription, [h.] 
 
 ' I am desirous to know how you have settled the ladle's affairs ; I beg you 
 
 will take great care of them, and not handle them too roughly ; Lord A n 
 
 having a complete knowledge of her most trifling affairs wou'd be the properest, 
 & I believe the most agreable to her in assisting you to settle them. This is a very 
 damp place ; if you cou'd send by the bearer a few clean pipes and some good 
 bacco I shou'd be much obliged to you. I go to-morrow to kill a boar, I fear it 
 will be one. S'^ Harry sends his compliments to you ; I beg mine to Lady 
 Hamilton. Pray tell Gasparine that I am bound in duty ever to pray for him for 
 the good patd he sent us. By this letter you will perceive I am no mechanic' 
 
 66. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated ' Castello, Wednesday 
 
 at six in the morning, very cold.' 2 pages 4to., with Super- 
 scription, [h.] 
 
 ' I received your letter last night in bed. I sincerely thank you for the trouble 
 you have given yourself on this occasion, & shall ever remember the interest you 
 
 * Thomas Coutts, 1735-1822, the well-known banker, husband of Harriett Mellon, the 
 actress, who afterwards married the Duke of St. Albans. 
 
 t Henry Pelham Clinton, 2nd Duke of Newcastle, 1720-1794, was the second son of 
 Henry, 7th Earl of Lincoln, and inherited the Dukedom of Newcastle in 1768, in right of his 
 mother's uncle, Thomas Pelham Holies, ist Duke of Newcastle. The Duke was one of the 
 Lords of the Bedchamber, was made a Privy Councillor in 1768, and Recorder of Nottingham 
 in 1773. The Earl of Lincoln was his second son (the elder having died in 1752), who also died 
 in the lifetime of his father in 1778. 
 
 X Douglas, 8th Duke of Hamilton. He died in 1799. 
 
46 THE HAMILTON AND [1776. 
 
 have taken in my welfare. Relying on your goodness I must plague you once 
 
 more on the same subject. The lady had ^500 pound of debt. Lord A n 
 
 says had she staid with him he wou'd have paid it. Tho' my Lord most probably 
 wou'd not have paid any part of the debt, yet I cou'd not positively say so. I 
 have given her ^300, and there remains ^200 of debt, which hinders her return 
 to England. If I was to give her the ^200, I shou'd leave her in a better position 
 than I found her, I shou'd have done good instead of harm to her, & I shou'd be 
 perfectly at my ease. I shou'd wish this to be done, but if you do not approve of 
 this plan, I will give it up. I return my thanks to Lady H. for her ginger, I 
 cou'd wish it was an emblem of her friendship. Much obliged to you for what 
 you have sent, & for the care you have taken of my little boy. S"' Harry begs to 
 be remembered to you & to Lady H. As yet we have had bad sport, but 
 to-day we have great expectations. I am,' &c. 
 
 67. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated ' Castello, Wednesday, 
 
 5 in the evening.' i page 4to., with Superscription, [h.] 
 
 ' I have just now received a curious epistle from the unfortunate lady, she tells 
 me she shall not leave Naples for these four or five days on account of a sudden 
 illness, so I am banished from your presence longer than I expected, for I shall 
 most certainly not come to Naples till she is gone. I have been out shooting 
 every day since I have been here & never seen anything the least like game. 
 I wish you cou'd find out some better place on S'^ Harri's account, who is so 
 good as to stay with me, tho' he is infernally bored. Adieu, my dear Sr. W. and 
 believe me,' &c. 
 
 68. A. L. S. ' H ' from the same to the same. Dated 'Castello, Thursday, 
 
 7 in the morning.' i page 4to., with Superscription. [H.] 
 
 'By your two letters which are come this morning, I hope things will be 
 brought to a happy conclusion, and that we may soon sing a Te Deu7n. You are 
 perfectly right about the money. As to the letter to the lady I answered it in 
 these terms. That I was sorry she forced me to say disagreable things ; 
 that in leaving her at Naples I had made a resolution to have nothing more to do 
 with her ; that I shou'd receive no more of her letters, nor shou'd I write her any 
 more ; that S"^ W. H. wou'd settle everything, because I shou'd not be back for 
 some time. I am much obliged to you for what you have sent, it is quite pilfering 
 you. Adieu, my dear S"^ W. and be assured that I am,' &c. 
 
 69. A. L. S. ' H ' from the same to the same. Dated ' Castello, Thurs- 
 
 day evening, i page, with Superscription. [H.] 
 
 ' I have been trying to shoot for these four days from night till morning, & 
 I have not yet found out any creature worthy of a discharge. I have been 
 speaking to the people in this damned place just now about shooting. They tell 
 me there are two very good places for Boars — Monte Marcio, & Mondragone. 
 They are kept for the King, but he never comes. If you cou'd get me the per- 
 mission to go there I shou'd be exceedingly obliged to you, & I make no doubt 
 you can succeed if you please. I am advised to get letters to the Duke Mon- 
 dragone & his son to be the better served ; you know best whether that is 
 necessary. The messenger who brings you this letter will wait your answer, 
 which I flatter myself will be favourable. Your aff.,' &c. 
 
 ' N.B.— Wet through to-day.' 
 
 70. A. L. S. from Horace Walpole to the same. Dated Arlington 
 
 Street, Feb. 18, 1776. 3 pages 4to. [H.J 
 
 ' I haste to answer your kind letter, dear S'^, lest I shou'd not find you at 
 Naples. Yourself and Lady Hamilton are as much as I desire thence, & I shall 
 not trouble you with any Commission but to bring them safe. The Mountains of 
 Swisserland are, I am persuaded, a fine sight, & I shall desire to be a subscriber 
 to your Vesuvius ; but I wish you had not exchanged your taste in painting and 
 
1776.] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 A7 
 
 Antiquity for Phenomena. A turn for Natural History possesses people enough ; 
 so do the Arts, but not many who have your taste. Perhaps my own inclinations 
 biass me, for I own I have no curiosity about the Anatomy of Nature. I admire 
 & revere, but am not more struck, probably less, with the dissection than with the 
 superficies. 
 
 'Thank you for the inscription on the Duke of Matalone's Villa. It is a 
 prudent precaution, and wou'd prevent many people from being left quite alone. 
 But inscriptions are like mottoes of families, which seldom suit two generations. 
 I believe the Pretender thought so, when the present Royal Family adopted Dieu S-» 
 mon Droit. Ich Dien has not been always applicable, but I believe the late Prince 
 thought that maxim of our law was too literally true, that the King never dies. 
 
 ' I have no new anecdotes for you of Painters or Architects. It is nothing 
 new that Pictures keep up at highwater mark ; and yet Mr. Pearson has been 
 greatly disappointed. He brought over a Madonna and Child, by Vandyck as he 
 said, which I doubt, tho' a very fine picture. He said too that he had refused 
 two thousand pounds for it, and asked four. It was put up to auction yesterday at 
 Christie's at one thousand. Not one shilling was bidden. I hear of little brought 
 over from Mariette's glorious sale of drawings and prints, which sold enormously, 
 tho' not for near what the King of France offered for the whole, four days before 
 the sale. I have got a few trifles that I wished for. 
 
 ' You will find Park Place* still augmented in beauty. Mr. Conway is gone 
 thither on an alarm of a crack by the late terrible frost in his own bridge, but I 
 do not doubt but his skill will repair it. I advise Lady Hamilton to beg, buy or 
 steal all the plumes from all the theatres on her road, she will want them for a 
 single fashionable head-dress, nay, & gourds & melons into the bargain. You 
 will think like William the Conqueror that you meet marching forests. 
 
 ' The hard frost, as I chuse to suppose, has given me an eccentric fit of the 
 gout, which has confined me to my chamber, & almost to my bed these three 
 weeks. I hope to be quite well to receive you & Lady Hamilton at Strawberry 
 Hill, where you will find Diva Eleanora, and particularly your shrine of Capoccia 
 worthily consecrated. I wish I cou'd find engravers as reasonable as you do, but 
 here one must have plundered Bengal to afford their prices ; & I plunder 
 nobody but myself 
 
 ' As you pass thro' Paris, look at the new front of St. Genevieve, at the Ecole 
 de Chirurgie (which, by the by, you cannot stand far enough from to see), & at 
 some of the new hotels. Don't look at any of the finest pictures, for they have all 
 been so varnished that you can see nothing but yourself in them. Some of those 
 at the Palais Roial & those of the Prince of Monaco have been transported to 
 new canvases, inch by inch, & the junctures filled up, & the whole repainted. 
 They had begun on the glorious Chartreuse, but Monsr. D'Anchevilliers,t Inten- 
 dant des Batiments, had the sense to stop them, will transplant the originals to 
 Versailles, & give copies to the Convent. He must make haste or they will 
 perish, or he be displaced, & taste is not hereditary in places no more than in 
 families. Adieu ! dear S''.,' &c.{ 
 
 71. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated 
 Naples, March I2th, 1776. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' Yesterday, my dear Charles, I received your very satisfactory letter of the 9th 
 of last month and I have now the greatest hopes, when such vigorous measures 
 are adopted, that America will soon be brought to reason. You know I had 
 always the greatest opinion of my friend L* George [Germaine], if there is a 
 sound head in England I am sure it is that of his Lordf. I shall have great 
 pleasure in making you more acquainted with him when I return. 
 
 ' I have been for this fortnight past every moment with the K. & Q. of Naples 
 at Persano. I was lodged in the palace, an honour never before enjoy'd by any 
 minister, and it is impossible to describe to you the goodness and attentions 
 
 * General Conway's seat. 
 
 t Charles Claude La Billarderie, Count d'Angiviller. Died 1810. 
 
 t This letter is not published in Walpole's Letters. 
 
48 THE HAMILTON AND [1776. 
 
 shewn me by their Majestys & of course by the whole court. No etiquette what- 
 ever. I am almost ashamed of the slaughter we committed in the forest in 13 
 days, no less than \ji\ii pieces de gibier; among which were 170 wild boars, above 
 1000 deer, 7 wolves — I myself killed one day 3 boars & 8 deer. It was with 
 difficulty that I got away, but as Duke Hamilton is here & I wish to finish the 
 volcanick work before I leave Naples, which I purpose doing the ist of May, my 
 presence here was absolutely necessary. Considering the difficulty of printing in 
 two foreign languages, the edition promises well ; but the plates which are the 
 material will I am sure surpass any thing of the kind. I have been obliged to be 
 the translator, corrector, inspector &c., &c. What is worse, the furnisher of the 
 money; above ^1300 already is gone, but, thank God, the last plate is in hand 
 which compleats 54. Nothing material has been omitted. I have secured the 
 original drawings, tho' they have sufifer'd much by handling, flies, &c. 
 
 ' Here is the bill of loading for your pictures, which sai'ed from hence some 
 days ago. I have sent my Velasquez & some of the middling bits that I bought 
 cheap here & will sell well. As near as I can recollect you will find in the case 
 your Guido Cagnacci, Anibal Carrach, Albano, Cav'. Calabrese, & of mine, a 
 portrait called L. d. Vinci but I believe of Parmeggiano ; the Diego Velasquez, 2 
 Zucarelli landscapes, 2 small Venetian architecture, i drawing of Titian, 2 heads, 
 sketches of Guido, 3 heads of Nogari & 2 sketches of Luca Jordano. Be so good 
 as to take care of them with the rest you have of mine, & keep an account of the 
 share I have to pay for carriage, duty, &c. 
 
 ' I am glad Robert does not go upon the very disagreeable American service. 
 Thank you for the [news] you give me about Spain. I am not anxious to change 
 my situation which is now made so pleasant to me. I have you know applied for 
 Spain & if I am thought of on a vacancy well, if not je me consolerai ais^mentj 
 nothing but the superiour character cou'd tempt me. Pray always say that my 
 intention is to return here. I shall send home the great vase, but if the Museum 
 do not take it I will have a good price for it I promise you. I still wish for the 
 honor of my collection it may go there, for such a capital piece is of consequence. 
 Do what you can to bring it about, my dr Greville. Yours,' &c. 
 
 72. A. L. S. from the Duke of Hamilton to Sir W. Hamilton. 
 Dated Rome, May 15th, 1776. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription 
 and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I heartily thank you, my dear S'^ William, for your goodness & attention to 
 me when I was at Naples. I was dry, & you gave me to drink. I was hungry, 
 and you fed me, I was in danger, & you protected me ; & tho' there are people in 
 this town who call you the blackest & cruellest of men, I never experienced any 
 of those qualities. All was benificence, & humanity (except to boars and quails) ; 
 if I could find any fault, you had rather too great an attention to my health. 
 
 ' Colonel Heywood, as he does not know you personally, desired me to write 
 
 to you for a copy of your book when it comes out. Lady A n still persecutes 
 
 me, but gains no advantage. I am very ill with the D ess of G r. Lord 
 
 A n is a favourite ; he is the man with the ladies, ecco il vero PolicineUo. I 
 
 beg to be remembered to Lady Hamilton, who I hope is well. I hear she has 
 taken to the reading of godly books since I left Naples ; if Mr. Tierney sends 
 such good books to all his female acquaintancies, they must be worth knowing. 
 I have desired Tierney to buy two Spanish Barrels, I wish you wou'd look at 
 them first. I will not bore you any longer, but believe me if you were not of the 
 same Tripa Reale with me, for your personal merit I shou'd & shall always be 
 with the greatest esteem,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — I have just now spoke to Madame de Pimonbrun about our poor 
 painter. She told me it was impossible to get him into the Acad^mie Frangoise 
 without having gained the prize at Paris ; but she is to speak to M. Vienne, the 
 Director of the Academy, who will do what he can for our painter, if he has 
 merit. The name of the painter is Claud Gilbert Forret. You will explain to 
 him the contents of this letter ; if they write to you about his talents, you will not 
 make them worse than they are ; God knows they are bad enough already, entre 
 nous soil dit. Any letters that you shou'd receive for me, keep them till I write 
 to you. How many pigs have the wolf-dogs killed ? I leave Rome on Sunday next.' 
 
1776, 1 777-] NELSON PAPERS. 49 
 
 73. A. L. S. from Lady Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated December 
 
 30th, 1776. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription, [h.] 
 ' I shall make no apology, my d'' Greville, for troubling you, tho' I know 
 Hamilton intends writing to you on the same subject by this post ; but you know 
 my working anxious mind & f knowjoz^r good & frienily heart, & as I imagine 
 he may not have the same suspicions as 1 have, I am desirous to communicate 
 them to you, begging if possible you will find out if they have any foundation. 
 The answer to a letter in which he proposed a certain person for a Charge 
 d' Affaires, at the same time requesting leave of absence, you will find in his letter; 
 it is therefore unnecessary to say more than that I suspect (as L'* W. is an old 
 White's man, & our worthy Consul was formerly well with that tribe) that 
 Janiineau has been at work with L'' W. to be employ'd ; I likewise suspect his 
 having made Hamilton tracasseries at home, which may be very unpleasant to 
 him, &, as I dread everything that can give him an hour's uneasiness, I could wish 
 you would find out if he has been at work. I would not convey by this that I 
 think he could do Hamilton any essential harm ; but, as truth is not a quality 
 Jamineau is famous for, he may, in Ld. W.'s jolly moments, have told him stories 
 to clear his own conduct, & to explain to his own advantage H-'s quarrel with 
 him, ^vhich may produce uncomfortable circumstances to Hamilton till the whole 
 truth is known ; if it is so, when once discovered, the mischief is at an end. 
 Perhaps my own anxious mind may represent this in a blacker light than need be, 
 but I hope you will excuse it, & believe me to be, with the utmost sincerity,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — Hamilton is just come from a hunt with the King, where they kill'd 
 five & twenty wild boars, & was at one yesterday where they kill'd three hundred 
 & seventy-six wild ducks ; what slaughter ! 
 
 'All yours & our friends at Vienna are grumbling at Monsr. de Breteuil,* 
 who wants to reform their Coteries, & make thetn a little more i la tnode fran^oise, 
 but I hear it does not take. No wonder! Quant on et bien on ne change pas. 
 I wish we were there.' 
 
 74. A. L. S. from Lord Cowper to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated Florence, 
 
 January 5th, 1777. 2 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I hope you will be so good as to excuse the liberty I am taking in troubling 
 you with my scrawls, but as I have lately read in the newspapers of your being 
 appointed one of the Council of the Royal Society, and as I have always been 
 desirous of being a member of it, & not knowing who to apply to for it, must now 
 beg the favour of you to procure me that honour, if merit is not absolutely 
 necessary towards the attaining it. Another favour I must beg of you is to inform 
 me whether there are any new discoveries or experiments found out on electricity 
 since you have been in England ; if there are any, I must beg you will be so 
 good as to inform me of them, for you must know I am electricity mad, and value 
 myself upon having one of the largest and best machines in Italy, made here 
 under my own direction with Mr. Nairne's globes ; I say the best, because it is so 
 much superior to the Grand Duke's, which was sent him by Mr. Nairne a year or 
 two ago. I can with a common Leyden phial draw a very strong flash of lightening 
 upon glass frames gilt to the length of 20 English feet, which I think a great way con- 
 sidering there is no battery. I have my phials made at Venice as in the drawing, 
 which increases the surface considerably, and causes a great explosion of electric 
 fire. Lady Cowpert desires I would present her best compliments to Lady 
 Hamilton and yourself, to which I beg mine may be added, and am,' &c. 
 
 75. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Florence, April 4th, 
 
 1777. 2f pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I have been very much out of order for some time past, which has prevented 
 
 hfe * Louis Augusta Le Tonnelier, Baron de Breteuil, 1733-1807, a French statesman and diplo- 
 matist, Ambassador to Cologne, Russia, Sweden, Holland, Naples, and Vienna. He leturoed 
 to France in 1783, and filled various offices of State. 
 
 + Lord Cowper had married, in 1775, Anne, youngest daughter and co-heir of Charles Gore, 
 of Horkstow, Lincolnshire. She died in 1826. 
 
 VOL. I. E 
 
50 THE HAMILTON AKD [i777. 
 
 me from answering your very kind letter sooner. Now I arh recovered, permit me 
 to return you many thanks for it, and for your punctuality in having me chosen a 
 member of the Royal Society. I have received a letter of notification from the 
 Secretary, Mr. Planta,* and have given my agent in England necessary directions 
 for my admission by paying the ^31 to the Treasurer. The Surinam or Electrical 
 eel you mention is certainly the greatest curiosity I ever heard of; I should 
 imagine it very dangerous handling those gentlemen when fresh caught ; I wish 
 of three that are in London one at least may be alive when I come to 
 England, which perhaps may be in the Autumn, but many advise me to come over 
 rather in the Spring, that I may have the Summer before me, and so not meet 
 with a bad Winter immediately, as it would be dangerous after breathing the air 
 of Italy for so many years past. I did intend coming over this Spring, but my 
 boy + cannot be weaned for some months yet, and as he is just beginning to cut 
 his teeth, it would be imprudent moving him in his present situation. 
 
 ' 1 saw the Grand Duke and Duchess last night, and presented your respects 
 to them ; they enquired particularly after you and Lady Hamilton and hoped they 
 should see you on your return to Naples. A propos, the Emperor has paid me a very 
 great compliment by creating me a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire under the 
 title of Prince of Nassau Owerkirk, the tide my Grand-father Lord Grantham and 
 his brother the Marshal bore, as Counts of the Empire. I have likewise received 
 the King's permission to accept of this honour and of taking the name of Prince 
 of Nassau Owerkirk. As his Imperial Majesty has not yet declared it at Vienna, 
 I must beg you will not mention it till then, tho' I imagine by the time you 
 receive my letter it will be done. I hope Lady Hamilton is well ; I beg my 
 compliments to her Ladyship; Lady Covvper desires hers may be added, as well 
 as to yourself, and am,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — I am extremely obliged to you for having ordered Mr. Nairne to 
 acquaint me with every new discovery in Electricity.' 
 
 76. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 Dec. i6th, 1777. 4i pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal. [H.] 
 
 'It is just now as if I had not left Naples. We are settled again with the 
 same servants, town and country houses as you found us. The reception we have 
 met with from every quarter from the highest to the lowest is very flattering. , I 
 am going to-day to take up my quarters at a little hunting seat of the King's at 
 St. Luce, near Caserta, from whence we have noble boar-hunting, & I am to go 
 to Venasso with him the 5th of next month for ten days. Horace mentions the 
 size & fierceness of the boars, in this place, of the Appenines. The Queen, not 
 being pregnant, is of all these parties with only one lady, & the Chasseurs now 
 are reduced to 9 including the King, so that you see what favour I receive ; the 
 list of Chasseurs when I left Naples were 17. 
 
 ' I did not go through M ilan, but you need only write to me & enclose the 
 account, I will get the whole settled directly. I don't know whether Kevenhuller 
 is returned thither or not. 
 
 ' The flock of English is most terrible this year, especially as there are many 
 ladies, tk. U Maynard J among the rest, but nobody visits her. Mr. Mackenzie,§ 
 
 * Joseph Planta, 1744-1827, a Swiss by birth, but resident in England, where, in 1773, he 
 became Assistant Librarian at the British Museum. In 1774 was elected a Fellow of the Royal 
 Society, conducted the foreign correspondence, and in 1776 became one of the Secretaries. In 
 1799 he became Principal Librarian to the British Museum. 
 
 + George Augustus, 4th Earl Cowper, 1776-1799, tlie writer's eldest son. 
 
 X Lady Maynard was the wife of Charles, 2nd Viscount, 1751-1824. According to Walpole 
 her name was Nancy Parsons, a woman of the town, who called herself Mrs. Horten, and 
 married Viscount Maynard in 1776- 
 
 § The Kt. Hon. James Stewart Mackenzie, second son of James, and Earl of Bute. He 
 took the name of Mackenzie on succeeding to the landed property of his great-grandfather, Sir 
 George Mackenzie. He married, in 1749, his cousin Lady Elizabeth Campbell, 4th daughter 
 of John, 2nd Duke of Argyll. She died in 1799, and Mr. Mackenzie only survived her nine 
 mcjnths, dying of grief at her loss. 
 
1 777-1 NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 5' 
 
 Ly Betty & Dutens* are here, but that is rather a comfort to us. Mr. Mackenzie 
 saw Venus from his window at noon yesterday with a machine of Ramsden's, 
 which delighted him much ; a crowd of Lazaronis were gaping at him & his 
 machine from below. 
 
 ' Good pictures & every species of virtic, such as would content you & me are 
 become very scarce even at Rome. I shall by degrees make you a compleat 
 collection of the Cristalls of Vesuvius, & I will write to Sicily for specimens of 
 that country. I saw the other day (but it is not to be purchased) some cristals of 
 Sulphur of Sicily, the largest & finest I ever saw. 
 
 'When you pass Caddel the Bookseller, pray tell him to send me the Annual 
 Register & Court Kalendar as soon as published, & any book that m.ay appear in 
 my way. I will beg you also to send for Crighton & ask what he did with the 
 cases we left to be sent after us, as we have never received a bill of loading or had 
 any account of them ; he lives in King's Street, Soho. 
 
 ' Ramsden will I hope send me the things I ordered one day or other, pray 
 let him join with them one of the pocket refractors & a small glass for sea 
 service. 
 
 ' Notwithstanding my being so comfortably settled here, I much regret being 
 absent from you whose taste & disposition so exactly suits mine. I hope m a few 
 years to be as comfortably, tho' perhaps not so magnificently, settled at home, for 
 after all, & in spite of climate, no country I ever saw produces so many resources 
 as ours. Yours,' &c. 
 
 ' fS. — Lady Hamilton has not yet recovered her fright, but upon the whole is 
 tolerably well ; she sends her kind love to you. Remember us both kindly to 
 Ld. & L^ W. & Robert' 
 
 77. A. L. S. from ' Mary Hamilton 'f to Lady Hamilton. Dated St. 
 James's, December i8th, 1777. 3I pages folio, with Super- 
 scription and Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' I am conscious that I deserve reproaches for not having wrote to you before 
 now, I make no excuses for not having done so, & lay y° whole blame upon 
 wicked procrastination ; notwithstanding believe me I felt most grateful for your 
 two kind letters. The Queen very frequently enquires after you & Sir Wm., & I 
 took the liberty of mentioning your reception at Manheim & of showing your 
 description — merely that of the N. Holland dress ; she was pleased with both. 
 May I beg when you favour me with another letter, it may be fit in every shape 
 to be exhibited to her view, for (if it did not appear intentional) it might forward 
 any interest you or Sir Wm. might have in view, — & surely in y" most innocent 
 way. / have an affectionate heart, S^ believe 7iu that dictates ever. At y" same 
 time let me not be deprived of an unreserved correspondence ; I am but a young 
 Courtier, but have some prudence to guide me. 
 
 ' I saw Mr. Preston a few days ago, he regretted the having miss'd you upon the 
 road ; he saw your servants, & was distant from you about a j of an hour. He staid 
 with Mr. Legge two or three days at Manheim ; the Elector spoke in the highest 
 terms of Sir Wm. & wished it had been possible to have known more of him & 
 enjoyed his company for a longer time. Tell Sir Wm. (if you do not think I shall 
 run y" risk of being thought impertinent) that he is very insinuating & has the art 
 of pleasing universally. 
 
 ' Mr. C. Greville did me the Iwnor of speaking to me the other night at the 
 Opera, said he had had two letters from you, but was impatient to hear from you 
 from Naples. Apropos, the Duke of Gloucester is so far recover'd as never to 
 msis a night ; they say the K. & him are upon y" mo-^t friendly /r/z/afe terms., & I 
 know that the day he arrived in England he rec''. a kind & brotherly letter. The 
 D''. appears in all the dignities of her station — Maids of Honor, &c. — waiting 
 
 * Louis Dutens, 1730-1812, a French Protestant by birth, who lool< refuge in England from 
 religious persecutions, and became Mr. Mackenzie's secretary while ambassador at Turin. 
 He wrote Memoires d'un Voyagetir qui se reposent. 
 
 t The only ' Mary ' Hamilton of the period who could call Sir William uncle was his eldest 
 brother Charles's daughter Mary, who married Mr. John Dickinson. 
 
52 THE HAMILTON AND [1777, 1778- 
 
 behind her in y« box. Our new-born Princess* is a beautiful child, & the picture 
 of little Prince! Adolphust that pleas'd you so much at Kew. He calls me his wife 
 & I am accused of spoiling him. 
 
 'December 19th.— 1 have just been down my" drawing-room, it being my 
 night in waiting. The K. asked me when I had heard from you, & I was obliged 
 to acknowledge my omission ; he then told me of a shocking accident w"'' had 
 happened to you & Sir Wm. ; thank God you suffer'd no worse than fright, tho' I 
 feel for your poor Swiss, & hope he is perfectly recover'd. I suppose you have 
 before now heard of the death of poor L^Delawar J & of the humane attention of 
 the K. & Q. in settling ^1600 a year upon his widow, w'='» is clear to her 1200. 
 Miss Fryer gave me a melancholy & affecting account of her sufferings ; she is 
 much belter, & with the kind endeavours of her friends hoped soon to regain her 
 spirits. 
 
 'Adieu, my dearest L''^. Hamilton. Let me have y« happiness to hear from 
 you soon, & then tell me if I should become a constant scribbler & correspondent, 
 if it would be agreeable. I will in that case pick up every anecdote to amuse you 
 that lays in my power. My most affectionate respects attend Sir Wm. With 
 sincerity, I remain,' &c. 
 
 'P.S. — Pray direct to me at my apartments at St. James's Palace. My 
 Mamma is pretty well & desires to be aff"^ remember'd. I did not see Mr. & 
 Mrs. Graham when they were in town, I heard they spent a week at Althorpe. 
 The T)" of D. is highly blamed for , but why sh* I repeat scandal ? 
 
 ' I wrote this in y" nursery — sufficient excuse for y^ wretched scrawl.' 
 
 78. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated 
 Naples, March 3rd, 1778. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' In answer to yr. last, of what date I know not, as you seldom date your 
 letters, I have only to tell you how happy I am that poor Seaforth is rouged, & 
 the more so as it was by your means ; but unless you break his brandy bottle all 
 will not do, for it is as sure death as a pistol. 
 
 ' Shudi's bill for the harpsichord I don't comprehend : I thought you had got a 
 little piano forte for Kevenhuller, & that I was, had I gone to Milan in my way 
 back, to have got it paid. Sure, this can't be the Empress's harpsichord, for that 
 & the one of Bacher's were paid, if I don't mistake, by the Imperial Minister in 
 London ; do explain this that no time may be lost, & that neither you or I should 
 be left to pay the trifling sum of 96 pounds. When I get rid of my plagues, the 
 English, Dutch, & Russians, I will set heartily to work & ransack the two Sicilies 
 for cristals for you. I have made Mr. Mackenzie as mad as I am upon the 
 subject of Volcanoes, but if I had not stuck pretty close to the truth, & had taken 
 such liberties as travellers usually take, he wou'd have plaid the devil with me, 
 for he outs with his ruler, &c., & calculates all the strata to the looth part of an 
 inch. He is measuring the heights about Naples that have not yet been 
 measured. I love him, as he is most sensible & friendly, but entre nous dreadfully 
 minutieux. It is impossible to conceive a more brilliant Carnaval than this ; 
 thank God we put on ashes to-morrow, for I am sick of lights & masks. We talk 
 here of nothing but war. Should we have a war with Spain, this post of mine 
 might be of some consequence, for it is no secret that I am in the very greatest 
 favour personally with H. S. M., who writes constantly to his father, & any thing 
 convey'd by me might be convey'd agreably. I have said so often in my 
 Dispatches, but I don't expect that mine are ever much attended to when so 
 much more pressing business occupies our Ministry. I rejoice that L* W. has 
 shewn his loyalty upon the present occasion of raising men ; my love to him, L^' 
 W., & Bob. Yours,' &c. 
 
 * The Princess Sophia was born November 3rd, 1777. She died in 1848. 
 
 t The Duke of Cambridge, 1774-1850. 
 
 X John, 2nd Earl Delawarr, 1729-1777, a Lieutenant-General in the army, and Chamberlain 
 of the Queen's Household. He married Mary, daughter of Lt. -General Wynyard. She died in 
 1784. 
 
1778.] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 53 
 
 79. A. L. S. from Sir Robert Murray Keith to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 
 Vienna, March 3rd, 1778. i page 4to. [h.] 
 
 'This letter will be presented to you by Mr. Pery (Nephew to the Speaker of 
 the Irish House of Commons) & Mr. Sherlock his companion. I beg leave to 
 recommend them to your protection & good offices during the stay they intend to 
 make at Naples, & I am fully persuaded that they will shew themselves deferring 
 of & grateful for them. 
 
 ' I shall be happy to obey your commands in this Capital, & have the honour 
 to be,' &c. 
 
 80. A. L. S. from the Earl of Pembroke to the same. Dated London, 
 
 April 14th, 1778. I page 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' Give me leave, my dear Hamilton, to beg your acceptance of a new edition 
 of my book. Pray present one to the King of Naples as a reason why he should 
 let L"* Herbert send me a horse or two out of his country some time hence when he 
 visits it. Pray give one also for me to the Riding Grandee d nerf de bmuf, in 
 whose manege we saw two men ride upon one horse at a time. We hope L^ 
 Hamilton is well ; our best comp^ attend her & you. Ever yours,' &c. 
 
 'P.S. — The King, nor His Seigneur, not understanding English is not viy 
 fault, you know.' 
 
 81. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to the same. Dated May 5th, 1778. 
 
 7 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I send you a letter which I received from Warwick ; the peer had put it in a 
 cover without a direction, & I concluded he had forgot, & put two covers by 
 mistake. I opened it, & the first line convinced me of my mistake, & I read it 
 thro' before I sealed it, by which I find that the Vase has a good effect in the 
 Court. He is like some great men who are fond of surprizing those around them, 
 &, altho' I am naturally curious, I am by no means so in his concerns, for I can 
 see every thing e.xcept what is pleasing. His account of his expedition to Spa is 
 enough for you to understand his plan, I only fear that economy is not to be 
 found by our family in any corner of Europe, & I despair of their perseverance 
 for a year or two, without which the savings will be of no consequence. I talk'd 
 over Italy, & stated the circumstances of English travellers whom he could not 
 avoid. I knew that it would be sufficient to confine him to Switzerland, & if he 
 goes further it were more for his advantage to stay in England. The Stormonts 
 are in quiet possession of the house in St. James's Square, which is thereby so full 
 that there is not a corner for Louisa. I expect her in town soon for a few days, 
 & this is her L^i''' first appearance in London. I have been out of order ; a 
 constant attendance during our long debates, & the necessary attendance in the 
 morning at private Committees kept me for ten days together almost incessantly 
 in putrid air. I was one day in particular from eleven till 3 in Committee, & 
 from 3 to five next morning without intermission in the House, & I have not yet 
 recovered it. But it may perhaps be to my anxiety in private & public affairs 
 which may make my wish for repose more sincere. 
 
 ' The distress of the public, & the necessary douceurs raise the loans of the 
 year to 8 per cent., & who will give their money to individuals at 8 .^ & L"" W. had 
 nearly been drawn in to give a douceur to the Stock holder, which only fail'd by its 
 being of a piece with many other plans — to late thought of ; for the friends of Gov' 
 who had advanced the first, & could not make the second sold below par, 3 or 4 
 pr. ct. ; of course the douceur would have been received by those who had 
 already received the douceur by the fall of the stock, & the original friends would 
 have had both loss & mortification. I cannot talk of public affairs. There seems 
 to be a fatality impending on this great Nation ; we have strength, resources, & 
 spirit, but we want abilies & conduct ; we have not one General in whom I could 
 wish our little force entrusted, nor one man in Gov' or in opposition in whom the 
 Nation confides. I declare I think L'^ Geo. G. is superior to any man, & alone 
 fit for this great situation ; but, alas, there has been such a field of -declamation. 
 
54 THE HAMILTON AMI [1778. 
 
 & such tender subjects of prejudice, that I scarce know how it can be got over. 
 As I wrote to you (1 believe), the discontent on the plan to relieve Ireland by 
 opening its trade swells daily — it is fatal to hurry any such measures— at the 
 end of a session there is only time for the decision of passion & prejudice ; much 
 can be done & ought to be done, but not in a hurry ; if wisdom directed, it should, 
 in my opinion, be insensibly ; remove slight inconveniences, & habituate the 
 Country to approve & Ireland to be grateful. It is really a pity that Chatham is 
 disabled & totally unfit for business ; he is not so much for ability as for a certain 
 popularity, which is worth any thing in time of danger. We are as quiet as mice, 
 no bustle, no alarm ; the fleet lies at Spithead ; the French fleet sails from 
 Toulon, & the day the order goes, as I expected, the wind blows S.W. & 
 continues ; in short, if I went on, I should only shew how dissatisfied I am, & 
 how miserable, because I see not the possibility of improvement. 
 
 'Now for myself. I told you that of all the Chateaus I ever build none ever lasted 
 so long as that of my wish to settle. I have known how much happiness is to 
 be valued, & I never shall loose sight of it by matching myself with mere money ; 
 but I have now the misfortune of seeing the pleasing prospect without the hopes 
 off attaining it, &, what is worse, 1 begin to be miserable. Si. then one's chances 
 fall cent per cent. I perhaps am talking enigmaticaly, as I did some time ago to 
 Louisa, but in short I am so well with Granby, Ly., the Duchess, & Ly. B. C, 
 that I think they have a real friendship for me, & I am afraid of becoming 
 serious, least I should have a short No ; & to be sure the field of Titles & 
 Fortunes are so ample that I must be very impudent to flatter myself God 
 knows what will become of it ; but, if I should long for the ^20,000 prize in the 
 lottery, it is a possibility which my ticket entitles me to wish for untill it is drawn, 
 & I certainly shall not despond untill she is married ; because I am so much bit 
 that I cannot find the smallest grounds to alter my wishes, for it is one thing to be 
 amiable & to suit exactly; &, unless the coincidance is complete, misery must 
 ensue, but I think I could make her happy. I talk nonsense to you because I 
 dare not hint it to any one ; I am my own confidant, therefore wish more for you 
 to be near me ; but it is so modest a request to say — take me for mes beaux yeicx 
 without anything, in preference of all the world, that it must be such an impudent 
 fellow as you to assist me, & (as) I cannot get you I must beat & beat about, &, if 
 I can find the opportunity of asking without risk, you shall hear of my 
 proceedings ; but I shall be a Fabius, slow & sure ; there is, however, so much 
 more chance from dashing that if I did not like her 1 should have a better chance. 
 Love to Ly H.,' &c. 
 
 82. A. L. S. from the Bishop of Derry* to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 Albano, June 3rd (1778). 2 pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I wish I had anything new to communicate to you, but I have not been at 
 Rome these ten days ; my friend there writes me some Imperial news which I 
 conclude you know from Sir R. Keith much better & sooner than we do. Mons. 
 d'Estain'st squadron was spoke with near the Azores, so that they certainly have 
 pursued their course, & were join'd by two more frigates — of this I have certain 
 information — I wish it were less, so than an attack on Ireland is certainly intended, 
 &; that the R. C. there, worn out with long & pityless oppression, are eager for 
 this event. Something was negotiated here by the officers of Dillon's regiment, 
 but of what nature I do not exactly know — only that the Comte d'Albany'sJ spirits 
 have been considerably raised of late. Surely they cannot be hard driven enough 
 to employ such a sot ; this is certain that the Fryars here & too many of our 
 
 * Frederick Augustus Hervey, Bishop of Derry, 4th Earl of Bristol, 1730-1803. He 
 succeeded his brother, the 3rd Earl, in 1779. 
 
 + Charles Hector, Count d'Estaing, 1729- 1794, a French admiral, at that time commanding in 
 the West Indies. He commanded the National Guard at Versailles from 1789, did all in his 
 jx>wer to protect the Royal Family, and was guillotined in his turn, 
 
 J The Young Pretender. 
 
1778.] AELSON PAPERS. 55 
 
 young priests are openly attach'd to him, & are imprudent enough to visit him. 
 Several Fryars have sett out lately for Ireland, & they are chiefly those of the 
 most extensive connexions in that country, & I know that in their private 
 conversations they have declai-'d that, with all the incUnation to be good subjects, 
 England has left them no other method but force to recover their just rights ; 
 what a Madness in our Government not to legalise the daily exercise they make 
 of their Religion ; as if a Man was a less faithfuU Subject or a less brave soldier 
 for being fool enough to believe that to be Flesh w* all the world sees to be 
 only Bread ; or, as if doing that legally w'''' he now does illegally would render 
 him a more tumultuous or a more dangerous Cityzen. But this I fear is a Gordian 
 knot w""" only the sword of a Civil War can cut. 
 
 ' As to my picture, w"' which you are so good as to charge y"^ self, I beg you 
 w* be kind enough to send it to me at Rome when finish'd ; but if Vesuvius sh"* 
 burst I shal see it sooner, as upon the first notice of that sort you are so good as 
 to send me I will sett out immediately, having nothing more at heart than to 
 revisit my ancient foe unless to assure my ancient friend how invariably I am His — 
 
 '" Va megliorano il home." ' 
 
 83. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Rome, July 2nd, 1778. 
 3 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I yesterday received the honor of your letter of the 27th, & as you make no 
 mention of mine inclosed, according to your directions, I fear you have not 
 received it. 
 
 ' You have had too much trouble about my picture already, which under your 
 auspices cannot but prove a good one, to make it reasonable in me to give you 
 any more, & therefore if Passeri does not readily accept the ^35 I beg you will 
 pay him the Forty, & draw upon me at Mr. Jenkins's for that sum. 
 
 ' How unfortunate it is that with all y' hifluence you have never yet been able 
 to obtain a general unfolding of those invaluable Mss. found at Herculaneum. 
 There is no circumstance in Litterature that could equally interest mankind, as 
 from the era at which these books were buried they must contain matters of the 
 greatest importance both of a Religous & civil nature. Pliny, Tacitus, & Suetonius, 
 all Writers coeval with that event, mention the rise of the Christian Religion, & 
 probably many anecdotes relative to it might be found if these volumes were well 
 searched ; probably this consideration alone prevents the examination. Suppose 
 a company were instituted to defray the expence & reap the profits of such an 
 enterprise ; 'tis only considering this mine of Litterature like any other mine 
 whatever either of Gold, Salt, or Alumn ; let foreigners work it, & either pay the 
 King so much for his patent, or a fifth of the profits in the progress of the work ; 
 if money be wanted ready Cash would be most acceptable, & if a Company was 
 instituted under your protection & guidance I would myself subscribe a thousand 
 poun(is most readily, & we might, like other miners, constitute a Society, sub- 
 divide our Expence into a Number of Shares, & admit only whom we pleased. 
 By publishing our Scheme in the different Gazettes of Europe, a number of 
 expedients for unrolling & preserving these Mss. w"* soon be offerr'd, & I doubt 
 not but many of them would be made legible in a few years. When I undertook 
 the measure of building a bridge at Derry of an enormous extent, I publish'd my 
 scheme in the different Gazettes of Switzerland & Germany, the two countries 
 where such fabricks are most in use, & it is incredible what a number of excellent 
 plans & contrivances were sent me from different parts, & what a number of 
 Geniuses were awaken'd, both in those districts & also in Italy, where my 
 proposal had travell'd only accidentally. Mechanism is the ruHng taste of this 
 Century, & if the best method of unfolding these Mss. could be discovered, either 
 in France or England, you have idle hands enough in the convents of Naples to 
 execute what our better heads had invented. There is nothing derogatory in 
 instituting such a Society, & there would be something very profitable in 
 protecting it. I leave to your better knowledge of the Court & its dependents to 
 hatch this egg, but in my opinion it is a golden one, & well worth sitting upon. 
 Excuse this long letter, & believe me,' &c. 
 
56 THE HAMILTON AND [1778. 
 
 84. A. L. S. from Gavin Hamilton* to the same. Dated Rome, July 
 
 Sth, 1778. ipage4to. [h.] 
 
 ' Having nothing of my works finished to show for myself this last winter, 
 I have been tempted to l^eep your picture rather longer than perhaps I ought to 
 have done. I found myself afterwards obliged to consent to the demand of 
 Conseilier Reiffenstein who beg'd to have a drawing done by a Gernian here, 
 almost the size of the original, & which has taken up a good deal of time. 
 Besides I somewhat regret sending you this lame performance, being a thing 
 unworthy your acceptance, but till such time as I can send you a better I have 
 risqued my Muse,t & have delivered it to Giacomo del Prato, whose cor- 
 respondent at Naples will I hope deliver it to you safe. I am,' &c. 
 
 85. A. L. S. from the Bishop of Derry to the same. Dated Rome, 
 
 September 20th, 1778. 3| pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I cannot too soon return you my thanks for your very kind, instructive, and 
 entertaining letter relative to Vesuvius, which, if a most desperate and almost 
 fatal disorder which has overrun this whole Country had not prevented me 
 I should have visited long ago upon your first suggestion of an eruption ; but 
 it is now two months since the influenza w'^'' has ravag'd the environs of Rome 
 and laid four thousand of its citizen in hospitals has confin'd me among other 
 victims to my bed & lastly to my room. I saw the fatal vapor one morning 
 rising like a pest from the Pontine marshes and overspreading the hills of 
 Veletri, Gensano, Laricia, Albano, and the house where we resided. I im- 
 mediately ordered my trunks to be pack'd up and prepared for a timely 
 departure, but it came like a thief in the night and stopp'd me upon the threshold 
 of my door ; we have all sufferr'd by it more or less ; some have been with one 
 leg in the grave & by the care of physicians drawn out again ; a succession of 
 servants, male & female, from Rome have not suffic'd to attend the sick ; the 
 physicians themselves have yielded to the contagion, & the nurses both from 
 Rome &; the neighbouring villages have attended like centinels by relays. My 
 daughter is still faintly recovering after a medical sentence pronounced on her 
 that she had but a quarter of an hour to live, & servants that had never known 
 what illness meant have been confin'd for two months to their beds, & 
 undergone all the discipline of the Dispensary, blisters, bleeding, purging, 
 vomiting, & sweating ; such is the state of my distracted family, — suffering in 
 small much what poor little G. Britain does in great, but not from the same 
 cause, for our physicians have been excellent, whereas those of our poor Country 
 have shown themselves to have been the most ignorant of all quacks, without any 
 knowledge of the disorder or any confidence from the patient. I must confess 
 to you, my dear Sir, that I am amaz'd at the King's insensibility in the midst of 
 such national calamity, & at the hght indifferent air with w"^!^ he is daily 
 visiting the most private families & assiduously telling the Nation that he does 
 not at all think about them ; the strange, indecorous & personal animosities in 
 which he has indulg'd, & to which he has lower'd himself ever since his 
 accession appear to me the principal causes of our present distress. His first speech 
 was against Mr. Pitt, w""^ e.xpos'd him to the ribaldry of the City ; then against 
 John Wilkes,! w"*" drew all the populace on him ; then against Dr. Franklin,§ & 
 
 * Gavin Hamilton, 173°-' 797' ^ member of an old Scotch family, who, after receiving a 
 liberal education, went to Rome, where he resided for the greater part of his life. His best pic- 
 tures are subjects from the ' Iliad.' 
 
 t The letter is endorsed by Sir William, ' Hamilton, with the picture of the Muse of 
 Painting.' 
 
 % John Wilkes, 1727-1797, the well-known politician, publisher of the ' North Briton,' twice 
 expelled from the House of Commons, and twice re-elected. 
 
 § Benjamin Franklin, 1706--1790, the celebrated statesman, philosopher, and diplomatist, 
 who began life as a printer, then became postmaster of Philadelphia. In 1764 he came to 
 England as agent for America, and in 1776 went to France to complete the negotiations then 
 pending, and was not recalled (and then at his own request) until 1785. 
 
1778, 1 779-] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 57 
 
 lastly against the smugglers Hancock* and Adams,t w'^'' in the course of eight 
 years has lost him the Empire of America, without one single rational measure 
 taken to preserve & redeem it. His conduct is so similar to that of Charles 
 the First, who constantly refus'd what he had an opportunity of granting, & 
 always was offering terms which the ennemy would no longer accept, that I must 
 confess I tremble for the sequel of the parallell. No Ministry but the present 
 could have fix'd on such Commissioners ; but we are certainly devoted to 
 destruction, & unless the K. of Spain saves us depend on it you & I shall 
 live to see George the Third Viceroy to King Lewis ; for the existence of G. 
 Briitain without the Fishery of Newfoundliind, that certain appendage to 
 America & that indispensable nursery of your maritime force, is as romantick as 
 a Chateau d'Espagne. America & France will certainly divide that essential 
 branch of their Commerce ; nay, indeed, by a secret Treaty they have actually 
 divided it, & then I would be glad to know where you will rear y'' seamen & 
 how you will man your fleet. Perhaps you will think, my dear Sir, that I am not yet 
 recover'd from some of my deliriums & that I am still light-headed ; all I know is 
 that I am far from being light-hearted, & that, when I reflect on our desperate 
 situation, I almost wish for a Vesuvius, or rather an Etna, in the midst of Great 
 Brittain. Think what we were i5 years ago & what we are now, & tell me fairly if 
 a series of such causes could possibly have produced other effects. I am,' &c. 
 
 86. A. L. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Grcville. Dated Caserta, 
 February 9th, 1779. 2 pages folio. [h.J 
 
 ' I have lead such a very dissipated life of late that I protest I cannot 
 recollect when I wrote to you last. We have had such abundance of game 
 owing to a great fall of snow that in last month H. S. M^ & his party killed 
 near 7,000 pieces. I find the exercise & air do my health great good, & 
 I am now come to the time of life to know the value of good health, without 
 which there can be no comforts. The Court is going to Naples for the last week 
 of Carnival, & then we shall return to our Nimrodical occupations here again. 
 L^ H. wou'd not stay at Naples alone (for without me she kindly says is being 
 alone), so that she has led the life of a hermit these two months, as I am out 
 before daybreak, come home after dark & have just time to dress & go to Court 
 again to play at Bisilis with their Sic° Majesty's. What a terrible thing it is just at 
 this time to have a disagreement among our sea officers, & I fear Keppel'sJ trial 
 will be the cause of much division among them, tho' it appears to me that this 
 afi"air must end in Keppel's honour & to the confusion of Palliser.§ I have a 
 friend here. General Acton, || who saw in the news papers at my house that the 
 Acton Name Bill had passed, he was anxious to know what that Bill was -as I 
 wish much to oblige Acton pray get the printed Bill for me & send it by the Post. 
 I care not if it does cost a little, but pray don't neglect it. As to the Com- 
 
 * John Hancock, 1737-1793, an American statesman. His uncle left him a large fortune, 
 and in 1766 he was chosen to represent Boston in tlie Massachusetts House of Representatives. 
 The seizure of his book, the ' Liberty,' caused a riot, the Royal Commissioners of Customs 
 barely escaping with their lives. When the best method of driving the British from Boston was 
 under discussion, he is said to have declared, ' Burn Boston and make John Hancock a beggar, 
 if the public good requires it.' 
 
 t Samuel Adams, 1722-1803, a noted American politician, much mixed up with Hancock in 
 all his political proceedings, General Gage at one time receiving orders to arrest Samuel Adams, 
 and his ' willing and ready tool,' John Hancock, and send them over to London to be tried for 
 high treason. They, however, received a warning and escaped. 
 
 X Augustus Keppell, 1725-1786, the celebrated Admiral, 2nd son of William, Earl of Albe- 
 marle. He entered the service while young, and accompanied Anson round the world ; at the 
 time Lord Pembroke wrote he had just been tried and acquitted by the Lords of the AdmiraUy 
 for his conduct off Ushant. In 1782 he was created a viscount. 
 
 § Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser, 1721-1790. He distinguished himself on many occasions, 
 particularly at Quebec. He was created a Baronet in 1773, and was appointed Governor of 
 Greenwich Hospital in 1780. 
 
 II General Sir John Francis Edward Acton, 6th Baronet, 1736-1811, prime minister of 
 Naples under Ferdinand IV. He succeeded lo the title and estates in 1791, and in 1800 married 
 his niece, after obtaining a papal dispensation. 
 
58 THE HAMILTON AND [1779. 
 
 mission you give me for Burney* I realy cannot undertake it, but I will employ 
 Storacet the Musician who is here, and knows Burney, but let Burney write his 
 instructions to Storace. Pray let Banks give you an account of my Monkey 
 which I wrote ' 
 
 87. L. S. from Sir Robert Murray Keith to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 
 Vienna, February 20th, 1779. i page folio, [h.] 
 
 ' It is with great satisfaction that I now inform you of the very favorable 
 hopes which are at present entertained of the approaching pacification of Germany. 
 The acceptance of the Austrian proposals by his Prussian Majesty is already 
 publickly known here, as likewise that an intermediate City between Vienna and 
 Breslau will soon be named for the meeting of the Plenipotentiaries of all the 
 Powers interested in the Bavarian Succession, together with the Ambassadors of 
 France & Russia, in order to conclude a definite Treaty. 
 
 ' I shall be happy in having it in my power to acquaint you hereafter that this 
 salutary work has been compleated, & that Peace & tranquillity have been 
 restored upon safe & honorable terms throughout the whole Empire. 
 
 ' I have the honour to be,' &c. 
 
 88. A. L. S. from Gavin Hamilton to the same. Dated ' Rome, y« 
 
 24th April, 1779.' 2 pages 4to. [h.J 
 
 ' I am very much dissapointed in not being able to pay you a visit this 
 Spring as I fully intended, after having put an end to my excavations 
 & more at liberty than formerly, but some old debts of pictures ordered many 
 years ago oblige me to resume the pencil with more than usuall assiduity, so 
 that for this season I must drop all thoughts of so agreeable a jaunt. The 
 principal intention of this letter is to beg that you would bestow some attention 
 on a curious manuscript of Leonardo da Vinci, which is in the possession of the 
 Abbate Corazza, now at Naples, who will wait upon you with it when you will 
 think proper to acquaint him of your intentions. He lives in the Casa Orsini, 
 being preceptor to a young man of that family. Perhaps a work of that sort 
 wou'd be agreable to the King, as he is already in possession of a similar 
 manuscript trailing on anatomy, the Abbate Corazza will give you all the 
 particulars relating to this work. I recollect that we had some conversation at 
 Rome about a small collection of antiquities at S. Maria di Capua, part of which 
 consisting of Etruscan vases & and a mosaic head you seem'd desirous of 
 purchasing, but did not care to embark in the acquisition of a number of 
 fragments of marble. In case that you continue of same mind I wou'd be 
 glad to join with you in the purchase, especially if the basso-relievos are good & 
 that there be some good heads ; as to the torsos I am affraid there are none 
 of them under the knees, in which case not restorable. If you will favour me 
 with your opinion of this negotiation you will very much oblige. Sir, Your,' &c. 
 
 89. A. L. S. from the Earl of Pembroke to the same. Dated London, 
 
 May 7th 1779. I page 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 'The Father, my dear Hamilton, has been more or less troublesome to you 
 for many years past, & he must now beg leave to introduce the son to you. 
 L'' Herbert will ere very long make his bow to you at Naples. Floyd, whom 
 you know, or a Mr. Coxe, or both, will be with him. I shall direct to them at 
 the poste restante at Naples. Will you be kind enough to send orders there 
 that all letters directed so to either of them may be kept safe till their arrival 1 
 I shall say nothing to you of the times, men, or measures here. The proper spirit 
 the navy have shewn, as well as the Nation indeed in general, on the late 
 infamous conspiracy against Adm. Keppell, shews, however, that there is at 
 least some sense of honor left amongst us in some parts. \J P. & my best 
 wishes attend you & \J Hamilton, who we hope is well, Ever yours,' &c. 
 
 * Charles Burney, 1726-1814, a musician and author, father of Madame d'Arblay. His 
 ' History of Music ' began to appear in 1776 ; in 1796 he published a life of Metastasio. A tablet 
 to Ms memory was erected in Westminster Abbey. 
 
 t Probably the father of Anne Celine Storace, the celebrated singer, 
 
1779, i;8o.] A-£LSO.y PAPERS. 59 
 
 90. A. L. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 
 August loth, 1779. 5 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal. 
 [H.] 
 
 ' 1 have but a moment to give you an account of the most sublime but terrible 
 scene that Vesuvious exhibited on Sunday night last. After having been several 
 days in agitation & some lava running at times, but not freely, 1 had observed 
 that something terrible was brewing & was constantly watching it. I had 
 Ramsden's telescope, so that I saw it as well from Naples as if I had been on the 
 mountain. About half-past 9 at night, I observed the throws of stones and liquid 
 lava from the ciater to mcrease greatly, and at once a sheet of fire, accompanied 
 with globes of black cloud, was shot to the amazing height of more than (will you 
 believe it) 10,000 feet. All that saw it agreed in the columns being at least three 
 times the height of Vesuvius, which you know is 3700 French feet. It was liquid 
 l.iva mixed with red hot stones which fell on the mountain of Somma, & set fire 
 to the wood vineyards, & houses on that mountain, but the great fall of the column 
 was at Ottaiano, on the other side of Somma, at least four miles in a straight 
 line from the crater of Vesuvius ; there the houses of 12,000 inhabitants have 
 been beat down & the soil is covered, as they say near three feet thick with 
 erupted matter. Stones of a hundred weight fell there, so that you may well 
 imagine that they must have gone to the height I suppose. As the heaviest fell 
 nearest the crater & all were liquid or red hot it had the appearance of a column 
 of fire at least 4 miles in breadth, 11 or 12,000 feet high, & at the same time the 
 black clouds spread & formed a dark curtain behind & above this bright column 
 & out of those black cloud issued continual flashes of the brightest forked 
 lightning of a silvery blue. This tremendous girandole lasted at least 25 minutes 
 & then succeeded a dead calm ; but Vesuvius form is totally changed & it appeard 
 like a mountain of red hot coals, whilst Somma was all in a blaze as it is coverd 
 with brushwood — add to this horror the howiing of women & children & soon all 
 Naples was, I mean the common people were, forming processions. Yesterday 
 we had a smart return at noon & stones fell again on Somma, but nothing hke 
 what 1 have described, which the oldest ne\er remember to have seen. The lava 
 ran a little, but according to my former observations, if we have not soon an 
 immense discharge of lava, we shall have more explosions or perhaps an earth- 
 quake. At this moment all is quiet, & as yesterday St. Januarius was opposed to 
 the fury of the mountain the Neapolitans are quite easy that he has miraculously 
 stopped it. I shall at my leisure send Bankes a minute account of this most 
 beautifuU but really allarming phenomenon. Adieu, ever yours ; I wish I could 
 have directed the discharge of Vesuvius against the combined fleet. 
 
 ' F.S. — If the wind had not favor'd Portici, the Museum, &c., must have been 
 destroyed, for Ottaiano is much farther from the crater.' 
 
 91. L. S. from Warren Hastings to the same. Dated Fort William, 
 
 March 15th, 1780. 3 pages 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' I have had the honor to receive your letter of the ist of February,* 1779. 
 
 'A gentleman who attended the Lectures of Professor Black at Edinburgh is 
 now employed by the Company in search of Mines. I have transmitted your 
 commands to him, & enjoined his particular attention to them, & will do myself 
 the pleasure to send you whatever he may have collected by the ships of the 
 next season, with such other natural productions or works of art as I can collect 
 from different parts of the country. 
 
 ' Mr. Boyle the gentleman who was deputed from this Government to Botan 
 a few years ago, & of whose observation a short account I believe was sent to 
 the Royal Society by Mr. Stewart, will I believe shortly return to that country. 
 I shall request him to be very particular in his inquiries & observations on every 
 
 * Joseph Black, 1728-1799, an eminent chemist, who in 1756 was appointed to the chair of 
 anatomy and chemistry at Glasgow, whence 10 years later he removed to Edinburgh, where for 
 30 years he successfully inculcated the elements of chemistry upon enthusiastic audiences. 
 
6o THE HAMILTON AXD [1780. 
 
 point you have mentioned to me, & I shall desire him to send me specimens 
 of Earths, Stones, Crystals, Fossils & Minerals which I shall take rare to forward 
 to you by the first opportunity. I shall give the same directions to every 
 gentleman in the different parts of the Provinces who may have an opportunity of 
 collecting the natural productions of the country. 
 
 ' Upon this & every other occasion I shall be extremely happy to have the 
 pleasure of receiving & executing your commands. 
 
 ' My friend Mr. Macpherson has informed me of the obligations which I owe 
 to you, for which 1 take this occasion to offer you my grateful acknowledgements 
 & to testify the satisfaction which I feel that my public conduct has received your 
 approbation. 
 
 ' I have the honor to be,' &c. 
 
 92. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to the same. Dated Naples, June 
 27th, 1780. 5 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' Your last of the loth of May does indeed amply attone for your long silence 
 and has given me a very good idea of home politicks, of which I wanted some 
 information, and I return you my hearty thanks for it. One of your letters 
 certainly miscarried, for it was many months that I had not heard a word of you, 
 & I began to fear that you was ill. 
 
 ' We are in admiration of Rodney* but sorry to find that he was not well 
 supported. Three actions without a ship lost on either side is somewhat extra- 
 ordinary. It is plain that France wants to protract the war & avoids close action, 
 but I hope the time will come that they will not have it in their power & that we 
 shall give them a good drubbing, we never can make peace and leave them in 
 possession of such a fleet as they have at present. As to America, I winch like 
 a gall'd horse when it is mention'd, how we shall get out of that scrape God 
 knows. Abb^ Galianif told us a story last night (k propos of the American 
 paper money) of a Frenchman who had sold his estate to buy Missisippi paper 
 when that project was on foot, & was ruin'd. He furnish'd a room with the 
 paper & wrote over the door — Un Ecu est toujours un Ecu. Ce papier Pa ^U ! 
 
 gu'on s'en You never answer'd several queries I sent you relative to 
 
 d'Hancarville & the Catalogue of my collection, is it printed or not? is it good 
 or bad .'' 
 
 ' I am sorry to hear you are likely to have an opposition at Warwick, but I 
 dare say you will not be thrown out. I have some notion of offering myself for 
 the County of Pembroke, if L'' Milford| does not, for I do not see why the Owen 
 family shou'd be in possession of both town and county for ever. If I was in 
 Parliament I might perhaps be allowed to stay longer in England when I come 
 there — as to being at much expence to carry this point I surely will not & if Lord 
 Milford joins me the Owens wou'd certainly compound the matter & it wou'd cost 
 me little or nothing. I am now grown very indifferent as to all ambitious views, 
 & a Httle matter wou'd induce me to become the S^ Hor. Mann§ of Naples & pass 
 the rest of my days here, where take it all in all I live very agreably. If it was 
 not for the sake of living with you & another friend or two I shou'd not desire to 
 see England, but as it is I shall ask leave to return home as soon as we have 
 peace. It was i6 years last Nov'' that I first came to Naples, & you know it is a 
 bewitching place, I mean the local. I roll luxuriously in the sea every morning 
 
 * George Brydges, Admiral Lord Rodney, 1718-1792. The famous Naval Commander, 
 created a baronet and made a Vice-Admiral in 1761, and Admiral in 1778. He dlstinguibhed 
 himself greatly in the West Indies in 17S2, when he defeated Count de Grasse, was made a Baron, 
 received the thanks of Parliament, and was awarded a pension of ;£^2000 per annum. 
 
 t Ferdinando Galiani, 1728-1787, a well-known Neapolitan man of letters, a member of 
 many learned societies, and author of various works both in Italian and French. His corre- 
 spondence with Madame d'Epinay was published in 1818. 
 
 J Richard Phillips, Baron Milford, was created a baron in 1776, and died 1823, when the 
 title became extinct. 
 
 § Sir Horace Mann, the well-known correspondent of Horace Walpole, was British Resident 
 at Florence for 46 years. He died at an advanced age in 1786. 
 
i78o.] NELSON PAPERS. 6i 
 
 & we dine at our Casino at Pausilipo every day, where it is as cool as in 
 England. Spring and autumn we inhabit our sweet house at Portici which you 
 remember, and in winter I follow the King to Caserta and the Appenines after 
 wild boars, &c., which amuses me in the day & the Queen's affability with musick, 
 of which the K. is now passionately fond, make the evening pass agreably. 
 M' Etna is firing away, but I have not yet received any good account, as my poor 
 friend the Canon Recupero is dead. As there are some English & French 
 travellers at Catania we shall probably have some tollerable account published ; 
 how did you like my last of Vesuvius ? Lady H. is well & still fonder of Naples 
 than I am, and yet I have a presentiment that something or other will e'er long 
 put an end to our residence here— I dont know why— but I feel it. Adieu, mv 
 d' Charles. Yrs.,' &c. 
 
 93. A. L. S. from Lady Hamilton to (Sir W. Hamilton). No date. 
 (1780.) 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I beg your pardon for not immediately executing your orders about the paper 
 for hanging the rooms, but I took it into my head that it was one of Gasparino's 
 projects in which he had not consulted you, as he did not mention its being your 
 pleasure, & in consequence hinder'd the paper being bought till this morning, 
 when he return'd from Caserta— I had \J Berkley's* visit the night before last, & 
 return'd it yesterday morning— I think I have done everything that is possible for 
 her & Lady Louisa, & believe they are much satisfied. Lady Louisa is a lovely 
 girl, & plays upon the harp and sings most divinely— U Berkley had express'd 
 much anxiety about getting into company & going to the Opera for L^ Louisa's 
 sake, she was likewise desirous of getting a good master to keep her daughter's 
 musick up — as I was to go so soon I could think of no method but getting 
 Belmonte & Cimmitile to take the charge of them, & as U Louisa had promised 
 to bring her harp last night I sent for Mercieri & Gallucci, & asked Belmonte & 
 Cimmitile to call that I might present some Ladies to them, by mistake (a lucky 
 one), Cimmino gave the same message to the old woman who came, having put 
 off an engagement to the Theatro Nuovo on purpose, M'de Plessen staid at home 
 with her whist that we were in perfect quietness, & I never saw anything more 
 delighted than the poor old woman ; she had never heard Mercieri. Gallucci 
 play'd a sweet thing of his own composition, & U Louisa— what shall I say to 
 you.? elle a enlever tout les coeurs — & she would have gain'd yours too. She has 
 a small but uncommonly melodious voice, has all the little half-notes of the 
 D'Amicis, and more feeling than I ever heard express'd by any voice. She sung 
 several of Milico's songs, & half the company had their eyes brimfull ; as to Gatti 
 & myself we neither of us could stand " Ho Sparse tante Lagrime," & Mr. Webb 
 (who seems to me a mighty agreable good sort of man) was ready to lie down at 
 her feet. He has a soul of musick, & says (like you) he could never be tired, the 
 more he hears the more he desires to hear ; poor man, he has a very fine violin, 
 on which he used to play, but the rheumatism has depriv'd him of the use of his 
 thumb. But, to conclude about \J Berkley, Old Belmonte has invited them 
 Sunday to her box, the young Princess Tuesday, & she & Cimmitile have promised 
 to take the charge of them, and seem'd to do it with pleasure — the old woman stai'd 
 till half an hour after ten, Louisa sung her eight airs, & she was so enchanted that 
 she has promised to make Milico attend her, whose manner (the musicians say) 
 she already has in perfection. L^ Berkley was not well & went away, but left her 
 daughter, only begging I would send my maid home with her in the coach, which 
 I did. M'^ de Plessen had promis'd to take the poor girl to the Academy to-night, 
 but has just made her excuse — which I am quite vexed at, for she is an interesting 
 creature. I hope you will approve what I have done. I hope to be with you on 
 Sunday, as you think that would be best, & I will bring you the letters. I had 
 one from Abbd Grant last post, where he tells me of the great losses the French 
 trade has suffer'd, particularly the town of Bordeaux, who have lost 1 5 millions of 
 
 * Elizabeth, Lady Berkeley, wife of Augustus 4th Earl, after whose death she married 
 Robert, Earl Nugent. Lady Louisa was her second daughter by Lord Nugent ; she married, in 
 1784, Admiral Sir Eliab Harvey. 
 
62 THE HAMILTON AND [1780. 
 
 French livres. Mons. and Mad. de Chabot are set out from Rome ; the Maynards 
 & Mr. Pitt arrived yesterday, & a Mr. Hippisley, who has just left his name ; I 
 know he was with the Maynards at Rome. I long to be with you, tho' I shall 
 make a sad-looking companion, as my cold has turned to a cough, but I hope the 
 air and quiet of Caserta, & above all being with you, will speedily cure me. 
 Ever y".' 
 
 94. A. L. S. from the Earl of Pembroke to the same. Dated Wilton 
 
 House, 12 Sept., 1780. 2 pages 8vo. [h.J 
 
 ' George's man, Laurent, my dear Hamilton, returns to his cava sposa at Rome 
 to keep Vhotel de Pembroke, where we all earnestly beg the favor of you to 
 recomend travellers. I can not miss so good an opportunity of asking how you & 
 Lady Hamilton do. Pray make our best comp' acceptable to her. 
 
 ' George was of age on Sunday, & was chosen member here yesterday. There 
 was a time, a better time than the present, when a seat in Parliament was a 
 desirable object, but that time, I fear, will never return — it certainly never can 
 while the Nation remains abject enough to suffer a wretched administration, 
 ennemys to all honour & all merit, & which cherishes ox\\y des f> ancs gueux^'pKcVi- 
 cularly such as have justly been rendered infamous by sentences of Court Martials 
 by Land & Sea — witness the Minden Hero & Sir Hugh Palliser — we have no news 
 stirring, & it is to be hoped we shall not ; for losses and disgraces are naturally, 
 & of course, the constant consequences of our present men & measures. But I 
 forget that I am writing to a Plenipo who cannot conceive the true real situation 
 de nous autres pauvres diables here, as he receives most of his intelligence from 
 hence through the medium of premeditated, official deceit. Our best wishes 
 attend you. Ever yours,' &c. 
 
 'Laurent brings you some musick & a 'design, engraved, of Ly. Di's* from 
 George to Rome, from whence he will forward it to you.' 
 
 95. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Portici, 
 
 Sept. 1 2th, 1780. 4 pages 4to. and i page folio, with Super- 
 scription and Seal. [H.] 
 
 'I find by your letter of the 12th July that your board still exists. I was 
 uninformed enough to think that it had been extinguished by the motion Burke 
 carried in the H. of C. ; I suppose it never passed the Lords. I find, likewise, 
 as I imagined & foretold to yourself, that a younger brother's pretending to keep 
 house in London is certain destruction. I know what it is for an honest man to 
 be distressed in his circumstances, tho' your macaronis make themselves 
 perfectly easy upon that subject, & care not who suffers by them provided they 
 pass the day in fashionable extravagance. If you find that your house is too 
 expensive, get rid of it as soon as you can. I was obliged to sell my collection of 
 pictures once, on which I doated, rather than bear to be dunned. I wou'd not have 
 you too nice, & I think you might contrive to make yourself comfortable by marriage 
 — you have been acquainted with beauty enough to know that alone cannot afford 
 lasting happiness, a disagreable rich Devil the Devil himself cou'd not have tempted 
 me to marry, but I have realy found a lasting comfort in having married (some- 
 thing against my inclination) a virtuous, good-temper'd woman with a little 
 independent fortune to which we cou'd fly shou'd all other dependencies fail, & 
 live decently without being obliged to any one. I can not tell you, tho' I do not 
 believe we shall ever be reduced to retire into Wales, how often such a thought 
 has comforted me, when I have had reason to be out of humor with the great 
 world. I am well convinced of the comfort of our present situation, & shall think 
 
 * Lady Diana Beauclerk, eldest daughter of Charles Spencer, 5th Earl of Sunderland, and 
 3rd Duke of Marlborough.. She married first, in 1757, I'rederick, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke, 
 from whom she was divorced in 1767, and secondly, in 1768, Johnson's Topham Beauclerck, who 
 died in 1780. She seems to have painted well, for Horace Walpole, describing to Sir Horace 
 some drawings she had done for him, says they are ' such drawings that Salvator Rosa and 
 Guido could not surpass their expression and beauty.' She died in 1808. 
 
i78o.] NELSON PAPERS. 63 
 
 twice before I am tempted to change it, tho' it may be for one in appearance more 
 brilliant, but I long for peace that I may make you another visit and settle my 
 affairs in England, or rather in Wales, which, notwithstanding what I expected from 
 Mr. Black, are by no means to my mind. He promises great things, but as yet 
 I have reaped no one advantage from having employed him. 
 
 ' I trust if you remove from your house you will lodge my favourite Corregio & 
 the rest of my treasures in your possession in some safe place. Ld. Spencer, Ld. 
 Geo. Germain, or Gen. Conway wou'd give them house-room & take care of 
 them, I dare say, for I shou'd not like to trust them to Ld. W., & perhaps if you 
 go into lodgings (which I wou'd do was I in your situation) you might not have 
 room for my goods ; if you had, I am sure I shou'd be much happier they shou'd 
 remain with you, than go any where else. 
 
 ' In these warm climates one is certainly inclined to grow idle, & I find myself 
 so inclined ; but I will realy try to procure you the cristals you mention, & I will 
 also write to Schuwallow for the minerals ; as to Vesuvian chrystals, since the 
 Fossa Grande was filled up in 1767, they have become scarce, but I am sure at 
 the Museum there are duplicates enough in my Vesuvian collection, which you 
 might have without hurting the collection. I have some curious bits in that way 
 to place in my room there, & I shall have the more satisfaction in seeing them 
 (there than) in my house. Lady H. is better than I have known her to be some 
 years, but the E. India monkey is dying, which grieves us both, as there never 
 was such an animal ; it is realy true that he diverts himself with my magnifying 
 glass to look at objects, & I was teaching him to look at medals by way of 
 laughing at antiquarians ; but, alas ! a cruel disorder in his bowells will shortly 
 rob us of him. I have some idea the servants, to whom he has given some 
 trouble, may have poison'd him. What a cruel stroke Cordovas intercepting the 
 Jamaica Convoy. Yours,' &c. 
 
 96. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated October 
 i6th, 1780. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal. [H.] 
 
 'I hope your friend the monkey is recover'd. The gloom which his misfortunes 
 occasion'd appear'd very sensibly in your letter. 1 could not have sympathised 
 with you if I had not been acquamted with the long arm'd monkey belonging to 
 the Duke of Buccleugh,* which was, by his agility, a marvell. If to agility a pug 
 could add a knowledge of antiques 1 should have shared largely my regard 
 for him. 
 
 ' Patriots say that the late news are most alarming ; they will confirm us in 
 our folly, but I say that the conduct of Ld. Cornwallis t is very great, & the decision 
 in hanging the refugees who had gone over to the rebels will do more than any 
 one thing for us. His determination to head the great rivers & attack N. Carol., 
 & if successful to push on to Virginia, prove zeal, which, till Rodney went out, 
 neither appear'd by sea nor land. The detachment from N. York of six regt' of 
 Regulars up James's River will be a most favourable co-operation, & its effect must 
 be great since it will act in a country in which the Rebel Cause must waver from 
 the rout of the Southern Army. The enymies conduct in the W. Indies this 
 campaign appears to me inexplicable. Whether discret ons or folly prevented 
 them from attempting at least while their superiority was decisive I am yet to 
 learn, but I am convinced in that quarter the opportunity will not be recover'd. 
 The moment is, however, critical. I am not sure whether it would not be to our 
 advantage to quarel with some of the neutral powers. Their private aid is the 
 sinew of the war in which we are engaged, & more formidable than their open 
 hatred. The Dutch particularly, since their aid alone has enabled the French to 
 exist in the W. Indies, in which good offices our own colonies have contributed 
 
 * Henry, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch, 1746-1812. He succeeded his grandfather in 1751, and in 
 1810 inherited the estates of the 2nd Duke of Queensberry. 
 
 + Charles, 1st Marquis Cornwallis, 1738-1805, the famous Military Comniander. At the 
 date of the letter Commander-in-Chief of the Army in America. In 1799 he was appointed 
 Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in 1801 signed the Peace of Amiens, and in 1804 was made 
 Governor-General of India, where he died. 
 
64 THE HAMILTON AND [1780. 
 
 by exporting such provisions from St. Kitts to St. Eustacia, from whence Martinico 
 is supplied. 
 
 ' Your gloom & your kindness to me have united, & one would imagine from 
 the advise you give that I was sinking under misfortunes. I think I am in an 
 improving way. I have almost finish'd my house, & all my debt will not exist if I 
 can sell it even with a little loss. I am in the way of promotion for a house in Admir., 
 & in that case I shall be able to pay off debt by letting my House, in short I shall 
 do very decently, & altho' at my worst at present my credit and punctuality in 
 money matters give me the air of a rich man. I propose to be so by confining my 
 expences to my income, & if the debt did not exist my income would enable me 
 to make great iclat. Therefore I beg you not to be uneasy about your Venus, she 
 is most excellently taken care of, & conoisseurs say that she did not look hand- 
 somer at Naples, but you & I know the value of an Italian atmosphere & glow of 
 light. I realy have a good shew, & all my own except the S. Rosa & the Diego 
 Velasquez in one room, & the Venus in another. 
 
 ' My collection & statues are new in their disposition & please generally, by 
 which novelty my house is much more talked of than it deserves, not being to my 
 mind entirely, altho' I could not improve it in the same extent of ground. An 
 ante-room 13 by 14, first drawi^ room 21 by 30, & second draw» room 34 by 23, 
 form a good suite for a batchelor, & he has hight to breathe, being 17^ feet in 
 clear. The offices, equal to a larger house. I built on speculation, &, that I 
 might find a purchaser, have made it pretty. 
 
 ' I thank you for the promise of cristals, but, altho' your good will inclines you, 
 I doubt much whether your idleness will not deprive me of your succour. I will 
 prepare you a letter from the first perusal I can get of the late voyage. I have 
 sent you some porter, & when 1 get the bill of lading will send it. 1 am sure it 
 will be good, as 1 made particular application & have ordered double casks. 
 
 'I propose to send some good October when fit to travel, which will be perhaps 
 as soon as a neutral ship sails. There is a probability that I shall make you send 
 me some Greek or Sicilian wine, particularly Syracuse, to make up for the vinegar 
 which I paid duty for from Vesuvius, but I had rather have none unless some of 
 the first growth of a good vintage is obtain'd, & you must remember that it is 
 drinkable only by age, therefore calculate when you will come & drink, & send 
 accordingly. 
 
 ' I drink some very good red wine from Etna, very good, & not at above 141^. 
 pr. bottle, duty, &c., included ; it would not suit ill my economy. 
 
 ' I now must beg you to give my best souvenir to \J Ham : I saw her friends 
 the Phillips & Kings lately. His L''p will grumble at the loss of Pembrokeshire ; 
 if you had been there you would have saved us by management, of which I doubt 
 his L'^P has no great share. 
 
 ' Addio, believe me,' &c. 
 
 97. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated 
 Caserta, October 31st, 1780. 5 pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I was sorry to find, my dear Charles, that the Castle had lost one seat in 
 Parliament, but I do not wonder at it. I know how much interest of every kind 
 depends upon a constant attention and cultivation. I hope, however, that the 
 election has not cost Ld. W. a great deal of money. I am quite pleased at your 
 appointment to the Board of Admiralty particularly as it will give you a good 
 opportunity of slipping out of your expensive house into one rent free, just as I 
 did upon the late King's death, when 1 left Charles Street & went into the mews, 
 being circumstanced much as you are at present. 
 
 ' We are settled here at least a month too soon, as the malaria, which has been 
 terrible this year, is not over, so that almost every body (K. & Queen not excepted) 
 have been ill. The yellow-green & ghostly countenances of the poor inhabitants 
 of the low ground in this neighbourhood is really terrible, many have died, & as 
 you may have heard in the Campagna of Rome the sickness has been still worse. 
 The weather has been too hot for boar hunting, which is the present object, but 
 
i78o.] NELSON PAPERS. 6$ 
 
 we shall begin in a few days, & the K. tells us that we shall have sport enough 
 this year. En attendant we have musick at the new palace, where their Sic. 
 Majesties are now magnificently lodged, tho' but an 8th part of the palace is 
 furnished. 
 
 ' Vesuvius is quiet & little virtu stirring, so that paying my court, shooting & 
 living in expectation from Post to Post of some good news, are my present occupa- 
 tions. The French & Spaniards are now greatly elevated. The combined fleet 
 at Cadix is certainly very formidable, & the partizans of France & Spain flatter 
 themselves that both Gibraltar & Jamaica will soon be in their possession. I am 
 sorry the Royal Louis & another three-decker have got round from Brest to Cadix. 
 You Lords of the Admiralty shoud make your fleets keep a better look out. 
 
 'Ly Derby will be at Naples soon, but as we live with the Court in the country 
 I fear her Ladyship will not find the s^jour de Naples so pleasant as she expects ; 
 however, we will put her into the best hands we can, & if she likes play, dancing 
 & wine, she shall have enough of it. As for my past I am realy glad to be out of 
 the great bustle of a town, as it has been my lot to pass but too many years of my 
 life in one. I prefer infinitely passing a day in a free air with the sort of anxiety 
 that is excited by the expectation of a huge boar or wolf, than to be at the most 
 pompous ceremony that can be imagined in the most luxurious city. We have 
 besides excellent shooting of ducks & woodcocks. You see that my constant 
 attendance on H. S. M. is not meerly to pay my court, but that I have a spice of 
 the Nimrod in me. Yrs.,' &c. 
 
 98. A. L. S. from Mrs. Beckford* to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated Bath, 
 Dec. ye 26th, 1780. 3 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I take the liberty of troubling you with a few lines, tho' not in my power to 
 express half the gratitude I feel to you and Lady Hamilton, for the very affec- 
 tionate kindness you have both been so good to show my son, ten thousand 
 thanks, & must beg leave to assure you it will be remembered by me to the last 
 moment of my life. Am afraid you must have thought me very remiss in not 
 making my acknowledgements sooner, but when you know the reason that 
 prevented you will rather pity than condemn. Since my son left me have had 
 several severe plunges for my life. I w* not let him be inform'd how very ill I 
 have been. He knows that I have had a bad state of health for some time, but 
 not how much worse — a total loss of appetite, and nothing w'^ stay on my stomach, 
 was sent to Tunbridge, but without success, & now am trying Bath ; have been 
 here several weeks, but have not been able to drink much of the water, having 
 been extremely ill since I came, but still flatter myself have rec* some little 
 benefit, & that in time more may be expected. This, I trust, will plead my excuse 
 to you & Lady Hamilton, for my neglect ; was too weak to write. Have been 
 informed of your very kind invitation to my son to return to you in the Spring, 
 believe me, I have a very just estimation of the real value & use it wou'd be to him, 
 such sincere & instructive friends, and that it wou'd be a cordial to my anxious 
 mind, knowing that he was in so desirable a situation, but it is my duty to press him 
 to give up this agreeable scheme, & that you may not think me very strange odd 
 after what I have above wrote, I will explain my reasons for wishing him to return 
 here in the Spring. The situation of his affairs are such, the best part of his 
 property in the W. L now very ill managed, things here of the utmost conse- 
 quence that s'l be done by the time of his coming of age. In short, it wou'd 
 trespass too much on your time & my weakness, if I was to explain the 
 
 * Maria Hamilton, Mrs. Beckford, 1724.-1798, daughter of the Hon. George Hamilton, son 
 of James, 6th Earl of Abercorn, and wife of William Beckford, Lord Mayor of London. The 
 son was also a William Beckford, 1 759-1 S44, the celebrated author of ' Vathek.' He was the 
 only child of his father, on whose death, in 1770, he came into a fortune of a million of money 
 and ;^loo,ooo a year. In 1783 he married Lady Margaret Gordon, only daughter of the Earl of 
 Aboyne, who died in 1786, leaving two daughters. In 1796 Beckford settled at Fonthill, ' and 
 launched out upon a course of architectural and artistic extravagance which, combined with his 
 Oriental whims and his mysterious seclusion, has given him even more celebrity than he could 
 acquire by his writings.' 
 
 VOL. I. F 
 
66 THE HAMILTON AND [1780, .1781. 
 
 powerful reasons, & the many, many, thousands he might lose by not being back 
 a few months before that period, so that I must beg the favor of you & Lady 
 Hamilton to use your influence with him to return, and you will add to the 
 obligations that you have already confer'd on, dear sir, your very affectionate 
 & obliged. s -x A 
 
 ' My very sincere wishes for many happy returns of this season to you & Lady 
 Hamilton.' 
 
 99. A. L. S. from the Earl of Pembroke to the same. Dated London, 
 February 6th, 1 78 1. 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' If you was to see six pieces of U Di's, from a story in Ossian, you would 
 fall down & worship her more than ever. She lives totally at Richmond with her 
 children, & paints all day long. George is particularly obliged to you for your 
 intended goodness to Laurent, whom he expects every day. He, with L' P., & 
 myself, are much Lady H's & your humble servants. My advice to you to catch 
 proves quefai toujours Me homme d, bon conseil. Your '■mark the end'' does not 
 appear a pleasing prospect ; it grows more gloomy every day, & how indeed 
 should it be otherwise ? I have no reason to be mended in my humor, but, laying 
 all private spleen & grievances aside, convenez bonnement, mon cher ami, que 
 nous sommes des francs gens f—sfieffes. I long to see you, & therefore entreat 
 you to put yourself on the road before we have reduced the French & Spanish 
 Navy to as low a pitch as they were at the end of last war. Why should you not 
 be independent & at ease as to fortune in England ; according to old regulations, 
 you have allready a right to a comfortable retreat at home. Only keep clear of 
 Parliament, which I look upon as a meer stumbling block, & very difficult to 
 make otherwise than a discreditable one. The attempt upon St Vincents is 
 extraordinary; the troops disembarked to attack it, found it too strong, re- 
 imbarked, & sailed off, & tout fa sans tirer un setil coup, ^r' sans gu'on ait du tout 
 entajne Varriire garde even. Touts ces ponts dor me passent. This morning at 
 five o'clock the ministerial mountain brought forth comme de raison & as usual, 
 a mouse, by the Jury's bringing in Lord George Gordon* not guilty. The 
 manoeuvres of administration are yet far more wonderfuU in respect to their worthy 
 favourite. Sir Hugh P[alliser], for the most cunning & most abandoned profligate 
 Politicians are at a great loss to guess what can be the future aim of ministers 
 when they have bought out the last grain of virtue & totally confounded honor & 
 dishonor, wrong & right, bad & good, which now evidently appears to be the 
 design, a design which would allready have been accomplished, in all probability, 
 was it not for the Chancellor, who certainly is a very respectable character, who, 
 attached to his party, will nevertheless stand up against the mischief & dirt of 
 any sett of men. We have not of late had any news from America, of which 
 people in general seem to wish not to think ; but everybody is impatient to know 
 the resolves of Russia. Our India Ships safely got into an Irish port, & the 
 attack of the French on Jersey give us, en attendant, the consolation to see que 
 nous ne sommes pas les seuls Mazettes de V Europe, & that we are sometimes lucky. 
 May we continue to be so, particularly in respect to Darby,t who is going to the 
 relief of Gibraltar. In respect to the Dutch war, particular private people grow 
 rich by it, but mark, as you say, the end in respect to the public. If Russia 
 befriends us not, & the Baltick, like America, is shut up, we shall have only 
 Calabria left to sell us pitch & tar, masts & yards, &c. Giardini | tells me that 
 you advise him to put himself at the head of music at Naples. On ne respire id 
 que la danse, & indeed young Vestris § is a wonderful fellow. All I have hitherto 
 
 * The well-known Lord George Gordon, of ' Riots ' fame, 17 50-1 793. 
 
 + George Darby, a well-known naval commander. He was a captain in 1747) served under 
 Rodney on several occasions, became Rear-Admiral in 1778, Vice-Admiral in 1779) Com- 
 mander-in-Chief and a Lord of the Admiralty in 1780, and died in 1790. 
 
 X Felice Giardini, 17 16-1796, an Italian violinist and composer, who came to London first in 
 1744, and created a great sensation. In 1754 he settled at Naples under the protection of 
 Sir W. Hamilton. He afterwards went to Russia, where he died. 
 
 § Marie Auguste Vestris, 1760-1842, a celebrated dancer, like his father. He retired 
 in 1816. 
 
I78i.] NELSON PAPERS. 67 
 
 seen are quite nobody to him. Pray don't say I am sulky. I really am not so 
 but I cannot help feeling & seeing des tristes vSrit^s, qui vont tons les jours de 
 mal en pis, & I tremble for my property, both landed & funded, as well as for the 
 honor of poor old England, in imitation of the Barber's Apprentice. Ever most 
 truly yours, &c. 
 
 ' Pompeo's picture of George, & one, still inferior, by Kreuse, are indeed 
 infinitely below our friend & countryman Sir Joshua.' 
 
 100. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to the same. Dated March 13th, 
 1 78 1. 3 pages foHo. [h.] 
 
 ' I do not engage to fill this sheet, but, not to loose a minute which I can allot 
 you, I sit down & write on the first paper which comes under my hand. We 
 have just fired the Park guns on the arrival of very important successes in the 
 West Indies. The islands of St. Eustacia, Seba, & St. Martins are among our 
 possessions. Rodney on the receipt of despatches from G. B. (which were among 
 the first important ones I put my name to) without delay embarked troops & 
 sail'd to St. Eustacia. Adm' Hood* took a sloop the 2nd of Feby, by which he 
 learnt the situation of the island, & that a convoy for Europe under the protection 
 of a 56 gun ship had sail'd the ist of Feby, the English fleet sail'd in such manner 
 as to surround the Bay & prevent a single ship from escaping, & loo sail were 
 taken in the Bay, a 38 Gun Frigate, some stout rebel privateers fit for the King's 
 service, & the island surrendered the 3rd. The Monarch, Panther, & Sybill were 
 detached after the convoy that had sail'd the ist of Feb^, & after a short engage- 
 ment with the 56 Gun ship in which the Admiral was kill'd the whole convoy was 
 brought back ; this convoy reckon'd the richest ever sail'd from that Island is 
 valued at ^200,000. The stores for Navy are very great, & more than sufficient 
 to repair all our losses in late hurricanes, the warehouses of the island were all 
 full, & Bales of Cotton, Indigo, Sugar, &c., even in the streets for want of 
 warehouse room. Rodney says the value is immense. The officer who brings 
 the news says it cannot be altogether at least 2 or 3 million, which intrinsic 
 value, added to the situation of the supplies to the French & Americans, 
 & the articles of which it consists, must make this stroke of the most fatal 
 consequence to the Dutch, French, & Americans ; as well as the traiterous 
 West Indians who, by conterband trade with St. Eustacia, have kept up the 
 supplies of our enymes. 
 
 ' The Terrible on her passage from Antigua the 4th took 3 ships richly laden 
 with Naval Stores which, added to those on the island, is of the greatest 
 importance. The particulars you will receive by the Gazette next post. 
 
 ' At length the wind sends us out of port as fine a fleet as ever floated ; the 
 lists in the paper are sufficiently accurate for you, being for once nearly true ; 
 in point of men & equippment no Fleet was ever more complete, & I hope they 
 will meet the 32 sail y^ Spaniards have at sea ; 5 weeks W. Wind has been cruel 
 on us, but at last Johnstont with his squadron, & Darby, who will sail this 
 morning early, will have clear'd them from St. Helena. 
 
 ' A French ship, le Cottquerant, was lately lost on Scilly from which we have 
 reason to think Ternay's detachment from Rhode Island shared the fatality 
 which attended those who sail'd in pursuit of them ; the ships at Martinico are 
 few & in bad condition, in short, it appears impossible for France to avoid sends 
 
 * Samuel, Viscount Hood, 1724-1816, also an eminent naval officer who, after com- 
 manding off Boston, was, in 1778, created a Baronet. He commanded under Rodney in the 
 West Indies in 1782, in which year he \sas made a Viscount. In 1786 he was appointed 
 Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth, Vice- Admiral in 1787, Commander-in-Chief in the 
 Mediterranean in 1793, and Governor of Greenwich Hospital in 1796. 
 
 + George Johnstone, a Naval Commander of a turbulent disposition. He attained the rank 
 of Post-Captain in 1762, went to America, and was appointed Governor of Pensacola in 1765, 
 returned to England the following year, was elected M.P. for Cockermouth in 1768, and in 1770 
 fought a duel with Lord George Germaine, whom he had incensed by a vituperative speech in 
 the House of Commons. In 1782 he commanded a secret expedition to the West Indies. 
 Died in 1787. 
 
68 THE HAMILTON AND [1781. 
 
 reinforcements, by which the assistance to the Spaniards & the contesting our 
 return to port will be equaly difficult, & with the lesson of foes we shall, I think, 
 bustle thro' the year with some Mat. I rejoice at the loss y" Dutch will feel as it 
 falls on the Amsterdamers who merit every ill from our Country. 
 
 ' Success bring on success, & we shall not stop here. I shall not neglect to 
 share with you our joy if our expectations are realised. 
 
 ' I have gone on a little in midst of poverty in virtu ; my collection mends. 
 I have some little additions in pictures & some capital drawings, all which I 
 propose to reserve for an amusement to you on our meeting. Surely you cannot 
 be dead to virtu ; a few additions of good pictures (not furniture ones) & some 
 fine drawings might be purchased by you without distressing yourself ; one of 
 these days you will repent your prudence. Love to L^ Ham. Yrs.,' &c. 
 
 101. A. L. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Caserta, 
 March 13th, 1 78 1. 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I beleive I formerly gave you a description of the life we led at Persano 
 when I was with His Sicilian Majesty a boar shooting there. We are just 
 returned from such another party at Venafro on the Appenines, where we have 
 been these 3 weeks, and where we have been from morning to night without 
 the least intermission persecuting boars, wolves, chevreuil & foxes, of which we 
 have slain above 1000 ; 613 wild boars, some, most enormous, and very fierce, 
 which made it necessary for us to be entrenched, for if they do not fall upon 
 being wounded they usually come directly upon you ; we have had two men 
 wounded & numberless dogs killed. We are not allow'd to shoot with rifle 
 barrels, &, tho' perhaps I might not hit a hat so well as you did mine at 
 Warwick, yet I assure you I now shoot well. The K. told me senza adulazione 
 avete sparato come un Angela, which I suppose is the greatest compliment he 
 cou'd possibly pay me, for when we talk of great men it is always understood in 
 the sporting sense ; a good shot is a great man with us ; in short, we do nothing 
 else nor talk of any thing else. I wish you could partake of one of our parties. 
 I suppose nothing upon earth can be more curious. Some days we had no less 
 than 1000 men & 800 dogs in the woods, with drums, cow-horns, grenades, &c., to 
 drive the boars out of their impenetrable cover. But I have boar'd you enough. 
 We are here shooting (tame boars, for such I call those shut up) in comparison 
 of those we are come from, and in April we go to Portici to be ready for the 
 arrival of the quails from Africa, and another sort of bird like a hern, called 
 Garzotte, which the K. (as was his Cath. M?) is passionately fond of shooting. I 
 know not why. 
 
 ' I understand there is a subscription on foot for a medal of Capt. Cooke ;* 
 pray subscribe for one for me. 
 
 ' I am in hopes, as we are now as much embroiled as possible, peace is not 
 very far distant, & I only wait for that moment to make you another visit, when, 
 if I do not settle at home, I believe I shall take my resolution & settle here for 
 life. I cou'd make myself much more comfortable if that resolution was once 
 taken, & upon the whole I am sure I never shall be happier, & this climate is 
 perhaps the only one in which L' H. can enjoy tollerable health. I shou'd only 
 regret the loss of two or three of my real friends.' 
 
 102. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated April 
 
 3rd, 1781. 5 pages folio, with Superscription. [H.] 
 
 ' I received yours, & I must confess that it is with regret I hear you boast of 
 your barbarity, & leave only one half line to the antiquities or virtu. To hear of 
 your comfort & happiness will always give me pleasure, &, as I shall suppose 
 you will find in every season of the year some unfortunate animals to torture 
 & extirpate, I shall beg you to give me the short intervals of rationality, & 
 
 * Captain James Cook, 1728-1779, the celebrated navigator, who, on his last voyage, was 
 murdered by the natives of Hawaii, part of his body being burnt by them. Several medals 
 struck in his honour are in the British Museum. 
 
i78i.] NELSON PAPERS. 69 
 
 describe either your acquisitions or your satisfaction from the works either of art 
 or nature which shall present themselves to your observation. 
 
 ' You received my early information of our proceedings in y" W. Indies against 
 the Dutch ; the intelligence of a force sent from France mentioned in the Gazette 
 operated as a check to our success, & kept our fleet on the look-out instead of 
 acting against the enymy ; the infinite delay from winds to ye relief of Gibraltar 
 at length is got over, Iho' the fleet did not leave the Irish coast till the 26th of last 
 month ; the accounts of the French fleet being in readiness to sail by the 20th, 
 tho' we know they were in port the 21st, makes it within the chances of their 
 meeting with their convoys, in which case, independent of the evident consequence 
 of hard blows, the operations of the war will be much affected. Gibraltar might be 
 detaind longer without supply, but the whole of French East and West Indian & 
 American operations are liable to be overthrown ; their convoy is very numerous, 
 as their demands are very great ; ours consist of victualers & stores for the garison 
 only, & our numbers do not make us uneasy at the sight of either fleet of the 
 enymy separate. 
 
 ' I hope the Schudi has not left such deep impressions of regret that time may 
 not efface their effect ; you should have told me what more modern beauty 
 replaced her. If it were difficult for you to account for her death, I own I was 
 not much surprized either at the seat or nature of the disorder ; but de mortuis 
 nil nisi bon. 
 
 ' I go on, more bit by virtu than ever, consequently I buy but very little, for 
 great purchasers consider little either of the sublime of the idea or the 
 perfection of the art. I have a little series of the progress of the art & some 
 good bits which refresh my idea of the different Schools, & I have hopes here- 
 after to add some capital bits, which will still encrease my entertainment. I told 
 you I had some drawings ; my Vandeveltes are not to be matched by any 
 collector ; I collect particularly Cambiasi, & mean not to profess collecting 
 drawings, that I may not vie with others in numbers which would encrease the 
 vanity of collecting, and would divert me from the possibility of perfecting my 
 principal hobby-horse, to which, if you was not a Nimrod, you would have 
 contributed by your correspondance in Sicily, with the Volcans itients in France 
 & all the world over. I have lately look'd at the works of the Greeks in Sicilian 
 medals ; nothing appears more entertaining than them, & I should imagine much 
 might be done by a proper choice & the opportunity you have ; but I do not say 
 this to make you a collector, but as you seem dead to that in which your eye & 
 taste distinguish you eminently, if either of the tastes could be taken up with 
 moderation you might enrich yourself & friends. 
 
 ' Your Venus is not among the least of my rescources. The picture which 
 you saw begun by S"^ Jos. Reynolds of Emily* in the character of Thais is to be 
 in the exhibition, & I think will do him credit ; it is for me, which will appear the 
 hight of impudence ; it is so, but has been long in hand, & I am so far in luck, 
 that half my friends will take it off my hands, it pleases so much. By hinting my 
 alterations & not being wanton in them, I have got out all that hurt my eye, & 
 have left his genius unchecked, & one additional comfort is that the head, altho' 
 painted some years, requires no more re-painting, & promises to be one of his 
 permanent pictures. 
 
 ' Addio, believe me,' &c. 
 
 • P.S.— My love to L^ Hamilton. 
 
 ' You may say I have forgot America & E. Indies. I only say the reports of 
 our loss in E. Indies do not gain ground. I believe them in great measure 
 untrue. I will give you the earliest information as they occur. The accounts of 
 
 * This picture had been begun in 1 776, according to Leslie's Life of Sir Joshua Reynolds. 
 There was a good deal of scandal current at the time of its exhibition. Some said it was ' ong 
 of the Phrynes of the period, variously called Emily Bertie, Emily Pott, Emily Coventry • • • • 
 but Northcott declared it was painted as long back as 1776, from a beautiful young Emily 
 Coventry, who died soon afterwards in the East Indies.' Miss Burney, writing in 1781, says she 
 went and saw the pictures Sir Joshua was preparing for the Academy, and one of them was ' a 
 Thais, for which Miss Emily, a celebrated courtesan, sat, at the desire of the Hon. Charles 
 Greville.' 
 
70 THE HAMILTON AND [1781. 
 
 Tarleton* are simply this,— the eagerness of the troops, & not their cowardice, 
 occasioned the check, which will be of use ; & the consequent operations & the 
 pushing forward of that army are circumstances which I think very important & 
 good news ; the possibility of leaving the coast & making good our communication 
 being stated as so impracticable that generals with' double the force now in 
 America declared to be almost impracticable, & by their conduct was presumed 
 to be so. 
 
 103. A. L. S. ' P.' from the Earl of Pembroke to the same. Dated 
 
 Hampton Court, May ist, 1781. 4 pages 4to. [h.J 
 
 ' Pray let me have an early sight of your letter to the Antiquarian Society 
 on the Cult of Priapus, which you have discovered under the name of Santo 
 Cosmo, at Isernia, in Abruzzo. So superb a deity ought allways to have been 
 treated with every possible mark of religion and respect ; but, from the natural 
 perverseness & exclusive monopoly of the Christian faith, he has been neglected 
 too long a series of ages. Sir Joshua Reynolds is now painting Armstead, 
 sacrificing to the god of the garden, round whose middle he has made a garland 
 of flowers very perturberant — 7nais elle ne s'en doute point, which is extraordinary, 
 considering that, besides a closely followed up suite of acquaintance with the rural 
 god, she has been on the stage, where a little reading knowledge is generally 
 picked up by its votaries. I shall like to see our matrons handling the great 
 toe of Santo Cosmo in the British Museum. I wish you would send me one 
 for mine, since they are not scarce, as I understand by your letter. We have not 
 much news stirring : Neckar,t we hear, is out of France. Nous en avons bon besoin 
 here, and should certainly do well to hire him. Irwine has been talked of for 
 Jamaica, but returns, however, to Ireland — of course not before the season of 
 campaigning is over. He is kept here, poor fellow, pour faire arriire garde with 
 U- North's contractors, &c., to transact East India business, & every other of 
 consequence, when all men of property or consideration shall be gone out of town. 
 \J^ HoweJ has been coquetted with, & a message is now gone to Sir Robert Harland ; 
 but all seem shy of trusting themselves under les auspices du ,S'2>KrTwitchem,§ so that 
 Darby will remain in statu quo, it is supposed, though Ministers themselves allow 
 him to be no better than Joan, to the exclusion of the services of all known good 
 men. You are right in telling me I am out of humor — I am not sufficiently 
 supple, or philosopher enough to be pleased when I see que tout va au diable 
 under the directions of infamy, folly, ignorance, & obstinacy. I will tell you 
 honestly, that the only man amongst our rulers who I think fit for his place is 
 the one who is reckoned the least so — L'' Stormont — who I verily beleive is hearty 
 & industrious. As for the Chancellor, I don't name him, though he is certainly 
 every way the first man in this country, for it is plain he would be ashamed him- 
 self to be reckoned one of them. As for Lord North, as a Minister, it is Shuter 
 playing Richard the third ; & I am really happy to have taken my name out of a 
 club where la poltronerie, & infamous malice are the favourites, sans oublier la 
 pederastie, which, you see from some late occurrences, is now in high vogue here. 
 
 * Banastre Tarleton, 1754-1833. A military officer, who began by studying law, but on 
 the breaking out of the war in America entered the army, and was allowed to raise a body of 
 troops in that country, called ' The British Legion,' which he commanded successfully against 
 the enemy, and certainly contributed much to gaining some of the most important victories of 
 Lord Cornwallis. On his return to England he was made a Colonel, and became so popular 
 that in 1790 he was returned for Liverpool free of expense. Also well known for his long 
 attachment to Mrs. ' Perdita ' Robinson. 
 
 t Jacques Necker, 1732-1804, the celebrated Franco-Swiss financier, made Contr6leur Glneral 
 in 1777. At the date of the letter he had just resigned, hut he was recalled in 1787, and did not 
 finally retire until 1790. 
 
 X Richard, ist Earl Howe, 1 725-1 799, the famous naval commander. He succeeded his 
 brother as 4th Viscount Howe in the peerage of Ireland in 1758, and in 1788 was created Earl 
 Howe in the peerage of England. He entered the navy in 1739, was a post-captain in I747j ^ 
 Lord of the Admiralty in 1765, an Admiral in 1770, First Lord of the Admiralty firom 1783 to 
 17S8, and Admiral oi the Fleet in 1796, 
 
 § Lord Sandwich. 
 
I78i.] NELSON PAPERS. 71 
 
 Au reste, I am too deeply engaged in the stakes not to wish most sincerely that your 
 prophecy may come to pass ; but I do not see the least probability of it ; for we 
 can only look to the sea, and there, not to use the harsh but just expression, 
 matters are not, surely, well managed ; & all the best officers are excluded. If 
 ever capability & honesty should resume the helm, I shall be as sanguine as you 
 are, in spite of the vast forces united against us — but, till then, can we reasonably 
 hope ? Our expences, extravagancies, & the wonderfull ignorance & profusion in 
 the finance line are more than enough to undo us alone ; & is it not plain that 
 the French know it, & are playing their game accordingly? It is evident that 
 they will fan & keep up the American war. never supporting it sufficiently to crush 
 us there, but procrastinating matters with little expence to themselves, & a vast 
 useless one to us. Upon my honor I do not see how our situation is better than 
 it was two years ago. What have we got? Last year we raised 21 millionst o 
 get at twelve, & since that period I know of no great event, except the successes 
 of YlyAer M\y, gut ne badine pas, Si.wh.0%^ good fortune is no bagatelle to this 
 country. At such a distance all is rapine, & must end in the expulsion of the 
 good European Christians, tot ou tard. A propos, peste .' comme Vami Cunningham, 
 va d. Barbadoes {/) I was affiraid that, of course, we had no chance of seeeing you 
 till a peace, & that seems no longer thought of. The reports of it ceased the 
 moment the wise, honest loan was carried. But when you do come I hope you 
 will stay at home, & not be in Parliament ; car Robin revient toujour s d. sesjluttes. 
 Even according to the code of Chelsea Invalides, ye have a right to otium cum 
 dignitate, & a large comfortable half-pay ; a point which I hope you are allready 
 pushing hard. I speak as one generally does from selfishness, & par un retour 
 secret sur moi-niem.e, for I really beleive your life pleasanter at Naples than it 
 could be in England, tout Men considM. We have some belle jeunesse of our 
 own breed, with whom you are yet unacquainted ; a Buck* of the first head at 
 home — & from abroad all speak wonderfully well of P. Frederick.t Best comp' 
 and wishes to L^ H., who is in perfect health, I hope. Ever most sincerely,' &c. 
 ' I trust you will return like Sir Joseph Yorke : J he is a perfect evergreen. 
 What of L* Tylney & Co. ? ' 
 
 104. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to the same. Dated June Sth, 
 1781. I page 4to., with Superscription and Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' I enclose a letter from Banks. You will see by y° Gazette that the news from 
 Carolina is confirm'd. L* Comwallis has defeated Green,§ & took his road toward 
 Cape Fear. Green thought it best to return to S. Carolina & attack L"^ John Rawdon, 
 but he prevented him by surprizing him & defeating him, tho' much superior. 
 
 ' Seaforth has been in town, is going to the E. Indies ; his Reg' is embarkd. 
 I shall write to you at length in a day or two. I only add that Digby || is returned. 
 Adm' Parker^ with a squadron is sail'd to the N. Seas. The object of the Dutch 
 
 * The Prince Regent. 
 
 t Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, 1763-1827, 2nd son of King George III., Bishop 
 of Osnaburg, a Field Marshal and Commander-in-Chief of the forces. 
 
 X Sir Joseph Yorke was the third son of Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, and acted 
 as A.D.C. to the Duke of Cumberland at Fontenoy. He was created Baron Dover in 1788, but 
 the title expired on his death in 1792. 
 
 § Nathaniel Greene, 1742-1786, a celebrated American Military Commander, who distin- 
 guished himself early in the war, especially at the Battle of Brandy wine in 1777; was made 
 Quarter-Master General in 1778, and in 1780 was placed at the head of the troops in the south. 
 He had been defeated by Lord Cornwallis the March preceding the date of the letter, but was 
 successful in obliging Rawdon to fall back on Charleston. His death was caused by sunstroke. 
 
 II The Hon. Robert Digby, 1720-1815, was the grandson of the 5th Lord Digby. He 
 became a Captain in 1755, served under Admiral Keppel ofiF Ushant, and in 1779 was promoted 
 to be Rear- Admiral of the Blue, and in 1795 Admiral of the White. 
 
 IF Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, 1711-1782, became Captain in 1748, served under Admiral 
 Cornish against Manilla, was made an Admiral, and served in America in 1778, and under 
 Rodney in 1780. In 1782 he became a baronet by the death of his brother, and the same year 
 obtained the chief command of a fleet then employed in the East Indies, to join which he 
 embarked in the [uno about the middle of October, but never reached his destination, nor was 
 the ship ever heard of after rounding the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
72 THE HAMILTON AND [1781. 
 
 fleet has been defeated, viz., the interception of Capt. Bazely with the reinforce- 
 ment from Germany of 3000 troops. The Canada has brought in a Spanish 
 frigate, copper'd, of 34, but pierced for 44, guns, & no other news at present. 
 Yours sincerely,' &c. 
 
 105. A. L. from the same to the same. Dated Warwick, August 31st, 
 1781. 7|- pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I received yours & I am concern'd at your saying that you have not heard 
 from me for this age. I have wrote as occurrences happen worthy your notice, 
 but, as I do not keep up so frequent correspondence as I wish, I am sorry to 
 suspect that some may be lost. If so, I complain of the office to which I 
 generally send my letters, & whose punctuality I never suspected till I heard \?- 
 Bathurst* complain that of 4 letters he had sent to his son thro' the office only 
 one had arrived. I wrote last to L^ H. I have so good opinion of her goodness 
 that do not despair of complete forgiveness, & as to you I depend on your being 
 a mediator. 
 
 ' I lament frequently the habit of idleness which makes me lose the present 
 moment in hopes of finding a future more one conven'. It deprives me of many of 
 your letters, for I believe that mine might stimulate your idleness & obtain 
 answers. As I told you before, I will readily bind myself to weekly, or a fortnight, 
 regular writing, & give you the politicks of the day, or such other occurrences as 
 will fill my paper, if you will as regularly let me hear from you. I do not want 
 your politicks or news. If you will write to me about the discoveries at Pompeia, 
 any new bit found, either curious or instructing, & allot so much time as when 
 you mention a beautiful fragment, either to send me an impression, or tell me the 
 subject, I shall be much pleased with you, but your chasse engrosses more of your 
 thoughts than ye virtu, tho' I know it is impossible for you to loose the rage for 
 it, which is both natural to you & has been improved by your nice attention to it. 
 I would not give up what I have attain'd & in great measure owe to you, & to the 
 charges trusted to me for any consideration from my love for Natural History. 
 Every ride, walk, or journey acquire new satisfaction from observing the conexion 
 of the different strata, their changes & appearance. By virtu I am led to a closer 
 examination of the beauty of form, & have more rescourses than others, from the 
 mode of viewing it, but the living by myself in the midst of society is not pleasant. 
 I do not see any who look at Nature or Art thro' the same medium, or who do 
 not either treat refinement as affectation, or by their injudicious observation shew 
 themselves ignorant of what they profess to admire. Even the artists are blind, 
 & by being conceited copy themselves & acquire the worst species of servility. 
 In short I should be happy to hear from you your opinion of any of the works of 
 the g' masters you chance to examine in a morning's walk ; some thoughts on the 
 master, the scholar, the subject, may give me entertainment, & in some time your 
 opinions & judgments may be collected & you may be tempted to follow virtu to 
 its source, which is good sense & the proper selection of nature. Sr. Jos. 
 [Banks] may write & be metaphysical, but, let professional men say what they 
 please, a gentleman will feel & describe the excellence of Art and point out the 
 means of attaining it much better than they can, provided the gentlemen have 
 the opportunity of seing & the organs of sight well formed ; for the mechanical 
 part depends only on practice, & its effects as well as merit is most fairly judged 
 of by those who have not been taught to consider the difficulty of execution as a 
 principal object of their admiration, which at once would give to a German the 
 preference to the Italian artist. I have bored you so far to tell you that the 
 poverty of events at Naples will never be an excuse to you for not writing. You 
 are surrounded by a beautiful nature & interesting monuments of art of different 
 periods, which you have taste to admire & leisure to dwell on for the gratification 
 of your friends. 
 
 ' I now shall bear my part & inform you of what is going on. 
 
 ' In my letter to U Hamilton I gave the visit to the Nore ; on many events you 
 
 * Henry, 2nd Earl Bathurst, 1714-1794, an eminent lawyer, constituted Lord High Chan, 
 cellor in 1771, having been previously one of the Judges of Common Pleas. 
 
1 78 1.] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 73 
 
 will find me discret in my observations. I know not who sees my correspondence 
 chemin faisant & my situation makes me delicate in giving either popular or 
 hasty opinions on men or on their conduct. In the late event, however, I have 
 my opinion, & tho' the Dutch Gazzette does not tally in numbers, I give credit 
 to our Admi. He fought bravely, & I hope courage will always be commended, 
 &, if good intention is a guide, I am willing to give every favourable construction 
 to conduct which must depend on the ability of the commander. We were a little 
 abused in the letter for not giving more force, but when we see so many capital 
 frigates unemployed on our side, & the frigates of the enymy judiciously engaged 
 in the intei-vals of the line, I do not think that we are so justly censured. 
 
 ' The effect of a delay of their convoy may be very material to us, & it is yet a 
 matter of doubt in spite of delays on our part whether they will not be kept in the 
 Texel. They were to have sail'd from thence about the 7th, but from the great 
 diligence used by the Dutch to prevent us from getting certain intelligence, and 
 partly from my absence for this last week, I do not know that they have sail'd. 
 Sr. Hyde Parker's delay in the Downs, indeed the fleet going to the Downs at all, 
 has checked the prospect of intercepting them. 
 
 ' Keith Stuart* was of opinion that it would be possible to run to the Nore at 
 once, & obtain'd leave to do so, & was in consequence of that measure so forward 
 that we expect him to be at sea in three or four days, while the others will be 
 detain'd as many weeks. The ships we have on the N. Seas will be as many as 
 the service require, provided they get their station in time. As to the French & 
 Spaniards I do not quite understand them. Their proposed attack on Gibralter 
 is certainly changed ; their cased ships, &c., were not prepared against Mahon, 
 but I hope Murray will keep them in play for some time ; that he can keep it for 
 ever without succour is unreasonable for us to expect. The next news will be 
 from America. Rodney will either engage Grasset or be obliged to follow him 
 to America, where he (Grasse) probably will take a great part of his fleet, after 
 sending his convoy well protected. The success of L'' Cornwallis will oblige the 
 French to employ their force in the Northern Colonies, or desert the cause. Rhode 
 Island will not be evacuated untill succours arrive, for the troops cannot leave the 
 ships, nor can the ships leave the troops. Had either been practicable, the shew of 
 attack on N. York would have [been] more serious, & perhaps the force from the 
 W. Indies will be directed to that object. When it arrives on the coast of America 
 our reinforcement will keep them in check, & the event will in all probability give 
 insight to the close of our present conflict. 
 
 ' I have absented myself to attend our races ; they were thin, but we were all 
 in good humour, so matters went on well. L^ W. will add to the family next 
 month, in all other points we decrease, except in rust, of which the Castle is 
 indebted to you for an immense chest' 
 
 106. A. draft of Letter from Sir W. Hamilton to the Duke of Devon- 
 
 shire.+ Dated Naples, September nth, 1781. 5 J pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' The melancholy office of acquainting your Grace with the great loss your 
 Grace & family have lately suffer'd falls unhappily to my lot. Lady Hamilton & 
 I, from what we feel at present, can well imagine what must be the feelings of 
 those who had the honor of being more immediately connected with Lord Richard 
 Cavendish when they are informed that he is, alas ! no more. His Lordship 
 after his return from Sicily was subject to more frequent returns of his old 
 complaint in his bowels, & having during the violent heats exposed himself too 
 much to the Sun it is fear'd that the violent fever which at the end of three days 
 put a period to his life, the 7th of Sept. at half-past 12 at night, had been occasion'd 
 
 * The Hon. Keith Stewart, third son of the 6th Earl of Galloway : created an Admiral 
 in 1790. 
 
 t Fran9ois Joseph Paul, Marquis de Grasse-Tilly, 1723-1788. A French Admiral who 
 entered the service in 1749, and distinguished himself at Ouessant, in America, and in the 
 West Indies. The 'next news' from America conveyed the intelligence that Admiral Grasse had 
 cut off Cornwallis' retreat, and had forced the fleet under Graves and Hood to retire. 
 
 J William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, 1748-1811. He succeeded his father in 1764. 
 
74 THE HAMILTON AND [1781. 
 
 by that imprudence. Your Grace may be assured that L'' Richard had the best 
 advice. Dr. Drummond, for whom his Lordship had a real friendship, & whose 
 character as a most able Physician is so well known in Great Britian, attended his 
 Lordship ever since he came to Naples, & during his last illness & the preceeding 
 one the Dr. lodged in the house with him, & often lay in the same room with his 
 Lordship, who had the utmost confidence in him. As I am convinced that your 
 Grace at the moment you will receive this letter will not be in a situation to 
 attend to the many minute details with which it may be necessary for me to 
 acquaint your Grace, I shall for the present dwell no longer on this melancholy 
 subject than to inform your Grace that 1 have taken it upon me to order the 
 remains of Lord Richard to be embalmed, &, as a Ship will sail soon from hence to 
 England, propose to take that opportunity of sending them home attended by 
 his Lordship's very trusty servant. Job Allen, of whom I shall by the next Post 
 take the liberty of mentioning to your Grace many circumstances that must 
 recommend him to you as a most trusty & faithfull servant. I have the honor 
 to be,' &c. 
 
 107. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 September 17th, 1781. 3J pages folio, with Superscription. [H.] 
 
 ' Since my return to Town nothing very important has happened, altho' 
 circumstances as much so as events have occured, & the consequences I hope 
 will prove advantageous. Our Fleet has sailed from Torbay to the westward. I 
 am in no concern for the W. India Fleets yet. If Darby is not detained in the 
 Channel, which he has been by S.W. & Westerly winds, I beleive that the 
 combined fleet will seperate and go to port least they shall find it out of their 
 power to do so without risking separation from the Equinoxial Gales. So long as 
 they have nothing to check them they may spread large to catch our convoys, 
 which I do not think will arrive till the end of the month, tho' the merchants & 
 papers are beginning to be alarmed. To the east we have our Fleet superior to the 
 Dutch by 2 ships of the line, which I hope will be in time, having sailed some 
 days to intercept the Dutch Baltic Convoy or drive it back. Our second convoy 
 from the Baltic arrived the end of last week with between i & 200 sail ; our stores 
 are in abundance, & I have no fear of their failing us for these three years, such 
 has been our diligence to purchase and complete them. On the other hand 
 France, Holland, and Spain will be materially distressed unless their convoy 
 arrives in time this season. The neutral ships, I mean Dutch, French, &c., under 
 Prussian & Imperial as well as Swedish Flags, do much harm to us by their aid, 
 & we depend on our own flag only. 
 
 ' Rodney is coming home. Sir Sam^ Hood is left with his Comand, & a very 
 good officer he is. Gen' Mathews releives Vaughan, who returns with Rodney. 
 
 ' My brother has ended his waiting, & has the good luck to have given great 
 satisfaction, & the expressions of it from all quarters were very flattering. The 
 King lent Robt. 3 of his horses during his waiting, which you know is a favor 
 shown to few of his Equerries, in short, he is in bon odeur, & I make no doubt will 
 continue so, as he is very steady & uniformly attentive & civil. On my return from 
 Warwick last week I went to Court. The P. of W. was there, and invited me to 
 dine with him at the Queen's house. I was the only stranger, and I must do 
 justice to his table, which is better served than the King's, & his wines are very 
 good. I hope he will do well ; it is a time critical to him, and I think him more 
 settled, tho' he has not yet parted with all the feu de jeunesse which is to be ex- 
 pected in young men. The set about him this summer is chiefly of his attendants, 
 whom I know, & are very different men, but in all is a great deal of good. I 
 wish he had some friend who had a little more of the vieille cour without the 
 extent of its formality, but there is something in the stile of the seigneur vAao^^ is 
 not to be found frequent in this country, & which would suit the attendants of the 
 Court well. You must not understand from my wish that the P. has not the 
 appearance of a gentleman. Without flattering him, few of the young men are so 
 weU looking, & none of his age are so capable of being whatever he pleases. 
 Hunting, shooting, driving, etc., are consider'd by him as manly amusements, 
 & are not suflScient to exhaust his vigor, which is a comfort to many belles. 
 
I78i.] NELSON PAPERS. 75 
 
 'You see I court your correspondance. But a truce to politicks from Naples ; 
 give me virtu, & in proportion as I am pleased with your letters I will extend my 
 political correspondance to you. 
 
 ' I really grudge the marbles you send to the Museum. The Hercules is not 
 felt by them, & they flatter themselves there will be no more presents. At least 
 some of them going their rounds observed, " Well, at least we have enough 
 antiquity now." The present of vases renders your collection completer, & any 
 bits which are learned & can be well disposed in the rooms destm'd for your 
 antiquities ought to be given [by] you or purchased by them ; but to give [fine] 
 busts & statues or beautiful fragments to be [ 'd] about & hid in lumber-rooms 
 I hope you will not continue to put in their power. If you keep them at Naples 
 or send them home you will see better how to dispose of them, & your presenting 
 them in a lump will make their conveyance appear greater. I hope in a year or 
 two to be a little beforehand, in which case I will send my savings to you to lay 
 out in virtu. I shall Umit you to the class, as I never shall have appartments 
 suitable to more collections than those of N. History, & those I dispose in such 
 manner that I can arange about 12 or 18 marbles ; the size & class of sculpture of 
 which I have put so high that Hamilton has not found for me in Rome any 
 corresponding to my idea, tho' he has supplied me with & statues which please 
 here, & are very pretty. My pictures would not look so well without the 
 aid of 3 of yours. The possession of good ones has saved me much money. 
 I am not tempted by bad ones, nor do I look for furniture pictures. I 
 seal* with a curious scarabeus, now in my collection, which I got from 
 Seaforth when he parted with this country. In return send me an impression 
 of your fragment. He desired me to send his large cameo that you may sell 
 it for ^400. I shall take care of it till I have your orders, and am, D"^ H., with 
 love to U H., yours,' &c. 
 
 108. A. Draft of Letter from Sir W. Hamilton to (the Duke of Devon- 
 shire). Dated Naples, September i8th, 1781. 5J pages 4to. 
 [H.] 
 
 'Your Grace will be informed by Mr. Tierneyt of the several disburse- 
 ments that have been made in consequence of the fatal accident that has 
 befallen us lately. We have endeavour'd as much as possible to prevent 
 imposition, & at the ^ame [time] to i^ave no just cause of complaint of a want of 
 generosity in your Grace's family. There are two persons, however, that attended 
 Lord Richard several months, & were certainly very necessary to His Lordship, 
 & both of whom I am certain U- Richard intended to reward most handsomely. 
 The first is Mr. Byres, the Architect, who, after having attended L* Richard two 
 months at Rome, came here by His Lordship's desire, went the Tour of Sicily 
 with him, having made his journey from Rome & back again at his own expence, 
 L"! Richard having told Mr. Tierney that he meant to satisfy Byres at his return 
 to Rome. 
 
 ' Dr. Drummond attended L* Richard constantly whenever His L. was 
 indisposed, & on some occasions passed the night in his room. He does not act 
 as a physician here, but is happy to assist his countrymen on all occasions. I 
 have never known him to take fee, tho' his circumstances are by no means good. 
 Besides the confidence L* Richard had in Drummond as a Physician, I am sure 
 he had a true affection for him, & am certain wou'd have proved his best friend 
 through life. As Mr. Tierney & I cou'd not take it upon us to settle any thing 
 with these gentlemen, I thought it necessary to state the case exactly to your 
 Grace. I have desired Drummond to give your Grace an account of L'^ Richard's 
 last illness, which you will find enclosed, as also an account of the state of the 
 body of the deceased when it was open'd by D. Marco Ripaidi in the presence of 
 
 * The seal has been torn off the letter. 
 
 + George Tierney, 1756-1830, Treasurer of the Navy in the Addington Administration and 
 President of the Board of Control in that of ' All the Talents.' He was for many years member 
 for Southwark. 
 
76 THE HAMILTON AND [1781. 
 
 D. Domenico Cottunnio, the most celebrated Anatomist at Naples. It is a 
 melancholy office to send your Grace such accounts, but it seems to me right that 
 your Grace & family shou'd be minutely informed of every circumstance. I 
 cannot sufficiently praise Mr. Job Allen, L'' Richard's valet de chambre, for his 
 constant care & attention ; nothing can exceed the attachment & affection vi'hich 
 he has shewn, & tho' he dislikes the sea he will not even abandon his late 
 honour'd master's remains, but attend them to Great Britain in a Genoese vessel 
 which is to sail from hence in a few days directly for London. I have the honour 
 to be,' &c. 
 
 109. L. S. from Captain Nelson* to the Admiralty. Dated Albemarle, 
 
 Woolwich, September 24th, 1781. \ page folio. [p.]f 
 
 He encloses a note he has just received from the surgeon's mate of H. M. S. 
 Albemarle, under his command, and begs, as the ship is nearly ready to sail, that 
 the Admiralty will appoint another surgeon's mate in his room. 
 
 110. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated October 
 
 nth, 1781. 2\ pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' Your last letter threatens me with your displeasure for not writing. I do not 
 plead guilty ; what have become of the letters I know not, but certain I am I 
 have written to you on every occasion of importance ; have answered every letter 
 you have written, & have given you divers challanges of correspondence ; 
 promising politicks on my part if on yours you would give vertue. I wrote to 
 Ly. Hamilton also & gave the account of the balls, &c., & of Robert's waiting ; 
 besides which I also informed you of the event. As I am no man of invention, 
 you may account for it as you can. 
 
 'Yours of the nth September, in answer to the one I gave Sheridan to 
 forward to you, confirms what we expected. The ballet will go on well 
 without Picqe. Gardel the younger is to be the first dancer, & he is very 
 good. 
 
 'Amongst other reasons I regret your not receiving my letters is the oppor- 
 tunity you would have had of judging of my opinion on politicks. I told you 
 that I expected the combined fleets would separate & not meet Darby. It was 
 an opportunity we should have availed ourselves of, had we been in the situation 
 of the combined fleet, & had had our enymy at anchor in Torbay. But quitting 
 the station without one prize to brag of proves their wretched state or their want 
 of enterprize. The Dutch are still safe in Texel ; they have totaly lost a 74 
 within a few days coming into the Texel, & the convoy to the Baltic will not 
 make their passage this year if we keep on our good look-out. If neutral flags 
 did not aid our enymies we should do very well, but it is provoking to see the 
 neutral ships counteract all our activity. 
 
 ' I am under the necessity of applying to the Secretary of State to forward 
 the Act ; P. Caramancio has assured me that it is against positive orders to 
 inclose anything whatever in his dispatches, & laments his inability to oblige 
 me & Ld. H. I shall not send it this post, but will the next if I cannot find a 
 good conveyance. 
 
 ' This letter is merely to exculpate myself & to assure you that I am,' &c. 
 
 ' My best comps. to Ld. H.' 
 
 * Horatio, Viscount Nelson, 1758-1805, the great Admiral. He entered the navy in 1771 ; 
 after the battle of the Nile in 1798, was created Baron Nelson, was decreed a vote of thanks and 
 a grant of ;£^20oo a year for his own life and the lives of his two immediate successors. He also 
 received a grant of £\ooo a year from the Parliament of Ireland, and was voted ;^lo,ooo by 
 the East India Company. After the attack on Copenhagen in 1801 he was created a Viscount. 
 He was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar. 
 
 t The letter ' P. ' denotes that the letter comes from the collection made by Pettigrew for 
 his Life of Nelson. This collection afterwards passed into the possession of Mr. Joseph Mayer 
 of Liverpool, and was sold by Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson, & Hodge in July, 1887. 
 
i78i, 1782.] NELSON PAPERS. 77 
 
 111. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated 
 
 'Caserta, October 23rd, 1781.' 3 pages 4to., with Superscription 
 and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' H. M. has open'd his winter campaign, and there has already been some 
 bloodshed. I have seen the list of last year's destruction— upwards of 36 
 thousand— but you don't like this subject, so I will tell you that I am just come 
 from Portici where I have had Mons. d'Agin court,* & gone through a course of 
 volcanoes and antiquity with him. I have collected much curious information 
 relative to the early excavations at Herculaneum, & shall one of these days be at 
 liberty to communicate them to the publick which I think of doing by the means 
 of the Society of Antiquaries, as it will answer my purpose without expence, and 
 what I have collected is from such good authority and of so curious a nature that 
 the publick will be much obliged to me. I have also employed a person (who 
 lives at Portici & draws well) who has made observations on the smoke on Mount 
 Vesuvius every day since the last eruption, and made daily drawings of it. They 
 are become very interesting, & will perhaps in able hands, one of these days, 
 point out some very singular phenomena that happen in the atmosphere & which 
 hitherto have been unobserved. As to me I can only judge by them of the degree 
 of fermentation in the volcanoe — tho' I perceive different currents of air at 
 different heights — the smoke will sometimes go up straight, & then go off hori- 
 zontally & so alternately three or four times ; in short nothing but the drawings 
 can give you an idea of the singular accidents. I have some salts for you from a 
 crevice on Vesuvius, & which have been in constant red heat since the 8th of 
 August, 1779, to October 13th, 1781. I have several curious Vesuvian productions 
 for you, but few cristals — one new found. By the first neutral ship I will send 
 you some of the choicest specimens. \J H. has forgiven & sends her love to 
 you. Yours,' &c. 
 
 112. A. L. S. from the Duchess of Devonshire to Lady Hamilton. 
 
 Dated ' Althorp, January 7th (1782).' 3 pages 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' As Job Allen would deliver your letter to me himself, & as he was detained 
 by a long voyage & performing quarantine, I did not receive it till a great while 
 after you was so good as to send it to me, & I have been prevented answering it 
 by having been very ill of a disorder in my bowels that I have but just got the 
 better of. I am impatient to express to you, my d"^ L^ Hamilton, how much we 
 are obliged to you & S"^ W™ for your goodness to our belov'd Lord Richard ; — 
 it would be impossible for me to describe what the Duke suffer'd at the loss of 
 his dear brother, & indeed he has scarcely recover'd his spirits yet, & it will be 
 a great while I am afraid before he does entirely. He is extremely sensible of 
 the goodness you shew'd him, & as soon as he could trust himself to enter upon 
 the subject, the first thing he did was to write to S' W™ and Dr. Drumond ; I 
 hope they have receiv'd his letters. I was very much touch'd with the fidelity & 
 attachment of poor Job ; he is at Devonshire House now, & the Duke will not 
 part with him out of the family, therefore we shall establish him in it. 
 
 ' I am very impatient to have the pleasure of seeing you, & I hope it will not 
 be long till then. If Mrs. Damert is still with you, pray give my love to her, & my 
 best compliments to S'^ W"*. I am, your,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — My father & mother desire their love to you & Sr. Wm.' 
 
 * Jean Baptiste Louis Georges Seroux d'Agincourt, 1739-1814, a French antiquary, who at 
 one time was a 'fermier giniral ' and who travelled much in Italy. 
 
 t Anne Seymour Darner, 1749-1829, was the only child of Marshal Conway, and in 1767 
 married John Damer, eldest son of Lgrd Milton, afterwards Earl of Dorchester, who shot 
 himself in 1776. Mrs. Damer devoted herself chiefly to sculpture. She was from infancy the 
 pet of Horace Walpole, who, in introducing her to Sir Horace Mann, said she ' writes Latin 
 like Pliny and is learning Greek. She models like Bernini, has excelled moderns in the 
 similitudes of her busts, and has lately begun one in marble.' She was a staunch Whig, and 
 helped the Duchess of Devonshire in canvassing Westminster for C. J. Fox in the famous 
 election of 1780. 
 
78 THE HAMILTON AND [1782. 
 
 113. A. L. S. from ' Emly Hart '* to Charles Greville. No date (Endorsed 
 
 ' R"* January loth, 1782 '). 2 pages folio, with Superscription. [H.] 
 
 ' Yesterday did I receve your kind letter. It put me in some spirits, for, 
 believe me, I am allmost distracktid. I have never hard from Sir H.,t and he is 
 not at Lechster now, I am sure. What shall I dow .■' Good God ! what shall I 
 dow ? I have wrote 7 letters, and no anser. I can't come to town for want 
 of mony. I have not a farthing to bless my self with, and I think my friends 
 looks cooly on me. I think so. O G., what shall I dow .■' what shall I dow .? 
 O how your letter affected me, wen you wishd me happiness. O G., that I was 
 in your posesion or was in Sir H. What a happy girl would I have been ! — girl 
 indeed ! what else am I but a girl in distres — in reall distres ? For God's sake, 
 G. write the minet you get this, and only tell me what I am to dow. Direct same 
 whay. I am allmos mad. O, for God's sake, tell me what is to become on me. 
 O dear Grevell, write to me. Write to me. G. adue, and believe [me] yours 
 for ever,' &c. 
 
 ' Don't tel my mother what distress I am in, and dow aford me some comfort. 
 
 ' My age was got out of the Reggister, and I now sent it to my dear Charles. 
 Once more adue, once more adue, O you dear freind.'t 
 
 114. A. L.§ from Charles Greville to Emily (Emma) Hart. Dated 
 
 'January loth, 1782.' 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' My dear Emily, — I do not make apologies for S' H'" behaviour to you, & 
 altho' I advised you deserve his esteem by your good conduct, I own I never 
 expected better from him. It was your duty to deserve good treatment, & it gave 
 me great concern to see you imprudent the first time you came to G. from the 
 country, and as the same conduct was repeated when you was last in town I 
 began to despair of your happiness. To prove to you that I do not accuse you 
 falsely I only mention 5 guineas & half a guinea for coach. But, my dear Emily, 
 as you seem quite miserable now, I do not mean to give you uneasiness, but 
 comfort, & tell you that I will forget your faults & bad conduct to Sr. H. & to 
 myself, & will not repent my good humor if I shall find that you have learnt by 
 experience to value yourself, & endeavor to preserve your friends by your good 
 conduct and affection. 
 
 ' I will now answer your last letter. You tell me you think your friends look 
 cooly on you, it is therefore time to leave them : but it is necessary for you to 
 decide some points before you come to town. 
 
 ' You are sensible that for the three next months your situation will not admit 
 
 * Emma or Emily Hart, or Amy Lyon, Lady Hamilton, circa 1765-1815, celebrated for 
 her beauty and fascination. She was the daughter of poor parents, and was born at Great 
 Neston, Cheshire. She appears to have reached London somewhere about her 15th year. After 
 residing under Sir Harry Fetherstonehaugh's protection for some time, and becoming the 
 mother of two children, she passed into the hands of Mr. Charles Greville in 1782, and was 
 transferred by him to his uncle, Sir William Hamilton, in 1786. She lived with Sir William 
 and was educated by him until 1791, when he brought her to England and married her at 
 Marylebone Church on September 6th of that year. Her long and intimate acquaintance with 
 Nelson began at Naples in 1793. 
 
 + Sir Harry Fetherstonehaugh, of Up Park, Sussex, was one of Emma's early ' protectors.' 
 X These last hnes are inside the cover, the address of which, written and franked by Greville 
 himself, is : 'to the Hon^e Mr. Greville, Portman Square, London, M.P.' The cover bears the 
 Chester postmark, and is stamped 'I. lA., presumably 1st January. The certificate enclosed 
 runs as follows : 
 
 ' Amy (ly) Daughter of Henrv Lyon of Nesse by Mary his wife, bap. the \2^ of May 
 1765. 
 
 ' The above is truly copied from the G. Neston Register by 
 
 'Neston, DeiT 178 1.' ' R. Carter, Curate. 
 
 The ' ly ' after the name ' Amy ' has clearly been added subsequently. 
 
 § The document is really a pressed copy of GreviUe's original letter, and probably one of the 
 earliest specimens extant of that process. James Watt had but recently invented copying ink, 
 in 1780. 
 
1782.] NELSON PAPERS. 79 
 
 of a giddy life, if you wished it ; it would therefore be imprudent to come & hunt 
 after new connexion, or try to regain the one you give up as lost. After you 
 have told me that Sr. H. gave you barely money to get to your friends, & has 
 never answered one letter since, & neither provides for you nor takes any notice 
 of you, it might appear laughing at you to advise you to make Sr. H. more kind 
 & attentive. I do not think a great deal of time should be lost, as I have never 
 seen a woman clever enough to keep a man who was tired of her. But it is a 
 great deal more for me to advise you never to see him again, & to write only to 
 inform him of your determination. You must, however, do either the one or 
 the other. 
 
 ' You may easily see, my dearest Emily, why it is absolutely necessary for 
 this point to be completely settled before I can move one step. If you love 
 Sr. H. you should not give him up, & if you continue with him it would be 
 ridiculous in me to take care of his girl, who is better able to maintain her. But 
 besides this, my Emily, I would not be troubled with your connexions (excepting 
 your mother) & with Sr. H. friends, for the universe. 
 
 ' My advice then is to take a steady resolution ; try whatever you please, & if 
 Sr. H. will continue your friend, or if you prefer any other friend, do not be your 
 own enymy ; & at last, if everything fails, if you mean to have my protection I 
 must first know from you that you are clear of every connexion, that you will 
 never take them again without my consent. I shall then be free to dry up the 
 tears of my lovely Emily & to give her comfort. If you do not forfeit my esteem 
 perhaps my Emily may be happy. You know I have been so by avoiding the 
 vexation which so frequently arises from ingratitude & caprice. Nothing but 
 your letter & your distress could incline me to alter my system ; but remember 
 I never will give up my peace, nor continue my connexion one moment after my 
 confidence is betray'd. 
 
 ' If you should come to town free from all engagements, & take my advice, 
 you will live very retired till you are brought to bed. You should part with your 
 maid, & take another name. By degrees I would get you a new set of acquaint- 
 ances, & by keeping your own secret & no one about you having it in their 
 power to betray you, I may expect to see you respected & admired. Thus far 
 relates to yourself. As to the child, Sr. H. may be informed of circumstances 
 which may reasonably make him doubt, & it is not worth while to make it a 
 subject of altercation. Its mother shall obtain it kindness from me, & it shall 
 never want. 
 
 ' I inclose you some money ; do not throw it away. You may send some 
 presents when you arrive in town, but do not be on the road without some money 
 to spare, in case you should be fatigued, & wish to take your time. I will send 
 Sophy any thing she wishes for ; give her a good many kisses, & a thousand to 
 my dear Emily. God bless you, my dearest, lovely girl ; take your determination 
 soon, & let me hear from you once more. Adieu, my dear Emily.' 
 
 115. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated 
 
 Caserta, February 26th, 1782. 3J pages 4to., with Superscription 
 
 and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' What with the carnival, chasse, and attendance upon the Grand Duke 
 & Dutchess of Russia, who were pleased to desire me to be their cicerone, 
 I have not had one moment's rest for this fortnight past, but have the 
 satisfaction of finding that tho' I am 51 years old, & made pretty free with my 
 constitution in my younger days, I bear fatigue much better than those who are 
 much younger and fresher. Their Imperial Highness were quite knocked up on 
 Mount Vesuvius, without being able to get up the mountain. The Duke's lungs 
 are very weak, & his body ill formed & not strong, and the Duchess is rather 
 corpulent. However, the novelty pleased them. The Duchess' feet came through 
 her shoes, but I had luckily desired her to take a second pair. The K. was greatly 
 disappointed that the G. D. would not accept of his invitation to a shooting party 
 at Persano, fifty miles from Naples, & which he had been preparing for two 
 months past at the expence of 14,000 Neapolitan ducats. He had drove into an 
 
8o THE HAMILTON AND [1782 
 
 enclosure of about five miles in circumference about 500 wild boars, 1500 stags & 
 fallow deer, foxes & hares innumerable. However, he was determined not to lose 
 his labour & cost, so he left his Imperial guests to the care of the Queen, and staid 
 a week, shooting every day, before he could demolish the game he had shut up. 
 I was there the first day, and indeed I never saw such a number of wild beasts 
 before ; but the cold was so excessive, the mountains being covered with snow, 
 that we could hardly hold our guns. I was obliged to set out post, after being in 
 that cold all day, to attend the G. D. the next on Vesuvius. The thermometer at 
 Naples within doors was for near a week at 7 degrees only below the freezing 
 point. The i8th of Feb. for some hours it was at 5. Such a phenomenon was 
 never known. The Lazaronis cried out, Malhora questi Moscoviti hanno portato 
 ilfreddo loro unculo. The Grand Duchess is very fond of pictures, & means to 
 make a collection, but the Empress has, I find, heard of my Correggio, & has, I 
 believe, a design upon it. I have given a copy of it to one of the Duke's suite, as 
 she wished to have some idea of it. I realy shall be sorry that such a picture 
 shou'd go out of England, & particularly that it will deprive you of a great pleasure ; 
 but if she gives me my price prudence will not permit me to refuse it, as I have a 
 debt for the like sum for which I pay 5 per cent. For having fatigued their 
 Highness', & worn out their shoes, I have got a fine gold snuff-box all over 
 diamonds. To be sure (what) the Emperor did was more delicate He came to 
 my house to return me thanks for having attended him, & was never in any other 
 house at Naples. However, entre nous, I am as well pleased that this Prince has 
 given me the box, as his visit wou'd not have been so flattering as that of the 
 Emperor. The box I shou'd suppose is worth about ^200 ; he gave such another 
 to the P. Belmonte, Maggior Duomo Maggiore, who attended him by order of this 
 court. Upon the whole they were very kind to me, & I am glad to have made 
 their acquaintance. To every body else they were rather high, & took little 
 notice of the French Ambassador who pressed himself always close to them. 
 They are gone to Rome, are to go to Florence where the Emperor will meet 
 them. They go to Paris but not to England. The party consists of above 70, so 
 you may judge of the confusion — 133 horses each post, tho' they travel in three 
 divisions. If you have a mind to know my opinion of their Imp. Highnesses ask 
 Ld. Hillsborough,* for I have sent it to him in cypher to-day. I forget whether I 
 told you I have met with a portrait of a man by Titian as much superior to all 
 modern portraits as a diamond is to a Bristol stone. This severe weather 
 prevents the arrival of couriers, & we have had no letters for this fortnight. 
 Adieu, my dear Charles.' 
 
 116. A. Mem. from Lady Hamilton. No date (1782). 2 pages 
 
 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' How tedious are the hours I pass in the absence of the beloved of my heart, 
 & how tiresome is every scene to me. There is the chair in which he used to sit. 
 I find him not there, & my heart feels a pang & my foolish eyes overflow with 
 tears. The number of years we have been married, instead of diminishing my 
 love have increased it to that degree & wound it up with my existence in such a 
 manner that it cannot alter. How strong are the efforts I have made to conquer 
 my feelings, but in vain. How I have reasoned with myself, but to no purpose. 
 No one but those who have felt it can know the miserable anxiety of an undivided 
 love. When he is present every object has a different appearance, when he is 
 absent how lonely, how isolated I feel. I seek peace in company, & there I am 
 still more uneasy. I return home, & there the very dog stares me in the face & 
 seems to ask for its beloved master. Alas ! I have but one pleasure, but one 
 satisfaction, & that is all centred in him. Oh blessed Lord God & Saviour, be 
 Thou mercifully pleas'd to guard & protect him in all dangers & in all situations. 
 Have mercy upon us both, oh Lord, & turn our hearts to Thee. Give us that 
 
 * Wills Hill, Lord Hillsborough, afterwards 1st Marquis of Downshire, 1718-1793, several 
 times President of the Board of Trade, Secretary of State for the Northern Department from 
 1779-1782, and an Elder Brother of the Trinity House. 
 
1782. NELSON PAPERS. 8 1 
 
 faith which is necessary to salvation. Preserve us, oh God, forgive us our 
 numerous transgressions & grant us life & power to praise & Isless Thee. Oh 
 convert our hearts & draw them to thee in spite of all the temptations of the 
 world. Oh, Lord, bless & convert to thy faith my dear, dear husband, & grant 
 that we may live to praise & bless Thee together.' 
 
 117. A. L. S. from the same to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated April 7th, 
 
 (1782). if pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' A few days, nay, a few hours, my dear Hamilton, may render me incapable of 
 writing to you, I therefore will not delay it. But how shall I express my love & 
 tendernes to you, dearest of earthly blessings ! My only attachment to this 
 world has been my love to you, & you are my only regret in leaving it. My heart 
 has followed your footsteps where ever you went, & you have been the source of 
 all my joys. I would have preferr'd beggary with you to kingdoms without you. 
 But all this must have an end — forget & forgive my faults, & remember me with 
 kindness. I entreat you not to suffer me to be shut up after I am dead till it is 
 absolutely necessary. Remember the promise you have made me that your bones 
 should he by mine when God shall please to call you, & give directions in your 
 will about it. May every earthly & heavenly blessing attend you, my dear 
 Hamilton, & may you be loved as I have loved you. I am, yr. faithfull wife,' &c. 
 
 118. A.L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 
 May 14th, 1782. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I never doubted of your philosophy, patience, or resolution, but am grieved 
 it should all at once have been put to so severe a trial. However, I hope 
 before this time that your health, which is the essential point, is perfectly 
 re-established, and as to employment I dare say it will not be long before you will 
 contrive to get in again. In the mean time, to be sure, you must retrench as much 
 as possible. I wonder you did not at once put a stop to the sort of application that 
 was made to you by Ch. My utmost ambition now is to be left where I am. Upon 
 the whole nothing at home, or even in a higher station abroad, would allow me to 
 pass my time so much to my own satisfaction as I do at present, and I have already 
 told my mind to my friends, whom I believe to have weight in the present ministry. 
 After 17 years service I do not think they would think of removing me, and all I 
 ask of them is to let me alone. The present object seems to be peace ; if that 
 shou'd take place I wou'd endeavour to make a visit home, settle my affairs in 
 Wales on another footing, and return here, probably for the remainder of my days, 
 for I find I grow old apace, and such a climate as this in old age is no inconsider- 
 able object, & to Lady H's. tatter'd constitution is become essential. As we have 
 no children to place & provide for, we are to consult our own ease, and I protest 
 I believe there is no one place in the K's. gift that cou'd suit me so well as this. 
 To be sure I do regret the not being able to enjoy your society and that of another 
 friend or two, but in this life nothing is compleat, however it may be in the next. 
 
 ' I have given Clark the enclosed of your last, but he does not seem inclined to 
 return home, and I make it a rule never to trouble my head with other people's 
 business, particularly when they are of an age to judge for themselves. Adieu, my 
 dear Charles. Yours,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. Clark is a very modest good creature & a good portrait painter.' 
 
 119. A.L.S. 'P.' from the Earl of Pembroke to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 
 London, June 7th, 1782. i\ pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 
 Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' You will, more than ever, my dear Hamilton, think I have arranged matters 
 myself, when I tell you that I have got the government of Portsmouth— the thing 
 I allways wished for, & of which I miscarried twice, when Harvey & Moncton 
 were appointed. I shall be proud indeed. Pray look over the Italian translation 
 of my book, or it will, I am sure, be full of vile mistakes. It has been translated 
 
 VOL. I. G 
 
82 THE HAMILTON AND [1782. 
 
 at Berlin into German ; when the Neapolitan one comes out, pray send itto me. 
 I am sorry ye determine on never living in England. I could almost wish my 
 friends, the new brooms, would be weak and unjust enough to recall you. _ My 
 best humbles to Ly. H., but not a word of this pray. I really think the activity of 
 the present ministry will avail much, but our game is certainly a very up-hill one. 
 However, we have had great news of late, & the best men are now employed. 
 Dean* is a man who has engraved chiefly for Sir Joshua Reynolds, & a clever 
 fellow. When he begins on the family picture I will give him your name. He 
 seems to have cut out long labour for himself at Wilton. George sent you the 
 Diaiia family & musick. She has done the girls again, & differently & still better, 
 but it is not engraved. She has given it to Fawkener. I wish you joy of the 
 tenor. My scraping continues, & I should be glad to join it to yours. Ldy. P., 
 George, & I are very truly & faithfully your's & Ly. Hamilton's, to whom I should 
 be very glad to introduce our little Charlotte.! Adieu.' 
 
 120. A. L. S. from Lady Hamilton to the same. No date (July.J 
 
 1782). 2 pages 4to., with Superscription. [H.] 
 
 ' I feel my weak, tottering frame sinking & my spirits fail me ; my only regret 
 in leaving this world is leaving you ; was it not for that I should wish the struggle 
 over. But my heart is so wrap'd up in you that you are like the soul that animates 
 my body. You never have known half the tender affection I have borne you 
 because it has never been in my power to prove it to you — forgive this effusion of 
 my heart. I feel myself every day declining. You are absent from me, & God 
 grant I may ever see you again. The dissipated life you lead, my dr. Hamilton, 
 prevents your attending to those great truths in comparison of which all is folly — 
 for God's sake do not reject those truths, nor despise the plain simplicity of a 
 religion upon which our salvation depends, & which has been acknowledged & 
 beleiv'd by the most sensible & greatest men, after their having sustained the 
 contrary ; but they were convinced & were not ashamed to own it. God grant 
 that you may imitate them, & that we may meet in a better world than this. My 
 hps, my heart, my soul blesses you & prays for you, dearest of earthly beings. 
 Remember me with kindness & friendship, my dear Hamilton ; remember your 
 promise of being lay'd by me, when God calls you away. I wish you to give 
 Cottier six pounds a year added to his annuity, as a remembrance of the promise 
 he has made me of staying with you & taking care of you while you live. Give 
 something likewise to my maid, who is a good faithful! creature. And now, my 
 dear Hamilton, my husband, my friend, my only attachment to this earth, 
 farewell ; forget my failings & cherish the memory of a wife who loved you 
 beyond the love of women, & dies yours most faithfully.' 
 
 121. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to the same. Dated ' Portman 
 
 Square, September 24th, 1782.' 5 pages 4to., with Superscription 
 
 and Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' You have no idea how shocked I was by the unexpected news of your loss. 
 Yet, when I consider the long period of her indisposition & the weakness of her 
 frame, I ought to have been prepared to hear it. I am glad that her last illness 
 was not attended with extraordinary suffering, & I know you so well, that I am 
 sure you will think with affection and regret, as often as the blank which must be 
 felt after 25 years society shall call her to your memory, & it will not be a small 
 consolation, that to the last you shewed that kindness & attention to her which 
 she deserved ; I have often quoted you for that conduct, which few have goodness 
 of heart or principle to imitate. 
 
 ' I should not have hesitated a moment to set out to pass some months with 
 you, if I had it in my power. The last long letter sufficiently proves how much 
 at present I am involved in my brothers affairs, & the former one explain'd my 
 
 * John Dean, 1752-1798. An engraver, pupil of Valentine Green, 
 t Lady Charlotte Herbert, 1773-1784, the writer's only daughter, 
 % Lady Hamilton died in August. 
 
1782.] NELSON PAPERS. 83 
 
 politicks ; I need only add that the difficulty I expected has occured. I have not 
 got the Trustees together, & I am now on my travels to collect their opinions. 
 I have got all the Stewards employed in making out the state of their collections; 
 & in about six weeks I expect to have everything finaly aranged. As to the 
 politicks, I have secured a support at Warwick which I think will be permanent, 
 & instead of the plan I told you, of getting a Colleague, I have agreed to remam 
 quiet, if the other party engage to be at peace. The sitting member you may 
 suppose is glad of the offer, but his friends well love the prospect of expence. 
 I have given this month as the last term for their ultimatum, which I expect will 
 be for each party to have one. This you may think not so good as my former 
 plan, but, when you consider that I have no money & that my friends require none 
 for their support, it is no imprudent part to remain quiet, since the other party 
 must die away when the purse is closed. I do not enter further at present ; you 
 see from thence that 1 am not my own master, otherwise I should be happy to 
 come to you, & share your regret & share your new life, which cannot fail of 
 being different from the late event. I know your sence and readiness to select 
 the good of every situation, but the society of a friend may not be unpleasant, 
 altho' his advice is not wanted ; & I flatter myself that I should have been 
 welcome. It was very kind of you, my dear Hamilton, to assure me that I should 
 not be an unwelcome guest whenever my plans were compatible with so great a 
 distance from home. I am sure no plans of my own would have a preference to 
 a visit to you on such an occasion, but my brother's affairs enforce my residence 
 in England for some little time. I shall by return of post expect to hear of your 
 plans & intentions, & I shall wind up all the affairs I am concerned in that I may 
 have it in my power to pass at least some weeks with you. It may occur to you 
 that there are other considerations besides those I have mentioned to detain me, 
 but those are of a nature that rather incline me to be absent. I do not like to 
 join precipitately any set ; the meeting of Parliament will decide on principles, 
 & the ballance is in the hand of the former set. I am a good jobber for a friend, 
 but [ am an awkward one for myself, & I fear you would not approve of my 
 conduct since out of office. I know it is not the most suited to preferment, but I 
 have sufficient of the world to hold myself as high with a reduced as with a more 
 ample income ; & I have reduced my luxuries with as much ease as I took them 
 up. I have my house yet on my hands, but, if I can let it, I shall ; equipage, &c., 
 I told you some time ago, was reduced. I expect I shall be able to keep up all 
 my virtu. By the by, I told you I had sent the cameo to you, but the oppor- 
 tunity failed me. I did not sufficiently explain to you how it belong'd to you. 
 Ld. S.[eaforth] desired me to send it to you, to sell for 400 gs. or to keep it. 
 This might have been thought slender ground to withhold it from the heirs, but 
 I explain'd it to the Executors that the subject was obscene, & not fit for a lady, 
 & Ld. Seaf. had made a codicil which he sent to me by which he left me the 
 choice of any Antique, or Gem, in preference to all his heirs, & 1 would not claim 
 any, but I had all he left valued & accounted for ; & I told the Guardians that 
 the only remaining Antique unaccounted for which I could claim was the Cameo, 
 but that I had not the same value for it you had, & that you might have it, & 
 that I was better pleased in keeping his codicil as a proof of his friendship than 
 an Antique of much nominal value. You will therefore do what you please with 
 it. I shall keep it till I have a good opportunity to send it or receive your orders. 
 I have got some choice bits from Hamilton ; they are now on the sea. By the 
 same post I sent my long family narative. I wrote to Hamilton that I had given 
 orders for the bill he sent to be met, & to my surprize I heard from him this day 
 that it was returned. This was very mortifying, as I had had great trouble to 
 collect the money, & it was placed ready to be call'd for, & I experience Hamilton's 
 love for my collection, & his kindness to me so much that I am sorry that the 
 post should make me appear neglectfull. 
 
 ' I only came to Town this day. I am going to Sr. James Peachey on my 
 brother's* business, & from thence to Lord Ossory, another colleague in the trust. 
 I shall therefore reserve next post for news if any should occur. Believe me,' &c. 
 
 * George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick, had married first, in 1771, the only daughter of 
 Sir James Peachey, and second, in 1776, a daughter of Richard Vernon, and step sister of th? 
 jst Earl of Ossory. 
 
84 THE HAMILTON AND [1783. 
 
 122. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated ' Naples, 
 
 April 29th, 1783.' 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' Your last letter, my dear Charles, gave me the greatest pleasure, but no part 
 of it more so than that which informs me of your new appointment. I heartily 
 wish you joy & hope it may be lasting. The present ministry is certainly a very 
 respectable one. I had packed up all & sold my horses, let my country houses 
 for a year, concluding that Lord Grantham would have answered my letter which 
 I wrote nth of February to ask the king's leave to return home for a short time 
 only to settle my affairs, which was become necessary after an absence of 5 years, 
 & after the heavy loss I had sustained the month of August last ; but my letter 
 probably arrived during the confusion that preceded the appointment of the new 
 ministry, & has been totally forgotten. I wrote again the 15th of this month, & 
 as that letter will fall into Mr. Fox's hands I shall probably have my leave by the 
 end of May. A thought came into my head to fill up this space & satisfy the 
 curiosity of my Countrymen & my own, that I would go into Calabria & to 
 Messina to enable myself to give a clear account of what has been only con- 
 fusedly reported. Certain it is that except at Cotrone there is not now a house 
 standing in all Calabria ultra, and part of the upper Calabria fell by the last great 
 shock of the 28th March. Messina is quite ruin'd. We are assured of high 
 mountains being sent from top to bottom in Calabria, & that all their strata are 
 clearly exposed to view ; that rivers are impeded & great lakes are forming ; that 
 hot water & ashes issue at times from many cracks. As such great operations 
 of the chirnistry of nature do not occur often, I am determined to put myself to 
 some little inconvenience to see with my own eyes, & to-morrow I set off alone in 
 a Maltese Spennara, & shall coast the whole of Calabria, & go ashore on all the 
 spots that have been most affected. I have another Spennara for my servants, 
 & have this government's order for every aid & assistance. I wish you cou'd be 
 of the party, but I chose rather to go alone than to have a companion that is not 
 quite to my mind. I think I shall be able to compass seeing the most curious 
 spots, & be back here in a month's time, when probably I shall find my leave, & 
 am quite prepared to set off directly & get out of Italy before the great heats set 
 in. I have spoke with one person who left Calabria a week ago & find that the 
 earthquakes still continue, but not with violence, & the people do not mind them, 
 as it only shakes straws & reeds or canvas about their ears. I carry a tent with 
 me & my trusty Cottier to take care of me, & I have 15 as fine Maltese sailors as 
 you cou'd wish to see. You shall hear from me again either from Calabria or 
 laere on my return. My dear Charles ever yours,' &c. 
 
 123. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to Charles James Fox. Dated 
 
 'December 2ist, 1783.' i page 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I acknowledge the honor of your letter requesting my attendance this day 
 when further opposition is expected to the India Bill, by the opposing the Speaker 
 leaving the chair. I was very sorry that my opinion of the measure obliged me 
 to withold my assent when the principle of the Bill was under the consideration 
 of the House. 
 
 ' Lord North will do me the justice to inform you that before I received the 
 honor which I still enjoy, I told his Lordship that I had formed opinions relative 
 to India which I was much afraid it would be impossible to reconcile with systems 
 which seemed likely to arise from the reports of the two committees. When I 
 saw the India Bill I waited on Lord North & informed him that differing as I 
 did in opinion I should not vote on the Bill, & that I had formed that resolution 
 as the conduct least offensive to friends with whom I hoped not to have other 
 grounds of difference. 
 
 ' I am sure I have every motive to induce me to support the present adminis- 
 tration, & I am inclined to go every length compatible with my opinion of 
 right. 
 
 ' I shall attend this day at your request & oppose the motion for delay, the 
 House having approved the commitment of the Bill. I hope you will not 
 consider the future reservation of my vote on this Bill as pleasing to me, nor 
 
1784.] NELSON PAPERS. 85 
 
 confound my conduct with that of persons envious of your situation or jealous 
 of your abihties. 
 
 ' I have the honor to be,' &c. 
 
 124. A. L. from ' Emma Hart ' to Charles Greville. Dated ' Chester, 
 
 Satturday morning' (June 12th, 1784). 2 pages folio, [h.] 
 
 ' I have had no letter from you yett, which makes me unhappy. I can't go to 
 Abbergelly, as it is forty miles, and a very uncumfortable place, and I am now 
 going to Parkgate, as it is the only place beside High Lake I can go to; but I 
 will tiy to go there. Pray, my dear Greville, do write directly, and lett it be left 
 at the Post Office, Parkgate, tell calld for. God bless you ! I have got my poor 
 Emma with me, and I have took leave of all my friends. I have took her from a 
 good home, and I hope she will prove worthy of your goodness to her and her 
 mother. I should not write now tell I got to Parkgate, only I want to hear from 
 you. Pray write, my dear Greville, directly, and send me word how to bile that 
 bark, for parting with you made so unhappy, I forgot the book. I can't stop 
 to write, for the coach is waiting. My dear Greville, don't be angry, but I gave 
 my granmother 5 guineas; for she had laid some [money] out on her,* and I 
 would not take her awhay shabbily. But Emma shall pay you. Adue, my ever 
 dear Greville, and believe yours ever truly,' &c. 
 
 ' I will write on Monday again. My love to Sir W[illiam], and say everything 
 that you can. I am low-spirited ; so do excuse me. My dear Greville, I wish I 
 was with you. God bless you.' 
 
 125. A. L. from the same to the same. Dated ' Parkgate, June 15th, 
 
 1784.' 2| pages folio, with Superscription and Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' You see by the date where I am gott and likely to be ; and yett it is not 
 through any neglect of seeking after other places. As to Abbergely it is 40 
 miles, and so dear that I could not with my mother and me and the child have 
 been there under 2 guines and a half a-week. It is grown such a fashionable 
 place. And High Lake as 3 houses in it, and not one of them as is fit for a 
 Christian. The best is a publick-house for the sailers of such ships as is oblidged 
 to put in there, so you see there is no possibility of going to either of those places. 
 Has to where I am, I find it very comfortable, considering from you. I am in 
 the house of a Laidy, whoes husband is at sea. She and her grammother live 
 together, and we board with her at present, till I hear from you. The price is 
 high, but they don't lodge anybody without boarding ; and as it is comfortable, 
 decent and quiet, I thought it would not ruin us, tell I could have your oppionon, 
 which I hope to have freely and without restraint, as, believe me, you will give it 
 to one, who will allvvays be happy to follow it, lett it be what it will. As I am 
 sure you would not lead me wrong, and though my little temper may have been 
 sometimes high, believe me, I have allways thought you in the right in the end, 
 when I have come to reason. I bathe, and find the water very soult. Here is a 
 great many laidys batheing, but I have no society with them, as it is best not. So 
 pray, my dearest Greville, write soon and tell me what to do, as I will do just 
 what you think proper ; and tell me what to do with the child. For she is a 
 great romp, and I can hardly master her. I don't think she is ugly, but I think 
 her greatly improved. She is tall [has] good eys and brows, and as to lashes 
 she will be passible ; but she has over-grown all her cloaths. I am makeing and 
 mending all as I can for her. Pray, my dear Greville, do lett me come home as 
 soon as you can ; for I am all most broken-hearted being from you. Indeed I 
 have no plasure nor happiness. I wish I could not think on you ; but, if I was 
 the greatest laidy in the world, I should not be happy from you. So don't lett 
 me stay long. Tell Sir William everything you can, and tell him I am sorry our 
 sittuation prevented [me] from giving him a kiss, but my heart was ready to break. 
 But I will give it him, and entreat if he will axcept it. Ask him how I looked, and 
 lett him say something kind to me when you write. Indead, my dear Greville, 
 
 * The child. 
 
86 THE HAMILTON AND [1784. 
 
 you don't know how much I love you. And your behaiver to me, wen we parted, 
 was so kind, Greville, I don't know what to do ; but I will make you a mends by 
 my kind.behaiver to you. For I have grattude, and I will show it you all as I can. 
 So don't think of my faults, Greville. Think of all my good, and blot out all my 
 bad : for it is all gone and berried, never to come again. So, good-by, dear 
 Greville. Think of nobody but me, for I have not a thought but of you. God 
 bless you, and believe me. Yours Truly & Affectionately,' &c. 
 
 ' P. S.— Poor Emma gives her duty to you. I bathe her. The people is very 
 civil to ous. I give a guinea and half a-week for ous all together, but you will tell 
 me what to do. God bless you, my dear Greville. I long to see you, for endead 
 I am not happy from you, tho I will stay if you like till a week before you go 
 home, but I must go first. I hav had no letter from you, and you promised to 
 write to me before I left home. It made me unhappy, but I thought you might 
 [have no] time. God bless you once more, goodby. Direct for me at Mrs. 
 Darnwood's, Parkgate near Chester, and write directly. Take care of the 
 whoman.' 
 
 126. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Parkgate, June 22nd 
 to 27th, 1784. 8 pages 4to. [H.] 
 
 'How teadous does the time pass awhay tell I hear from you. I think it ages 
 since I saw you & years since I heard from you. Endead I should be miserable if 
 I did not reccolect on what happy terms we parted — parted yess, but to meet again 
 with tenfould happiness. Oh, Greville, when I think on your goodness, your 
 tender kindness, my heart is so full of grattitude, that I want words to express it. 
 But I have one happiness in vew, which I am determined to practice, and that is 
 eveness of temper and steadinss of mind. For, endead, I have thought so 
 much of your aimable goodness, when you have been tried to the utmost, that I 
 will, endead I will, manege myself, and try to be like Greville. Endead, I can 
 never be like him. But I will do all I can towards it, and I am sure you will not 
 desire more. I think, if the time would come over again, I would be differant. 
 But it does not matter, there is nothing like bying expearance. I may be hap- 
 pyer for it hereafter, and I will think of the time coming and not the time 
 past, except to make comparrasons, to shew you what alterations there is for 
 the best. So, my dearest Greville, dont think on my past follies : think on my 
 good — little as it has been. And I will make you amends by my kind behaiver ; 
 you shall never repent your partiality. If you had not behaived with such angel- 
 like goodness to me at parting, it would not have had such effect on me, but I 
 have done nothing but think of you since. And, oh, Greville, did you but know 
 when I so think, what thoughts — what tender thoughts, you would say " Good 
 God ! and can Emma have such feehng sensibility? No, I never could think it. 
 But now I may hope to bring her to conviction, and she may prove a valluable 
 and aimable whoman !" True, Greville ! and you shall not be disapointed. I 
 will be everything you can wish. But mind you, Greville, your troo great 
 goodness has brought this about. You don't know what I am. Would you think 
 it, Greville .'^Emma — the wild unthinking Emma is a grave, thoughtful 
 phylosopher. Tis true, Greville, and I will convince you I am, when I see you. 
 But how I am runing on. I say nothing abbout this guidy wild girl of mine. 
 What shall we do with her, Greville ? She is as wild and as thoughtless as 
 somebody, when she was a little girl ; so you may gess how that is. Whether 
 you will like it or no, there is no telling. But one comfort is she is a little 
 afraid on me. Would you believe, on Satturday whe had a little quarel.. I mean 
 Emma and me ; and I did slap her on her hands, and when she came to kiss me 
 and make it up, I took her on my lap and cried. Now do you blame me or not ? 
 Pray tell me. Oh, Greville, you don't know how I love her. Endead I do. 
 When she comes and looks in my face and calls me " mother,'' endead I then 
 truly am a mother ; for all the mother's feelings rise at once, and tels me I am 
 or ought to be a mother, for she has a wright to my protection, and she shall 
 have it as long as I can, and I will do all in my power to prevent her falling 
 into the error her poor once miserable mother fell into. 
 
 ' But why do I say miserable? Am not I happy abbove any of my sex, at least 
 
1784.] NELSON PAPERS. 87 
 
 in my sittuation ? Does not Greville love me, or at least like me ? Does not he 
 protect me? Does not he provide for me? Is not he a farther to my child? 
 why do I call myself miserable ? No, it whas a mistake, and I will be happy, 
 chearful and kind, and do all my poor abbility will lett me, to return the fartherly 
 goodness and prottection he has shewn. Again, my dear Greville, the recol- 
 lection of past scenes brings tears in my eyes. But the are tears of happiness. 
 To think of your goodness is two much. But, once for all, Greville, I will be 
 grateful. Adue. 
 
 ' It is near batheing time, and I must lay down my pen and I wont finish tell I 
 see when the post comes, whether there is a letter. He comes in abbout one 
 o'clock. I hope to have a letter so to-day. 
 
 ' I must not forgett to tell you my knees is well, as I may say. There is 
 hardly a mark, and my elbows is much better. I eat my vittuels very well, and I 
 am quite strong and fell harty, and I am in hopes I shall be very well. You 
 can't think how soult the watter is. And there is a many laidys bathing here. 
 But, Greville, I am oblidged to give a shiling a day for the bathing horse and 
 whoman, and twopence a day for the dress. It is a great expense, and it fretts 
 me wen I think of it. But wen I think how well I am, and my elbows likely to 
 gett well, it makes me quite happy. For at any rate it is better than paying the 
 docter. But wright your oppinion truly and tell me what to do. Emma is 
 crying because I wont come and bathe, So, Greville, adue tell after I have dipt. 
 May God bless you, my dearest Greville, and believe me faithfully, affectionatly 
 and XrvA^ yours only,' &c. 
 
 ' Thursday Morning. 
 'And no letter from my dear Greville. Why, my dearest G., what is the 
 reason you dont wright ? If you knew my uneaseyness, you would. You promised 
 to wrigt before I left Hawerden, and I was much disapointed you did not, but 
 thought you might not have a oppertunity being at Wandower Hill. I have sent 
 2 letters to Haverford West, and has never had no answer to them, it is now 3 
 weeks since I saw you. Pray, my dearest Greville, wright to me and make me 
 happy ; for I am not so att present, though my arms is most well. 
 
 ' I think if I could but hear from you I should be happy. So make me 
 happey, do, pray. Give my dear kind love and compliments to Pliney, and tell 
 him I put you under his care, and he must be answereble for you to me, wen I 
 see him. I hope he has not fell in love with any rawboned Scotch whoman, 
 whoes fortune would make up for the want of beauty, and then he may soon 
 through her in a decline. — Mum ! For he is fond of portraits in that whay, and 
 then he must be fond of orraigenals, and it will answer every purpose. But 
 
 don't put him in mind of it for fear . But offer all, say everything you can 
 
 to him for me, and tell him I shall allways think on him with grattude and 
 remember him with pleasure, and shall allways regret loesing is good comppany. 
 Tell him I wish him every happiness this world can afford him, that I will pray 
 
 for him, and bless him as long as I live But I am wrighting, 'tis true, but 
 
 I dont know when you will ever gett it. For I can't send itt tell I hear from you, 
 and the Post wont be in tell to morro afternoon & I am in hopes I shall have a 
 letter to morro. Pray, my dear Greville, lett me go home soon. I have been 3 
 weeks, and if I stay a fortnight longer, that will be 5 weeks, you know ; and then 
 the expense is above 2 guineas a week, with washing and batheing whoman 
 and everything ; and I think a fortnightt or three weeks longer I shall not have 
 a spot, for you can scarce discovr anything on my knees and arms. 
 
 ^Friday morning : 12 o'clock \p.^fh June\. 
 ' With what impatient do I sett down to wright tell I see the postman. But 
 sure I shall have a letter to-day. Can you, my dear Greville, — no, you can't — 
 have forgot your poor Emma allready. Tho' I am but for a few weeks absent 
 from you, my heart will not one moment leave you. I am allways thinking of 
 you, and could almost fancy I hear you, see you ; and think, Greville, what a 
 disapointment when I find myself deceived, and ever no never heard from you. 
 But my heart wont lett me scold you. Endead, it thinks on you with two much 
 tenderness. So do wright, my dear Greville. Don't you remember how you 
 promised ? Dont you recollect what you said at parting ? — how you should be 
 
S8 THE HAMILTON AND [1784. 
 
 happy to see me again ? O Greville, think on me with kindness 1 Think how 
 many happy days, weeks and years — I hope— we may yett pass. And think out 
 of some that is past, there as been some little pleasure as well as pain ; and, 
 endead, did you but know how much I love you, you would freily forgive me any 
 passed quarels. For I now suffer for them, and one line from you would make 
 me happy. So pray do wright, and tell me when you will be returning, as I shall 
 be happy to see you again. For, whilst Emma lives, she must be gratefully and 
 ever affectionately yours,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S.— This shall not go till I have a letter from you, which I hope to have in 
 half-an-hour. Adue, my dear kind Greville.' 
 
 ' Sunday Morning [27 (A June\. 
 
 ' I had a letter on Friday from my granmother, and she sent me one from 
 you that had been there a fortnight. I am much oblidged to you for all the kind 
 things you say to me, and tell Sir William I am much oblidged to him for saying 
 I looked well. I hope he will allways think so ; for I am proud of [his] good 
 word, and I hope I shall never forfeit it. I will at least study to deserve it. I 
 am in hopes to have a letter from you, for it is a great comfort to me to hear 
 from you. My dear Greville, it is now going on a month since I saw you. But 
 I think how happy I shall be to see you again, to thank you for your kindness 
 to my poor Emma and me. She shall thank you, Greville, she shall be gratefull, 
 she shall be good, and make you amends for all the trouble her mother has 
 caused you. But how am I to make you amends ? God knows, I shall never 
 have it in my power. But, Greville, you shall have no cause to complain. I will 
 try, I will do my utmost ; and I can only regrett that fortune will not put it in my 
 power to make a return for all the kindness and goodness you have showed me. 
 Good-by, my dearest Greville, God will bless you, for me I can only had my 
 kindest wishes for you. Emma is much oblidgd to you for remembering her, and 
 she hopes you will give her a oppertunity of thanking you personally for your 
 goodness to her. I think you wont be disapointed in her ; tho' mothers [Lord 
 bless me, what a word for the gay wild Emily to say !] should not commend, but 
 leave that for other people to do.' 
 
 127. A. L. S. from the same to the same. No date (June or July, 1784). 
 
 2 pages 4to. [H.J 
 
 ' Unkind Greville ; yes I have got your letter, but why do you scold me ? if I 
 wrote scral & ill it was with thinking with two much kindness on you ; you have 
 maid me unhappy by scolding me ; how can you, when you know my dispotion, 
 when you know it breaks my heart to be scolded, & speacily by Greville ? but 1 
 wont think you meant it ill natured, tho' you have maid me unhappy, & if you 
 had kill'd me, your kindness to my poor Emma would make me forget it, for, 
 endead, my dear Greville, I love you two well to neglect you in my one point, so 
 pray forgive me ; & has to your goodness in regard to agreaments, endead I will 
 come in to all as you propose. I will give her up to you intirely. Do what you 
 will with her, I here soUemnly say that I will never break from my word ; you 
 shall take her, put her there where you propose. Lest any quarels — tho I hope 
 there will be none — hapen, she shall stay whear you propose puting her. Lett 
 what will happen, & give her up to you to act as you think proper by her; take 
 her, Greville, & may God reward you for it, tho her mother can't ; all as I 
 desire is, that if you will lett me take her home, when I go to stay till you come 
 to see her. I want you to see her whilst she is there ; nobody shall see her, tho' 
 neither you nor I need be asham'd of her. But, if you dont like that, I will give it 
 up ; so you see, my dearest Greville, what confidence 1 put in you, now scold me 
 unkind Greville, how can you do so ? pray wright to me directly & wright kind ; 
 give my dear, kind love to Sr Willm ; say everything from me that you can, for 
 endead I love him. I should not now wright in such a hurry, only if I dont send 
 it of by 4 o clock I cant send it of till Tuesday, so dont think I cant spare a hour — 
 yes, 6 hours all my whole life I could spare to do anything for Greville ; so God bless 
 you, my dear Greville. Mrs. Ladmore is gone to live at Chester, or I should have 
 gone there; that is my reason as I am at Mrs. Downwards. But it is the cheapest 
 place I could gett, for they think nothing a truble ; they eat soult watter 4 or 5 
 
I784-] NELSON PAPERS. 89 
 
 times a day for me to wash my elbows in, but pray lett me come to town before 
 you, if it is only a day or two, you know my reasons ; it may be some comfort to 
 you peraps to know that my elbows & knees is almost well, & I never was better 
 in my life, so, Greville, if you will be happy to see me, you will find me in good 
 health, handsome & fonder & kinder to you than ever. So, my dearest, cruel 
 Greville, why did you scold me ? I would not have scolded you at so great dis- 
 tance. But I will forgive you, & I say again you shall see me everything you can 
 wish, & I will be allways yours ever affectionatly & sincerely.' 
 
 128. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Parkgate, July 3rd, 
 1784. 3 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I was very happy, my dearest Greville, to hear from you, as your other letter vexd 
 me ; you scolded me so. But it is over, and I forgive you. I am much obUdged 
 to you for all the kind things you say to me, and I am very happy to think we 
 shall meet soon again, happy, good-humerd and chearfull. I will be so, and I 
 think there is no fear of you. You don't know, my dearest Greville, what a 
 pleasure I have to think that my poor Emma will be comfortable and happy; and 
 Greville, and if she does but turn out well, what a happyness it will be. And I 
 hope she will for your sake ; 1 will teach her to pray for you as long as she lives ; 
 and if she is not grateful and good it won't be my fault. But what you say is 
 very true : — a bad disposition may be made good by good example, and Greville 
 would not put her any wheer to have a bad one. I come in to your way a-think- 
 ing hollidays spoils children. It takes there attention of from there scool, it gives 
 them a bad habbit. \Yhen they have been a month and goes back this does not 
 pleas them, and that is not wright, and the do nothing but think wen the shall 
 go back again. Now Emma will never expect what she never had. So I hope 
 she will be very good, mild and attentive, and we may have a deal of comfort. 
 Greville, if her poor mother had ever had the luck and prospect merly in having 
 a good edducation that she has, what a whoman might she have been ! But 
 I wont think, all my happiness now is Greville, and to think that he loves me 
 makes a recompense for all ; for, if he did not love me, would he be so good, kind, 
 and affectionate ? No, 'tis imposible. Therefore I will have it so. I have said all 
 as I have to say about Emma yet, only she gives her duty. And I will now tell 
 you a little abbout myself. I have not took but 2 of those things from Mr. 
 W. as the sea-watter has done me so much good. I have drunk a tumbler 
 glas every morning fasting, walked half-a-hour, and then bathed and break- 
 fasted. I have the tang appleyd to my kne and elbows every night going 
 to bed, and every day washed them twice a-day in the sea-water, and the 
 are just well. Therefore as long as I stay, I had better go on in my old 
 whay, for I can take Mr. W.'s prescription at home, but not sea-water, tang, &c. 
 I am very well, looks well, has a good appetite, and is better than ever I was in 
 my hfe. I have no society with anybody but the mistress of the house, and 
 her mother and sister. The latter is a very genteel yong lady, good-nattured and 
 does every thing to pleas me. But still I would rather be at home, if you was 
 there. I follow the old saying, home is home though 'tis ever so homely. I must 
 go to diner, therefore I will say no more, but that I long to see you and dear 
 Sir W[illiam]. Give my kind, kind love to him. Tell him next to you I love him 
 abbove any body, and that I wish I was with him to give him a kiss. Don't be 
 affronted, Greville. If I was with you I would give you a thousand, and you 
 might take as many as you plesed, for I long— I mean I long to see you. I 
 sopose you will scold next, adue. I hope to have a letter from you this next week. 
 We have been a month from home to-day, Greville, it's a great wile. My mother 
 gives her comp'^ to you and Sir Wplliam]. Say everything that is kind and will 
 render me dear to him. To or more than you can say my heart with gratitude 
 assents, and I must ever remain, yours ever affectionately, and smcerely,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S.— Good by, my dear Greville. I hope we shall meet soon, happy and 
 well. Adue ! I bathe Emma and she is very well and grows. Her hair will 
 grow very well on her forehead, and I don't think her nose will be very snub. 
 Her eys is blue and pretty. But she don't speak through her nose but she speaks 
 countryfied, but she will forget it. We squable sometimes ; still she is fond of me 
 
90 THE HAMILTON AND [1784. 
 
 and endead I love her. For she is sensible. So much for Beauty. Adue ! I long 
 to see you.' 
 
 129. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated ' Edgware Row, 
 
 Tuesday, August loth, 1784.' if pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I received your kind letter last night, and my dearest Greville I want words 
 to express to you, how happy it made me. For I thought I was like a lost 
 sheep and every body had forsook me. I was eight days confined to my room 
 very ill, but am, thank God ! very well now and a deal better for your kind 
 instructing letter, and I own the justness of your remarks. You shall have your 
 appartment to yourself. You shall read wright or set still, just as you pleas ; for 
 I shall think myself happy to be under the seam roof with Greville, and do all I 
 can to make it agreable, without disturbing him in any pursuits that he can 
 follow, to employ himself in at home or else whare. For your absence has taught 
 me that I ought to think myself happy if I was within a mile of you, so as I 
 could see the place as contained you, I should think myself happy abbove my 
 shear. So, my dear G., come home, and you shall find your home comfortable to re- 
 ceaveyou. You shall find me good,kind, gentle and affectionate, and every thing you 
 wish me to do I will do. For I will give myself a fair trial, and follow your advice, for 
 I allways think it wright. Therefore will own myself wrong & begin again on a 
 sure foundation that shall ensure happyness for us boath. Dont think, Greville 
 this is the wild fancy of a moment's consideration. It is not. I have thoughroly 
 considered every thing in my confine7nent, and 1 say nothing now but what I shall 
 practice. 
 
 ' I must now inform you abbout my illness. My dear Greville, I had a rash 
 out all over me and a fevour, and I should have been worse, if I had not had the 
 rash out. But I think I am better for it now ; for I look fair and seem better in 
 health then I was before. I dare say I should have been very dangerously ill, iff 
 it had not come out. Pray, my dearest Greville, do come to see me, as soon as 
 ever you come in to town, for I do so long to see you. You dont know & it will 
 make me so happy, I mean if you should come but to town before diner. Do 
 come, because I know you will come at night. I have a deal to say to you 
 when I see you. Oh, Greville, to think it is nine weeks since I saw you. I think 
 I shall die with the pleasure of seeing you. Indead, my dearest Greville, if you 
 knew how much I think of you, you would love [me] for it, for I am all ways 
 thinking on you, of your goodness. In short, Greville, I truly love you, and the 
 thought of your coming home so soon makes me so happy, I don't know what 
 to do. 
 
 ' Good-by, my ever dearest Greville. May God preserve you and bless you, 
 for ever prays your ever affectionately and sincerely,' &c. 
 
 ' My kind love to S'' William ; and tell him if he will come soon, I will give 
 him a thousand kisses. For I do love him a little. Emma is very well and is 
 allways wondering why you don't come home. She sends her duty to you. Good 
 by, my dearest Greville. Pray, pray come as soon as you come to town. Good 
 by, God bless you ! Oh, how I long to see you.' 
 
 130. A. L. S. from the Duke of Roxburgh* to Lord (?). Dated 
 
 Hanover Square, September 30th, 1784. 2 pages 4to. [p.] 
 
 ' As I have reason to think from the accounts I have had of Mr. Thomas 
 Cockbum's health that the office of King's Writer is likely to become vacant, or, 
 for ought I know, may actually be so, I take the liberty earnestly to request that 
 your Lordship would recommend Mr. William Riddell of Camistown, writer to the 
 signet, to his Majesty, to succeed to that office. I can venture to mention him to 
 your Lordship as a gentleman of irreproachable character. As such, I have much 
 esteem for him, and your Lordship's complying with my request will be a great 
 favour on my Lord, yours,' &c. 
 
 * John, 3rd Duke of Roxburgh. The celebrated book collector, a K.G. and K.T. He 
 died in 1804. 
 
1 784.] NELSON PAPERS. 91 
 
 131. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. No date 
 (October, 1784). 7 pages 4to., with Superscription, [h.] 
 
 ' You have not received any letter from me on the road. I was not sure when 
 you would reach the different towns, & there would have been a chance of their 
 remaining at the post office entirely. I now calculate that this letter will react 
 you on your arrival at Naples. 
 
 ' I begin with informing you that your papers were sent to Wales as soon as I 
 had them bound, which I did from a conviction they would be tore to pieces in a 
 month if only tacked together & rolled up. 
 
 ' I have settled with Bartolozzi ; gave him the drawings, & have been obliged 
 to alter the conditions. It was settled that the ground should be in the dotted 
 way, & the figures engraved. On due consideration, Bartolozzi says he must 
 engrave the ground as well as the figures, because the ground will be harsh & not 
 print off so well. I concluded that you only wished it done in the best waj, 
 provided it was capitaly engraved & not dotted over in the slight modern 
 fashion, & therefore admitted of his alteration, & shall have it properly signed. 
 At present it stands on the condition you left with me. I think it will be 
 done sooner than he is bound to do it, & he is bound not to exceed the ist of 
 Oct., 1785. 
 
 'As to politicks & public affairs, there are so few people in town that there are 
 few new incidents. The lower people are plaistering up their windows to avoid 
 the new window tax, which may render it less productive than expected ; & we 
 are all balloon mad. Lunardi* has been very fortunate, he exhibits his balloon at 
 the Pantheon, & gets money very fast. The French balloon has also some success, 
 but the shew place being almost opposite Nerots does not attract so many people. 
 Blanchardt is, however, the best balloonist we have ; Lunardi the most favour'd, 
 from his being the first, & from the preference we give to Italians. The English 
 balloonist, Sheldon, is the emptiest philosopher, & has exposed himself by burning 
 a great balloon in Foley garden. It was by much the prettiest exhibition I have 
 seen ; it was above 80 feet diameter, & all in a blaze at once. I made a sketch of 
 it. That our folly may not be forgot, Sandby etched it, & as a companion is now 
 etching Blanchard & Sheldon's entry, after their flight. 
 
 ' Besides these great heroes there are others who will be celebrated. One is 
 making a paper balloon of 100 feet diameter, in which the maker will fly. Another 
 man is making one of gold-beater's skin, to be gilt & to be of 24 feet diameter, in 
 which a man will fly, & he expects that from the gold-beater's skin being so much 
 lighter than silk, that with this small size he may float. I should not like to go 
 near the electric clouds with a gilt balloon, nor be in a wet one with a paper one. 
 The manufacture you saw at the tin man's now has many competitors, & Decker, 
 who is to go up in the gilt balloon, makes them ornamented, & of all sizes, for sale 
 for inflamable air, of gold-beater's skin, & paper ones for \ a crown perfectly 
 globular. 
 
 'The Duke of ArgylJ was in town ; he is gone with his whole family & Ly. 
 Derby to the S. of France. The Duchess is very weak & low, & would not follow 
 the advice of the faculty unless attended by her whole family. I fancy we shall 
 not see her return. You remember when we were at measuring of the base on 
 Hounslow Heath, I was informed of Faujas de St. Fond's§ exultation over you 
 
 * Vincenzo Lunardi, 1759-1806, the Neapolitan aeronaut. Secretary to Prince Caramanico, 
 Neapolitan Ambassador to London. Besides the ascent referred to in the letter, he made 
 several successful ones in Scotland in 1785. He subsequently returned to Italy, where he died. 
 
 t Franfois Blanchard, 1753-1809, also a famous French aeronaut. He crossed from Dover 
 to Calais in a balloon in 1785, and continued to make frequent ascents until 1808, when he was 
 struck with apoplexy during an ascent, and was precipitated to the earth from a height of about 
 twenty yards. 
 
 X John, 5th Duke of Argyll, 1723-1806, eldest son of the 4th Duke, whom he succeeded in 
 1770. The Duchess did not die until 1790. Lady Derby was her daughter by her first marriage 
 with the Duke of Hamilton. 
 
 § Barthelemy Faujas de Saint-Fond, 1741-1819, a French geologist and traveller, author of 
 a number of memoirs and works on mineralogy and natural history and geology. 
 
92 THE HAMILTON AND [1784- 
 
 that he should get to Staffa, which you could not do, & heard my lamentations on 
 the occasion. I had the ill-nature to rejoice at the failure of his excursion ; it 
 convinces me he is a Gascon. You must know that the party consisted of 4 — ■ 
 Mr. Massie, a young English gentleman fond of chemistry at Oxford ; Marquis 
 
 , an Italian, a good sort of man ; St. Fonds ; & Mr. Thornton, I believe an 
 
 Irishman. They reached Inverary together, & Massie was advised to wait the 
 return of the others, as he was delicate ; but his object was Stafva. When they 
 reached the coast, about 10 miles from Loch Awe, which we passed, they were to 
 cross to j\Iull. The boat probably was not very handsome, nor the sea smooth. 
 Faujas de St. Fonds alone declined to step on board, so he remained by himself. 
 The others got to Mull, & how they separated I know not. They quarrel'd, & 
 Mr. Massie got before the Marquis & Thornton to the nearest place opposite 
 Stafva, & embarked with i\Ir. McLean's nephew, & was 3 days on the Island. 
 He returned to another part of Mull. The boat took up 3 cases, which the man I 
 sent had collected for me, & landed them at Oban, on the main-land of Scotland. 
 I have not heard that Thornton & the Marquis reached Stafva, but I have heard 
 that Thornton was returned to Glasgow by himself, in which case these 4 philoso- 
 phers, whose joint labours were to have been recorded in a folio volume, will 
 return with the inclination of describing each other better than they will be able 
 to do the country they have passed. 
 
 ' The poor man I sent had been on Stafva, where he executed his orders so 
 well that Massie could not find one piece of cubic Zeolithe, for which Stafva is 
 most famed after the CoUumns. My having sent the man the West tour gives 
 me great pleasure, for the means of describing the produce of that Island is now 
 completely in my hands— the form of it sufficiently described by Banks & published 
 in Pennant. 
 
 ' I cannot conclude this letter without begging you to interest yourself for my 
 collection. Some man at Bologna has described the Bolognian stone, & the variety 
 in which it cristalizes ; I wish to have a series made by that man. You will not 
 have much trouble in finding him out, as he published his disertation, & any 
 philosopher at Naples who collects the litterary publications of Italy will shew it 
 to you — I have only heard of it. As to Vesuvius, any of the cavities in lava with 
 cristals of different shape, & particularly any regular cristals of any sort in cavities 
 which bear the mark of fire by scoria or color, & the cristals not a.ltered. The 
 zeoHthes from the Islandof Cyclops, Sicily, sulpher in fine large cristals; pieces near 
 Caserta, where the strata of different sorts, volcanic & marble, unite, to get pieces 
 with both connected. In short, if you pack me up anything do not spare paper & 
 hay, & a ticket to say what they are. I also beg some good bits of bronze, such 
 as comes from Bosco 3 case, if you could get me a piece of antiquity of merit & 
 taste of the bronze corroded, as the pieces I was so fond of found at Bosco 3 case, 
 it would not be thrown away on me. I should keep it in my musaeum, & it would form 
 a part of it, & not lead me to a collection of bronzes ; but I beg any bronze you 
 may give may not be clean'd at all. If you get any part with a lump of green 
 malachite, I shall beat the Duke de Chaulnes,* & if you see any singular decompo- 
 sition of iron, lead, or other metal, remember it belongs to my collection. I am 
 now so little in the way, or in the situation to attend to my other hoby-horses, 
 that I absolutely am winding up, &, except from benefactions & strolls in the 
 country, my collection will not have addition. I therefore beg you to interest 
 yourself for it. 
 
 ' Emma remembers you with affection & gratitude ; I have every reason to do 
 so too. I wish I could be free from the various shackles which confine me to 
 this cold spot. I should be near you. Do you believe, we have had a whole 
 morning's snow this day. 
 
 ' I cannot in conscience make you pay a treble letter for my scroll, so I only 
 add my kindest wishes for your health & happiness. Yours,' &c. 
 
 ' Let me know how the Bacante is to be paid. I will have it packed when an 
 opportunity offers. The dog was ugly, & I make him paint it again.' 
 
 * Marie Joseph Louis, Duke de Chaulnes, 1741-1793. Walpole mentions him as having 
 been in England in 1764, when Duke de Picquigny, and losing large sums at play. He was 
 very fond of chemistry. 
 
1 784-] NELSON PAPERS. 93 
 
 132. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated December 15th, 1784. 
 6 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I am always happy, my dear Hamilton, to hear from you. Your letter from 
 Parma was very acceptable ; I began to think it long since I heard from you. 
 
 ' I wrote you one letter to Naples, & I begin by an explanation or correction 
 of my history of Faujas de St. Fond ; it was all true as far as it went : what I add 
 is that when the party had left Faujas afraid of crossing to Mull, they got 
 seperately to Staffa, & returned to the Coast of Scotland. The weather mode- 
 rated & Faujas plucked up courage, & Thornton went back to Staffa— with Faujas. 
 I did not see him on his return, but he is so honest a volcaniste that he gives 
 everything to volcano, & I was told was particularly delighted at Kinnoul to see 
 the Scotch pebbles in their rock, & decided that he had discover'd des cailloux 
 dans la lave. He discover'd lavas everywhere, consequently we should have 
 differ'd oftener than you & I did in our journey. Depend on it fashion extends 
 the operations of volcano further than they really exist. Some you know make 
 granites to be lavas, certain it is that volcanoes exist chiefly, I believe entirely, in 
 the strata _ of argillaceous genus, & these are generally bounded by calcareous 
 strata ; it^ is therefore in the power of the chymist & naturaUst to distinguish the 
 strata which have been deposited by water from those which have been destroyed 
 & recomposed by subterranean fire. Those who call granites & many basaltes 
 & serpentines lavas, confound the various operations of Nature. Dolomieux's* 
 account of the Lipari Islands I have seen, but cannot get a sight of the other 
 works ; he & I should not differ, as he distinguishes granites from lavas, & refers 
 a little to analysis, tho' he does not depend on it so much as to rest on analysis 
 entirely. 
 
 ' I am not surprized at your satisfaction in basking on the south side of the 
 Alps, removed from the fog & contentions of G. B. The appearances of disunion 
 are not equivocal, but they blow over, & new arrangements & the grant of new- 
 honors appear to me palliatives. I have no wish but for a strong government, 
 which cannot be in this country untill more decided ability is employed in the 
 cabinet, with the most able of the present cabinet. There would then be system 
 & strength instead of intrigue and weakness ; but as I am too poor to accept a 
 small office, & not likely to be enrolled among those of great abihties, I 
 speculate with the best wishes to the king & the country, &: wish I could 
 view the contests at a distance, as I do not forsee an arrangement in which I 
 could wish to be included. 
 
 ' I have seen Maskens, merely to let him know some persons interest them- 
 selves for you. I find you have order'd him to pay in the produce of the pictures 
 to yr agent. He tells me plainly that he wishes you would give some particular 
 orders, least you should be in the same situation in which L'^ W. was when he sent 
 Maskins to recover some money for some pictures Christie was commissioned to 
 sell, when instead of money paid to Ld. W. money was required to defray the 
 charges. I ask'd him how much he would give off-hand, & stand the chance. 
 He said he would not give a hundred pounds for the whole, & I doubt if he 
 would give 80. I do not know what commission he is to have, or what for ware- 
 house room, but I wish you would write to him, for he tells me he is sure you will 
 be disappointed if you expect above £100. 
 
 ' I sent you word in my last that I had executed all your directions about 
 Wales. Mr. Meyrick has wrote to me lately to hurry Mr. Hamilton in settling 
 with Gwynn. Gwynn wishes to throw the arrears on the new agent, but Davis 
 will not take them so. I agree with Mr. Meyrick in the mode I propose to settle 
 this difficulty, viz., to make Mr. Hamilton settle with Gwynn up to Lady-day last, 
 & Davis to undertake the accounts from that time, which he is willing to do. At 
 present several tenants have not paid rents for 3 years, as Gwynn owes them 
 more than the arrears for cattle, for which reason they cannot get him to settle, & 
 he now wants your agent to sue them for arrears, while he delays his payment to 
 
 *i_Deodat Guy Silvain] Tancr^de Gratet de Dolomieu, 1750-1801. A celebrated French 
 geologist, author of many works on geology. The work referred to by Mr. Greville, Voyage 
 aux lies de LifcLri, &c., had been published in 1783. 
 
94 THE HAMILTON AND [1784. 
 
 them till it is more convenient. I did not mention any of my ideas to Meyrick, 
 because your opinion was so fully given, & Black's report was so full that any 
 additions would only confound him. I therefore only made general offers to 
 assist him in any thing I could do for him in London, & in this he has employed 
 me ; he also has wrote to Hamilton for plans of the estate. All the plans were in 
 the box according to the list given to Mr. Vaughan, except that plan which refer'd 
 to the lease of Church land, disputed & tried, as you know to your cost. I there- 
 fore do not know what plans he writes for unless some part of your estate was 
 not surveyd, or some purchases made since you employed your surveyor of which 
 I am unacquainted. 
 
 ' There is nothing new ; the report of war is less strong, & the winter probably 
 will produce an accomodation. Mr. D'Adamar* is returnd, from whence we 
 conclude the Queen's party is not so low as many chose to suppose. I was much 
 satisfied with your barter at Paris. I suppose you will repose a little to admire 
 your old friends, at least I find that where there is merit a little absence revives 
 the pleasure of a collection. 
 
 ' I depend on you for some cristals in lavas & from Sicily, &c,, but if they are 
 not distinct in a degree to see the shape of the cristals, 1 do not value them much ; 
 therefore do not trouble yourself on my account to make big collections, but when 
 any instructive piece or well defined cristals fall in your hand do not be sparing of 
 very thin paper first, then tow, & afterwards coarse paper, by which cristals travel 
 safely, & if very delicate a small box & careful packing. One of the Memoires 
 say that native nitre has been found in Calabria ; if cristalized get all the variety 
 of cristals as it is a new native fossil ; whether it is nitre or nitrous alum, the 
 information I had does not explain. Your coliection of this new vein will clear our 
 doubts. Pray do not let the honest maitre d'h6tel bestow on me sawdust whose 
 effluvia & pungency is less agreable to me than Havanah. 
 
 ' Chas. Cathcartt is going in a few days to India. When you left England he 
 was inchned to sell out, but I persuaded him not. The Directors have made him 
 a present of a hundred gs. for his gallant behaviour at Caddalore. The king has 
 not shewn him any distinguished mark of favour. By good luck the Gov' nor the 
 Company chuse to take on themselves the recall of the king's regiments, & as they 
 are paid by the Company the king has no objection to the patronage of a small 
 establishment in India ; & by this lucky chance Cathcart, tho' on half pay, goes 
 to India with the office of quarter master gen', to which Sir Eyre CooteJ named 
 him when in India. He will have the chance of making his fortune, which I shall 
 rejoice in. I have got him well with Genl. Sloper by the means of the Duchess of 
 Rutland, &, as he is now fully confirmed & has taken leave, I rejoice at his going 
 in a good Indiaman. Sloper goes in the packet, but he will be so crowded that 
 the party will be heartily sick of each other before the ship reaches India. I was 
 very sorry at the failure of the several applications Cathcart made for favor, & I 
 was under great apprehension least he would have been left on half pay of Major, 
 from the abohtion of his office. But that which I thought was the least to be 
 depended on proves his best support. It does not affect his claims, as the place 
 has not been preserved for him but from the chance which I explained to you 
 just now. Adieu, believe me,' &c. 
 
 133. A. L. S. from the same to the same. No date. (December 25th, 
 1784.) 5 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 ' Since I wrote the other letter, which you will receive about the same time 
 
 * Count d'Adhemar was French Ambassador in London from 1783-1787, his appointment 
 having been procured by the queen, Marie Antoinette. 
 
 + Charles Cathcart, 1759-1788, second son of Charles 9th Baron Cathcart, and Sir William's 
 nephew. He was a colonel in the army. 
 
 X Sir Eyre Coote, 1726-1783, a well-known general. He entered the army at an early age, 
 and went to India in 1754 in the 39th Regiment, the first ever sent to India. He distinguished 
 himself at Wandewash, Arcot, and Pondicherry, and was presented with a diamond-hilted sword 
 by the East India Company. After coming to England, he went out again as Commander-in- 
 Chief and defeated Hyder Alj. He died at Madras, but his body was brought to Ergland to be 
 buried. 
 
1784.] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 9S 
 
 you receive this, I have to thank you for yours from Naples, just after your 
 arrival. I envy you the pleasure of a fine sun & appartment at Naples. For the 
 present I content myself with London, which is very empty indeed. 
 
 ' Hamilton (L'* Abercorns) is in town. I call'd on him & he was very gracious, 
 pressed me to dine, which I did, & spoke very friendly, & wished me at any time 
 to employ him with his friends, if I chose to approve of them. It was well meant 
 & I was obliged by the manner. He enquired kindly after you, & seems to be 
 pleased \yith relations taking notice of him, & displeas'd with Scotland for not 
 paying him the same attentions which Ireland did. As I never should have made 
 his acquaintance but thro' you, & there is nothing that is not honorable in him, 
 tho' he is high and conceited, I shall not be inattentive to his civility to me— 
 which is the more flattering as it is only on extraordinary occasions that his 
 acquaintance ripens early into friendship. I realy do not feel myself in a situation 
 to accept favors, as those which I formerly received only made me for a time 
 richer, & from the instability of administrations left me considerably poorer. 
 
 ' I did not write to you about Beckford, untill I could know from some 
 authority both the fact & his intentions. It seems young C. was put to a school 
 with a clergyman near Fonthill ; he went over very early one morning before they 
 were up & into Courtis room ; Mr. Moore, the tutor's name, heard a creeking 
 & bustle, which raised his curiosity, & thro' the key hole he saw the operation 
 which it seems he did not interrupt, but informed \^ C.,* & the whole was blown 
 up. He remains at Fonthill till \J Marg*,t who it seems is with child, either lays 
 in or miscarries. They then are to go abroad together, as he cannot brave it, 
 & it is too public to pass as a slurr. His promised honors will be witheld ; he 
 probably will be obliged to vacate his seat, & retire to Italy to make up the 
 loss which Italy has sustained by L'^ Tilney's death, unless he aspires to the office 
 of G. Chamberlain to the k. of P. 
 
 ' I went the day before yesterday with C. Cathcart to W(est) Hill, on his way 
 to Portsmouth, where he embarked for India. You know that the Company voted 
 him a sword of 100 gs. for his behaviour at Caddalore. He is confirmed 
 Q.M.Genl. in India. It is on the cards for him to make his fortune ; but it must 
 be from getting a command, or a contract. His office will only enable him to 
 live, & will produce about 1200 a year, with which he will do very well. I desired 
 him to make your compts. & thanks to Coll. Ironmonger of Bengal, who sent to 
 you a cup & saucer of jade, which I shall see when Fred, gets it from the B. 
 Museum, where it was directed. You should write when I send you a description 
 of it, as recommendations will be of use to Cathcart, & Ironmonger (I think is his 
 name) is high in the Company's service in India. 
 
 ' Meyrick wrote again to inform me Holwell's land at the P. Pill was to be 
 sold the 1st of January in a hurry, & he thougt it would go for nothing. I told 
 him that if it was literaly so it would be well to secure it for you ; & that the 
 parts which Black proposed to sell would more than repay you, & that if they 
 were in a hurry the difference of rent & interest would be scarcely anything, for 
 that in Warwickshire we can get land that will pay 4 per cent for the purchase 
 money, & in Pembrokeshire it should pay more, which might only make you only 
 pay I or one \ per cent for the time the sale of your land may require, & 136 
 acres is the amount of the property, but which from its vicinity to your best 
 situated farms is material to you, if to be had without diminution of your income. 
 
 ' There is also a proposal from the owner of the paquets at Waterford to 
 take land for an Inn at Hubberston, of the propriety of which I make no 
 doubt you admit. I wrote word that if they would send their proposal & suit 
 their proposal to the spot they desire, that one letter would do, & that they should 
 have your answer forwarded. I told Meyrick to shew them the top of the Hill, & 
 the side opposite the town ; the other side the Pill, as it would be a great 
 thing to have a key on both sides the Pill; & it would be better to have the town 
 
 * William, 2nd Viscount Courtenay, 1742-1788. He succeeded his father (who only survived 
 his elevation to the peerage ten days) in 1762. He had only one son, William, 3rd Viscount, 
 1768-1835, who established his right to the Earldom of Devon before Parliament in 1831. He 
 died unmarried. 
 
 t Lady Margaret Beckford, daughter of 7th Earl of Aboyne, married William Beckford, 5th 
 of May, 1783, and died abroad in 1786, leaving two daughters. 
 
96 THE HAMILTON AND [1784, 1785. 
 
 on the hight between the two Pills than crowded on the Haking, but it is probable 
 they will fix on the Haking. I shall write to the Post Master Genl. to get the 
 Post sent to Hubberstown, to one of your tenants if they will make an allowance. 
 
 ' I should say many kind things to you from Emma, but she says she will say 
 them herself. They are not ready, therefore ; in my next you may expect them. 
 She is very well, & there is not in the parish so tidy a house as ours, it being 
 Christmas day. 
 
 'As to politicks, I hear none. They say, however, that the Austrians are to be 
 guaranteed by France in the full navigation of the Schelt, & reparation for 
 insult, & the Emperor on his part to engage not to trade with the Dutch Settle- 
 ments in India. 
 
 ' L'' W. has been very ill, but is recovered ; is now at Streatham. We met 
 by chance & shook hands without talking either on business or former disputes. 
 I felt no rancour, so it came of course for me not to avoid meeting him. I came 
 into my mother's when they were there ; I had during his illness sent my 
 servant to assist them at Bishopstone, as their's were sick. He looks very ill, 
 but will be stout in a few days. I shall hope to finish all his affairs & the trust 
 soon ; & if possible I shall do it without quarreling, but as I made the arange- 
 ments for the best I cannot alter them. If ill will had any share in the arang'" I 
 might have had room to vary the term. Yours,' &c. 
 
 ' The comp'" of season attend you.' 
 
 134. A. L. S. from the same to the same. No date (January, 1785). 
 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I have received a letter from Meyrick ; he is very active & diligent in his 
 trust. He says he will write to you on business in general when he sends a 
 remittance, which will be soon. Holwell's estate has not been sold ; he asks 
 5000 ; but Mr. M. says he will not treat unless he can get it at a price which will 
 pay you 4 per cent — of course getting that in addition to your command will be 
 of great importance, & a distant lot repay you. 
 
 ' Emma is very grateful for your remembrance. Her picture shall be sent by the 
 first ships — I wish Romney yet to mend the dog. She certainly is much improved 
 since she has been with me. She has none of the bad habits which giddiness & 
 inexperience encouraged, & which bad choice of company introduced. She has 
 much pride, & submits to solitude rather than admit of one improper acquaintance. 
 She is naturally elegant, & fits herself easily to any situation, having quickness & 
 sensibility. I am sure she is attached to me, or she would not have refused the offers, 
 which I know have been great ; & such is her spirit that, on the least slight or 
 expression of my being tired or burthened by her, I am sure she would not only 
 give up the connexion but would not even accept a farthing for future assistance. 
 
 ' This is another part of my situation. If I was independent I should think 
 so little of any other connexion that I never would marry. I have not an idea 
 of it at present, but if any proper opportunity offer'd I should be much harassed, 
 not know to manage, or how to fix Emma to her satisfaction, & to forego the 
 reasonable plan which you & my friends have advised is not right. I am not 
 quite of an age to retire from bustle, & to retire to distress & poverty is worse. I 
 can keep on here creditably this winter. The offer I made of my pictures was to 
 get rid of the Humberston engagements which I told you of. I have 1000 ready 
 & 1000 to provide. I therefore am making money. If Ross will take in paym' 
 from me my bond with your security I shall get free from Humberston affairs 
 entirely, & be able to give them up. It is indifferent to me whether what I value 
 is in your keeping or mine. I will deposit with you gems which you shall value 
 at above that sum, in case I dye & you should be call'd on for the sum. It will 
 be on that condition I will involve you, for favor I take as favor & business as 
 business. As the Duke* had asked me for a refusal, I hope everything will be 
 done without your friendship. 
 
 ' Give me your opinion honestly how you would act in my situation ; if I 
 followed only my own inclination, advice would be unnecessary. 
 
 ' Believe me,' &c. 
 
 * The Duke of Rutland, 
 
1785.] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 97 
 
 135. A. L. (imperfect) from the same to the same. No date (March, 
 1785). 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I have been in dayly expectation of an answer from the D. of R., as I told 
 you before. If he does not take the whole I will readily spare any of my pictures 
 to cover your walls, knowing that they are safe & will be better employed than I 
 can at present, & I shall be very happy that anything that I can spare may make 
 you think of me. I have delayed also writing on politicks ; the town has been a 
 desart & now only begins to fill. The meeting, however, was sufficiently numerous 
 at the opening of the house yesterday. You seem desirous to know the politicks 
 of the day, & I am obliged by your concern for me being one of the principal 
 causes of your enquiry. I am, as you know, not wedded to any party so far as 
 to be bound to go the lengths they may lead to in their pursuit of power. The 
 line which T. & N. seem to take does not appear to be a factious one, but one of 
 prudent forbearance, waiting to mark the weakness or ignorance which may attend 
 the measures of administration. 
 
 ' I believe P. means to act for the best, & to remain as long as he can, but it 
 does not seem that he rests entirely on the court, by his declaring for a reform 
 without the general support of the administration, & contrary to the interests of 
 the crown, & appearing thro' the agency of Mr. Wyvil,* who is one of the wildest 
 reformers, shews that he wishes to build a foundation on the popularity of that 
 measure. It is said with some authority that the publication in the newspaper 
 was the first information the K. had of his having pledged himself as a minister, 
 tho' he had always declared it as a man. He did not avow the particular words, 
 tho' he admitted that he had had an interview with Wyvil, & the substance of the 
 interview was contained in the letter. It was a nice evasion, as he is to do an 
 impossibility—please the crown, & court popularity by the same sentence. In 
 other times, & if the K. could help himself, he would not have permitted his servant 
 to act so. The India Bill is not to be compared to the effect of this measure, 
 & I am curious to see the event. I, of course, never courted favor by the 
 sacrifice of my decided opinion ; I shall therefore uniformly oppose it. As to the 
 other measures of his gov', I shall certainly approve of whatever I can, & judge 
 candidly & support whatever I can approve, but I cannot hope to become one of 
 his firm supporters unless he shall in reality prove to be in himself a host. He 
 is ill supported, which every man will admit who views the list. He must sustain 
 the abuse arising from all their faults & deficiencies, & I am not sure that they all 
 support him. The crisis with Ireland is difficult, the more so to P. as he supports 
 here what he must check in Ireland, & the steps which have been taken, if 
 continued, will certainly prove the ground of well-founded complaint — I mean 
 attachment without conviction or trial. 
 
 ' The situation of this country in the view of its finance is bad, but not 
 desperate, with ability. There are advantages arising from the increase of 
 excise & customs to a great amount. This was to be expected from the 
 difference between war and peace. Ministers may apply to their arrangements 
 for an explanation of this increase, but altho' smuggling has certainly been 
 checked this summer the effects of it cannot be felt by the revenue. During 
 this moment of the reform, tho' future years may bring the beneficial conse- 
 quences of the suppression of illicit trade, the amount of the unfunded debt to be 
 provided will, I think, require about ;/^6oo,ooo additional taxes to pay its interest, 
 & the abuse given to the commutation tax I admit only in this view. It was 
 impolitick to teaze the people, already grumbling, with increasing the window tax, 
 which was productive without making the addition tell by the providing for a 
 necessary demand, in which case the increase of that tax would not have been so 
 
 * Rev. Christopher Wyvill, 1739-1822. In early life he was conspicuous for his zeal in 
 political and parliamentary reform, and was unanimously chosen Secretary of the Yorkshire 
 Association. Mr. Greville is referring to a circular letter sent by Mr. Wyvill to the Chairman of 
 the several Committees of the counties and cities associated for the purpose of obtaining a reform 
 in the representation of the people. This circular was dated 'Nerot's Hotel, King St., St. James's, 
 December 27th, 1784,' and commenced with these words : 'I am authorised by Mr. Pitt to declare 
 that he will bring the subject of parliamentary reformation before the House of Commons as early 
 as possible in the next session. ' 
 
 '^-JL. I. H 
 
98 THE HAMILTON AND [1785- 
 
 offensive. At present it does not in its increased state produce more than the 
 former window tax & the duties of tea together produced. Now, as very many who 
 pay the window do not receive the proportional benefit from their consumption of 
 tea, they therefore call the commutation a cheat. It will realy be difficult to add 
 the burthens now necessary to pay interest & provide a sinking fund, without 
 which our credit can never stand. 
 
 'As to the politicks of Europe we are not well informed. I expected they 
 would not proceed to hostilities, & private letters from Vienna announce the 
 preliminaries being signed; but our ministers do not appear aprized of it, as a 
 fact, at least the speech of yesterday only announces the disposition of the 
 different courts to us. You will, of course, know Vienna news earlier than by me, 
 therefore I shall add no more on the subject. 
 
 ' I shall now conclude my political letter which you require by lamenting that 
 the abilities which are now in vigor in this country are not employed to the public 
 good. The public is little benefited by the exposure of the weakness or faults of 
 an administration. Frequently the discovery does not conjure a remedy. In 
 gover' prevention & the judicious employment of every favorable turn in affairs 
 ensures the public good, but whenever passion or resentment gives the limitsof 
 proscription & of patience we may hope in vain for the general exertion of ability 
 in the public affairs, & we cannot devise what sacrifices may not be made. If it 
 goes so far as to favor the innovations in the representation, the ballance of the 
 C. will suffer most. The consequence of all the kingdom madding on ideal 
 improvements of the constitution will produce infinite confusion, & to a certainty 
 no one specific plan which can be adopted (& only one can be adopted) will please 
 the hundreth part of the nation ; for I am sure no two persons in different parts 
 of the country will agree on the precise constitution which would suit G. B. The 
 opinions of the same person will vary according to the events of the day. When- 
 ever the ballance of the three states which has produced strength, riches, & credit 
 to G.B. shall be condemned & speculation substituted to the established gov* . .' 
 
 136. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated King's Mews, March 
 
 lOth, 1785. 8 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' Since I wrote nothing very remarkable has occurred. The contest of parties 
 will continue long ; you must therefore suppose that I reckon few things remark- 
 able but those which decide the existence of administrations. Little victories 
 keep up spirits of a party, but, if a victory to opposition removes a clog from the 
 neck of a minister, I think he gains as much as the opposition, particularly if he 
 has strength to support the propriety of resolutions, the operation of which the 
 country would not tolerate & which the house has revoked by a majority of 39 ; 
 the scrutiny was closed after eight months' existence. The city of York, which 
 rejected L'' John Cavendish* at the last election, instructed their members to stop 
 the scrutiny ; probably other cities & counties would have followed the example. 
 It was therefore happy for ministers before the country roused that the scrutiny 
 was closed. It certainly is matter of triumph to opposition, & the opinion of the 
 country will not be less favorable to oposition when gov' feels the necessity of 
 enacting a law to make scrutinies illegal, & bind returning officers to the obedience 
 of the writ. Government carried by a majority of 100 that the resolution (which 
 gave what opposition calls a false construction to the law) should remain on the 
 journals. It is meant to prove from thence that the law was defective. I always 
 thought it sufficiently clear, & no one case has occurred in which the present 
 construction was attempted or defended. But, as I said before, the strength to 
 protect resolutions remains after the scrutiny itself is done away. I think the 
 minister stronger than he was while it subsisted. The Irish business I think very 
 important. The country will take alarm at any catch-word; but when the discus- 
 sions on the effect of the resolutions on which the future intercourse between G. B. & 
 Ireland is to depend becomes the subject of deliberation, the sensible men forsee 
 much. But the cry is not proportioned to the case. I see that much management 
 
 * Lord John Cavendish was the fourth son of William, 3rd Duke of Devonshire. He died 
 in 1796. 
 
1785.] NELSON PAPERS. 99 
 
 is used, & I have not taken any active part which I might have done at Birmingham. 
 I know they are disatisfied, but their objections will not come in time, & I have 
 not heard of general meetings, &c., which last year were convened on the 
 misrepresented operation of Fox's bill, & on the subject on which they feel they 
 will be affected no such steps are yet taken. The members for the county, & the 
 person who called the meeting in favor of this administration (Mr. Boulton) last 
 year is the delegate from Birmingham. I therefore think if no person takes a lead 
 to collect the sense of Birmingham it will not come. I shall be no such volunteer, 
 for I do not object for this or the other reason which may be alledged on the 
 operation of the resolutions. I think it impossible to draw a line which will 
 give satisfaction to both countries, & if animosity should exist the benefit of 
 arangements is not to be expected. The advantages which they already have 
 are beyond their capital, & the extent of the benefits which will arise must for 
 some time be in prospect. The Gov' is not yet settled. The granting at this 
 time the little which remains for G. B. to grant will do this country more harm 
 than it will do Ireland good, & I wish that nothing had ever been given, because 
 by having much to give Ireland might be made one country with G. Britain. The 
 little which we have not yet given should be retained for the same effect. You 
 will see therefore that as I object in principle to the resolutions, that I shall 
 consistently with my opinion opose them, & am not bound to irritate or raise 
 obstacles to clauses. If the resolutions pass, I think they should be little 
 hampered, because the restrictions will retain to us nothing worth having. If 
 they do, the restrictions will give umbrage to Ireland, & we are at last not to 
 make law but to receive it. 
 
 ' It is very far from my opinion that the resolutions will fail from want of a 
 decided support in the H. of C. ; but I think they will fail if Mr. Pitt adheres to 
 his statement to the H. of Commons that Ireland shall contribute something 
 specific & certain to the general defence of the empire. Ireland may appropriate 
 a certain sum to be disposed of by the parliamt. of Ireland, but G. B. can only 
 consider such contribution as depending on the will of Ireland, & in our own house 
 this cannot be considered as corresponding to that which Mr. Pitt stated to be 
 the proper return from Ireland. Yet after all I am convinced he will adopt the 
 easiest of the two difficulties, &, as the strength of Govt, is not so precarious here 
 as in Ireland, the reconciliation of the contradiction of the measure, stated differ- 
 ently by Govert. in Ireland & in G. B., will in my opinion be made by further 
 concession here. 
 
 ' So for politicks, give me yours. You have not wrote to me this great while. 
 They say here that you are in love. I know you love variety, & are a general 
 flirt, & of the 60 English, what with widows & young married ladies, an amateur 
 may be caught. Some have said you have had the gout. I say I neither know 
 whether your heart or feet are lightest, but that I believe them both sound ; &, 
 altho' Harry Harpur says he was witness to the deluge of blood of boars that 
 flowed around you, I know that your heart is neither calous to friendship nor to 
 beauty. I hope I shall ever have the usual share of the one, & I shall as readily give 
 up as much as you chuse to bestow on beauty. I do not consider them as incom- 
 patible guests in a good heart, & it must be a very interested friend indeed who 
 does not sincerely wish everything that can give happiness to a friend. I sincerely 
 wish that happiness to you. I am from frequent experience convinced that I can 
 judge for you & you for me, at least suppose cases in which we should think alike, & 
 on those cases in which comfort may arise you are more than myself able to 
 realise suppositions by experiment ; for the limited experiment I make I know to 
 succeed, altho' from poverty it cannot last. If you did not chuse a wife, I wish the 
 tea-maker of Edgeware Row was yours, if I could without banishing myself from 
 a visit to Naples. I do not know how to part with what I am not tired with. I 
 do not know how to contrive to go on, & I give her every merit of prudence & 
 moderation & affection. She shall never want, & if I decide sooner than I am 
 forced to stop from necessity it will be that I may give her part of my pittance, & 
 if I do so it must be by sudden resolution & by putting it out of her power to 
 refuse it ; for I know her disinterestedness to be such that she will rather encounter 
 any difficulty than distress me. I should not write to you thus if I did not think 
 you seem'd as partial as I am to her. She would not hear at once of any change, 
 
loo THE HAMILTON AND [1785. 
 
 tSi from no one that was not liked by her. I think I could secure on her near /loo 
 a year. It is more than in justice to all I can do, but with parting with part of my 
 virtu I can secure it to her, & content myself with the remainder. I think you 
 might settle another on her, & I think you would be as comfortable as I have been 
 & am. I am not a dog in the manger ; if I could go on I would never make this 
 arrangement, but to be reduced to a standstill & involve myself in distress further 
 than 1 could extricate myself, & then to be unable to provide for her at all, would 
 make me miserable from thinking myself very unjust to her, & as she is too young 
 & handsome to retire into a convent or the country, & is honorable & honest, & 
 can be trusted : after reconciling myself to the necessity, I consider where she 
 could be happy. I know you thought me jealous of your attention to her ; I can 
 assure you her conduct entitles her more than ever to my confidence. Judge then,as 
 you know my satisfaction on looking at a modern piece of virtu if I do not think you 
 a second self, in thinking that by placing her within your reach I render a necessity, 
 which would otherwise be heartbreaking, tolerable & even comforting. Yours 
 ever,' &c. 
 
 137. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated King's Mews, May 5th, 
 
 1785- 5 pages folio, with Superscription and Seal. [H.J 
 
 ' I received your letter ; I have no doubt of your kind wishes towards me, 
 therefore the interest you take in my situation is by me very sensibly felt. If I 
 could have thought that no line could be taken but that of making E. do the 
 honors of your house, I confess I never should have dreamt of it ; this is a line 
 so different from what I have practised that I should be amongst the first to 
 lament that you adopted an unwise plan. I tell you fairly that your expres- 
 sions of kindness to E., & the comfort you promised to her in case anything 
 happened to me, made such an impression on her that she regards you as her 
 protector & friend, & in moments of her thinking your goodness she related to 
 me your last conversation, & I concluded that your regard to me had been the 
 only reason for your not making present offers. You know that from giddiness 
 & disipation she is prudent & quiet, & that, surrounded with temptations, I have 
 not any the least reason to complain of her, & my attentions do not lead me to 
 make a parade of her, or a sacrifice of my amusements or business. The secret 
 is simple ; she has pride & vanity. I have for some years directed them to her 
 happiness. I have shewn her that creditable & quiet people will respect her 
 from being totaly clear from all the society & habits of kept women ; she does 
 not wish for much society, but to retain two or three creditable acquaintances in 
 the neighbourhood. She has avoided every appearance of giddiness, & prides 
 herself on the neatness of her person & on the good order of her house ; these 
 are habits both comfortable & convenient to me. She has vanity & likes admira- 
 tion ; but she connects it so much with her desire of appearing prudent, that she 
 is more pleas'd with accidental admiration than that of crowds, which now distress 
 her. In short, this habit, of three or 4 years aquiring, is not a caprice, but is 
 easily to be continued. If you had given her any of your villas, only making it a 
 decided part that she had a home distinct from your house, whether her visits 
 were frequent or rare it was immaterial, her home would be distinct, & yet if, as 
 you say, you could not resist taking (her) into your house entirely, you certainly 
 would vary so entirely from my ideas & plan, that I could not follow you. You 
 would lose the greatest advantage from her disposition ; she is not led by intrest 
 but by kindness, & she appreciates favors from the intentions. If you gave every- 
 thing at once you would be like the prodigal, depriving yourself of the means of 
 shewing attention ; as to the duties of the connexion, it is madness to be a slave 
 to pleasure, & if she did not expect more than you chuse, & had not reason to 
 doubt fidelity, there would be no fear on that head, & as to running after other 
 men, if once she has taken a fine, & is sensible of good intentions towards her, 
 she may be trusted, & ten times more if left entirely to herself. She is now but 
 20. An early experience makes a strong impression, and if giddiness, or avarice, or 
 vanity could run away with her, she would not have improved, & resisted great 
 offers & strong solicitations. She also finds that a quiet life has restored health 
 & improved her looks. What you say is, true that so beautiful a person cannot 
 
1785.] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 lOI 
 
 be long without a protector ; there is no doubt of that, but it is not her wish 
 to run the gantlet, & for the present I do not see that I should better myself 
 much by putting her in that situation. If things remain as they are I shall, to 
 be sure, be much straitned in finances. I' shall be so whether she remains or not, 
 & literaly her expences are trifling ; yet when income is very small a trifling 
 expence is felt. But, above all, I own that I think I lose opportunities of settling 
 to advantage ; when home is comfortable other pursuits are less interesting, & to 
 sink into a retreat of this sort at my time of life is what in others I should con- 
 demn. You may say that at yours it may also be absurd ; every man to his 
 idea. At your age a clean & comfortable woman is not superfluous, but I should 
 rather purchase it than acquire it, unless in every respect a proper party offer'd. 
 Would your friends have thought L^ C. a more prudent connexion than E. ? I 
 know the sentiments of all your friends, & my delicacy prevented my writing on 
 that subject, but I can assure you they feel very happy at the departure of U C. 
 1 am not sorry, though I should have been so if it had been Mrs. D. instead of 
 L^ C. Your brother spoke openly to me, that he thought the wisest thing you 
 could do would be to buy Love ready made, & that it was not from any interested 
 wish, as he was perfectly satisfied with the fortune he had, that it was enough for his 
 family, & that he should be very glad to hear you declare openly your successor, 
 & particularly so if you named me ; I write without affectation or disguise. If you 
 find me either reserved or artful you may despise me ; but in opening my heart & 
 thoughts do not impute conceal'd designs. I wish you every happiness in this world 
 & long life to enjoy it. I protest, I do not think the odds in our lives are propor- 
 tioned to the difference of our years. You have spoke kindly of your intentions 
 towards me, & you have shewn a readiness to assist me in everything that I could 
 in reason expect ; I am very sensible & very grateful. I mentioned the assist- 
 ance I wished on joining me in a bond to Ross ; when that is done, I will, as your 
 security, assign over my whole collection of minerals, which have cost me three 
 times the amount of the security. I therefore distinguish favor & business, & I 
 should never have a wish to tax your goodness by drawing from you during your 
 life any thing. I will speak out also in relation to my future assistance, & there 
 is only one case in which I should wish to know your intentions & build upon 
 them, which is in case I ever should by any such declaration of yours obtain 
 the consent of the relations of a lady whose fortune would enable us to live com- 
 fortably, &, by the future provision which after your death you should settle on us, 
 insure a provision for children if any there should be. 
 
 ' In my present situation, suppose a lady of 30,000 was to marry me, the 
 interest of her fortune would not provide equal to her pretensions & also provide 
 a saving for a provision for children, jointure, &c.; &, having nothing to settle, how 
 could I expect a prudent family to adopt me ? On the other hand, if such a pro- 
 vision could be applied to our living, & your goodness should insure me at a future 
 period an estate which would come hereafter, there is no doubt but a lady with 
 such a fortune might not reject me ; therefore, I fairly own that the only supposition 
 in which I should ever wish to have ye kind intentions you have made known to 
 several of our friends made any ways certain, would be that it could be the means 
 of my being married to a lady of at least ^30,000. I would not wish to have your 
 decision for a less ample fortune, because a less fortune would not at present 
 enable me to live comfortably, & I never would permit your goodness be exhausted, 
 which might be the case if you adopted me a beggar, & my principle is that you 
 have not too much, that you have no reason to deprive yourself of any comfort 
 of life, &, if you should shew me a preference which at one or another time 
 you must shew to somebody, that you should not do it in a hurry ; & the 
 only case in which I could wish it to be fix't in my favor is that which will 
 enable me while you live to prosper & appear in a line of life creditable "& 
 comfortable to myself, & that without any charge to you while you can enjoy 
 your property, & that all my happiness should be owing to you would only 
 add to my obligation to you, but not to the affection & regard which I 
 now feel. 
 
 ' I shall only add to this long letter that taking E. is no part of the request, 
 the' it is not impossible I should soon put the question to a lady now totally 
 inaccessible, whose fortune is what I mention ; therefore I do not write idly. 
 
102 THE HAMILTON AND [1785- 
 
 ' To enter now on politicks would lead me to another sheet— I will confine 
 myself to the cover to tell you that the next week the budget & perhaps y° Irish 
 business will come on ; I will give you the particulars when they occur. They are 
 the winding up of the session, & very important they are. However, I do not 
 speculate idly when I foresee inconvenience & danger if the Irish business passes, 
 tho' not immediate. If they do not pass, I think the administration will be much 
 hamper'd. 
 
 ' L* & U Stormont desire compliments. Mr.* & Mrs. Hamilton & their 
 daughter are well, she sings now delightfully. 
 
 ' Rob' is much obliged by your intention of recommending his serg* to pro- 
 motion at Naples. 
 
 'Mr. Meyrick is come to town, he will dine with me to-morrow ; he has had 
 much trouble in putting everything into order, & will do himself credit ; he is so 
 zealous & diligent that I think you very lucky in having such a friend. 
 
 ' I now conclude, & am,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — If I had wrote over my letter, or taken a copy, you would have had a 
 better composition ; but, as I had no wish to conceal any private thought, I wrote 
 as they occurred, & if you dislike my frankness I shall be sorry, for it cost me a 
 little to throw myself so open, & to no one's friendship could I have trusted myself, 
 but to yours from which I have ever been treated with indulgence & preference.' 
 
 138. A. L. S. from the same to the same. No date (June, 1785). 8 
 
 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 'Whatever degree of sincerity accompanied my profession of attachment to 
 you, I trusted much to your disposition & to a congeniality which with plea- 
 sure I had observed in our opinions & pursuits, & which I believed would make 
 up for the deficiency of expression which, if attempted by words, become 
 fulsome. I will not tell you what I think of your letter, but I shall, if possible, 
 respect & love you more than I have hitherto done. I must endeavour to 
 cultivate that kindness which you feel for me, which was more strongly exerted 
 towards me when you wrote your last letter than when you made the original 
 plan of what you communicated to me by that letter. I should be ungrateful 
 indeed if I did not feel your goodness to me. I am doubly so that you did 
 not withdraw it when I risqued appearing, as I might have done to a less 
 partial friend, mean & interested. You judged me with generosity, & having 
 already formed a plan uncommonly disinterested & affectionate to those who 
 have the good fortune to be objects of your regard, you communicate your 
 present intentions before the time you intended, not to make me appear humi- 
 liated to my own eyes, but that it might be of use to me. That I may justify 
 your good opinion, & prove that it was not a pretence which I assumed, I will 
 mention to you more fully what I before only hinted at. My next door neighbour in 
 Portman Square was L"" Middleton,t of Nottinghamshire. I had the good fortune 
 to please them, & have cultivated their friendship. There is one son & 2 
 daughters. The eldest married last year, the youngest presented only this 
 winter. You know me sufficiently to know that beauty & disposition are both 
 requisites, & the youngest in both respects is beyond the reasonable mark for a 
 younger brother. I understood their fortunes to be 30, but since find the eldest 
 had only 20,000. Such, however, to sensible people might be sufficient for the 
 present, but it must be an impudent person who could propose it, being only pos- 
 sessed of an annuity of 500 a year, & some incumbrances. I have always avoided 
 the least particularity, & considered it as impracticable, but also convinced 
 that if I could secure any jointure, and shew any prospect in future, that a 
 
 * From a passage in one of Emma Hart's letters later on it would appear that this was Sir 
 William's brother Frederick, Vicar of Wellingborough, who married Miss Daniel, and left at his 
 death in l8i I an only child and heiress, Elizabeth, married in 1777 to the 3rd Earl of Aldborough. 
 She died in 1845. 
 
 t Henry Willoughby, 5th Baron Middleton, cousin of the 4th Baron, whom he succeeded in 
 1781. He died in 1800, leaving three children: Henry, his successor; Dorothy, 1757-1824, 
 married in 1784 Richard Langley; and Henrietta, 1759-1846, who married in 1787 Richard, 
 6th Earl of Scarborough. 
 
178s.] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 10.3 
 
 certain moderate provision for her, joined to the preference the old people have 
 for me, might obtain their consent. to become a suitor. 
 
 ' Distant & imperfect as the prospect is, I wished to state it to you, &, had it 
 not been a subject so nearly connected with yourself, I should still have con- 
 sulted you, & believe me no person living knows my thoughts & intentions. The 
 awkward situation of public affairs do not open to me a favorable plan, & I could 
 not continue my present establishments. To leave Emma unprovided I could 
 not, & to take her to Naples might do for a time, & to what would it lead ? To go 
 there without her would be debarring her from her last chance of happiness — your 
 protection. I therefore determined to write to you & to trust, as I would have 
 done on every occasion to your good sense & to your good heart, & I have not 
 been disappointed. I have already wrote to Ld. Middleton & communicated to 
 him the letter you wrote. I have said that I communicated it to him as to a 
 friend, being desired not to publish it ; that you had given me leave to make what 
 use I pleased of it, & if it had been of a nature to be certain of being of use that 
 I should have communicated it to him first, in hopes that it might be useful to me, 
 as I had ever been of opinion that there was not a more aimiable family, or 
 a more interesting daughter, that I could not be buoyed up by a smile of fortune 
 & become presumptuous. If Fortune had always been bountiful that I should 
 have been a more frequent visitor at their house, & that I should always hope 
 to retain that footing which they had granted me, & the friendship of the family. 
 
 ' I had not grounds for a proposal ; if their partiality for me should get over 
 the real objections which they might start, they may lead my letter into that con- 
 sequence ; if not, it will drop without a refusal being necessary. I thought it 
 right to shew this openess, and write by the first post, rather than wait for his 
 answer, which will be within a few days. 
 
 ' Now let me say a few words about future plans & Emma. 
 
 ' If my letter should produce an offer from them, it is obvious we must part. 
 If there should be no offer, I cannot go to a formal proposal ; & I have fully 
 stated that I jniist vary my plans, & reduce my establishment, which is beyond 
 my means. I do not say one word of Emma ; you know that, added to her looks, 
 so cleanly & sweet a creature does not exist, & she is handsomer than when you 
 saw her. What you say of Naples is true. As I told you in my former letter, 
 every inconvenience must be of your own making. Give her one of your villas, or 
 rather take a small retired house on the Hill at Naples, very small ; she will not want 
 to go about, & going to dine, or at any other hours, to your villa or house, when it 
 may be convenient, will make a party of what by another plan would be dayly 
 habit ; . & you know well enough that with women, no matter what is done, a 
 change is necessary, if it was only as a mark of attention. As to Englishmen, 
 there is nothing to fear ; left to herself, she would conform to your ideas. She 
 never has wished for an improper acquaintance ; she has dropt every one she 
 thought I could except against, & those of her own choice have been in a line 
 of prudence & plainess, which, tho' I might have wished for, I could not have 
 proposed to confine her ; & if you can find only one or two acquaintances, & let 
 her learn music or drawing, or anything to keep in order, she will be as happy as 
 if you gave her every change of disipation. She is no fool, but there is a degree 
 of nature in her, that she has the same pleasure in a retired & confined line as in 
 a more extensive one, & she has no difficulty in confining herself ; & yet she has 
 natural gentility & quickness to suit herself to anything, & takes easily any hint 
 that is given with good humor. I have often heard people say you may do any- 
 thing by good humor, but never saw any one so compleatly led by good nature, & 
 I believe she would die before she yielded to ill-treatment. If you could form a 
 plan by which you could have a trial, & could invite her & tell her that I ought 
 not to leave England, & that I cannot afford to go on, & state it as a kindness to 
 me if she would accept your invitation, she would go with pleasure. She is to be 
 6 weeks at some bathing place, & when you could write an answer to this & 
 enclose a letter to her, I could manage it, & either by land, by the coach to 
 Geneva, & from thence by Veturine forward her, or else by sea. I must add that 
 I could not manage it so well later ; after a month's absence, & absent from me, 
 she would consider the whole more calmly. If there was in the world a person 
 she loved so well as yourself after me, I could not arange with so much sans 
 
I04 THE HAMILTON AND [1785. 
 
 froid; & I am sure I would not let her go to you, if any risque of the usual 
 coquetry of the sex being likely either to give uneasiness or appearances. 
 
 ' I would, in case nothing happens from my letter, pass the principal part of 
 the winter in Edinburgh, & my pretence should be chemistry with Dr. Black. 
 I shall live cheap & retired, & break all the expences by being out of the way of 
 temptation ; & if called to town by call of the House, I should be less confined 
 in my plan of settling, if possible to advantage, or at least put myself more in the 
 way of fortune. 
 
 ' I must now say a few words about Wales. I am glad what I have done & 
 am doing was previous to your kind letter to me, least you should think my zeal 
 increased with personal intrest. 
 
 ' I have already got a post established 3 times a week to Huberston ; I wait 
 only the name of a person to be post-master, & I cannot till prompted give in a 
 name. I am now treating with the Custom-house about removing the Custom- 
 house from Pembroke to Hubberston, & a memorial about pacquets from Water- 
 ford to Huberston is before Treasury, & I have been acting with Mr. Knox & 
 Mr. Beresford, the Irish negociator, who takes it up warmly. 
 
 ' If it was not building on your intentions further than you propose, & should 
 my letter lead to my present settling, I should incline to settle about Pembroke in 
 preference to other parts, unless I could find some part in Devonshire or Cornwall 
 where I could bring to profit some manufacture of china. If I went to Wales I 
 would bring it there, & promote any plan for increasing the industry of the 
 natives, & their exports might arise from the increased intercourse with Ireland, 
 without any charge to you ; & in Dec"^ last, when the Irish proposed to build an 
 Inn, I told them if they came in the summer I would meet them & consult with 
 Meyrick ; but unless I hear from them I shall proceed my tour with Robert 
 thro' N. Wales, & thence thro' S. W. to Cornwall — a party which has been for some 
 months settled. 
 
 ' Except to L'' Midleton, you may depend on my not mentioning to any person 
 whatever the contents of your letter. Believe me,' &C. 
 
 139. A. L. S. (with Initials) from the same to the same. Dated November 
 
 nth, 1785. 7 pages folio, with Superscription and Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' On my return to town, I found the menage just as I expected. Emma had 
 been much alarm'd and distress'd with her mother's illness. It was not so 
 severe an attack as I understood it to be when I informed you of it from Corn- 
 wall, but anything which the faculty stile paralysis is alarming, & I left her by 
 no means recover'd. You may suppose that I did not increase Emma's un- 
 easiness by any hint of the subject of our last correspondence ; at any rate, it 
 cannot take place before the spring, & she goes on so well & is so much more 
 considerate & aimiable than she was when you saw her, & also improv'd in looks, 
 that I own it is less agreable to part ; yet I have no other alternative but to marry 
 or remain a pauper ; I shall persist in my resolution not to lose an opportunity if 
 I can find it, & do not think that my idea of sending her to Naples on such an 
 event arises from my consulting my convenience only. I can assure you she 
 would not have a scarcity of offers, she has refused great ones ; but I am sure 
 she would prefer a foreign country with you to any other connexion at home, & I 
 would not expose you to any risque. I know that confidence & good usage will 
 never be abused by her, & that nothing can make her giddy. I was only ten days 
 with her when I was call'd away to be Mayor of Warwick ; it was not kindly 
 meant, but it will turn out well. I have been at the castle ; I have put myself on 
 good terms with my brother, &; I think I shall keep him passive, if not interested 
 for me, in the borough ; he seem'd to disown ever having had any intention against 
 me, & went so far as to write to me lately that he had brought me in the last 
 time ; it was not unpleasing to me to let him off, & his acrimony has tum'd into a 
 great degree of cordiality. It puts me on a much more agreable footing, I stand 
 high ; both parties would wish to have me, & I stand on the town at large, in 
 order that I may be the choice of both, in case of opposition. Neither party 
 expect to carry two members. I do not wish to meddle in the election of my 
 colleague, & in such a case it is prudent, & saves expence to let others make play 
 
•785-] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 105 
 
 while I profit by events. I have given my feast, & appointed a proper deputy 
 Mayor, & am now at Caulke * How true it is that the interior of few familys 
 exhibit coincidence of opinion or harmony. Sir H. Harpur is already tired of his 
 son, & they will, I fear, soon be at open war ; it has already been within an ace of 
 his quitting the House ; what will be the consequence I know not, but I came 
 here to try to do good, & I shall take my nephew to Ld Middleton's, as I men- 
 tioned in a former letter. If he is lucky enough to settle in a good family, he will be 
 happy in a creditable society ; if not, he will sink into nothing & be lost to the world. 
 
 ' During my short stay in town I saw Hamiltont twice ; once I call'd on him & 
 the next I brought him to dine with Emma. He says he has not seen anything 
 like her in G. B., & that she reminds him of a person at Rome whom he admired 
 much, tho she was deficient in the beauties of the mouth, & that Emma's is both 
 beautiful & uncommon. He has been meditating for a subject ; he says he shall 
 not rest untill he has prevail'd on her to sit ; you may suppose she was flatter'd, & 
 she told him she put him at once on her list of favorites, because you had spoke 
 of him as a person you regarded, & also because he bore your name. I am told 
 he has lately settled with his brother to take an annuity of 500/. a year to give up 
 the estate for ever, I think he will do wisely. He finds the expences of London 
 very high, he was obliged to give 4 guineas a week for a painting room for 2 
 months certain, and 2\ guineas for lodging, which made six guineas J p'' week, 
 without fire or victuals. His health is not the worse ; on the contrary, his journey 
 to England, & from thence to Scotland, has improved his looks. I hope you 
 have had pleasure in unpacking your pictures, & that they arrived safe. 
 
 ' While I was in town I saw Bartolozzi & the plates ; one of them was almost 
 finish'd & will be very fine ; the others were all so far advanced that in about a 
 month they will be quite finish'd. He wanted money, & I call'd on Ogilvy & 
 directed him to pay him 100/., & to take his receipt for it as part of payment ; 
 I also told him that I should send Romney for payment of the picture he sent. 
 When the plates are finished I will take them, & you will give orders for the 
 payment of the remainder. I am sure you will be satisfied with them ; & you 
 will give me your directions in what manner you would have me proceed to 
 distribute the prints, that you may be repaid, & also what inscription & what 
 letterpress ; if you will give the outline, you will find me punctual. The pub- 
 lication maybe made more bulky by an etching from Pyranesi, or S. Bartoli of the 
 sepulchre & also the Syrcophagus in which it was found, & most people love bulk. 
 
 ' I should have wrote to you during my stay in town, if I had not been very much 
 hurried, & wished to delay untill I could inform you as I now can that all the 
 plan relative to the Irish & London Mail to Hubberston is actually establish'd. I 
 shall attack the Customhouse at Pembroke on my return to town, & I have on foot 
 a plan to settle a colony of American fishermen at Hubberston, & to carry on 
 the whale fishery from thence to the south of Falkland Islands. You know how 
 difficult it is to get assistance from Government, and how impossible it is to do 
 much without money. You know that any establishment will render the farms 
 contiguous more valuable, & that you are advised not to grant leases at Hubberston, 
 that some good plan may be established. 
 
 ' If I cannot get the aid of Gov' nothing can be done, but if my plan is 
 adopted I shall bring a colony & fix them on your estate & build them habitations, 
 & enable them to establish the manufactures necessary for the fishery, without any 
 expence to you ; you must therefore give me carte blanche on this scheme, which 
 you cannot think bad if it can be brought about ; it will only occasion a capital 
 of 100,000/. to be embarked in your land ; the banks of the Pill, which bring you 
 nothing, will about do what I want, & you will have the improvt of the value of 
 your neighbouring land certain, without embarking any money at all. It is too 
 good a scheme to be certain of succeeding, but I do think it possible, & I bring 
 it forward without delay, & if assistance is wanted from Parlm' I must follow it 
 up there also. I propose to lay it before Mr. Hamilton, whose friendship to you 
 may be mellow, if not ripen'd yet, & I shall, through him, lay it before Mr. Pitt ; 
 
 * Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, was the seat of Greville's brother-in-law, Sir Henry Harpur. 
 He had only one son, also Sir Henry, 1763-1819, who died of a fall from the box of his coach, 
 t Gavin Hamilton, the artist. 
 
io6 THE HAMILTON AND [1785. 
 
 when I have finish'd my plan I will send you a copy of my letter ; you must not 
 think me mad till my letter arrives, nor mention it in your letters to others, for it 
 is a negociation of delicacy to move a colony from the American States to G. B., 
 & is better not talk'd of till executed. 
 
 ' Mr. Meyrick, I believe, imagines I have written to you about increasing your 
 income, as he receiv'd your letter relative to it. He is a very sensible, friendly 
 man, & will by his prudence do you signal service, but what he says is true. The 
 poverty of the tenants cannot provide you with fines equal to the value of the land, 
 & that improvements in value will increase that value if the money is not taken 
 from tenants for fines, but is applied to the improvement of ye land ; but the 
 great object is to bring to bear a project such as mine which brings capital, intro- 
 duces industry, improvement of agriculture, & raises at once the rents of lands 
 where it is establishd. What renders property on the banks of the Thames, of 
 the Avon at Bristol, valuable but a spirit of enterprise, & the employ' of great 
 capital, which returns itself many fold & generaly in proportion to its amount. 
 
 ' I know you so well that, altho I do not doubt your goodness & remembrance 
 of me, I do not flatter myself that I shall receive the minerals I desir'd. I am 
 just as you are ; if I do not execute my intention directly, it is put off; I think a 
 hundred times that I will do it, yet leave it undone ; I am not so unreasonable 
 as to expect you to collect all the cristals you can get from Vesuvius, Sicily, &c. 
 It is a distinct branch of employ', & not compatible with your present pursuits ; 
 yet I must beg you will give me satisfaction on one subject, which is a very 
 remarkable one, &: I wish you would visit the place & describe it. If you will 
 send specimens of all you describe, I will see that the chemical distinctions are 
 properly observed, & it will be a paper worthy of the R. Society. It is what I 
 wrote for a year ago, & is a most uncommon fact. Native nitre cristalized in lime- 
 stone rock, discover'd whilst you was last in England in Calabria or some part of 
 the kingdom of Naples. If you have not time to visit the spot & write a paper, 
 you may get me the variety of cristals & the nitre adhering to the rock ; you may 
 also send me some bits of the rock, that we may see whether the vegetable alkali 
 really exists in the limestone, or from whence it is furnishd. I am told the cristals 
 are some very large & others distinct & smaller. It is rather a disgrace to you 
 that travellers from Naples should relate these facts, & that you should leave my 
 cabinet without one specimen, & the R. Society without any information ; you 
 must make me amends, & if you could get me some fine cristals of sulphur from 
 Sicily, & some cristals from the islands of Cyclops, near Catania, I shall be very 
 thankful, provided you do not spare tow & brown paper, & do not take sawdust 
 again into favour. 
 
 ' I told you in my letter of thanks for the signed bond that sealing & signing 
 was nothing without a witness's name ; you will, therefore, be so good as to send 
 it back with that addition. I will not again repeat to you my sense of your 
 repeated goodness to me ; I am not msensible of it, or unthankful, altho my letter 
 may not be engrossed with my acknowledgements. 
 
 ' I am very glad that a box of minerals that I sent to Saussure* have pleased 
 him ; he has wrote to thank me, and has not grumbled at the carriage, which is 
 expensive to Geneva. You have furnished your friends with very interesting facts 
 on the formation of new strata by the operations of volcanoes. I will give you a 
 very singular one, which owes its formation to the deposition of water, & which 
 has been equaly new in London, as it was to some collectors who lived within five 
 miles of the spot in Cornwall. 
 
 ' I visited a stream work, which is the name they give to a search for peebles 
 which contain tin, & appear rounded and deposited by currents & torrents. I 
 went to observe how this gravel lay, & what the superincumbent strata were com- 
 posed of. I found the gravel not to be above a yard thick, & covering the bottom 
 of a broad 50 feet from the surface ; immediately above this gravel [was a layer] 
 of black mould, in which I found hazel nuts [in such] abundance that two or three 
 spade fulls furnished [me] with two handfuls ; there was little or no [appearance] 
 of wood besides the nuts ; some pieces which I [crushed] crumbled to the same 
 
 * Horace Benedict de Saussure, 1740-1799, a well-known Swiss geologist and physicist, 
 author of many works on natural history, &c. 
 
1785.] A'ELSON PAPERS. 
 
 107 
 
 substance with the black [mould], which probably was all formed from decayed 
 wood. About four or five feet above this stratum of nuts [was] a stratum of oyster 
 shells, decayed and crumbling like chalk, but retaining the shape of large oysters. 
 The intervening stratum was clay and sand ;— above were other strata of sand & 
 clay, & near the surface sand with cockles & other shells & gravel. This appeared 
 to me a singular arrangement, & I never heard of such a one; it is a recent 
 formation, all the vegetables & shells being natives of G. B., whereas almost every 
 petrifi'd shell in lime-stone, & vegetables in slate, etc., are y'' produce of other 
 climates, & are not found recent. It is by observing strata of different formation 
 that the decomposition & re-formation of earths & minerals can be traced & the 
 operations of Nature beautifuly explained by herself Adieu, believe me,' &c. 
 
 140. A. L. S. from Lord Pembroke to the same. Dated Florence, 
 November 19th, 1785. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' The Count of Dublin,* every body assures, My Dear Hamilton, is settled in 
 London, & driving on a bargain with the King for Windsor Great Park, &c. I 
 hope Acton will keep his ground ; & indeed, if the message from Spain was in 
 reallity, as it has been represented to be, their Sicilian Majesties had better give 
 up their kingdoms & go to be whipped at some child's school in Madrid, than to 
 submit to what the Catholick Sovereign exacts. 
 
 'Vesuvius must be very fine— all the travellers in Tuscany mean to hurry to it 
 in hopes of being in time for the finest of all possible fine sights. Whenever my 
 book in Italian is published, pray send one of them also to Cavaliere Ipolito 
 Venturi, in this Town. I can not conceive what are become of the Plates, & beg 
 the favour of you to write a line about them to Lord Herbert in London, unless 
 the Merchant at Naples, to whom the Vessell in which they are is addressed, 
 can give some satisfactory account of her. I wish you joy that the nature of the 
 bribes offered to you encreases in goodness ; but I regret the method was not 
 followed some years ago ; it would, I am sure from a secrei retour sur tnoi-meme, 
 have afforded you more pleasure. Throw me at the Chiavacci'st feet ; is she 
 fixed at Naples, or going to Paris, or elsewhere, & when? What too of Giardini? 
 Does he ever play at Court now? I fear not. The publishing of my little 
 Equitation waits, I believe, only for the plates ; is it not so ? Poor Mad"= 
 Mahony, I apprehend, has lost her nose, & keeps her cancer &. mad husband. I 
 am vastly sorry I could not return, & shake ye by the hand again at Naples. 
 Still uncertain in respect to myself; I am waiting with impatience for a letter 
 about the Phaeton from my friend Lord Keppell by the Spanish Courier. At all 
 events, whenever or wherever I may go, let me hear from you something, I beg, & 
 allways direct to me thro' the Messieurs Orsi, Bankers here, who are very exact 
 & careful! allways. It is said that the Emperor sett off from Vienna the moment 
 he rec* letters from Naples, that he will be at Pisa to-night, & proceed on to 
 Caserta immediately ; whether he does so or anything else, or not, peu imporie, 
 for he has now proved himself the silly, officious, self-sufficient brouillon the K. of 
 Prussia said he was. A postilion from Berlin would cause more speculation ; but 
 not so a Courier Extraordinary from Russia, the precipitate passage of one thro' 
 Florence for Naples has caused much wise talk amongst the Tuscan politicians. 
 Pray remember me at the Ministers of that Court with ye allways, as well as to 
 the pretty wife of the sleeping Ginnori, Princess Belmonte, & all friends who have 
 not forgot me. Adieu, my dear Sir William,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — Is it true, then, that Aprile| is going to England?' 
 
 * Henry Frederick, Earl of Dublin and Duke of Cumberland, 1 745-1 790, fourth son of 
 Frederick, Prince of Wales, created Duke of Cumberland and appointed Ranger of Windsor 
 Great Park, 1766. At the date of the letter the Duke was disputing with the King on the 
 subject of the latter wishing to shoot over the Park, which the Duke would not allow. On the 
 death of the latter the King took the rangership, which has ever since been held by the reigning 
 sovereign, except in the case of Prince Albert. 
 
 t Clementina Chiavacci, wife of the Composer, was for some time/r2«3^(;»«aatLaScala, Milan. 
 
 + Giuseppe Aprile, an Italian singer, who afterwards became Lady Hamilton's master. He was 
 born in 1738, and was still living at Naples in 1792. He was the author of some excellent exercises. 
 
io8 THE HAMILTON AND [1785. 
 
 141. A. L. S. from the Duke of Cumberland* to the same. Dated 
 
 Avignon, Saturday, November 26th, 1785. i page 4to., with 
 
 Superscription and Seal. [H.J 
 
 'The Duchess & I return'd from England yesterday ; we intend saihng in the 
 Kingfs frigate Andromache — Capt. O'Hara — for Naples on the nth of Dec"'. I 
 shall be obliged to you to retain 4 lits de Maitres, we have five servants out of 
 livery, four women servants, & five in livery, at the best hotel, for the time you 
 think we shall arrive. I purpose staying there till I can find a convenient house for 
 the winter. I shall be glad to make some musick with you, & to assure you that 
 I remain,' &c. 
 
 142. A. L. S. (with Initials) from Charles Greville to the same. No date. 
 
 (December 3rd, 1785). 4 pages folio. [H.] 
 
 'My dear Hamilton, as you have fully communicated your sentiments to me, & 
 you know mine relative to Emma, I shall not enter further on the subject than to 
 explain to you the occasion of your receiving the enclosed,+ & my arrangements 
 & opinion on the occasion. The absolute necessity of reducing every expence to 
 enable me to have enough to exist on, & to pay the interest of my debt without 
 parting with my collection of minerals, which is not yet in a state of arrangement 
 which would set it off to its greatest advantage, occasion'd my telling Emma that 
 I should be obliged on business to absent myself for some months in Scotland. 
 She naturally said that such a separation would be very like a total separation, 
 for that she should be very miserable during my absence, & that she should 
 neither profit by my conversation nor improve in any degree, that my absence 
 would be more tolerable if she had you to comfort her, & that she wished you was 
 not so far off, as she would ask you to take her as a guest during my absence, as 
 there was not a person in the world whom she could be happy with, if I was dead, 
 but yourself, & that she certainly would profit of your kind offer if I should die, 
 or slight her, & that was the consideration which often had comforted her when 
 she look't forward to the chances which might separate us. I told her that I 
 should have no objection to her going to Naples for 6 or 8 months, and that if 
 she realy wished it I would forward any letter she wrote. On my return in the 
 evening, she gave me the enclosed, & she has settled every thing in her own mind 
 that she will go with her mother only, & if you cannot send any person so far as 
 Geneva, that she would settle in London with Dejean the Swiss carrier to convey 
 her &: her mother to Geneva in their diligence, & from there in a two-wheeled 
 chaise to Rome, but that, a guide from Geneva being most comfortable, she 
 proposed it. That she would not fear being troublesome, as she would be 
 perfectly satisfied with the degree of attention you should from choice give her, 
 & that she should be very happy in learning music & Italian, &c., while your 
 avocations imploy'd you, provided she was under your roof & protection. I told 
 her that she would be so happy that I should be cut out, & she said that if I did 
 not come for her or neglected her, she would certainly be grateful to you ; but 
 that neither interest nor affection should ever induce her to change, unless my 
 interest or wish required it, & that you could comfort her, altho' she made all the 
 distinction of the difference of age, but that she had seen enough to value a real 
 friend whenever she could find one, and that you had shown more real kindness 
 to her than any person in the world beside myself, & therefore you was, after me, 
 the nearest her heart. 
 
 ' I embraced the opportunity and the mode she approved, as it would soften 
 the severity of a seperation which is absolutely necessary. I would not lead you 
 in any scrape, you know that. I have weaned her from disipation, by giving a 
 stimulus to her pride, & made her conduct suitable to my retired stile lay leading 
 her by good humour and confidence. She had good natural sense & quick 
 
 * The Duke of Cumberland married in 1771 Hon. Anne Horton, daughter of Simon 
 Luttrell, 1st Earl of Carhampton, and widow of Christopher Horton. This marriage led to the 
 enactment of the Royal Marriage Act. She died in 1803. 
 
 t The 'enclosed' is Letter No. 143. 
 
1785-] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 109 
 
 observation, & perfectly to be depended on ; she is anxious of the good opinion of 
 my friends, & has not a bad acquaintance in the world. She may be trusted by 
 you anywhere, if you talk fairly to her your reason to wish her to avoid any thing 
 you dislike, altho' she may wish for it, she will have a pleasure in giving it up to 
 you if asked kindly /& you may leave her every opportunity of doing it unknown to 
 you, & she never will abuse your confidence. She likes admiration, but merely 
 that she may be valued, & not to profit by raising her price. I am sure there is 
 not a more disinterested woman in the world, if she has a new gown or hat, &c., 
 it is easy to make a little novelty go far, & all that pleases her is to have that 
 little such as sensible and genteel people wear, & of the best quality, & I declare 
 to you that the little excesses which I have experienced were never devoted to 
 follies, but were given to poor relations in the country, for whose care she professes 
 herself grateful, insomuch that I had only to scold her for not having made me 
 supply that demand instead of making herself bare of pocket money. 
 
 ' You will be able to have an experiment without any risque ; if it should not turn 
 out as ] expect, she will have profited by seing a little of foreign parts ; she will 
 have improved herself & she may come home. I know that you are above acting 
 unkindly to any woman, but particularly to a pretty woman, & your kindness to 
 me & to her has already made you anticipate my request, & you offer'd generously 
 to assist me in providing something for her. I do not see why you should not 
 find some reward for your generosity when I no longer can continue my connexion 
 from the state of my finances. I hope I shall be the more able to do something 
 for her, & believe me, if either by marriage or ofifice I shall become more at my 
 ease, my first concern shall be to provide for her, whether she is with you or not. 
 You need not fear domestic duty, women always require what men give them 
 reason to expect, & very often they take omission of duty as proof of inconstancy, 
 or of neglect, or diminution of affection, & therefore resent it. She has a good 
 constitution, yet is delicate, & I think that her looks improved as well as her 
 health since I considered myself an over-match for her, & as I consider you as 
 my heir-aparent I must add that she is the only woman I ever slept with without 
 having ever had any of my senses offended, & a cleanlier, sweeter bedfellow does 
 not exist. 
 
 ' If I have an opportunity I will send her clothes by sea, that she may avoid 
 trouble on the road ; but if no ships go at that time she shall carry them ; she 
 has a good stock of everything, & I shall add some linnen, which is rather 
 wanted. I find that the journey, all expences included, to Geneva for the 2 
 will amount to 30 gs. I shall have every thing ready for setting out, & have got 
 the refusal of 2 places in the coach which will set out the end of Feby. or the 
 beginning of March at furthest, & Dejeans is close to Saussure, & you might 
 desire him to be of use to her if you cannot spare Cottier. And now I come to 
 the last part of this subject ; you know we are not accountable to the world further 
 than not to offend against biensdancej on that principle I have acted with her. I 
 have never told our story, therefore my conduct has never been judged from my 
 own statement. People who do not live with us are as indifferent to us as we 
 to them, &, unless we make ourselves purposely the subject of general observation, 
 that class leave us to ourselves. 
 
 ' Those who know us take us with more discretion, if they are in confidence, 
 & we only open on a subject guardedly & in general terms, they will have 
 discretion not to renew enquiry ; those who are not in intimacy cannot take the 
 liberty, and, if they do, remain unsatisfied. I wish, in the case of Emma, that you 
 will use only your discretion, a young person under your protection is all that is 
 necessary ; and, altho' all the world should know both her & me, they will, 
 according to their several dispositions, investigate the nature of the connexion, & 
 without any agreement you will find Emma discrete, for she endeavours to gain 
 as much consideration as possible, & tho' perfectly natural is not a sieve — is 
 pleased if she thinks all the world not in her secret. 
 
 ' I am sorry that you have had the trouble to receive the Bond twice, & you 
 will perhaps have reason to think me capricious ; but Mrs. McKenzie has beg'd 
 me to let her pay off Ross, and take the bond for the whole in his room ; this 
 will be very agreeable to me, & will put the bond on better footing, altho' it will 
 add to the amount. According to your present joint bond there is no fixt property 
 
no THE HAMILTON AND [1785. 
 
 assigned because I could not assign my cabinet of minerals, having ^500 due 
 Mrs. McKenzie, therefore I shall assign my cabinet of minerals as security to her, 
 for the £1700 & your security will be superadded. I shall have this additional 
 satisfaction, that if any thing should happen to me the debt you kindly help me 
 in settling will be provided for, which must be the case considering the amount 
 of the bond is not much above half what it has cost me ; but I have not fully 
 settled this, when I do I will give you all the particulars, & return the bond you 
 have twice executed. I will reserve the other business till I write again. I must 
 only add that I think I have made the match which I mentioned in my last, & 
 H. Harpur probably will be settled in an enviable stile by my aid. Hamilton, 
 your lawyer, is remis to a great degree. Mr. Meyrick very diligent, but next 
 year will tell better ; &, as to immediate rise, you must have a little consideration 
 when you find the increase to be moderate. 
 
 ' I will write again soon, but I pray write by return of post to me & 
 Emma. Ymi must enable me to pay their journey, & you must say to her that 
 you shall be happy to receive her, & hope to make her comfortable at Naples. 
 Your last letter arriv'd the day after she had wrote her letter, & she beg'd the 
 bottom of my letter which related to her. I am sure, if she had received your 
 compliments & enquiries before she had written, her letter would have been a 
 rhapsody of gratitude. She has not a doubt of the pleasure you will have to 
 receive her, &, as she will be ready to set out when your answer comes, let Cottier 
 be at Geneva or within reach of Dejeans, at Geneva by the loth or 15th of March. 
 
 ' Yours ever,' &c. 
 
 143. A. L. S. from Emma Hart to the same. Dated Edgware Road, 
 London, December 3rd, 1785. 3 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' My dear Sir William, emboldened by your kindness to me when you was in 
 England, I have a proposal to make that I flatter myself will not be disagreable 
 to you. Greville (whom you know I love tenderly) is oblidged to go for four or 
 five months in the sumer to places that I cannot with propriety attend him to, & I 
 have too great a regard for him to hinder him from pursuing those plans which I 
 think it is right for him to folow ; & I know it is necessary for him to keep 
 up his connexions in the world ; — and as you was so good as to give me 
 encouragement, I will speak my mind. In the first place, I should be glad if I 
 was a little more improved than what I am, and as Greville is oblidged to be 
 absent in the sumer he has out of kindness to me ofiFer'd, if you are agreeable, for 
 me to go to Naples for 6 or 8 months, and he will at the end of that time fetch 
 me home, and stay a while there when he comes, which I know you will be glad 
 to see him. 
 
 ' He therefore proposes for me to sett of the first of March next, as he will 
 sett of then for his entended tour into Scotland, and I could not bear the thought 
 of staying at home by my self when I know if I come to see you (which will be 
 the greatest pleasure on hearth, Greville excepted) I shall be improving my self 
 and making the time pass agreable ; at the same time he thinks for me to go by 
 the Geneva coach, and if you will lett your man that was in England with you 
 meet me there to conduct me to Naples, I shall be glad ; and if you will allot me 
 an appartment in your house that I might be under your protection while I am 
 there, and lett Greville occupye those appartments when he comes, you know that 
 must be ; but as your house is very large, and you must, from the nature of your 
 office, have business to transact and visiters to see, I shall always keep my own 
 room when you are better engaged or go out, and at other times I hope to have 
 the pleasure of your company and conversation, which will be more agreable to 
 me than any thing in Italy. As I have given you an example of sincerity, I hope 
 you will be equaly candid and sencere in a speedy answer, as we are confined 
 for time, and no further correspondance will be necessary, as you may depend on 
 me, if you approve of it, setting of from London at the time I mentioned in the 
 former part of this letter, and I shall be perfectly happy in any arrangements you 
 will make, as I have full confidence in your kindness and attention to me, and shall 
 long for the time when I can assure you in person how much I am, my dear Sir 
 William, your oblidged humble servant, or affectionate Emma, which you like best.' 
 
1786.] NELSON PAPERS. iii 
 
 144. A. L. S. (with Initials) from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. 
 
 Dated January 4th, 1786. | page folio (incomplete), with Super- 
 scription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 . ' We have had two deep mournings. I expect a 3rd from Pss. 
 
 Elizabeth,* who is very ill, tho' I believe not thought in immediate danger. 
 
 ' The politicks are so ample now that it would require a volume, & you see 
 them better abroad, as they originate from France, who secures the Emperor of 
 Russia by agravating the Elector of Hanover's league with Prussia. The meeting 
 of parliament will animadvert on the consequences of prohibition from Austria, & 
 the prospect of coolness with Russia ; & all this at the moment of a commercial 
 treaty with France pending. Eden,t I fear, will not have more comfort by 
 outwitting the French Cabinet than he has from the reception his appoint: has 
 gain'd from his former friends. We are a great Nation, & it is not possible to 
 stop the great machine, but we have clog'd its revival as far as we are able, other- 
 wise the French Cabinet would not rule Europe. 
 
 ' You know Miss MurrayJ is married to Hatton Finch ? Stormont is well 
 pleased ; he has above ;£5ooo a year. 
 
 ' I am happy you are well with Lord Keppell ; he is a very friendly & honor- 
 able man. I have great respect & regard for him, & he likes to be comfortable 
 near a peticoat in a sociable way out of gratitude to past times ; his daughter is 
 with him, I believe, but I never saw her ; my intimacy was when he used to be 
 comfortable at home with S. Wells, to whom L'> K. acted kindly & as a friend. 
 Adieu,' &c. 
 
 145. A. L. S. (with Initials) from the same to the same. Dated 
 
 January 20th, 1786. 2 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal. 
 [H.] 
 
 ' Your Letter which I received two days ago were so kind to Emma that she 
 was quite enchanted. I shewed her the part which relat'd to her ; & she is 
 seriously preparing for the ist of March, & shall engage places to-morrow. She 
 has always said that if ever she was to part she might be weaned by degrees ; 
 she talks of the chances of our not meeting again, & that on the least neglect she 
 will accept your offers, & that she will by her conduct merit your kindness. She 
 must have in her mind a stronger impression of the chances than she expresses, 
 but she says that she would not put herself in the reach of chances with any 
 person but yourself, and she does not say this from compliment, but from her 
 heart ; she would not be on the pav^ if I was to be suddenly lost to her ; Mr. 
 Willoughby, the brother to the lady I mentioned to you, is in love with Emma, 
 and has persecuted her to accept his proposals & a settlement, but she says that 
 it would be wise if she was interested, but that she could not like him, & therefore 
 could not behave well to him ; his fault is being young & giddy. You 
 know her so well that I think you will not dislike the attention of a young 
 disinterested girl, who is above acting dishonestly by you, & whom you may lead 
 by kindness to any thing. 
 
 ' I have seen the proofs ; they are very capital, & have a fine effect. I am to 
 be with Bartolozzi on Sunday, & shall bring the affair to a conclusion. 
 
 ' Groofer is to sail to-morrow. The ship has fallen down to Blackheath, & will 
 
 * The Princess Elizabeth, 1770-1840, was the third daughter of George III. She married, 
 in 18 18, Frederick, Landgrave of Ilesse Homburg. 
 
 + William Eden, ist Baron Auckland, 1744-1814, a statesman and diplomatist, elected 
 M.P. for Woodstock in 1774. He was Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1780, and was sent as 
 special envoy to Versailles in 1785 to negotiate a commercial treaty, which was signed in 
 September, 1786. In 1788 he was sent as envoy to Madrid, and in 1700 to Holland. In 1793 
 he was made a peer of Great Britain, having previously been raised to the Irish peerage, and 
 retired from diplomatic life. 
 
 t Elizabeth Mary, eldest daughter of David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield, then Earl of 
 Stormont, had married in December, 1785, George Finch Hatton, 1747-1823, father of the 9th 
 Earl of Winchilsea. Mrs. Finch Hatton died in 1825. 
 
112 THE HAMILTON AND [1786 
 
 probably be at Leghorn in a month. S' Jos[eph Banks] has had much plague 
 with a Captain, who has obliged him to ship every thing in another ship, of 
 which you will have the detail in a day or two. 
 
 ' I have decided Hamilton to return to Rome ; his heart had decided before, 
 & I have confirmed him. His plan is to paint at Rome, unless you can get full 
 leave to des[ign], in which case he will divide his attention between Rome & 
 Naples, & he thinks seriously much may be done ; but the permission must be 
 full, & the contract with the owner of land so also. But these details you will be 
 able to manage, & the winter is the season. 
 
 ' You will hear soon again ; so adieu,' &c. 
 
 146. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 March 7th, 1786. i\ pages 4to. and folio (mutilated), with Super- 
 scription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I find, my dear Charles, by my last letter from Gray & Ogilvie that you are 
 in possession of Bartolozzi's plates, & that I have paid for them. I trust to your 
 goodness to manage that business for me. After the bold risk I run in paying ^1000 
 for so brittle a comodity, I deserve some reward. I still think it one of the most 
 striking monuments that exists of the superiority of Grecian art, very few examples 
 of which exist at this moment in such perfection & preservation ; it is a shame if 
 allowed to go out of Great Britain, c& I know foreigners that will try to get it, if it 
 is on sale. I wish only that on the plates it shou'd be marked as brought into 
 England by my care in the year 1783 ; a short latin inscription wou'd be best 
 then if the money I paid for drawing & engineering is repaid to my account in 
 the hands of Gray & Ogilvie, & I have the drawings & 50 copies of Prints, I shall 
 be perfectly satisfied. I am convinced that if well managed that may be done, 
 particularly as Cipriani's death must have raised the value of his works. I shou'd 
 think the best way to take off only the necessary number of impressions & destroy 
 the Plates will be the surest way, or treat with some great print seller ; in short, 
 no man can judge better than yourself on these matters. Mrs. Damer will 
 probably be here to-morrow or the next day, and is to lodge with me. Her stay 
 
 will not be more than ten days or a fortnight in short, my dear Charles, I 
 
 will make the best of it, but I know enough of this city to be well aware of the 
 
 difficulty of keeping anything Here follows an extract of a letter from 
 
 Block,* the fever Doctor at Berlin, to me — '// se trouve a present id un marchant 
 de Curiosites Naturelles qui a line pierre qui est un peu flexible, qui fait du feu en 
 le battant a Pacier, et qui coupe le verre. Cette pierre est composie de quartz 
 feuilleie, qui est orni de la Nature comme it semble de la ineme nianiere que les 
 pierres dhme muraille qui ne sont pas Hies par de mortier. Ces feuilles de quartz 
 sont lih en largeur et en longeur a d^autres feuilles de quartz ecailleux, et c'est 
 pourquoi on peut le plier de tous les cotes. Un de nos chymistes, auquel il avoit 
 donni quelques petits morceaux,a trouvd qu'elle ne changeoit point du tout pendant 
 six heures dans unfeu oic la terre de fer sefotid en une heure, elle reste aussi dans 
 la meme condition dans unfeu oil le Diamant meme disparoit. 
 
 ' Read this to Banks, as it appears new & curious. I hope my last letter will 
 not be thought totally uninteresting if read to the Society, tho' I will confess to 
 you I had my doubts about sending it, & only did so as the Island of Ponza is 
 the only volcanic spot undescribed by me, or any one. Yours ever,' &c. 
 
 147. A. L. S. ' C. F. G.' from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. 
 
 Dated Sunday, March nth (1786). 2\ pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' My dear Hamilton & you will by this time have received the trunk which 
 went by sea, & on Tuesday Emma is to set out. I write to you to assure you 
 that nothing but the comfort which Mr. Hamilton'st company will be to her 
 
 * Marcus Eliezer Bloch, 1723-1799, a celebrated German doctor and scientist, author f 
 some works on the natural history of fishes. 
 
 t Gavin Hamilton, the Artist. Emma's mother, Mrs. Cadogan, also accompanied her 
 Naples. 
 
1786.] NELSON PAPERS. 113 
 
 would have made me consent to the delay of a few days, which, from the absence 
 of Cottier, may be material to you. The letter which you wrote was received, as 
 it should be, by a grateful heart. Emma felt much your kindness to her & to 
 myself. I shall pay 30 gs. to Mr. H. for the journey to Geneva, the remainder of 
 the 50 she shall carry in her pocket. By the sale of some pictures & one of my 
 statues I have cleared Emma & myself of everything connected with our 
 establishment ; my mind & inclination have been at war with prudence, but 
 necessity has turn'd the scale, & that necessity has become less severe from your 
 kindness & friendship to me, & from your attachment to her. In short, I could 
 not have look'd to the chances of an eternal separation without having seen an 
 asylum opened to her, & a certainty that what became of me, that the liberality 
 which you volunteer'd before the crisis came would be continued. When she 
 become immediately the object of your protection, let me only beg you draw the 
 line neatly, & adhere to that which is reasonable ; if you use her kindly you may 
 do what you please, & by piquing her or driving her you will do nothin ^, for she 
 has a generous mind & a true woman's, that is regardless of itself and its interests 
 when affection is put in competition with reason, & that reason is at any time to 
 be obtained by gentle usage ; & business or any reasonable avocation will satisfy 
 her for omissions of attentions, if they are not to be construed to a positive neglect 
 connected with other attachments ; then pride or jealousy will operate. I declare 
 that I have had no such reasons to complain of her ; I told her that my avocations 
 required my absence, she therefore patiently waited my return, &, as I never had 
 any schemes, I had neither practised deceit nor met with suspicion, & we jogged 
 on without the bane of female connexion jealousy. 
 
 ' If you represent your duties abroad, & go from the first as you wish to 
 continue, you will have comfort with the prettiest woman confessedly in London. 
 
 ' The poets and painters would say more, & I conclude this part by again 
 saying that if I did not know your experience, & the justness of your views of 
 mankind, I should not have consented to her going to you, but my knowledge of 
 your sense, & your personal & full acquaintance with her while in London, & of 
 the state in which we were, and, above all, my knowledge of her disinterested 
 mind, and of her steadiness in the most frail steps of her sex if treated with 
 confidence, made me think it cruelty, & savoring too much of the dog in the 
 manger to prevent you having before your eyes a Modern, who will not render 
 your criticisms of the Antique less pure. 
 
 ' I have for you every kind wish which friendship & gratitude can suggest, & 
 your observation that the difficulties which might occur, & that you decided on 
 the whole view ballancing the good with the bad, has made me perfectly happy. 
 I only dread your not starting as you mean to go on, which appears to me the 
 only chance against you ; a good beginning will have a good end. I shall write 
 by next post, so adieu, & believe me,' &c. 
 
 'P.S. — I enclose the new bond, & your name torn from the former one.'* 
 
 148. A. L. S. from the Duke of Cumberland to the same. Dated 
 
 Naples, April 2nd, 1786. i page 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' The Duchess desires her compliments to you, & will come next Wednesday 
 to Caserta & see the palace and garden, but go no further, & have the pleasure of 
 dining with you together with L^ Ferrers, U Elizabeth Luttrell,t Mr. Braithwaite 
 and myself. If the Queen is well enough, the Ds. and myself will be happy in 
 the eve^ to wish her a good-bye ; if not, I shall pay my duty to the King at the 
 proper time, & be with you about two o'clock. 1 remain,' &c. 
 
 149. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 
 April 25 th, 1786. 3 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' Having wrote to you so lately, my dear Charles, I have only in answer to 
 
 * The letter was certainly written in 1786, but the nth of March in that year fell on a 
 Saturday, not on a Sunday. 
 
 + Wraxall says of her that ' she inherited no portion of the Duchess's beauty, elegance, or 
 prudence. Coarse, and destitute of softness in her manners, wanting principle, and devoured by 
 a rage for play. She finally closed her life in a manner the most humiliating as well as tragical.' 
 VOL. I. I 
 
M4 THE HAMILTON AND [1786. 
 
 yours of I ith March to send you back the bond signed by me. I do not under- 
 stand business, but it appears by being named first in this bond as if I was the 
 principal and you my joint security ; however, I trust to your well known probity 
 to secure me against all accidents as far as you can, and am happy to be able to 
 assist you under your present difficulties. I had an account of the arrival of our 
 friend at Geneva the 27th of last month, so that she may be here in a day or two. 
 The prospect of possessing so delightfuU an object under my roof soon certainly 
 causes in me some pleasing sensations, but they are accompanied with some 
 anxious thoughts as to the prudent management of this business ; however, I will 
 do as well as I can, and hobble in and out of this pleasant scrape as decently as I 
 can. You may be assured that I will comfort her for the loss of you as well as I 
 am able, but I know, from the small specimen during your absence from London, 
 that I shall have at times many tears to wipe from those charming eyes, & which, 
 if shed for any other but yourself, might give me jealousy. Now that you have 
 had the resolution of taking this necessary step, you will, I dare say, turn your 
 mind seriously to the improving your fortune, either by marriage or getting again 
 into employment. You shall hear from me as soon as she arrives, & pray tell 
 Banks I will write to him soon, & that Groeffer is arrived & has kissed the hands 
 of their Sicilian Majesties, & that I like him exceedingly, and that by my assistance 
 he will soon be comfortably settled & hard at work ; but I assure you, as he can 
 tell, without me (such are the cabals here) he wou'd be drove to despair. 
 Yours,' &c. 
 
 'P.S. — The trunk is arrived.' 
 
 150. A-; L. S. from Emma Hart to the same. Dated Naples, April 30th, 
 1786. 5 pages 4to., with Superscription. 
 
 ' I arrived at this place on the 26*' and I should have begun to write sooner, 
 but the post does not go till to-morrow, and I dreaded setting down to write, for I 
 try to apear as chearful before Sir William as I could, and I am sure to cry the 
 moment I think of you. For I feel more and more unhappy at being separated 
 from you, and, if my fatal ruin depends on seeing you, I will and must [see you] in 
 the end of the sumer. For to live without you is imposible. I love you to 
 that degree, that at this time there is not a hardship upon hearth, either of 
 poverty, hunger, cold, death, or even to walk barefooted to Scotland to see 
 you, but what I would undergo. Therefore, my dear, dear Greville, if you do 
 love me, for my sake try all you can to come hear as soon as possible. You 
 have a true friend in Sir William, and he will be happy to see you, and do all he 
 can, to make you happy ; and for me, I will be everything you can wish for. I 
 find it is not either a fine horse, or a fine coach, or a pack of servants, or plays or 
 operas can make happy. It is you that as it in your power either to make me 
 very happy or very miserable. I respect Sir William, I have a great regard for 
 him, as the uncle and friend of you, and he loves me, Greville. But he can never 
 be anything nearer to me than your uncle and my sincere friend. He never can 
 be my lover. 
 
 ' You do not know how good Sir William is to me. He is doing everything 
 he can to make me happy. He as never dined out since I came hear ; and 
 endead, to speake the truth, he is never out of my sight. He breakfasts, dines, 
 supes, and is constantly by me, looking in my face. I can't stir a hand, leg, or 
 foot ; but he is marking [it] as graceful and fine ; and I am sorry to say it, he 
 loves me now, as much as ever he could Lady Bolingbroke.* Endead, I am sorry, 
 for I cannot make him happy. I can be civil, oblidging, and I do try to make 
 myself as agreable as I can to him. But I belong to you, Greville, and to you 
 only I will belong, and nobody shall be your heir-apearant. You do not know 
 how glad I was to arrive hear the day I did. It was my birthday, and I was very 
 low-spirited. Oh God ! that day that you used to smile on me, and stay at home, 
 and be kind to me — that thai day I should be at such a distance from you ! But 
 my comfort is, I rely upon your promise, and September or October I shall see 
 you ! But I am quite unhappy at not hearing from you — no letter for me yet, 
 
 * Probably the Lady Di. of letter No. 94. 
 
1786.] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 "S 
 
 Greville ! But I must wait with patience. We have had company most every day 
 since I came :— some of Sir William's friends. The are all very much pleased 
 with me ; and poor Sir William is never so happy as when he is pointing out my 
 beauties to them. He thinks I am grown much more ansome then I was. He 
 does nothing all day but look at me and sigh. Yes, last night we had a little 
 concert. But then I was so low, for I wanted you to partake of our amusement. 
 Sir Thomas Rumbold* is hear with is son, who is dying of a decUne. It is a son 
 he had by his first wife ; and, poor young man ! he canot walk from the bed to 
 the chair ; and Lady Rumbold, like a tender-hearted wretch, is gone to Rome, to 
 pass her time there with the English, and as took the coach and all the English 
 servants with her, and left poor Sir Thomas hear with his heart broken, waiting 
 on is sick son. You can't think what a worthy man he is. He din'd with ous, 
 and likes me very much, and every day as brought is carridge or phaeton, which 
 he as bought hear, and carries me and mother and Sir William out, and shows 
 ous a deal of civilities ; for you are to understand I have a carridge of Sir William's, 
 a English one, painting, and new liverys, and new coachman and footman, &c.— 
 the same as Mrs. Damer had of her own, for she did not go with is. For if I was 
 going abbout in is carridge, the would say I was either his wife or mistress. 
 Theirforeas I am not nor ever can be either, we have made a very good establish- 
 ment. I have a very good apartment of 4 rooms, very pleasant-looking to the sea. 
 Our boat comes out to-day for the first time, and we shall begin to bathe in a day 
 or two, and we are going for one day or two to Caserta. I was at Paysilipo 
 yesterday. I think it a very pretty place. 
 
 ' Sir William as give me a camel-shawl like my old one. I know you will be 
 pleased to hear that, and he as given me a beautiful gown cost 25 guineas (India 
 painting on wite sattin), and several little things of Lady Hamilton's, and is going 
 to by me some muslin dresses loose, to tye with a sash, for the hot weather, — 
 made like the turkey dresses, the sleeves tyed in fowlds with ribban and trimd 
 with lace. In short, he is allways contriving what he shall get for me. The 
 people admire my EngKsh dresses. But the blue hat, Greville, pleases most. 
 Sir William is quite inchanted with it. Oh, how he loves you ! He told me he 
 had made is will, and left you everything belonging to him. That made me very 
 happy for your sake. Pray, my dear Greville, do write me word, if you want any 
 money. I am affraid I distressed you. But I am sure Sir William v/ill send you 
 some, and I told him he must help you a little now, and send you some for your 
 journey hear, and he kissed me, and the tears came into is eyes, and he told me 
 I might command anything, for he loved ous boath dearly ; and, oh ! how happy 
 shall I be, when I can once more see you, my dear, dear Greville. You are 
 everything that is dear to me on hearth, and I hope happier times will soon 
 restore you to me, for endead I would rather be with you starving then from you 
 in the greatest splender in the world. 
 
 ' I have only to say I enclose this, I wrote yesterday, and I will not venture 
 myself now to wright any more, for my mind and heart are torn by dii.erant 
 passions, that I shall go mad. Only, Greville, remember your promise of October. 
 Sir William says you never mentioned to him abbout coming 10 Naples at all. 
 But you know the consequence of your not coming for me. Endead, my dear 
 Greville, I live but in the hope of seeing you, and if you do not come hear, lett 
 whatt will be the consequence, I will come to England. I have had a conversa- 
 tion this morning with Sir WiUiam, that has made me mad. He speaks — no, I do 
 not know what to make of it. But Greville, my dear Greville, wright some comfort 
 to me. But onely remember, you will never be loved by anybody like, Your,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — Pray for God's sake, wright to me and come to me, for Sir W. shall 
 never be anything to me but your freind.' 
 
 * Sir Thomas Rumbold, 1 736-1 791. He entered the East India Company's service in 1752, 
 and after distinguishing himself at Trichinopoly and Calcutta was Aide-de-Camp to Clive at the 
 Battle of Plassy. He married first, in 1756, Frances, only daughter of James Berriman, and 
 secondly, after her death, Joanna, daughter of Edmund Law, Bishop of Carlisle. The son Emma 
 talks of as dying was his eldest son, William Richard, 1760-1796, Aide-de-Camp to Sir Hector 
 Munro at the Siege of Pondicherry. Sir Thomas had three children by his first wife and five by 
 the second. He left all his property to the children of the second marriage, a son by the first 
 succeeding him in the baronetcy. 
 
ii6 THE HAMILTON AND [1786. 
 
 151. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. No date. (May, 
 
 1786.) 3 pages folio. With Superscription and Seal. [ll.] 
 
 ' I enclose a line to Emma ; you made her very happy by your attention in 
 sending Vincenze, & everything you shall do to make her a comfort to you will 
 oblige me. I should be so much more distressed on her account by the bad 
 situation in which I stand, if you had not soUicited to protect her, that I feel 
 comfort in her being with you which in any other circumstance I should not have felt. 
 You are too honorable to deceive any one, I therefore feel as sure that Emma will 
 be kindly treated, as I should if I had the means of providing for her as she 
 deserves. There will be no end to my brother's business. I have, however, 
 drawn the line, & if some thing is not done next month, I will put it in other hands. 
 
 ' As to the vase, I have, after much negociation, done nothing. _ Boydel* &c. 
 say that the price paid to Bartolozzi is more than they will give ; that the 
 price must be high, as the sale will not be extensive, & the subject not saleable 
 like a modern print. 
 
 ' I find that the common profits of printsellers is above 25 per cent., & a 
 discount of 10 or 15 per cent, for prompt payment, which together amounts to 40 
 per cent., and the proprietor of the print is at the expence of paper, printing, 
 &c. The paper, 8 guineas a ream, printing, a guinea per 100, and to be sure of 
 the printer it must be done under inspection. The difficulty of the whole embar- 
 rassed me ; I have so different opinion of the work, that I cannot draw the same 
 conclusions, and yet to put you without your consent to new charges and expence 
 would not be justifiable. I have therefore settled it in this manner : — 
 
 ' I have ordered a plate as a frontispiece, on which the inscription connecting 
 the work with you will appear in Latin. I shall add an explanation in letterpress, 
 & I will print it at my own risque & take the chances of profit, making the 
 first receipts go to pay you what you require, viz., 400, the expences of the Plates, 
 and a profit of 1 50 to repay you the drawing. 
 
 ' After the first .£400 clear shall be received from the sale and paid to you, I will 
 receive the amount of my expences in the execution of the Plate, the paper & 
 printing. When that is paid, the first 150 profit shall be paid to your account & 
 afterwards 25 sets of prints shall be delivered to you to give away, and the 
 remaining interest shall be in me. If you like to be at all the expence & risque, I 
 shall transfer the whole to your order ; I think I shall be able to make some 
 money by it ; but, if my love of the Vase makes me partial, I cannot lose, & if the 
 terms of the trade were accepted by you, you would hardly get the money paid 
 for the engraving alone, at present they are not willing to advance that. 
 
 ' I have thought the time of the sale favorable for the sale of the prints. I 
 therefore have bought a press & paper, & have engaged a printer, and have set it 
 up in Edgware Row, in the laundry, & shall myself watch the printer. I shall not 
 have niade much progress before you write to me, as this sort of printing goes on 
 slowly, & the printers very uncertain in attendance ; but I shall be about ready to 
 deliver some when your answer shall arrive, whether you approve of my arrange- 
 ment or will have it done on your own account. It has already given me plague, 
 but will do so more when the sale is to be conducted, & it is the greatest induce- 
 ment for me to take the chance of profit on myself, that errors which may affect 
 me will appear differently than those which arose if I acted for others ; and, if I 
 could have got your terms in ready money, I should not have proposed to pay 
 you out of the first profit. 
 
 ' If you chuse to have it done on your account, you will send me an order for 
 ;£ioo, which will be about the advance I shall have made by that time, & you will 
 tell me who you chuse to employ to sell them. I propose to employ Torre & Boydil. 
 
 ' I enclose a letter from the Pr'*. Adieu, believe me,' &c. 
 
 152. A. L. S. from Emma Hart to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 
 July 22nd, 1786. 6 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 ' I am now onely writing, to beg of you for God's sake to send me one letter, 
 
 "John Boydell, 1719-1804. Engraver, print publisher, and Lord Mayor of London, whose 
 career was one of well-won honour and success until marred by the French Revolution, 
 
1786.] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 "7 
 
 if it is onely a farewell. Sure I have deserved this, for the sake of the love you 
 once had for me. Think, Greville, of our former connexion, and don't despise 
 me. I have not used you ill in any one thing. I have been from you going of 
 six months, and you have wrote one letter to me — enstead of which I have sent 
 fourteen to you. So pray, let me beg of you, my much-loved Greville, only one 
 line from your dear, dear hands. You don't know how thankful I shall be for it. 
 For, if you knew the misery I feel, oh ! your heart would not be intirely shut up 
 against me ; for I love you with the truest affection. Don't let anybody sett 
 you against me. Some of your friends— your foes, perhaps ; I don't know what 
 to stile them — have long wisht me ill. But, Greville, you never will meet with 
 anybody, that has a truer affection for you than I have, and I onely wish it was 
 in my power to shew you what I could do for you. As soon as I know your 
 determination, I shall take my own measures. If I don't hear from you, and that 
 you are coming according to promise, I shall be in England at Cristmass at 
 farthest. Don't be unhappy at that. I will see you once more for the last time. 
 I find life is unsuportable without you. Oh, my heart is intirely broke. Then, 
 for God's sake, my ever dear Greville, do write to me some comfort. I don't know 
 what to do. I am no w in that state, I am incapable of anything. I have a language- 
 master, a singing-master, musick, &:c., but what is it for? If it was to amuse you, 
 I should be happy. But, Greville, what will it avail me ? I am poor, helpeless 
 and forlorn. I have lived with you 5 years, and you have sent me to a strange 
 place, and no one prospect, but thinking you was coming to me. Instead of 
 which, I was told I was to live, you know how, with Sir William. No, I respect 
 him, but no never. Shall he peraps live with me for a little wile like you, and send 
 me to England. Then what am I to do .' What is to become of me ? But excuse 
 rne, my heart is ful. I tell you, give me one guiney a week for everything, and 
 live with me, and I will be contented. But no more, I will trust to Providence; 
 and wherever you go, God bless you, and preserve you, and may you allways be 
 happy ! But write to Sir William. What as he done to affront you ? 
 
 ' If I have spirits, I will tell you something concerning how we go on, that will 
 make my letter worth paying for. Sir William wants a picture of me, the size of 
 the Bacante, for his new apartment, and he will take that picture of me in the 
 black gown at Romney's, and I have made the bargain with him, that the picture 
 shall be yours, if he will pay for it. And he will. And I have wrote to Romney, 
 to send it. 
 
 ' Their is two painters now in the house, painting me. One picture is finished. 
 It is the size of the Bacante, setting in a turbin and Turkish dress. The other is 
 in a black rubin hat with feathers, blue silk gown, &c. But as soon as these 
 is finished, ther is two more to paint me — and Angelaca, if she comes. And 
 Marchmont is to cut a head of me, for a ring. I wish Angelaca would come ; for 
 Prince Draydrixton* from Veina is hear, and dines with us often, and he wants a 
 picture of me. He is my cavaliere-servente, or chechespeo (cicisbeo), which you 
 like. He is much in love with me. I walk in the Villa Reale every night. I 
 have generaly two Princes, two or 3 nobles, the English minister, and the King 
 with a crowd beyound ous. The Queen likes me much, and desired Prince 
 Draydrixton to walk with me near her, that she might get a sight of me. For the 
 Prince, when he is not with ous, is with the Queen, and he does nothing but enter- 
 tain her with my beauty, the accounts of it, &c. But Greville, the King as eyes, 
 he as a heart, and I have made an impression on it. But he told the Prince 
 Hamilton is my friend, and she belongs to his nephew, for all our friends knov/s 
 it, and the Prince desires his best compliments to you; I must tell you a piece 
 of gallantry of the K. On Sunday he dined at Paysilipo, and he allways comes 
 every Sunday before the casino in his boat to look at me. We had a small 
 diplomatic party, and we was sailing in our boot, the K. directly came up, put his 
 boot of musick next us, and made all the French horns and the wole band play. 
 He took off his hat, and sett with his hat on his knees all the wile, and when we 
 was going to land he made his bow, and said it was a sin he could not speak 
 English. But I have him in my train every night at the Villa or Oppera, &c. &c.' 
 'I have been to Pompea, &c. &c., and we are going next week round the Islands 
 
 * Could this be Dietrichstein ? 
 
'ii8 THE HAMILTON AND [1786. 
 
 Carpria, Ischia, Sorrento, &c. We shall be awhay a little wile. I should feil 
 pleasure in all this, if you was heare. But that blessing I have not, and so I must 
 make the best of my lot. God bless you ! I would write a longer letter. But 1 
 am going to Paysylipo to diner, and I have a conversazzione to-night and a 
 concert. 
 
 ' I bathe every day. I have not any irruptions, and — what will surprise you— 
 I am so remarkably fair, that everybody says I put on red and white. We have 
 no Enghsh hear but Lord Hervey,* who is a lover of mine. I had a letter from 
 Sir Thomas Rumbold last week, who is coming hear in October, and desired me 
 to write him what I wanted from England, and he would bring it me. I am 
 pleased with the fate of Fitzgerald. It shews the very little partiality the have 
 in England for the rich. In Naples he would not have suffered. 
 
 ' We have had dreadful thunder and lightning. It fell at the Maltese Minister 
 just by our house and burnt is beds and wines, &c. I have now persuaded Sir 
 William to put up a conductor to his house. The lava runs a little, but the 
 mountain is very full and we expect an irruption every day. I must stop, or else 
 1 should begin and tell you my ideas of the people of Naples. In my next I will. 
 But, Greville, fleas and lice there is millions. I shall write you an Italian letter 
 soon. God bless you. Make my compliments to your brother and all your friends 
 that's my friends. Pray, write to Yours Ever — with the truest and sincerest 
 affection — God bless you — write my ever dear, dear Greville,' &c. 
 
 153. A.L.S. from the same to the same. Dated Naples, August ist, 1786. 
 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I have received your letter, my dearest Greville, at last, and you don't knoMf 
 how happy I am at hearing from you, however I may like some parts of your 
 leticr. But I wont complain. It is enough, I have paper that Greville has wrote 
 on. He as folded it up. He wet the wafer. How I envy thee to take the place 
 of Emma's hps, that she would give worlds, had she them, to kiss those hps ! 
 But if I go on this whay I shall be incapable of writing. I onely wish that a 
 wafer was my onely rival. But I submit to what God and Greville pleases. I 
 allways knew, I have ever had a foreboding, since first I began to love you, that I 
 was not destined to be happy ; for their is not a King or Prince on hearth, that 
 could make me happy without you. So onely consider, when I offer to live with 
 you on the hundred a- year Sir William will give me, what you desire. And this 
 from a girl that a King, &c., is sighing for ! As to what you write to me, to 
 oblidge Sir William, I will not answer you. For, oh ! if you knew what pain I 
 
 feel in reading those lines where you advise me to W .... Nothing 
 
 can express my rage ! I am all madness ! Greville, to advise me ! — you, that 
 used to envy my smiles ! How, with cool indifference, to advise me to go to 
 bed to him. Sir W" ! Oh, that is worst of all ! But I will not, no I will not 
 rage. If I was with you, I would murder you and myself booth. I will leave of, 
 and try to get more strength ; for I am now very ill with a cold .... I wont 
 look back to what I wrote. I only say I have had 2 letters in 6 months, nor 
 nothing shall ever do for me, but going home to you. If that is not to be, I will 
 except of nothing, I will go to London, their go into every excess of vice tell I dye, 
 a miserable, broken-hearted wretch, and leave my fate as a warning to young 
 whomen never to be two good ; for now you have made me love you, you made 
 me good, you have abbandoned me ; and some violent end shall finish our 
 connexion, if it is to finish. But, oh ! Greville, you cannot, you must not give me 
 up. You have not the heart to do it. You love me, I am sure ; and I am willing 
 to do everything in my power — and what will you have more? And I onely say 
 this the last time I will either beg or pray, do as you like. 
 
 ' I am very sorry Lord Brooke t is dead, and I am sincerely sorry for Sir James 
 and Lady Peachy. But the W — k family won't mind it much. We have been 7 
 
 * John Augustus, Lord Hervey, circa 1 766-1 796, eldest son of the 4th Earl of Bristol. He 
 was a Captain in the navy. 
 
 t George, Lord Brooke, 1772-1786, only son of the Earl of Warwick and his first wife, 
 Georgiana, daughter of Sir James Peachy. 
 
1 786. J NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 119 
 
 weeks in doubt, whether he was dead or no, for Sir William had a letter from 
 Lord Warwick, and he said Lord B. was better. So I suppose he must have had 
 a relapse. Poor little boy, how I envy him his happiness ! 
 
 ' We have a deal of rain hear and voilent winds. The oldest people hear 
 never remember such a summer. But it is lucky for us. The Queen is very 
 poorly with ,1 cold, caught in the Villa Reale, and mine is pretty much like it. 
 We don't dine at Paysylipo to-day, on account of my cold. We are closely 
 besieged by the K ... in a roundabout maner. He comes every Sunday to 
 
 P po, but we keep the good-will of the other party mentioned abbove, and 
 
 never give him any encouragement. Prince Draydrixton's our constant friend. 
 He allways enquires after you. He speaks English ; he says I am a dyniond of 
 the first watter, and the finest creature on the hearth ; he attends me to the bath, 
 to the walk,' &c. 
 
 ' I have such a headake to-day with my cold. I don't know what to do. I 
 shall write next post by Sir W". Only I can't lelt a week go without telling you 
 how happy I am at hearing from you. Pray, write as often as you can, and come 
 as soon as you can. If you come, we shall all go home together ; for Sir William 
 will go to England in 2 years, and go throug Spain, and you will like that. Pray, 
 write to me and don't write in the stile of a frein ', but a lover. For I wont hear a 
 word of freind. It shall be all love and no friendship. Sir William is ever freind. 
 But we are lovers. I am glad you have sent me a Blue Hat and gloves. My hat 
 is universally admired through Naples. God bless you, my dear Greville, prays 
 your ever truly and atfeclionate. 
 
 'P.S. Pray write, for nothing will make me so angry, and it is not to your 
 intrest to disoblidge me, for you don't know the power I have hear. Onely I 
 never will be his mistress. If you affront me, I will make him marry me. — God 
 bless you for ever.' 
 
 154. A. L. S. (with initials) from Charles Greville to Sir William 
 Hamilton. Dated October 24th, 1786. 5 pages folio, with 
 Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I received yours, my dear H., & I have consider'd your letter, you may 
 depend on my doing whatever depends on me to promote your happiness, & I 
 enter entirely into your situation ; there is nothing that I did not foresee, & I 
 follow your example, & think aloud on the subject, & what I mention as to myself 
 must not be misunderstood. It is not stated with any other view than to let you 
 look forward as I do, for every person can act on a present occasion, but to act 
 with discretion, & include the proper consideration for the happiness of every 
 person requires foresight & constant consideration. 
 
 ' You was well aware that I was losing myself by secluding myself from the 
 world ; my finances gradually diminish'd, & my encumbrances increasing ; I had 
 no option but to bury myself for life, or to resume my situation in the world. 
 Your kindness to me, & a partiality to Emma, made you, before you left England, 
 offer your assistance in case of an event which you knew could not long be 
 delay'd, & your letters bearing direct avowal of the continuance of those senti- 
 ments when absence might have obliterated a slight impression, made me accept 
 your offer to receive Emma. Your proposed provision exceeds your promise, & 
 I know that you owe your present situation to your attentions, & not to any unfair 
 advantage, & on her part there can be no plea but free choice, & no part do I 
 lament but the ostensible use you made of my name, not for any personal reason 
 to myself or to you, but for the relative situation of Emma to me, & me to you. 
 Every woman either feels or acts a part, & when circumstances oblige a change 
 of situation, keeping the same dramatis personcs in play does not tend to facilitate 
 the change but involves the actors in the scene on the new stage, & it places a 
 woman particularly awkward, as she generally considers herself call'd on to act 
 thro' the part, & rest her justification on the exagerated complaints of duplicity 
 & cruelty. If I had not been put forward by your narrative, the same conse- 
 quence would have arisen, & less management would be required to make Emma 
 happy, & myself free. 
 
 ' J shall hope to manage to all our satisfaction, for I so long foresaw that a 
 
I20 THE HAMILTON AND [1786. 
 
 moment of separation must arrive, that I never kept the connexion but on the 
 footing of perfect liberty to her ; its commencement was not of my seeking, & 
 hitherto it has contributed to her happiness ; she knows & reflects often on the 
 circumstances, which she cannot forget, & in her heart she cannot reproach me of 
 having acted otherwise than a kind & attentive friend. But you have now 
 rendered it possible for her to be respected & comfortable, & if she has not talked 
 herself out of the true view of her situation she will retain the protection & 
 affection of us both. For, after all, consider what a charming creature she would 
 have been if she had been bless'd with the advantages of an early education, & 
 had not been spoilt by indulgence of every caprice. I never was irritated by her 
 momentary passions, for it is a good heart which will not part with friend in 
 anger ; & yet it is true that, when her pride is hurt by neglect or anxiety for the 
 future, the frequent repitition of her passion ballances the beauty of the smiles ; if 
 a person knew her, and could live for life with her, by an economy of attention, 
 that is, by constantly renewing very little attentions, she would be happy & good 
 tempered, for she has not a grain of avarice or self-interest ; on the contrary, she 
 has a pleasure in sharing her last shilling. 
 
 ' Knowing all this, infinite have been my pains to make her respect herself & 
 act fairly, & I had always proposed to continue her friend, altho' the connexion 
 ceased. I had proposed to make her accept & manage your kind provision, & she 
 would easily have adopted that plan ; it was acting the part of good woman, & to 
 offer to put her regard to any test, & to shew her that she contributed to my 
 happiness by accepting the provision & giving up the connexion, it would not 
 have hurt her pride, & would have been a line of heroicks, more natural because 
 it arose out of the real situation than any which by conversation she might 
 persuade herself suited her to act ; do not understand the word act other than 
 I mean it ; we all well when we suit our actions to the real situation, & conduct 
 them by truth & good intention. We act capriciously & inconveniently to others 
 when our actions are founded on an imaginary plan, which does not place the 
 persons involved in the scene in their real situations. I therefore must beg you 
 will not vary any part of the system you have declared, & which she has 
 supported, but talk seriously only on her future plans. She may have the example 
 of others precisely in her situation who have kept friends tho' the connexion has 
 ended. If Mrs. Wells had quarrell'd with Adm: Keppell, she would have never 
 been respectable as she now is ; & I know she will have less difficulty to give up 
 Naples, because she thinks the situation would not be permanent. She will see 
 that a connexion carried on with discretion ends without Mat, &, when her mind 
 is settled in a plan, she will adopt it with pleasure. If she will put me on the 
 footing of a friend, which she says I always have assumed, she will write to me 
 fairly on her plans, she will tell me her thoughts, & her future comfort shall be 
 my serious concern ; but she must not think that I can resume that close 
 connexion, & live as I did with her. In the first place I cannot afford it ; in the 
 next, it would keep me out of the world, & would ruin me & herself; whereas, if 
 she acts wisely and kindly to herself & to me, she will take up a new line, live 
 independant, & consult me as a friend, & either settle for life or adopt any line 
 which she shall see is favorable & agreable. She has conduct & discernment, & 
 I have always said that such a woman, if she controul her passions, might rule the 
 roast & chuse her station. You see that the line you have adopted & placed her 
 in she has followed up, & it therefore requires more management at present. I 
 think her return in the Spring may be well settled, but I should be embarassed 
 if it happened before the middle or end of May ; & I will write to you again 
 fully on the subject. 
 
 ' I have often told her that I never expected from a woman a power to 
 withstand favorable opportunity & a long siege, but that any secrecy on the subject 
 to me would be considered as arising from a wish of acting a part, which is not 
 necessary where the above expectation is declared, & if attempted to be 
 concealed can only be for the purpose of assuming a false appearance, & in her 
 case her frankness will be a merit, & will put her intercourse on the proper 
 footing. 
 
 ' The plan I propose is to make Mr. Romney her trustee, & vest your grant in 
 him for her benefit; & I will consider further & write to you when I have 
 
1786.] NELSON PAPERS. 121 
 
 form'd my opinion, & it will be much better that the plan is generally discussed & 
 aproved before it is executed ; it is her peace & comfort, & not those of caprice 
 or convenience which I consider, & I shall not be obliged to vary one sentiment 
 I ever impressed on her mind ; all that I have to shew is that the period I long 
 ago foretold has arived, & that her pride need not suffer by its arrival, because 
 the sentiments with which I began with her were less favorable than those I 
 part with, & either were sufficient to make me interested in her welfare ; & altho' 
 I am firm in my resolutions, I ever wish to sacrifice much temper to avoid 
 the use of it ; for with women it is cruelty to act with the necessary firmness 
 which the intercourse of business with men requires ; &, when she has the pro- 
 vision you give her fix't, she has her carrier open either of retirement or of the 
 world. 
 
 ' I now inform you that, after repeated plans concerning the prints, I was much 
 disappointed by many difficulties which promised an indefinite period to the sale, 
 & I therefore made one arangt. which, if the prints will sell at all, will repay you ; 
 & I therefore deliver'd 150 sets of five prints each, being all the proofs taken off 
 excepting those sent to you to Naples, & 3 which I gave away ; I sent them to 
 Ross, & made the agreement with Torre to sell them, & in proportion as he sells 
 them he is to pay quarterly to Mr. Ross a proportion to your account ; he is 
 limited from selling higher than 5 gs. the sett, & he accounts to you for ^550, 
 which is at ^3 each sett. You judge thereby of the profits of printsellers, but I 
 could make no agreemt. which could give you a chance of being repaid. I sent 
 a few with Greek inscription, whereby I distinguish proofs from prints, & as I 
 literaly have not kept one of the proofs, & every one is deliver'd as above, 
 I had no difficulty of ensuring to you the return from the first impressions, 
 & have limited the sale of any other print till your proofs are sold & the 
 money repaid to you. It will keep me out of my advance, but it is the most 
 pleasing way to me, for I shall have secured you & the future interest by my 
 possession of the plates will hereafter be of use to me ; the fifth plate or frontis- 
 piece I drew & engraved, & the paper, printing, printing-press, &c., were my 
 only outgoings. 
 
 ' I wrote some time ago to beg some cristals of native nitre, well preserved, 
 & some adhering to the rock ; cristals from Sicily of sulphur ; from I. of Cyclops ; 
 cristals transparent & opake, in lave ; cristals of Vesuvius, & particularly Mica in 
 six-sided plates ; there are some in large lumps of whitish lava &c. spar ; I also 
 beg'd a good bronze from Bosco-Tre-Case for my collection, the nature of that 
 Patina & decomposition being a part of my collection, & would be an ornament for 
 the top of my cabinets. If you find any pot or pan or inside cavity of any bronze 
 with lumps like drops of tallow, of the grass-green, or of blue cristals or red 
 cristals, or in lead any white shoots of spar, these are the materials for my 
 collection. I do not aspire to fine antiques, because my poverty bars my pursuit, 
 but such as constitute part of my collection, & shew the decomposition of metals, 
 I shall be glad to owe to you ; & if I can get the fact with the additional merit of 
 good work it will be a prize. 
 
 ' You must positively send me a box by the first ships ; it is only ordering a 
 box, & separate the articles either by tow or strong paper & clean hay, & those 
 which are fragile pack half-a-dozen together with paper & tow in small boxes, & 
 put all the small boxes in the larger one. 
 
 ' P. Caramanico I am sure would send me some, if you was to tell him who 
 could collect what I want. 
 
 ' Addio, yours,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — Your maudit frotegd, Cristophani, at the expence of 30 guineas, is on 
 his journey to Naples ; for God sake only recommend those you know & realy 
 wish to be assisted ; exclusive of the trouble, the expence is alarming. Robert 
 had advanc'd 10 gs. before I return'd, & will not take it again ; you may repay 
 him by remembering his pay-serjeant, who is an Italian, & a good worn-out man, 
 for whom Genl. A. can easily provide, & his health make him wish to retire to 
 Naples ; you remember repeated application on the subject. 
 
 ' Doubli de IHnclus est volant^ fixez-h : si on admit le ton de la vertu sans la 
 vMt^ on est la dupe, et je place naturellement tout sur le pied vrai, conime fai 
 toujours fait, et je constate liiat actuel sans me raporter & vous.' 
 
122 THE HAMILTON AND [1786. 
 
 155. A. L. S. from the Duke of Gloucester to the same. Dated Milan, 
 
 November loth, 1786. i page 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I propose passing a month or six weeks at Naples. I hope to be at Rome 
 about the 26th, where I shall stay till the 27th of December, then set out for 
 Naples. I shall be obliged to you if you inform the Court loosely that I mean to 
 come there for a short time, that we travel as Comte & Comtesse de Connaught ; I 
 mean to give them as little trouble as possible, I suppose a couple of visits at 
 Caserta will be sufficient. I will not trouble you about lodgings, I shall settle 
 that myself, & probably be at an Inn till I can chuse for myself ; Jenkins shall 
 write about appartments when I am quite decided. I shall be very glad to see 
 you again. Do not be afraid of my visit, for I shall be very little trouble to you, 
 & you know me to be tolerably docile. Yours,' &c. 
 
 156. A. L. from Charles Greville to the same. No date (November (i*) 
 
 1786. 5 pages 4to. and folio, with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I write this on the subject of commissions ; you are naturally very obliging, 
 but when the moment passes you omit doing what you intend merely from want 
 of recollecting till the opportunity elapses. 
 
 ' I wrote to you several letters on the subject of some reeds for hautboys & 
 clarinets, which you told me you would not forget, tho' you thought it an useless 
 commission, being as good in London. But the King has repeatedly mentioned 
 your forgetfulness, & has asked Fisher, who you was civil to, & he said you had 
 sent them. I think it very likely you forgot them ; but you must write me a few 
 lines expressing your sorrow that those you sent had not reached me, & that you 
 should send another parcel, & desire me to present them, & add some proper civihties 
 to the giver of the commission ; & my brother will be in waiting, & I shall send 
 the letter to him, by which you will get out of the scrape. These little fiddle- 
 faddle things are mountains at our Court. 
 
 ' You may send me some cristals & nitre, a good piece of antiquity from Bosco 
 3 case, if possible, & write to Caramanico to get me some cristals of sulphur, & 
 from the lavas of Aetna & on tufifa, transparent ; one morning will do all this. 
 
 ' Do write v/hether Acton will do anything for my brother's paymaster 
 Serjeant ; he is worn out for the Guards, but so steady a man that my brother 
 will not let him go till he is sure of something ; such a man surely may be useful, 
 & live many years at Naples, his native air ; & if he was such a poor devil as 
 Cristofani he would not recommend him. 
 
 ' Every thing is kept back by the delay in our meeting. It will be Febr^ 
 before we begin business, & it will be August before we rise. It will, therefore, 
 not be possible for me to manage well, if we return sooner than the birthday ; so 
 much depends on good sense & management that the chances are against 
 completing my good wishes. With women, I observe they have only resource in 
 Art, & there is to them no interval between plain ground & the precipice ; & the 
 springs of action are so much in the extreme of sublime & low, that no absolute 
 dependence can be given by men. It is for this reason I always have anticipated 
 cases to prepare their mind to reasonable conduct, & it will always have its 
 impression, akho' they will fly at the mere mention of truth, if it either hurts their 
 pride or their intrest, & the latter has much more rarely weight with a young 
 woman than the former ; & therefore it is like playing a trout, to keep up pride 
 to make them despise meaness, & not to retain the bombast, which would 
 render a man who gave way to it the air of a dupe and a fool. It requires much 
 conduct to steer properly, but it is to be done when a person is handsome, & has 
 a good heart ; but to do it without hurting their feelings requires constant 
 attention ; it is not in the moment of irritation or passion that advice has effect, 
 it is in the moment of reason & good nature. It reduces itself to simple subjects ; 
 & when a woman can see more than one alternative of comfort or despair, of 
 
 * William Henry, Duke of Gloucester, 1743-1805, third son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, 
 created Duke of Gloucester and Earl of Connaught in 1764. He married, in 1766, Maria, 
 Countess Dowager Waldegrave, 1737-1807, illegitimate daughter of Sir Robert Walpole. 
 
1786.] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 123 
 
 attention & desertion, they can take a line. Emma's passion is admiration, & it 
 is not troublesome, because she is satisfied v/ith a limited sphere, but is capable 
 of aspiring to any line which would be celebrated, & it would be indifferent, when 
 on that key, whether she was Lucretia or Sappho, or Scaevola or Regulus ; any- 
 thing grand, masculine or feminine, she could take up, & if she took up the part 
 of Scaevola, she would be as much offended if she was told she was a woman as 
 she would be, if she assumed Lucretia, she was told she was masculine. I have 
 had, therefore, only the trouble to state truth, that happiness is not in extremes, 
 nor in one given situation, but consists in giving & receiving as far as circum- 
 stances will admit, & that mutual sacrifices constituted the proofs of regard, 
 otherwise, in the various relative situations of mankind, no man can be happy ; & 
 therefore I always told her that I should always wish to contribute to make her 
 li3-PPy> but that 1 knew she would not wish me to sacrifice every consideration 
 which might be of use to me in life, & that what I told her the first day was 
 likely to be repeated the last day, because there was nothing I did not foresee or 
 could not foretell ; & for her I pointed out Mrs. Wells, who had more than one 
 friend, & was respected, & continued friendly with all. 
 
 ' And, after a first connexion has been broken, it is the line which will be most 
 conducive of permanency ; for after the first connexion the crime of seduction 
 becomes less weighty. It is justice. Extend the laws of rape to every woman, as 
 well as to virgins, & seduction is equally a burthen to an honest mind which has 
 given way to the passions. Therefore, I always have kept free from those 
 reflections, by never having taken a woman from a better to a worse situation, & 
 God knows there are more charming & unfortunate women than a man can set 
 his face to, so general are seducers, &, as you know from some friends, so much 
 are gallantries countenanced. It is not the opinion of the world but my own 
 opinion I study, therefore I am anxious that appearances may be kept up, 
 and you must meet the truth. I've all wish to be of use to each other, & it is 
 very easily done by the arrangement you propose. It only is requisite for her to 
 know that there is more dignity in hving separate, & yet not to drop friendship, 
 than to live together when every prudential reason shews that it is ruin to one or 
 to both. Without any other plan she must wait events, & the difficulty will be to 
 reject improper offers ; &, if a journey homewards should give a favorable one, it 
 should not be lost ; but, at any rate, she will have the good sense not to expose 
 herself with any boy of family ; she must look to from 25 to 35, & one who is his 
 own master.' 
 
 157. A. L. S. from Emma Hart to the same. Dated Caserta, December 
 
 26th, 1786. 2j pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' Pray don't scold me for writing to you, for endead I can't help it, and I should 
 have been ashamed to have wrote to you without an excuse for doing it, therefore 
 Smith as returned the letter I sent to town, & I told Cottier that I would send it 
 you, or else he might think I was so much in love I could not be 3 days without 
 sending to you. But lett them think if he will ; certain it is I love you & sincerely 
 & endead I am appreensive two much for my own quiet, but lett it be. Love as 
 its pleasures & its pains ; for instance, yesterday when you went a whey from me, 
 I thought all my heart and soul was torn from me, and my greif was excessive I 
 assure you ; to-day I am better, perche ? the day after to moro is friday & then 
 I shall have you with me to make up for past pain. I shall have much pleasure 
 and comfort, and my mind tells me you will have much pleasure to come home to 
 me again, and I will setle you & comfort you. Pray excuse this scrall, for I expect 
 Garly and I have wrote in a great hurry. Don A. and Hackert & Garly was here 
 yesterday night. I saw Greffer yesterday, and he said he would come this evening 
 to play wist, but I would rather play this evening at all fours with you ; — oh ! I 
 forgot, cribige is our game, it's all the same, you like crib. Adio, my dear Sir 
 William ; laying jokes aside, there is nothing I assure you can give me the least 
 comfort tell you come home. I shall receive you with smiles, affection and good 
 humer, & think had I the offer of crowns I would refuse them and except you, and 
 I don't care if all the world knows it. If sometimes I am out of humer, forgive 
 me, tell me, put me in a whey to be grateful to you for you kindness to me, and 
 
124 THE HAMILTON AND [1786. 
 
 believe me I never will abuse your kindness to me, and in a little time all faults 
 will be corrected. I am a pretty whoman, and one can't be everything at once ; 
 but now I have my wisdom teeth I will try to be ansome and reasonable. God 
 bless you, my ever dear friend, &c. &c. &c. &c., and believe me yours and onely 
 yours for ever sincerly. 
 
 ' P.S. It thrives. 
 
 ' Do write 3 lines to me, and come home soon.' 
 
 158. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Naples, January 5th, 
 1787. 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I shall begin to write to you to night for the post goes of so early in the 
 morning that we are scarce out of bed, and of a evening I am alone after 7 a clock 
 and I feel it a pleasure to wright to you. Mr. King and Lady Lanesborough* is 
 gone of and nobody can tell as yet how the got a passport, but the day after the 
 was gone Tierny received a letter from his banker with a order to pay half yearly 
 pay to Lady L., and she was to sign the receipt, but he was not to lett them run 
 any further. So the are gone, and Tierney is still in the lurch, for he cannot pay 
 himself except she had signd to him, but the are gone this 3 days ; the owe your 
 taylor ninety ducats, besides General Acton's cook and many other people, and 
 Tierney, Clark, &c. &c. &c. In short, there innumerable villanys is more than I 
 am able to recount to you, onely I believe you are the onely person that has acted 
 towards them with good sence, and you have done perfectly right, and indead 
 your foresights in this was lucky, or what trouble you might have had, but you 
 allways do right in everything. 
 
 ' Curney or Cuney, your man, as been with me and beg'd you will write to 
 Gasperino to speak to the matre d'Hotel of the Marquis Sestes— I can't spell this 
 names write — and tell him he shall not rise his rent nor turn him out, for he wants 
 C. to pay him more rent or turn him out, and he pays him now a great deal for 
 his rooms, besides fifteen Carleens a year more towards the balcony, and Curney 
 is quite distressd and he begs you will onely write 3 lines to Gasperino and it will be 
 settled, for that fellow must be the nastys creature living, after the benefit he has had 
 from you, to go to impose on that poor man for the sake of a few ducats more. 
 
 ' Satturday morning : I had Hackert, Gatty & Donker last night. Hackert 
 was ful dres'd going to Skarvonskys. Last night the Duke of Glouster was to 
 be there to some musick, but not the Dutches nor the children. 
 
 ' Gatty has had it from a whoman abbout Court that the queen is very dissatis- 
 fied with the Dutches of G. for her pride and her imprudent taulk. She told the 
 queen that when she was at Millan her son was quite in love with the Archdutches, 
 and in every corner every day was kissing her when her father and mother was in 
 England and on their tour, and likewise the Archduches was in love with the 
 Prince, and would kiss his hps and smack them, and they was much together. So 
 the queen said to her whomen, what kind of people must the A. D. have abbout 
 her in the absence of her parents, and she did not understand kissing there lips 
 and all that, and it was a pitty but her people was removed. But the D of G. 
 did ceartainly speak imprudently, don't you think so ? I don't wonder the Q. does 
 not like her ; for a whoman of the queen's sence and understanding to see her 
 behave so proud, and then when she did speak to speak such stuf, I don't wonder 
 at her not liking her. Gatty had it from the first hands, and you have it as I had it 
 from him. He sends his compliments to you, and everybody that knows you does 
 the same. The French Ambassador had his house on fire last night ; one room 
 was very much on fire, and if they had not got timely assistance it would have 
 gone bad with them. 
 
 ' I have just received your kind letter. I am glad you had such sport. I wish 
 I had been at your post, I should like to see you shoot, tho' I am afraid I should 
 have two much compassion. But I hope you will every day have luck to repay 
 you for the loss of my kisses. God bless you, my dearest dear Sir W., and believe 
 me yours, more then my own or any person's else, sincerely and affectionately.' 
 
 * Jane, Lady Lanesborough, 1738-1828, was the eldest daughter of the 1st Earl of Belvedere. 
 She married in 1754 Brinley, 2nd Earl of Lanesborough, after whose death in 1779 she married 
 Mr. John King. 
 
1787.] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 125 
 
 159. A.L.S. from the same to the same. Dated January 8th, 1787. 3| 
 
 pages folio, [h.] 
 
 ' I don't know how you like this excessive cold wether ; but I do think I never 
 felt much colder in Inghilterra ; for to-day it was impossible to keep one's self 
 warm ; and I pittied you much, for if you have not a good sport you must be 
 frose with standing still. The ice is lying abbout the streets in Naples, just as it is 
 in London the hardest frosts there is. I now see that every thing you say is true: for 
 you told me to stop tell Jan^, and then I should feil, and to-day as fuly proved it. 
 
 ' I was at Coletalino's to-day. She will make a very great likeness and very 
 pretty it will be. It shall not be two naked, for it would not be so interesting, and 
 as you will have it in a box, it will be seen a great deal, and those beautys that only 
 you can see shall not be exposed to the comon eyes of all, and wile you can even 
 more than see the originals, others may gess at them, for the are sacred to all 
 but you, and I wish the wos better for your sake. But I should not know how 
 to mend them if I could tho' you don't like sugar loaves. 
 
 ' Mr. Greffer was here yesterday and 2 of his children. He enquired for you 
 abbout money, and I told him, if he could stop or go to Borch or Mam Bern (.'), 
 but he says he will make shift tell he sees you, and I think he is right, if he can, 
 for I would not go to those creatures for a grain, tho' it is a pitty you should be 
 trubled with them. — Skaveranky gives a diner to-moro to all his musick people, 
 even the harpscord tuner, at Torre-del-Greco. All the Coletalinos go there, and 
 I fancy there will be a fine mess of them altogether, for I don't hear of any body 
 of fashion that is going. But he will be master of the Band, and the will flatter 
 him, and he will be in his kingdom come. It is a pitty he is so od, for I beheve 
 he as a good heart. He has given Hackert the finest new sattin dress lined with 
 sable, besides a hundred guineas a-pece for 2 little pictures, that I should think 
 twenty enough for them, for I am of your opinion, I would pay for good things, 
 but not for bad ones, and the are pretty but not fine painting. 
 
 ' I have Galluchy from nine to ten, from ten to twelve at the Coletalinos, from 
 twelve to one my lesson, and between 2 and 3 my diner. I dine frequently up- 
 stairs, for Gasperino said a fire in that room must be to air it well, and the diner 
 is cold before it gets to our room. So I have my diner very comfortable, endead. 
 For if you was to know how kind everybody behaves to me, you would love them. 
 — Tuesday morn : — I have just received your kind letter, my dear Sir W™. But 
 how I was frightened in reading abbout those men. Sure they wont die. Oh 
 Lord ! endead I never will bite your lips nor fingers no more. Good God ! what 
 a passion the must have been in, but there ought to be some punishment to 
 prevent them from such dreadful work. I am sorry you had not any sport. To 
 stay out in the cold yesterday must be enugh to kill you. How I wish'd to give you 
 some warm punch, and settle you in my arms all night, to make up for your bad day. 
 
 ' I wish you would tell me something to say to Cune or Curney your man, in 
 answer to what I wrote to you, or will you write to Gasperino to tell Sesos Maitre 
 d'Hotel the shall not take his room from him. I am sorry to trouble you. 
 But, as he asked me, I could not denigh to write to you. Adio and believe 
 me, Yours,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — I am sorry you don't hear of coming home. But patienzza.' 
 
 160. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated January loth, 1787. 3 
 
 pages folio. [H.] 
 
 ' I had hardly time to thank you for your kind letter of this morning, as I was 
 buisy prepairing for to go on my visit to the Convent of S. Romita ; and endead I 
 am glad I went, tho' it was a short visit. But tomorrow I dine with them in full 
 assembly. I am quite charmed with Beatrice Acquaviva. Such is the name of 
 the charming whoman I saw to-day. Oh, Sir William, she is a pretty whoman. 
 She is 29 years old. She took the veil at twenty, and does not repent to this day, 
 though, if I am a judge in physiognomy, her eyes does not look like the eyes of a 
 nun. They are allways laughing, and something in them vastly alluring, and I 
 wonder the men of Naples would suffer the onely pretty whoman who is realy 
 pretty to be shut in a convent. But it is like the mean-spirited ill taste of the 
 
126 THE HAMILTON AND [1787. 
 
 Neapolitans. I told her I wondered how she would be lett to hide herself from 
 the world, and I dare say thousands of tears was shed the day she deprived 
 Naples of one of its greatest ornaments. She answered with a sigh, that endead 
 numbers of tears was shed, and once or twice her resolution was allmost shook, 
 but a pleasing comfort she felt at regaining her friends, that she had been brought 
 up with, and religious considerations strengthened her mind, and she parted with 
 the world with pleasure, and since that time one of her sisters had followed her 
 example, and another — which I saw — was preparing to enter soon. But neither of 
 her sisters is so beautiful as her, tho the are booth very agreable. But I think 
 Beatrice is charming, and I realy fell for her an affection. Her eyes. Sir William, 
 is I don't know how to describe them. I stopt one hour with them, and I had all 
 the good things to eat, and I promise you they don't starve themselves. But there 
 dress is very becoming, and she told me that she was allowed to wear rings and 
 mufs and any little thing she liked, and endead she displayd today a good deal 
 of finery, for she had 4 or 5 dimond rings on her fingers, and seemed fond of her 
 muff. She has excellent teeth, and shows them, for she is allways laughing. She 
 kissed my lips, cheeks and forehead, and every moment exclaimed ' charming fine 
 creature,' admired my dress, said I looked like an angel, for I was in clear white 
 dimity and a blue sash. She admired my hat and fine hair, and she said she had 
 heard I was good to the poor, and generous and noble minded. ' Now,' she says, 
 ' it would be worth wile to live for such a one as you. Your good heart would 
 melt at any trouble that befel me, and partake of one's greef or be equaly happy 
 at one's good fortune. But I never met with a freind yet, or I ever saw a person 
 I could love tell now, and you shall have proofs of my love.' In short I sat and 
 listened to her, and the tears stood in my eyes, I don't know why; but I loved 
 her at that moment. I thought what a charming wife she would have made, what 
 a mother of a family, and what a freind, and the first good and amiable whoman I 
 have seen since I came to Naples for to be lost to the world — how cruel ! She 
 give me a sattin pocketbook of her own work, and bid me think of her, when I 
 saw it and was many miles far of ; and years hence when she peraps should be 
 no more, to look at it, and think the person that give it had not a bad heart. Did 
 not she speak very pretty .'' but not one word of religion ; but I shall be happy 
 today, for I shall dine with them all, and come home at night. It is a beautiful 
 house and garden, and the attention of them was very pleasing. There is sixty 
 whomen and all well-looking, but not like the fair Beatrice. ' Oh Emma,' she 
 says to me, ' the brought here the Viene minister's wife, but I did not like the 
 looks of her at first. She was little, short, pinch'd face, and I received her cooly. 
 How different from you, and how surprised was I in seeing you tall in statue. 
 We may read your heart in your countenance, your complexion, in short, your 
 figure and features is rare, for you are like the marble statues I saw, when I 
 was in the world.' I think she flattered me up, but I was pleased. — Thursday 
 Morning : I have just receved your kind letter, and I am pleased and content 
 that you should write to me, tho' it is onely one or two lines a day. Be assured I 
 am grateful. I am sorry you had bad sport, and I shall be most happy to see 
 you at home, to warm you with my kisses, and comfort you with my smiles and 
 good burner, and oblidge you by my attentions, which will be the constant 
 pleasure of, my Dear Sir William, your truly affectionate,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — Cuny's duty to you, and thanks you abbout the Marquis Sesos — (you 
 may look big upon it).' 
 
 161. A. L. S. from the Duke of Gloucester to the same. Dated Naples, 
 January 12th, 1787. i page 4to. [H.J 
 
 ' I am much obliged to you for your attention in wishing to come to Naples ; 
 I should be exceedingly sorry to take you from your first duty, and a thing that is 
 so pleasant to you as attending His Sicilian Majesty. Pray do not thing of return- 
 ing till he comes to Naples. 
 
 ' Pray convey my thanks in the proper manner for the wild boar. This is the 
 first evening I have ventured out, having been almost every other day attacked by 
 the asthma. The weather is now fine, I will therefore hope I risk little by trying 
 to-night. Yours,' &c. 
 
'78;.] NELSON PAPERS. 127 
 
 162. A. L. S. 'E. H.' from Emma Hart to the same. Dated Naples, 
 
 'Sunday Night,' January, [i7]87. 2 pages folio, with Superscrip- 
 tion and Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' Endead, my Sir Wm, I am angry. I told you one line would satisfie me, and 
 when I have no other comfort then your letters, you should not so cruely disapoint 
 me ; for lam unhappy, and I don't fell right without hearing from you, and I 
 won't forgive you ; no, that I won't. It is a very cold night, and I am just 
 returned from Hart's. He was very civil to me ; there was an Abb^ and a very 
 genteel man, a friend of Andreas, and an Englishman I did not know ; but they 
 was all very polite, and such a profusion of diner that it is impossible to describe. 
 I sett next to Hart, who would help me to every thing, and poor man could not 
 see, but to the best of his power paid me a number of compliments, and produced 
 me as a specimen of English beauty. After diner he fetched an Italian song, that 
 was made on Lady Sophi Ferner fourty years past, and he had translated it to 
 English and would sing it ; and when he came to dymond eyes and pearl teeth, 
 he looked at me and bid the others look at me ; and he is going to dedicate the 
 English to me, and oh ! you can't think, just as if he could see me and as if I was 
 the most perfect beauty in the world. Endead, I heard the Abbt^ say to the others 
 I was perfectly beautiful and elagantly behaved in my manners and conversation. 
 And so the all admired me. But Hart is quite gone. He is to come to see me 
 to-night. Poor Tierny is very poorly. 
 
 ' Monday morning : — Oh, thank you, my dear Sir William, for your letter. 
 Endead, I forgive you and am sorry 1 scolded you. The wind made me so sleepy 
 that I slept till eight a clock, and was fast asleep when Vinchenzo brought your 
 letter, and I read it in bed, and gave it a good hug. But I wished you had been 
 there. But I gave it a kiss or 2. But I hope you will beheve me sencere when I 
 write to you ; for endead, everything flows from my heart, and I cannot stop it. 
 I am glad you had some good sport. I should like to see that that is 200 weight, 
 for it must be a fine one ; but the other 2, that got of wounded, the must be 
 somewere in great pain. Adio, my dear Sir William. Lying in bed so long as 
 made me hurry as this goes in half a minet. I was in bed last night at 8 a clock 
 and slept till eight this morning.' 
 
 163. A. L. S. from the same to the same. 'Munday Morning' (January 
 
 1 8th, 1787). 4 pages 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' Oh, my dearest Sir William, I have just received your dear sweet letter. It 
 has charmed me. I don't know what to say to you to thank you in words kind 
 enough. Oh, how kind ! Do you call me your dear freind ? Ah, what a happy 
 creature is your Emma ! — me that had no freind, no protector, no body that I 
 could trust, and now to be the freind, the Emma, of Sir William Hamilton ! Oh, 
 if I could express my self ! if I had words to thank you, that I may not thus be 
 choaked with meanings, for which I can find no utterance ! Think only, my dear 
 Sir William, what I would say to you, if I could express myself, Only to thank you 
 a thousand times. Mr. Hart went awhay yesterday with his head turn'd ; I sung 
 so well Handell's 3 songs, Picini, Paisiello, &c., that you never saw a man so 
 delighted. He said it was the most extraordinary thing he ever knew. But what 
 struck him was holding on the notes and going from the high to low notes so very 
 neat. He says I shall turn the heads of the English. He was so happy with 
 Gallucci. He made great frendship with him. Gallucci played solo some of my 
 solfegos and you whold have thought he would have gone mad. He says he had 
 heard a great deal of me. But he never saw or heard of such a whoman before. He 
 says when he first came in, I frightened him with a Majesty and Juno look that I 
 receved him with. Then he says that whent of on being more acquainted, and I 
 enchanted him by my politeness and the maner in which I did the honors, and 
 then I made him allmost cry with Handels ; and with the comick he could not 
 contain himself, for he says he never saw the tragick and comick muse blended 
 so happily together. He says Garrick would have been delighted with me. I 
 supose he makes to-day a fine work all over Naples. But your ideas of him 
 
128 THE HAMILTON AND [1787. 
 
 are the same as mine. We boath think alike of him. He taulks too much 
 for me. 
 
 ' I hope you have received the letter and news I sent you yesterday. I told 
 you Gatty is here. He is enchanted with me. He says I sing to please him better 
 than anybody. He says the progress I make he could not have believed. He 
 sat and listened with so much pleasure, and his neice was very much pleased. 
 She is gone to Don Andrea's house. Gatty is here, and he says I am so 
 accomplishd, so kind, speaks Italian so well, that he sitts 2 hours together and 
 taulks to me. Him and Don Andrea dines with me today. I thought as you was 
 not at home that Don Andrea would be company for him. His neice dined with 
 
 us yesterday. But today she is to dine with the wife of Don A , and the 
 
 are to come in the evening to hear me sing. Yours,' &c. 
 
 164. A. L. from the same to the same. Dated ' Caserta, Thursday 
 
 Morning ' (1787). 2 pages folio, with Superscription and 
 Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' I can't be happy till I have wrote to you, my dearest Sir William, tho' it is so 
 lattely I saw you. But what of that to a person that loves as I do. One hour's 
 absence is a year, and I shall count the hours and moments till Saturday, when I 
 shall find myself once more in your kind dear arms, my dear Sir William, my 
 friend, my All, my earthly Good, every kind name in one, you are to me eating, 
 drinking and cloathing, my comforter in distress. Then why shall I not love 
 you ? Endead, I must and ought, whilst life is left in me, or reason to think on 
 you. I believe it is right I should be seperated from you sometimes, to make me 
 know myself, for I don't know till you are absent how dear you are to me : and I 
 wont tell you how many tears I shed for you this morning, and even now I can't 
 stop them, for in thinking on you my heart and eyes fill. 
 
 ' I have had a long walk since I wrote the other side, and feel better for it. I 
 have had a long lesson, and am going now to have another, fer musick quiets my 
 mind, so that I shall study much tell I see you. I can't finish this subject tell I 
 have thankd you, my dearest Sir William, for having given me the means of at 
 least amusing myself a little, if in your absence I can be amused. I owe every- 
 thing to you, and shall for ever with grattitude remember it. Pray, one little line, 
 if you have time, just that I may kiss your name. I hope you will have had news 
 from England. Take care of your dear self, and that is all that's requested from 
 Yours,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — I send you a thousand kisses, and remember last night how happy you 
 made me, and I tell you Satturday night I shall be happier in your presence 
 unmixed with thoughts of parting.' 
 
 165. A. L. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 
 February i6th, 1787. 4 pages folio, [h.] 
 
 ' Tho' I cannot say I have here the least real business, no man on earth can 
 be more constantly occupied than I am at this instant, what with my attendance 
 on His S. My, on his shooting parties, &, when here, attentions to the Gloucester 
 family, & a most numerous concourse of English & foreign travellers recom- 
 mended to me. Your last letter requires great consideration, & can not be 
 answer'd in a hurry, & I think the application to the D. of Richmond* for the 
 stones is premature. I have write to Meyrick ; I have expressed my gratitude 
 for the pains he has taken in my affairs, but till you send me Davis's account of 
 two years I can not judge of what is doing. I have long ago (ten years at least) 
 received £1200 in one year from Wales, including coUiery profits ; I wonder, 
 then how, with many advanced rents & more attention, it shou'd not now produce 
 
 * Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, 1734-1806, son of the 2nd Duke, whom he 
 succeeded in 1750. He went as Ambassador to Paris in 1765, was Secretary of State for the 
 southern department in 1766, Master General of the Ordnance in 1783, and was created a Field- 
 Marshal in 1796. 
 
1787-] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 J 29 
 
 more ; pray send me Davis s account if not too voluminous for the post ; if it is, 
 send me at least an extract, as I know well every inch of the estate from having 
 passed several summers in Wales, & can judge for my self what is doing. I know 
 not if the lives have been added to St. Kennox lease, a very material object for 
 whoever shou'd inherit my estate, but none to me, as my life is on it ; if they 
 have been added it must have cost at least 6 or ^700, &, if so, wou'd it not be 
 an object to sell that estate so renew'd to purchase any thing that may offer at 
 Hubbertson. I have told Meyrick that I will very willingly be at the expence of 
 building a good Inn, or whatever he may judge necessary for the convenience of 
 the Packets, but such an operation as the Key I should not like to enter upon 
 without much consideration. I have told Meyrick to act for me as he wou'd 
 for him self, was he of my age & in my situation, & that, if his power of Attorney 
 was not sufficient for that, he might have another made out which I wou'd execute. 
 In a year or two I may decently ask leave to visit G. Britain once more, so that 
 then on the spot any great plan may be settled ; however, I am not such a selfish 
 being as to prevent great improvements which I can not enjoy, rather than 
 suffer some loss, a great one I really wou'd not, for a man can live but once, 
 & having suffer'd hardships & pinches from poverty in my early days, I am 
 determined not to lose the comfort that I actually possess by wantonly plunging 
 into new difficulty. Be assured you shall soon have a good box of Christals, the 
 best 1 can get from Sicily, for I have given many commissions, indeed, I feel 
 myself much obliged to you for what you have done in getting the mails & 
 packets established at Hubberston. One day that Harbour will be better known, 
 & Hubberston become perhaps as great as Portsmouth & Plymouth. How many 
 years does du Moivre* give in his calculations of probability of life to a man of 
 54? That is my question, &'the duce take me if it was not for you, & a friend 
 or two I shou'd wish to profit after me, I wou'd sell the estate to-morrow, & buy 
 an annuity for my life. Our dear Em. goes on now quite as I cou'd wish, 
 improves daily, & is universally beloved. She is wonderfull, considering her 
 youth & beauty, & I flatter myself that E. and her mother are happy to be with 
 me, so that I see my every wish fulfilled.' 
 
 166. A. L. S. from the Duke of Gloucester to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 
 Naples, March i6th, 1787. | page 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' You may depend upon us at Caserta about twelve on Sunday. I am sorry 
 your little friend does not come to town to-day, but I hope you will bring her 
 next week before I go, that I may have the pleasure of seeing her. The letters 
 from England mention the success Ministers have had on the Commercial Treaty. 
 
 ' I remain yours,' &c. 
 
 167. A. L. S. ' W. H.' from Sir William Hamilton to (Charles Greville). 
 
 Dated Naples, May 15th, 1787. 2 J pages 4to. (mutilated), [h.] 
 
 ' It is not long since I wrote to you, but have not heard from you these three 
 months. I suppose by this time Meyrick is in town. I have written to him, as 
 he desired, at the Cocoa Tree, Pall Mall ; I have, likewise, written to Hamilton, 
 of Lincoln's Inn, to desire he wou'd settle Gwynne's ace* whilst Mr. Meyrick is in 
 town ; it is very odd he never answers my letters here, & I do not see that the 
 interest for the .£300 he borrow'd for me is charg'd in Ross & Ogilvies ace', & I 
 desired he wou'd apply to them regularly for the interest; there is something 
 dark in Hamilton's proceedings, but, as he is in the possession of all the writings, 
 title-deeds, &c., it wou'd be prudent not to make an enemy of him ; but try to 
 bring him to ace* by fair means, & then get out of his hands, for he surely profits 
 by keeping my rents in his hands ' 
 
 168. A. L. from Emma Hart to the same. Dated ' Napoli, Agosto 4 ' 
 
 (1787). 12 pages folio. [H.] 
 
 ' AUtho' you never think me worth writing to you, yet I cannot so easily forget 
 
 * Abraham Moivre, 1667-1754, a French geometrician, awVYiOX oii\ie Doctrine of Chances, &c, 
 Vpt, I, K 
 
130 THE HAMILTON AND [1787- 
 
 you, and whenever I have had any particular pleasure, I feil as tho I was not 
 right, tell I had communicated it to my dearest Greville. For you will ever be 
 dear to me, and tho' we cannot be together, lett ous corespond as freinds. I 
 have a happiness in hearing from you, and a comfort in communicating my little 
 storeys to you, because I flatter myself that you still love the name of that Emma, 
 that was once very dear to you, and, but for unfortunate evils, might still have 
 claimed the first place in your affections. And I hope still, you will never meet 
 with any person that will use you ill, but never will you meet with the sincere 
 love that I shew'd you. Don't expect it ; for you canot meet with it. But I have 
 done. Onely think of my words ;— you will meet with more evils than one, &, as 
 Sir William says, that one is the devil. 
 
 'We have been at Sorrento on a visit at the Duke Saint De Maitre for ten 
 days. We are just returned. But I never pass'd a happier ten days, except 
 Edg ... re R ... d. In the morning we bathed, and returned to a fine sumer 
 house, where we breakfasted. But first this sumer-house is on a rock over the 
 sea, that looks over Caprea, Ischea, Procheda, Vesuva, Porticea, Paysilipo, Naples, 
 &c., &c., the sea all before ous, that you have no idea of the beauties of it from 
 this little paridise. After breakfast we vew'd the lava runing down 3 miles of 
 Vesuvua, and every now and then black clouds of smoak, rising into the air, had the 
 most magnificent apearance in the world. I have made some drawings from it, 
 for I am so used to draw now, it is as easy as A B C. For when we are at Naples 
 we dine every day at the Villa Emma at Paysilipo, and I make 2 or 3 drawings. 
 Sir William laughs at me, and says I shall rival him with the mountain now. 
 
 ' After breakfast I had my singing-lesson : for Sir William as took a musition 
 into the house. But he is one of the best masters in Italia. After my lesson we 
 rode on asses all about the country, paid visits, and dined at 3, and after diner 
 sailed about the coast, returned and dress'd for Conversazioni. We had Sir 
 William's Band of Musick with ous, and about dark the concert in one room, and I 
 satt in another, and received all the nobility, who came every night, whilst we was 
 there, and I sung generaly 2 searous songs and 2 buffos. The last night I sang fifteen 
 songs. One was a recatitive from a opera at St. Carlo's. The beginning was 
 Luci Belle sio vadoro, the finest thing you ever heard, that for ten minutes after I 
 sung it, there was such a claping, that I was oblidged to sing it over again. And 
 I sung after that one with a Tambourin, in the character of a young Girl with a 
 raire-shew, the pretist thing you ever heard. In short, I left the people at 
 Sorrento with their heads turned. I left some dying, some crying, and some in 
 despair. Mind you, theis was all nobility, as proud as the devil. But we humbled 
 them. But what astonished them was that I should speak such good Italian. 
 For I paid them, I spared non of them, tho I was civil and oblidged every body. 
 One asked me if I left a love at Naples, that I left them so soon. I pulled my lip 
 at him, to say, " I pray, do you take me to be an Italian whoman, that has four or 
 five different men to attend her ? Look, Sir, I am English. I have one cavalere- 
 servante, and I have brought him with me," pointing to Sir W™. But he never 
 spoke another word after this : for before he had been offering himself as Cavalere 
 Servante. He said I was "una Donna rara." 
 
 ' We are going to Vesuvua to-night, as there is a large eruption, and the lava 
 runs down allmost to Porticea. The mountain looks beautiful. One part, their 
 is nothing but cascades of liquid-fire lava. I mean red-hot runs into deep cavern, 
 that it is beautiful. But I fancy we shall have some very large eruption soon, as 
 large as that of '67. I wish we may dine to-day at 2 a clock, and so sett of at four. 
 We shall get on our asses at Porticea, and arrive at the top just at dark, and so 
 be at Naples about 2 o'clock to-morrow morning. 
 
 'Sir William is very fond of me, and very kind to me. The house is ful of painters 
 painting me. He as now got nine pictures of me, and 2 a painting. Marchant is 
 cuting my head in stone, that is in cameo for a ring. There is another man 
 modeling me in wax, and another in clay. All the artists is come from Rome 
 to study from me, that Sir William as fitted up a room, that is calld the painting- 
 room. Sir William is never a moment from me. He goes no where without me. 
 He as no diners but what I can be of the party. No body comes without the 
 are civil to me. We have allways good company. I now live upstairs in the same 
 apartments where he lives, and my old apartments is made the musick-roomg 
 
1787.] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 131 
 
 where I have my lessons in the morning. Our house at Caserta is fitting up 
 eleganter this year, a room making for my musick, and a room fitting up for my 
 master, as he goes with ous. Sir Wilham says he loves nothing but me, likes no 
 person to sing but me, and takes delight in all I do, and all I say, to see me 
 happy. 
 
 ' Sunday Morning. — We was last night up Vesuvus at twelve a clock, and in 
 my life I never saw so fine a sight. The lava runs about five mile down from the 
 top ; for the mountain is not burst, as ignorant people say it is. But, when we got 
 to the_ Hermitage, there was the finest fountain of liquid fire falling down a great 
 precipice, and as it run down it sett fire to the trees and brushwood, so that the 
 mountain looked like one entire mountain of fire. We saw the lava surround the 
 poor hermit's house, and take possession of the chapel, notwithstanding it was 
 covered with pictures of Saints and other religios preservitaves against the fury 
 of nature. For me, I was enraptured. I could have staid all night there, and I 
 have never been in charity with the moon since, for it looked so pale and sickly ; 
 and the red-hot lava served to light up the moon, for the light of the moon was 
 nothing to the lava. We met the Prince Royal on the mountain. But his foolish 
 tuters onely took him up a little whay, and did not lett him stay 3 minuets ; so, 
 when we asked him how he liked it, he said, " Bella ma poca roba," when, if they 
 had took him five hundred yards higher, he would have seen the noblest, 
 subhmest sight in the world. But, poor creatures, the were frightened out of 
 their sences, and glad to make a hasty retreat.— O, I shall kill my selfe with 
 laughing ! Their has been a prince paying us a visit. He is sixty years of age, 
 one of the first families, and as allways lived at Naples, and when I told him I 
 had been to Caprea, he asked me if I went there by land. Only think, what 
 ignorance ! I staired at him and asked him who was his tutor. 
 
 ' I left of in a hurry, and as not wrote this ten days, as we have been on a visit to 
 the Countess Mahoney at Ische 9 days, and are just returned from their. We went 
 in a hired vessel, and took all Sir William's musicians, my harpsicord and master, 
 4 servants and my maid. I think I never had such a pleasent voyage anywhere. 
 The Countess came down to the seashore to meet ous. She took me in her arms 
 and kissed me, thank'd Sir William for bringing her the company of so beautiful 
 and lovely a whoman. She took ous to her house, where there was a full conver- 
 sazione, and, though I was in a undress, onely having a muslin chemise, very thin, 
 yet the admiration I met with was surprising. The countess made me set by her, 
 and seemed to have pleasure to distinguish me by every mark of attention, 
 and the all allowed the never seen such a belissinia creatura in all their life. 
 I spoke Italian to most all, a little French to some that spoke to me in French. 
 The oblidged me to sing. But I got such aplause, that for ten minuets you 
 could not hear a word. I sung four songs, two rondos, a duetto and bravura song 
 of St. Carlo's. The countess gave a great diner the day after to the noblesse of 
 the place, where I was : and in the evening an accadema of musick. There 
 was others sung, but I gott all the aplause. I sung one httle Italian air, so that 
 they all cried. But one priest, that whas their, was so in love with me, that Sir 
 Wilham was oblidged to give him my picture in a snuff-box, and he carries the 
 snuff-box in his breast. This is a priest, mind you ! — So every day we stayed we 
 had parties of pleasure, and the poor Countess cried when we came awhay, and I 
 am now setting for a picture for her, in a turkish dress — very pretty. 
 
 ' I must tell you I have had great offers to be first whoman in the Italian Opera 
 at Madrid, where I was to have six thousand pound for three years. But I would 
 not engage, as I should not like to go into Spain, without I knew people their. 
 And I could not speak their language. So I refused it. And another reason was 
 that Galini has been hear from the opera-house at London to engage people : 
 and, tho' I have not been persuaded to make a written engagement, I certainly 
 shall sing at the Pantheon and Hanover Square, except something particular 
 happens, for Galini says he will make a subscription-concert for me, if I wont 
 engage for the opera. But I wish'd to consider of it, before I engage. Sir William 
 says he will give me leave to sing at Hanover Square, on the condition Galini as 
 proposed, which is 2 thousand pounds. Sir William as took my master into the 
 house and pays him a great price, on purpose that he shall not teach any other 
 person. Their was some of the officers in Captain Finche's ship, that come tP 
 
132 THE HAM IT. TON AND [1787. 
 
 our Concerts, whare I sung. They says Miss Hamilton is a fool in singing in 
 comparison to me, and so says Sir William. 
 
 'It is a most extraordinary thing that my voice is totally altered. It is the 
 finest soprana you ever heard, so that Sir William shuts his eyes and thinks one 
 of the Castrates is singing ; and, what is most extraordinary that my shake, 
 or tril, what you call it, is so very good in every note, my master says that, if he 
 did not fell and see and no that I am a substance, he would think I was an angel. 
 I have now gone through all difficulties and solfegy at first sight, & in the recitative 
 famous. Sir William is in raptures with me. He spares neither expense nor 
 pains in anything. Our house at Caserta is all new fitted-up for me — a new 
 room for my master, a musick-room for me. I have my French master ; I have 
 the Queen's dancing-master 3 times a-week ; I have 3 lessons in singing a day — 
 morning at eight o'clock, before diner, and the evening ; and people makes 
 enterest to come and hear me. My master goes to England with ous. O, then I 
 give up one hour in the day to reading the Italian. There is a person comes a 
 purpose ; and for all this their is now five painters and 2 modlers at work on me 
 for Sir William, and their is a picture gomg of me to the Empress of Russia. 
 But Sir W"" as the phaeton at the door, after I have had my first singing lesson 
 and dancing lesson, and he drives me out for 2 hours. And you will say that's 
 right, for, as I study a deal, it is right I should have exercise. 
 
 ' I3ut last night I did do a thing very extraordinary. We gave yesterday a 
 diplomatic diner. So after diner I gave them a Concert. So 1 sent the coach 
 and my compliments to the Banti,* who is first whoman at St. Carlo's, and 
 desired her to come and sing at my concert. So she came, and their was near 
 sixty people. So, after the first quartett, I was to sing the first song. At first I 
 was a little frightened, before I begun ; for she is a famous singer, and she placed 
 herself close to me. But when I begun all fear whent awhay, and I sung so well 
 that she cried out, " Just God, what a voice ! I would give a great deal for your 
 voice !" In short, I met with such aplause, that it allmost turned my head. Banti 
 sung after me, and I asure you everybody said I sung in a finer stile than her. 
 Poor Sir William was so enraptured with me ! For he was afraid I should have 
 been in a great fright, and it was of consequence that evening, for he wanted to 
 shew me of to some Dutch officers, that was there, that is with a sixty-gun ship 
 and a frigate. The Comodore, whoes name is Melville, was so inchanted with 
 me, that, though he was to depart the next day, he put it of, and give me a diner 
 on board, that realy surpasses all description. First Sir William me and mother 
 went down to the mole where the long boat was waiting — all man'd, so beautiful 1 
 There was the Commodore, and the Captain and four more of the first officers 
 waited to conduct ous to the ship. The 2 ships were dress'd out so fine in all the 
 collours ; the men all put in order ; a band of musick and all the marrine did 
 their duty, and when we went on board, twenty peices of cannon fired. But, as 
 we past the frigate, she fired all her guns, that I wish you had seen it. We sett 
 down thirty to dine — me at the head of the table, mistress of the feast, drest 
 all in virgin white and my hair all in ringlets, reaching allmost to my heals. 
 I asure you it is so long that I realy look'd and moved amongst it. Sir William 
 said so. 
 
 ' That night there was a great opera at St. Carlo's, in honour of the King of 
 Spain's name-day. So St. Carlos was illuminated, and everybody in great galla. 
 Well, I had the finest dress made up on purpose, as I had a box near the King 
 and Queen. My gown was purple sattin, wite sattin peticoat trim'd with crape 
 and spangles. My cap lovely, from Paris, all white fethers. My hair was to have 
 been delightfully dres'd, as I have a very good hair-dresser. But, for me unfortun- 
 ately, the diner on board did not finish tell half-past-five, English. Then the 
 Comodore and Sir William would have another bottle to drink to the loveliest 
 
 * Giorgina Brigida Bandi, circa 1756-1806, a singer famous for the beauty and extensive 
 register of her voice. She began by singing in the streets, but being heard by De Vismes, a 
 former impresario, he engaged her to sing in Opera Bouffe, and she was at once immensely 
 successful. She sang by turns in all the great capitals, appearing in England for the first time 
 in 1799 in Buanchi's Semiramide. She died at Bologna, and bequeathed her larynx, which 
 V?^ of extraordinary size, to that town, where it is duly preserved in a glass bottle. 
 
1787.] NELSON PAPERS. 133 
 
 whoman in the world, as the cald me at least. I whispered to Sir William and 
 told him I should be angry with him, if he did not gett up to go, as we was to dress, 
 and it was necessary to be at the theatre before the royal party. So at last the 
 put out the boat, so after a salute from the 2 ships of all the guns, we arrived on 
 shoar with the Comodore and five princapal officers, and in we all crowd into 
 our coach, which is large. We just got in time to the Opera. The Comodore 
 went with ous, and the officers came next and attended my box all the time, and 
 behaved to me as tho I was a Queen. 
 
 ' You must know this letter as been begun abbout 4 months, and I have wrote 
 a little at a time, and I now finish from Caserta, where we have been five weeks. 
 We go to Naples on the 28 of this month, December, and stay till the Carnaval 
 their, and then return to this place. I believe we shall have a great eruption 
 soon ; for tho we are here 16 miles from Naples, yet yesterday the Mountain 
 made such a dreadful noise, just like cannons in one's ears. Sir William and me 
 was yesterday, as endeed we are every day, at the Queen's Gardin ; and whilst 
 Mr. Greffer and me were talking, all of a sudin there rose such black coUums of 
 smoke out of Vesuvos, attended with such roaring, that I was frighten'd, and last 
 night I went on the leads of our house hear, and the throngs was such, that I 
 could see Naples by the hght of the fire very plain, and after the throngs the red 
 hot cinders fell all over the mountain. The Cavaliere Gatty, who arrived here 
 yesterday and is come to stay with ous a week, says the day before yesterday he 
 spoke with Padre Antoino, an old preist, who lives on the mountain, who told 
 him that in a week or fortnight a mouth would open the Portice side, and carry all 
 that place awhay. At least, there is bad signs now. 
 
 ' I took last night one of my maids, who is a great biggot, to the top of the 
 house, and I shewd her the mountain. But, when she saw the great fire, she fell 
 down on her knees, and cried out, " O Janaro mio, Antoino 7nio." So I fel down 
 on my knees and cried aloud, "O Saint Loola mia, Loola mia." But she got up in 
 a hurry and said, " E bene Signora la vostro Excellenza non credo in St. Janaro 
 evero." So sais I, "No Teresa evero per me io credo si voi prega alia Loola mia se 
 stesso cosa." She lookt at me, and said to be sure I read a great many books, and 
 must know more than her. But she says, " Does not God favour you mote then 
 ous ?" Says I, " No." " O God," says she, " your excellenza is very ungratefull ! 
 He as been so good as to make your face the same as he made the Blessed 
 Virgin's, and you don't esteem it as a favour !" "Why," says I, "did you ever 
 see the Virgin ?" — " O yes," says she, " you are like every picture that there is of 
 her, and you know the people at Iscea fel down on their knees to you, and begd 
 you to grant them favours in her name." — And, Greville, its true that the have all 
 got it in their heads I am like the Virgin, and the do come to beg favours of me. 
 Last night their was two preists came to our house, and Sir William made me put 
 the shawl over my head, and look up, and the preist burst into tears and kist my 
 feet and said, " God had sent me a purpose." O, k propo. Now as I have such 
 a use of shawls, and mine is wore out, Sir William is miserable, for I stand in 
 attitudes with them on me. As you know Mr. Mack Pherson, ask him to give 
 you one for me. Pray do, for mine is wore out. O pray, send me 4 or 5 prints 
 of that little Gipsey pictur with the hat on. Sir William wants one, and 2 other 
 people I have promised. I thank you for the boxes. I was enchanted with the 
 hats. The black one was two little. But I have give it to Madame Vonvotelli, a 
 friend of mine hear at court, who admired it. Sir William scolds me for writing 
 so long a letter. — Mind you, your uncle Fred's daughter can't sing so well 
 as me. Tell her so. Pray wriie to me and tell me if I shall sing at the Opera 
 or no. We shall be in London this spring twelve months. We are going to 
 Rome this spring. Adio and believe me more your friend then what you are to 
 me — Emma. 
 
 'P.S. I send you a kiss on my name. Its more than you deserve. Next post 
 I write to your Brother — abbout Wite, as he is my freind and I have assisted them 
 a good deal and will more. Pray give my love to your brother, and compliments 
 to Legg, Banks, Tolemache, &c. Tell them to take care of their hearts, when I 
 come back. As to you, you will be utterly undone. But Sir William allready is 
 distractedly in love, and indeed I love him tenderly. He deserves it. — God 
 bless you 1' 
 
Ii4 THE HAMILTON AND [1787- 
 
 169. A. L. S. from Lord Pembroke to Sir. W. Hamilton. Dated Wilton 
 
 House, November 30th, 1787. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription 
 and Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' Calabria goes on very well, but I will not trouble you about him any further, 
 as Count Lucchese & I understand one another perfectly ; but do, jnon cher ami, 
 faites en sorte, that orders may be sent to this same Count in respect to the horses 
 I am to buy for the King. As for sending them, the same people who are annually 
 employed in leading horses to Turin for the King of Sardinia will do very well ; 
 but I should be glad if some one trusty could be sent from amongst the King's 
 people to travel also with them. The best time for their leaving England would 
 be in Summer, & the man ought to be here on — or a little after — the King's 
 birthday in June. En attendant, I am going to Paris, where you may direct your 
 answer to me Chez Monsieur Grand, dans la rue Neuve des Capucines, vis d. vis 
 r hotel de la Police, proche la place Vendome. After I have sent off the King of 
 Naples's horses, I propose embarking myself on board of some one of our Frigates 
 for Bilboa, to get two or three Spanish ones for myself having ^(jai/oz'r, &l per- 
 mission pleniire from His Catholick Majesty ; but unless my Italian book* is done, 
 printed, & sent, I mean by that time, I really shall be ashamed to go, & shall not, 
 so much has been said, & sent from thence in messages upon that silly thing. 
 Therefore do, my dear Hamilton, contrive to get it printed imediately — no matter 
 who does it — let it be, I beg, at my expense & defray it, pray, for me on my 
 account, if any delay or difficulty yet exists in those who promised to have it 
 done long ago. The game here has been wonderfuU in quantity this year. I 
 never beheld anything like it — & I have shot very well. A force de forger, on 
 devient forgeron. Remember me, pray, to all friends. Elizabeth's t ventrical 
 protuberance announces that I shall soon be a grandfather. Lady Pembroke & 
 George vous presentent leurs ho>nages. Allways,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. How goes on old Allen's Lucan ? Mon homage allways to General 
 Acton.' 
 
 170. A. L. S. ' P.' from the same to the same. Dated London, Thursday, 
 
 December 13th, 1787. i^ pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 
 Seal. [H.J 
 
 ' Quatre mots in answer to your quatre mots, with many thanks. I sett out for 
 Paris next Tuesday, where I shall be glad to receive myself in Poll's excellent 
 translation. Pi ay remember all whose names I gave you, particularly the Spanish 
 ones, or I shall be in a scrape, & forced to renounce my Bilboa trip. Nothing 
 new here, which makes a duplicate to my last, in which I had nothing to say.. I 
 do not mean to stay too long at Paris, but will leave it at any time, on a moment's 
 notice from you, to come back & buy H. S. M.'s horses here, if he should chuse to 
 have them sooner than the time I mentioned in my last, which, however, it will 
 not be wise to do. If I get twelve, I reckon them at ^50 each, besides travelling; 
 & I wish ye could hint the propriety, & bring about the measure, of sufficient 
 money being accordingly sent previously to Lucchese, on whom I might draw. I 
 think it would be better so, than my speaking on the subject to His Excelly here. 
 Do not you ? L^ P. & George vous disent mille choses. Ditto from me, I beg, to 
 all friends at Naples. Ever yours,' &c. 
 
 171. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Caserta, 
 
 December i8th, 1787. 3 pages folio, [h.] 
 
 ' We are here as usual, my dear Charles, and I am out almost every day on 
 shooting parties, but I find my house comfortable in the evening with Emma's 
 
 * It is to be presumed that Lord Pembroke is referring to an Italian translation of his work 
 on Military Equitation, which had reached a third edition in 1778. 
 
 + The writer's eldest son, afterwards 12th Earl, had married as his first wife, on April 8th, 
 1787, Elizabeth, second daughter of Topham Beauclerk. She died in 1793. 
 
1787, 1788.] NELSON PAPERS. ij; 
 
 society. You can have no idea of the improvement she makes daily in every 
 respect— manners, language, & musick particularly. She has now applied closely to 
 singing 5 months, & I have her master (an excellent one) in the house, so that 
 she takes 3 lessons a day ; her voice is remarkably fine, & she begins now to 
 have a command over it. She has much expression, & as she applies chiefly to 
 the solfeggia, she will be grounded in musick, & there is no saying what she may 
 be in a year or two; I believe myself of the first rate, & so do the best judges 
 here, who can scarcely believe she has only learnt 5 months. I can assure you 
 her behaviour is such as has acquired her many sensible admirers, and we have 
 a good man society, and all the female nobility, with the Queen at their head, 
 shew her every distant civility. She has wrote a volume for you, but whether 
 she w\\\ send it or not I can not tell. 
 
 ' A travelling dealer in curiosities of all kinds, & who came lately from 
 Holland, shew'd me a mass of shorls in a compact agate kind of matrice, like the 
 tormalines in the Corinthia stones, but much richer & finer; pieces of this shorls 
 polished are semi-transparent, & like jacinths ; in short, I beheve the specimen 
 very extraordinary, but he asked ^50 for it. I employ'd my antiquarian, who 
 had exchanges to make with, to try to get it for me, as I shou'd be sorry you lost 
 it if it is as particular as I believe it to be, & 1 am in possession of it for 8 guineas, 
 & will present it to you by the first favourable opportunity ; after all, it may not 
 be anything, but I never saw any like it, & you must take the will for the deed. 
 
 ' 1 cou'd have got White a pension equal to what he lost at Chelsea, but I 
 prefer placing him in an office of some trust under General Acton's eye, as he 
 may then rise if Acton finds him, as I think he is, trusty & intelligent. He has 
 found a brother & relatives in good circumstances. Tell Robert I will not write 
 to him till he is placed, which I flatter myself will be very soon, as General Acton 
 has promised to do it directly. 
 
 ' Vesuvius is playing the very devil ; we hear the reports here, & I dare say 
 we shall have a thumping eruption. Yours,' &c. 
 
 172. A. L. S. from Emma Hart to the same. Dated Caserta, January 
 8th, 1788. 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I just write a short letter to you, to beg of you to send the inclosed to my 
 uncle* at Mr. Potter's in Harley Street. You can send it by a ticket-porter or 
 the penny-post. But it is of consequence. So don't fail. 
 
 ' Mr. Saunders came here yesterday, and you may be sure we shall shew him 
 every civility in our power. I believe he was surprised at the stile he saw me in, 
 and the attention that is shewn me, and the magnificence of my di-ess. He as 
 heard me sing and is astonished at me, both in that and in Italian. But I love to 
 surprise people. The English is coming very fast, and you can't think how well 
 I do the honours ; for Sir William is out every day a-hunting, and the are all 
 inchanted with me. Sir William is really in love with me — more and more. He 
 says he cannot live without me. In short, 1 am universally beloved. I am sing- 
 ing a duetto now of Paisiellos, that makes every person cry. The beginning of 
 my part is " Per pieta da questo istante non parlarmi, O Dio d'Amor." I am now 
 rehearsing it, and I am to sing it at the Carnaval. We give a great concert, and 
 I sing it with the first man of the opera. 
 
 ' I am very sorry I have been interrupted by two English Gentlemen, who as 
 been to diner here, and Sir William is out a-shooting, and they are just gone ; or 
 else I was going to tell you abbout Mrs. Strattford. That Irish retch wanted to 
 come to Sir William's. But I have stopt it, or else she would have come to 
 Naples. Sir William wrote to her, and told her that he knew nothing of her ; 
 that if she came, she might go to a inn ; that he had a family of his own that 
 should not be disturbed, and a great deal more. So then she did not chose to 
 come, or else, Greville, she was bringing all her children. But we now her. I 
 have a letter, that came directed to her, and which was opened by mistake by a 
 English lady ; and this letter Mr. Strattford might gain a divorce with ; en short, 
 
 • Possibly Emma's uncle John Moore, whose daughters were living in Moon Street, Liver- 
 pool, in 1815. 
 
136 THE HAMILTON AND [1788- 
 
 she is, Sir William and we have found out, she is a common w . But if she 
 
 comes, which now she won't. Sir WiUiam won't own her. 
 
 ' But I will write you the whole History in another letter. 
 
 ' God bless you, my dear Greville. I will keep of all things against your 
 intrest. But I love Sir William, for he renounces all for me. He as given Mrs. 
 Dickinson* a choaking in a letter to-day abbout me. He told her I was necessary 
 to his happiness— that I was the hansomest, loveliest, cleverest and best creature 
 in the world, and no person should come to disturb me. So you see I have a 
 write to love him. 
 
 ' Adio. Believe me, yours sincerely,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. I write in a dreadful hurry.' 
 
 173. A. L. from Sir W. Hamilton to the same. Dated Caserta, 
 
 February 26th, 1788. 2 pages 4to. (mutilated), [h.] 
 'I have been told, my dear Charles, that you have been in France, which 
 accounts for my having been so long without hearing from you. I was in hopes 
 you wou'd have sent me the last Rental of my Welch estate and other accounts, 
 which Meyrick tells me he sent long ago to you for me ; and I wish to know how 
 the sale of the prints of the vase goes on, as I see no money paid into Ross & 
 Ogilvie on that account. It is certainly just that all the expence you have been 
 at shou'd first be paid, but consider I paid Cipiani & Bartolozzi 550 guineas, & if 
 the plates were destroy'd after a certain number of copies had been taken off, I 
 am convinced that sum might soon have been recovered ; but all this matter is 
 left to your better judgement. I shou'd not have mentioned this if in the last 
 year's ballance of my account with Ross I had not perceived that it is much less 
 in my favour than it was ; but indeed the expence I have been at in my new 
 appointment accounts for it, & that expence is at an end. I have at last secured 
 a pension for Serj' White equivalent to what he wou'd have had at Chelsea, & I 
 have a prospect of a good situation for him besides ; but nothing is done in a 
 hurry in this country, & his patience & money were nearly exhausted. I like the 
 man much. I will write to Robt. as soon as I have compleated my plan for him, 
 which you may assure him is en bon train ' 
 
 174. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Naples, May 27th, 
 
 1788. 2\ pages 4to. (mutilated). [H.J 
 
 'Your last letters were very satisfactory [to me & Emma] ; certainly several of 
 your former have miscarried, & your last is without date. I lose no time in writing, 
 as Meyrick tells me it is absolutely necessary to build an Inn at Hubberston, &, 
 tho' I may most probably be in on the spot next year, I cou'd wish to lose no time 
 in doing what is necessary, tho' it shou'd not turn out to my immediate advantage 
 & cost me some money. 
 
 ' I should not imagine that such an Inn as is required at Hubberston need be 
 very expensive, & what Meyrick says appears to me reasonable, to begin upon a 
 plan of a good building & finish as occasion requires, to run up what is absolutely 
 necessary immediately and then proceed with prudence, or to encourage a tenant 
 to undertake the rest. Whatever you & Meyrick think right to do according to 
 this plan I will readily consent to. Had I money in hand I would not scruple 
 entering upon your grand plan, but as I have not, having laid out what I had in 
 Ross & Ogilvie's hands by making my present residence delightfull, I can not 
 lay out much ready money without inconveniencing myself. .... I have no 
 more time & wrote lately to you this is only to give you the power to undertake 
 the Inn. Yours,' &c. 
 
 'P.S. Tell Robert, White is now well settled & happy; besides what I get 
 from the King we pay and imploy him in the Queen's garden. Meyrick says you 
 are building a house ; I have only two questions to ask : Who pays for it, & who 
 is to live in it ? ' 
 
 * This must be the Mary Hamilton who wrote Letter No. 77, and who married John 
 Dickinson, Esq. 
 
1788.] NMLSON PAPEHS. \2,1 
 
 175. A. L. S. ' P.' from Lord Pembroke to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 
 London, July I sth, 1788. 2 pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' Lucchese has rec« a letter from his Court, & tells me three or four mares 
 would have been very agreeable to H. S. M. I wish the intimation had come a 
 little sooner. The sixteen geldings had been set out several days before it came. 
 They halt I understand during all the Malaria at Turin, where, if the King pleases 
 & ye will send me his orders, I could send four mares to join the rest m very 
 good time. A trusty fellow here, who travels for the King of Sardinia with horses, 
 could take them ; one man ye know taices charge of four. I can not find out to 
 what part of the world Augustus' ship is bound ; should it be your way, & you see 
 the Mercury (a 28 gun frigate). Cap. Augustus Montgomery, sailing into your bay, 
 pray be kind to the Comander, & civil to the Surgeon's mate, a/r(7/.!^/of mine & 
 godson, as is also Montgomery to the late Lord Bristol, Augustus Hervey ;* but 
 keep the mate out of the way of dilettanti, for he is young & handsome, un boccone 
 da Cardinale. You & yours all well, I hope. Elizabeth mends fast, but can not yet 
 use her legs. I sent in one of the Neapolitan frigates a small bit of EngHsh china 
 to Princess Belmonte — meerly as ^chanitllon- z.sk her If she likes it, and desire 
 her, should she chuse any, to let me know to what use she would have it — tea, 
 coffee, bidet, basen, or what .■' 
 
 ' Adieu, allways very truly, yours,' &c. 
 
 ' R. S. V. P. as soon as possible. 
 
 ' P. S. Our Court went last Saturday to Cheltenham. Is it this year or the 
 next that ye come to England ? If ye send me a mere order, remember that a 
 money one must be sent to Lucchese.' 
 
 176. A. L. S. ' C. F. G.' from Charles Greville to the same. Dated 
 
 Alengon, November 3rd, 1788. 6J pages 4to., with Superscription 
 and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I have not kept my word to you, my dear Hamilton, in writing a fuller 
 account of poor Charles Cathcart's death. I was so entirely engaged with his 
 business the last days of my London residence that I could not write, & since I left 
 London I have been travelling at the rate of a snail's gallop, which, however, has not 
 given me much leisure. I will now make amends. I wrote to you C. Cathcart's 
 plan in accepting an Embassy to China ; he had every good quality, united to 
 much discretion, & penetration, & decision ; you marked him as a protege, & I 
 gave him the satisfaction of thinking that you respected & loved him, & if he had 
 lived I am sure your kindness to him would not have abated. His spirit 
 exceeded his strength, & the desire of becoming independant & clear of the world 
 decided him to undertake a mission of much difficulty, at a time when the repose 
 from business & bodily exertions was necessary to recruit his constitution. He 
 recovered considerably at the Cape, but he had no sooner left that fine climate, & 
 by contrary winds was forced into the high lattitudes of 43 & 44 South, than he 
 was like a blossom nipped by the frost, & he was so completely overset that the 
 warm climate of Java could not revive him ; he stopt for a fortnight at Anger, a 
 Dutch Settlement, but finding his strength diminish daily, he insisted on 
 embarking again, & in 2 days after died. He was brought back to Anger, & 
 buried with all the honor that the wretched settlement and garrison of a Serjeant's 
 guard could shew. 
 
 ' As I had been his fellow-laborer & sole confidant in private and political 
 subjects, he named me one of his executors, & in his last breath requested that I 
 would finish all his business ; of course, I exerted myself, & before I left London 
 had taken all the arrangements of collecting every demand which could be made 
 to ballance the debt ; &, if I am not much deceived, it will be impossible for the 
 
 * Augustus John Hervey, 3rd Earl Bristol, 1 724-1 779. He was the brother ot the 2nd Earl, 
 adopted the naval profession, and obtained the rank of Vice-Admiral of the Blue. He was the 
 first husband of the famous Duchess of Kingston. 
 
138 THk HAMILTON AND [1788. 
 
 directors & Gov' to refuse the claims I have made on his account. I saw Mr. Pitt, 
 & communicated to him the contents of my memorial to the Directors, & I make 
 no doubt he will support it. It will be a satisfaction to me if it should be 
 successful, as it will enable the Executors to repay the many advances which 
 C. Cathcart had from his family & friends, amounting to above 3,000, of which 
 L'' Stormont gave him 1,300 in the kindest manner, without either bond or 
 intrest. The D. of Athol, Graham, & L"' Cathcart will not be hurt if they are not 
 quite repaid; but my love of C. Cathcart makes me wish that his life may not 
 have been devoted without at least making good his debts ; his good disposition 
 led him to wish to gain more, that he might leave to his friends some tokens of 
 his remembrance. 
 
 ' So far for our poor friend. As to myself, I must tell you that I completed 
 my great speculation before I left London. To your very just queries, who is to 
 live in my house, & who is to pay it, I can now give some answer which I could 
 not some time ago, when you proposed them. As to the first, the transaction 
 is merely getting possession of a house for myself if times mend ; to do this, I 
 took care that the most should be made of the ground, whose sole merit is 
 situation for air & views of the Park, the ground rent moderate. It so far 
 answered my expectation that I have been able to raise ^3100 on it at 4J pr. 
 cent., & on my assigning the furniture & intrest in the property subject to the 
 3100, I got ^1000 more, which made all the money I wanted for house & 
 furniture, excepting 400 which is still to be paid ; consequently 4500 at 45 pr. 
 cent, with ^17 ground-rent is the rent I shall stand at, or ^^220. There is not a 
 question of my letting it furnished for ^300, & I shall occupy it only till May 
 next, & then let it by the year, unless the winter turn up something in my favor ; 
 therefore in 6 months' notice I can always have a house which suits me, & the 
 retaining that satisfaction will not be a charge ; & after all, if at my time of life 
 I cannot look forward to such a house and establish', I certainly should look to a 
 retreat from the world, for in it 1 could not like to settle otherwise. My situation 
 is daily more critical, for my brother does not seem likely either to attend to his 
 own or to my interest. He loaded me with difficulty the last election, & he seems 
 inclin'd to do the same again ; if he does so it will be so wanton cruelty that I 
 will never speak to him again, & I have taken away all pretence of oppressing 
 me by telling him that if he has a friend or relation whom he wishes to support 
 on his interest, that I will not be in the way ; but if he resumes the interest he 
 renounced only to distress me, & not benefit himself, I shall stand on my own 
 footing, as I have done ever since the general election before the last, the period 
 at which he ceased to support me, and left me to struggle with all election expences, 
 on his assurance that he would not intei-efere ; you are sensible that a candidate 
 for office with any party is hopeless unless he can seat himself in Pari', & as my 
 brother neither has exerted his interest, nor given me a shilling directly nor 
 indirectly since the period above mention'd ; if he takes part against me, it will 
 be mere spite & jealousy. I told you how he behaved to me at Warwick ; on the 
 whole, I am glad 1 paid him the visit before I left England ; the visit must be 
 considerd as a compliment, & I expect to steer thro' this next crisis, being 
 convinced that there is so little confidence between the gentlemen & my 
 brother to ensure their acting to any plan ; & I may owe my safety more to 
 their want of judgment than to their kmd intentions, & this was the case last 
 election. 
 
 ' I expect you will ask why I leave my house to travel. I anticipate the 
 question by telling you that I waited in London till I had completed my house, & 
 completed every arrangement which I mention'd of mortgage, &c. This business 
 being done, & no person being expected in London before the Queen's Birthday, 
 I had arranged some visits which would employ me till then in England. L* 
 Middleton, Chatsworth, Townley, & the L of Wight. The latter, however, claim'd 
 my promise of a preference, as they imputed the failure of their journey last year 
 to my going to Paris by myself ; they set out to join me, & were driven back by 
 contrary winds, frightend & putt off their journey. I sent my apologies to my 
 other friends, & am now on a visit to the Tollemaches, & instead of staying at 
 Steeple, in the Isle of Wight, we cross'd in his Yatch to Hivre de Grice, & 
 have been join'd by the Miss Lewis's, & Mr. & Mrs. Cumberland, who was a 
 
1788, 1789- Nelson papers. 439 
 
 Miss Hobart, niece to L^ Buckinghamshire* My man is a capital cook, & we 
 go on very quietly & sociably a round-about way to Paris, being to-day at 
 Alengon, & to-morrow going to Rennes, from thence to Nantes, & up the Loire 
 through Tours, Orleans, to Paris ; you will therefore write to me chez Mons'' 
 Perregeaux, Rue de Sentier, at Paris, my banker ; & put me some title, Member 
 Pari', or Rt. Honble. to distinguish me from a cousin Chas. Greville now at 
 Paris, & who has the same banker. I hope the piece of Stormont, Pink Linnen, 
 arrived safe ; in my last I inform'd you that a shawl will be sent from Leghorn 
 for Emma ; make my love to her. I hope the minuet & music will not be 
 neglected. Your Niece, Miss Hamilton, is very much improv'd. She would be 
 a fine singer anywhere, & yet 1 hope Emma will beat her, & am sure if she is 
 diligent she will be the first woman singer from your report, & it is a good time to 
 try to excell, as the professional singers are so ignorant & illiterate. 
 
 ' It is now singular to hear the speculations of politicians, ils radottent, 
 supposing princes wise, & the steps of Sweeden & Denmark will probably extend 
 the confusion. France probably will wish for peace ; the province of Normandy, 
 the sinews of the French revenue, complains much of want of trade & confidence. 
 They all look to the Assembly of les Etats, which will be curious. The Crown 
 will sow dissentions as formerly between the 3 Eiats, but it will require more 
 adress to succeed, as they all seem bent on extending their rights at the expence 
 of the Crown ; & the necessity of the Crown may induce it to make some 
 concessions, which in their consequence may lead further than is intended, & may 
 go so far as to limit monarchy in a degree to require a revolution in the manners 
 & detail of the Gov' before it will acquire the vigor of a French Monarchy, 
 unlimited by the control of Parliament. The nation may possibly not have 
 patience to reap all the benefits, & by losing of temporary confusion & anarchy, 
 may again court the strict reigns of Monarchy, & be content with controuling the 
 abuse of favorite Cabals, which will render the Crown only more powerful. All 
 this I will write to you as it occurs ; I am only a looker-on, & am sufficiently 
 philanthropic to wish the events which may make the country most happy. I see 
 such misery, & know that the French are very ingenious, spirited & agreable 
 people ; I shall not, perhaps, like them so much if they become as heavy & dull 
 as British politicians. 
 
 ' Adieu, my dear Hamilton, believe me,' &c. 
 
 177. A.L.S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 
 May, 26th, 1789. 4 pages folio. [H.] 
 
 ' I have been so taken up with my late tour in Puglia, that I have had no 
 time to write. We returned here a week ago, our tour having taken up 32 days, 
 20 of which were employ'd in travelling slowly from morning to night thro' a 
 charming country, but the most execrable roads, & without any other 
 accomodation but what we carried with us ; for a single man who might sleep 
 every night in a convent, the journey would not be so inconvenient, but Emma 
 would be of the party, & she is so good there is no refusing her. Our rout was 
 Avellino, Ariano, Bovizo, B arietta, Trani, Bisceglia, Molfetta, Bart, Martino, 
 Taranto, Casalnuovo, Nardo, Galipoli, Lecce, Brindisi, Polignano, Mola di Bart, 
 Molfelta, Terliggi, Ruvo, Andrta, Cannosa, Foggia, Lucera, & home by Ponte 
 Bovino & Ariano. Whatever Swinburnt has wrote on the subject of any of these 
 
 * John, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, 1722-1793, eldest son of the 1st Earl, whom he suc- 
 ceeded in 1756. He went as Ambassador to St. Petersburg in 1762, and was Lord-Lieutenant of 
 Ireland from 1776 to 1780. Mrs.Cumberland was Albinia, eldest daughter of George Hobart, after- 
 wards 3rd Earl of Buckinghamshire, who married Richard Cumberland, eldest son of the dramatist. 
 
 t Henry Swinburne, 1743-1803, third son of Sir John Swinburne, and author of some able 
 and popular travels through Spain in 1775 and 1776, and in the Two Sicilies in 1779 to 1780. 
 In 1781 he and his family went to Vienna, when the Empress Maria Theresa conferred on Mrs. 
 Swinburne the female order of the ' croix etoilee,' and the Emperor stood godfather to their 
 son Joseph. In 1797 Mr. Swinburn was sent to Paris as commissioner for exchange of prisoners, 
 and in 1801 went to deUver up the Danish West India Islands to the Danish commissioner, 
 Count Walterstorf. He was then given the lucrative office of ' Vendre Master ' at Trinidad, 
 where he died. 
 
140 THE HAMILTON AND [1789, 1790. 
 
 places, tho' he did not make the tour in the same order, I found perfectly true, 
 & realy can add nothing to what you may read in his travels. The port of 
 Brindisi is choacked up again, and the malaria returned, and the discovery of the 
 saltpetre mine by Fortis at Molfetta is since Swinburn's time. I collected 
 several specimens for you which I will send you by the first opportunity ; I mean 
 to send a short description of that curious spot with the specimens also to Banks, 
 but I am not learned enough to decide whether it be a real mine of native nitre 
 or not ; what I saw I will relate faithfully. Fortis has many enemies, and those 
 who are now carrying on the works for this Government seem to understand 
 little, & to be destroying the mine if it is one. I have been disappointed in not 
 finding more antiquities for purchase in my tour through Magna Greecia, but the 
 fact is, little search is made after them, & what are found are sent immediately 
 for sale to the capital. I got a large intaglio of the head of Hercules of good 
 Greek sculpture at Taranto & at Cannosa a little one just like Emma ; a vase at 
 Bari of a good stile & fine earth & nothing more. The value of my collection in 
 the British Museum is immense, if you was to value it at the present price of 
 antiquities in this country ; & be assured that never such another collection will 
 be made, considering the variety of subjects and beauty of the forms. I have 
 two or three very extraordinary indeed, but the Museum shall not have them till 
 I can see no more, for they beautify my new appartment. Emma often asks 
 me, do you love me? ay, but as well as your new appartment? Her conduct is 
 such as to gain universal esteem, & she profits daily in musick and language. I 
 endeavour to lose no time in forming her, & certainly she would be welcome to 
 share with me, on our present footing, all I have during my life, but I fear her 
 views are beyond what I can bring myself to execute ; & that when her hopes on 
 that point are over, that she will make herself &: me unhappy ; but all this entre 
 nous; if ever a separation should be necessary for our mutual happiness, I 
 would settle ^150 a year on her, & £t)0 on her mother, who is a very worthy 
 woman ; but all this is only thinking aloud to you, & foreseeing that the 
 difference of 57 & 22 may produce events ; but, indeed, hitherto her behaviour 
 is irreproachable, but her temper, as you must know, unequal. 
 
 ' I made a mistake & left this margin, as I do in my dispatches, but it is all 
 the same. I seriously propose making you a visit next spring, as you know 
 my affairs require my presence ; how we shall manage about Emma is another 
 question ; however, 1 only trouble myself at present with making her accomplished, 
 let what may come of it. I see Keith is a Privy Counsellor ; if they do not make 
 me one on my return they will have used me ill, as you know what passed in 
 Lord North's administration on that subject. 
 
 ' I only propose in England to settle matters so that I may return here & 
 never have occasion again to leave this place, which I am determined on as my 
 chief residence as long as I live ; it is not a bad one, as I hope you will see one 
 of these days. 
 
 'Adieu, my dear Charles, ever yours,' &c. 
 
 178. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Naples, January 12th, 
 1790. 2\ pages folio, with Superscription and Seal (mutilated;. 
 [H.] 
 
 ' In your last of i6th Dec'^ you scold me for not having answer'd two of your 
 letters, which I have never received — certainly the person you entrusted them 
 with has not paid the postage, and many letters are lost by that means ; therefore 
 any letters of consequence shou'd be sent to the Secretary's office, and are sure 
 to come safe. 
 
 ' I dare say all you propose, such as the Act of Parliament and buildings & 
 exchanges wou'd be greatly to the advantage of the Estate in process of time, but 
 it is by no means convenient to me to run myself into debt & difficulties for a 
 prospect of future advantages to be enjoy'd — by whom ? I am not selfish, & wou'd 
 certainly sacrifice a little for the hope of benefitting the man I love best when I 
 am gone, but your plan seems to be very extensive, & of course must be attended 
 with considerable expence. I have desired Meyrick, as I do you, to put your- 
 
I790-] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 H 
 
 selves in my situation, and to do for me as you wou'd do for yourselves were you 
 in the same situation. In answer then to your last, I consent to anything in 
 which /OM and Meyrick ^x& perfectly agreed. As to Election views, I will have 
 none in Pembrokeshire, & therefore the purchase of Wiston is out of the question. 
 Exchanges with Campbell may be talked over on the spot when I come home. I 
 have not quite given over the hopes of seeing you this year, but I will wait a 
 little to see what turn affairs take, for in the general confusion even this 
 insignificant country may be embroil'd, & my desiring at this moment a leave of 
 absence might be disapproved. I have not heard from Meyrick, so that with the 
 loss of your two letters I am quite in the dark as to the state of my affairs, & must 
 leave the whole to your discretion and that of my friend Meyrick. If I cannot be 
 present, I suppose a letter of attorney might enable you both to act jointly for 
 me. Banks wrote me word you was coming here with Ld. Palmerston,* & indeed 
 not hearing from you I thought you on your journey . . . .' 
 
 179. A. L. S. from Henry Swinburne to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 London, No. 21 Woodstock Street ; January 19th, 1790. 3 pages 
 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I am quite ashamed to have been so long without answering your very kind 
 and flattering letter ; you must attribute it to the very disagreeable situation of 
 mind that I have laboured under for some time past. My wife in Paris nego- 
 ciating in various forms an indemnification which in due course failed in all its 
 branches, & at last ended, like the French monarchy, in smoke. On my side of 
 the water, the cares attending upon the business, which drained me of every 
 sixpence, & the trouble of solliciting, &c., in order to obtain justice at home, added 
 to my anxieties for the personal safety of Mrs. Swinburne & my eldest son,t 
 rendered me totally unfit for any pleasureable correspondence. But I was not 
 the less sensible to your kind testimony, and in the preface & notes to my new 
 edition have taken the liberty of drawing every advantage from it. I have been 
 shockingly remiss with regard to my worthy Padre Antonio, but he knows the 
 state of affairs, & I dare say excuses my silence. Mrs. Swinburne is now quietly 
 & comfortably settled by her own fireside at Hamstestry, with all her children but 
 one round her, & I could perceive a very rapid & pleasing improvement take 
 place in her looks, spirits, and embonpoint, from the moment she reached her own 
 peaceful habitation & breathed the pure elastic air of our mountains. Her 
 exertions, and the horrible scenes she has been witness to abroad had made sad 
 havoc with her health, and reduced her to a shadow in comparison of what she 
 was wont to be. I came to town yesterday to try what is to be done with ministry. 
 If I obtain nothing, I shall take myself back to my cabbages & rusticate ; but my 
 claim is so just that they themselves acknowledge it, and I shall certainly resume 
 it at a future period when other men come into play, if these refuse to do me 
 justice. I wish I could afford to flatter myself that I should ever again revisit 
 that dear Bay of Naples, but I am afraid, if I ever do, it will only be when all my 
 family are grown up & I become a poor, inactive, gouty spectator of its beauties. 
 I cannot help fearing lest the epidemical disorder, which went from England in 
 the last century to Boston, & has been recently reimported to France & Flanders, 
 should find its way to your quiet, delightful coasts ; good might possibly arise 
 from it, but it would be preceded by a wonderful deal of mischief which I should 
 be sorry to see or hear of However, I should hope that the scenes which are 
 now exhibiting will prove wholesome lessons to certain potentates, and teach 
 them to pay such attention to the welfare of their subjects as may keep them in 
 good humour. 
 
 ' I yesterday dined in company with Charles Greville, &, as Parliament is not 
 now likely to be dissolved in haste, I fancy he has postponed his intended journey 
 
 * Henry, and Viscount Palmerston, 1739- 1802, father of the eminent Minister. 
 
 t Henry Joseph Swinburne, 1772-1801. He was a Captain in the 82nd Regiment, and was 
 lost in H.M.S. Babety in the Gulf of Mexico, while on his way to Jamaica as A.D.C. to the 
 Governor of that Island. 
 
142 THE HAMILTON AND [1790. 
 
 to Italy. Little Conway means to sell off his lumber here in June & to go to 
 Rome (he says perhaps for ever). He will propagate Magnetism, Evocation of 
 Spirits & Raising of the Dead among the virtuosi of Italy, provided he does not 
 interfere with any new or old Saint. To the great surprize of the world, Mrs. 
 Conway is with child, and, as a wise woman long ago told her she should certainly 
 die in labour, she is half mad with fear already ; the accident is a cruel one, as 
 hitherto precautions against such an event had proved effectual. 
 
 'We have got home a fourth prince, & I assure you the quartetto promises to 
 be as wild a ])iece of music as the trio was. The poor King will act the part of 
 the enraged musician, but the nation will pay the piper. I am told Prince 
 Edward is to be sent immediately to join his regiment at Gibraltar. Will you be 
 
 so good as to'tell Padre Minasi that 1 forwarded a letter of his to Mrs. Sw by 
 
 yesterday's post, and shall write to him on Friday ; the letter is begun, but I have 
 not time to finish it to-day. Believe me,' &c. 
 
 180. A. L. S. ' W. H.' from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated 
 Caserta, March 2nd, 1790. 4 pages folio (mutilated). [h.J 
 
 ' I wrote by the last post to our friend Meyrick and told him that I cou'd not 
 be in England till spring, 1791 ; and that I begged him and you to do the best 
 you can for me in the meantime. What strikes me at this distance as necessary 
 to be prepared against my return is for the exchange of any distant estates for 
 land of equal present value adjoining to mine near Halberston. The renewal of 
 the lease of St. Kennox,* which must be treated with the Chancellor of St. Davids, 
 is certainly necessary, as with my life that estate & tythes, which is more than 
 ^100 per annm., would be lost. You know that I added the life of George Ross's 
 son to mine in that lease, & he shot himself soon after, & as my life & Ly. H's. 
 were on it we gave ourselves no trouble to renew, & so it has gone on ; but, as it 
 always happens that the Chancellors are as eager to get a little ready money as 
 we to renew, they may be brought to reasonable terms. If I recollect right, the 
 renewal of one life did not come to more than ^120; now that only my not young 
 life remains, the demand may be considerable, and for me to lay out such a sum 
 without anything but loss to myself is a little hard. I shou'd think of filling up 
 the lives, and then parting with the lease by way of sale or exchange. I shou'd 
 think my present income might be very considerably increased by filling up the 
 lives on many of the leases that have dropped. I know the estate by attention 
 may be made very considerable hereafter, but what is that to me? I am willing 
 to sacrifice a little to that hereafter, but not pinch myself, & I am sure you are 
 reasonable enough to act for me on that principle. 
 
 ' I wish I cou'd have come home this year, but Emma wou'd not be left, and 
 if I did not follow up her singing with Aprile another year she wou'd remain 
 imperfect, whereas ... by ... . she will be one of the best singers in Europe. 
 As it is, she surprises all who hear her both in ... . which cou'd have been done 
 only by a master for 2 years .... every day, but it is ... . 
 
 ' A treasure of Greek, commonly called Etruscan, Vases have been discovered 
 within these 12 months, the choice of which are in my possession, tho' at a 
 considerable expence. I do not mean to be such a fool as to give or leave them 
 to the British Museum, but I will contrive to have them published without anv 
 expence to myself, and artists and antiquarians will have the greatest obligation to 
 me ; the drawings on these vases are most excellent & many of the subjects from 
 Homer. In short, it will show that such monuments of high antiquity are not so 
 insignificant as has been thought by many, & if I chuse afterwards to dispose of 
 the collection (of more the[n] 70 capital vases) I may get my own price ; that you 
 may have some idea of their beauty and preservation, they are equal to the best 
 preserved in the B. M., & equal in drawing to the famous, but unfortunately 
 broken, vase of Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides, & the Attalanta with 
 chariot races. I do assure you it is a very extraordinary collection, & now it has 
 
 • A note on the letter, in another hand, states that Sir Willi^rn sgld the lease shortly before 
 his death. 
 
I790-] NELSON PAPERS. 143 
 
 excited envy here & difficulties are laid in my way least I shou'd get more ; 
 however, money will always prevail, & such monuments are found very rarely, & 
 only in the sepulchres of persons of great consideration ; common ones are 
 numerous. I have just hinted to Lord W. that if he keeps you out of Parliament 
 It is mcumbent upon him to provide for you. The Argyle family have been very 
 kmdtoEmma. i>i 1 y 
 
 ' The Duchess is rather better, but still I think, tho' she may get home, will 
 not pass the winter aHve. 
 
 'Adieu, my d"' Charles, do the best you can for me, & believe me with 
 constant love & affection,' &c. 
 
 181. A.L.S. from Lady Craven to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 'Trustorf 
 
 (May 13th, 1790). 7pages4to. [h.] 
 
 ' Yours of the 27th of April reach'd me this 13th of May. The 2 copies of my 
 Journal you mention were intended for you ; as to the Parody of Midas, it was my 
 mother that sent it to me, and I beg you will let me have it by the first opportunity 
 —it may be put in the case of the milk punch Mr. RoUin is to send me from the 
 Crocella. Mr. D'Hatrava behaves like the Germans here to the Margrave ;* 
 believe me no generosity can inspire them with gratitude, and no goodness can 
 teach them truth. 
 
 ' Not only we paid for everything, but the M. gave money to all his servants & 
 to him a very handsome box— & I wish the Queen knew what a very improper 
 person he is to do honours for the Empire. 
 
 ' When you see her Majesty you may say that I am pen^trM with the King of 
 Bohemia's civility to me & the M. I had a letter from him the other day of 3 
 sides of paper. I have taken pains that there should be no misrepresentation of 
 facts to him about the bustle there is here. Two ministers have given up in a 
 passion because the M. turn'd away his own Private Secretary ; and a brother to 
 one of them— it is above 3 years that the M. has constantly told me the grievances 
 he felt, and is oblig'd now to do the only thing I saw could be done for his service 
 — that is haveing 2 or 3 places fill'd by people totally unconnected with, & ignorant 
 of the affairs & people already in place ; for it was a chain that held from the 
 upper regions to the lowest that occasion'd a stagnation of business or improve- 
 ments — time only ; when things go on thus, time creates confusion & losses in all 
 departments. Mr. Bernsprunger, a Conseiller des finances of the late King's, is 
 here — & seems to me to be an honest & able man — &, what may appear very odd 
 to you, any advice he gives to the M. is the same as the observations I made long 
 ago; which you may imagine does not lessen the M's. esteem for me. As to me 
 I have spoken to him about the poor of the country, & particularly those of 
 Anspach, and I hope at least upon that subject I shall have the satisfaction of 
 not going out of this world comme une grande inutile. I promise you, if I am to 
 meet in the future with the ingratitude I have already experienc'd from mankind ; 
 people can never have half the satisfaction in doing much wrong as I should 
 have in doing a little good to the unhappy and friendless. I have got a letter 
 from Beckford expressing his horror of England, & he means to quit it, I beleive, 
 for ever. The Chambellan Knoebel that was with us has shot himself. He left 
 letters to our Phisician Schoepf, his sister, & our Commander-in-Chief here, 
 General Treskaw ; & this rash act was cooly premedited & determined long ago ; 
 as his whole family are maddish, I cannot say this event shocks me. 
 
 ' I feel very sensibly the difference of this rough climate to that of Italy. I 
 have constant headachs ; indeed, the part I have to act is no very pleasant one, 
 to appear chearfull when all this vile business makes me sad ; & to feel myself 
 the only resource of the M. for whom I would wish to have agreeable things ; 
 while he has none. 
 
 ' Adieu, Sir, pray receive the M's. kindest comp*», and believe me,' &c. 
 
 * Christian Frederick Charles Alexander, Margrave of Baireuth, 1736-1806, nephew of 
 Frederick the Great and of Caroline ofAnspach, Queen of George II. The margrave's first 
 wife was a Princess of Saxe Coburg, his second the writer, Lady Craven, whom he married in 
 J79I- 
 
144 THE HAMILTON AND [1790. 
 
 182. A. L. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 
 June 6th, 1790. 3 pages folio, with Superscription and Seal 
 
 (mutilated), [h.] 
 
 ' Your last letter pleased me much, for if [Lord Warwick],* after your generous 
 proceedings towards him, does not make attonement for his past conduct 
 towards you, I shall never think well of him again. I am in hopes now that [the 
 family will be united, which I have long wished ; for, tho' my attachment to you 
 is of a much stronger nature, yet I love him, & I believe he loves me, & I shall 
 have much satisfaction in seeing you together next year, as I hope, at Warwick.] 
 Tho' I do not understand thoroughly the nature of the act of Parliament you 
 have passed for me, yet I see enough that it may be attended with great 
 consequences ; the whole question to me is whether I shall live to be benefitted 
 by them, or whether great present disbursements must not be made in order to 
 insure future success ; but of all this we may talk on the spot as I hope next 
 summer. When I left England I was richer than I am at present, for, instead of 
 having money in Ross's hands, I am now considerably in his debt, and no 
 wonder, for the new appartment fitted up as it is cost me ^3000, and I have laid 
 out as much in Antiquities since I returned from England ; but then I can assure 
 you I have a most extraordinary collection, particularly of vases, & I cannot lose 
 by the purchases I have made, & you know that it is impossible for me to be 
 without an object, whilst I can command a farthing. However, I flatter myself 
 that what I am about will be of great use to the Arts, and will afford a noble 
 field for antiquarians. I have a plan in my head as to the disposal of my present 
 collection of vases (far superior to those in the British Museum), by which our 
 manufacturers in earthenware may be greatly benefitted, & the vases ultimately 
 will most probably be deposited in the B. Museum. I certainly will make no more 
 presents there, nor will ever have recourse to Parliament again. At present I am 
 only superintending the publication of about 50 or 60 prints of the vases which are 
 most interesting in point of subjects & elegance of design. I will send you a speci- 
 men in my [next?] for about a dozen are already engraved. I am sure that the mine 
 of these vases lately discovered must fail soon, & therefore I have not let one 
 essential vase escape me, tho' the price is much higher than it was formerly. 
 The King of Naples has now began to purchase them, but my harvest luckily 
 was in first ' 
 
 183. A. L. from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. No date 
 
 (Summer, 1790). 4 pages folio, with Superscription, [h.] 
 
 ' You say I am a bad correspondant, I certainly do not write as often as I 
 think of Naples, but you was in my debt, & I was desirous of having your answer 
 to the suggestion I had made in my last, of your giving a present to your brother 
 Fred"^. In the new house the ornamenting the chimney-pieces being so 
 important, & as he has got a good copy of Corregio's S. Jerome, & your copy of 
 Venus would do well for the 2d drawing-room, & he has a small one for the antiroom. 
 When I wrote last he had not got a picture for the 2d. drawing-room, but is now 
 what I reckon worse off, as he has purchased one which I hope he will not put up, 
 being a vulgai bad thing. If, therefore, you have the original, well give or lend 
 the copy ; it will be taken kind, not being expected, & save his fame as a 
 connoisseur, & render his apartment, which will be very handsome, particularly 
 so, by the exclusion of the last purchase ; & you may send it by the first ship to 
 London. 
 
 ' You may suppose that I am much interested for our friend, & sympathise 
 for your disappointment, but all is for the best, say the philosophers. She may 
 think my promises contain'd in my last to you tardy, but I have expected every 
 week to get my brother's Serjeant's discharge, & it is at last done, & he sails by 
 the first ship to Naples or Leghorn ; & by that opportunity I send Emma her 
 
 * The portions in square brackets are erased in the original, but not sufficiently so as to 
 pnake them indecipherable. 
 
'790.] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 •45 
 
 commission ; by it's being well execut'd, I know it will make amends for its 
 delay ; she has executed my counter-commission, & collected all the cristalized 
 mica which she can find at the Portici dealers or elsewhere, & the lava cristals of 
 Vesuvius to make your Sicilian cargo more perfect ; you must also remember my 
 Bosco Tre Case Bronze ; send me the best peice you can, it being a very great 
 object to me to have a capital piece of that particularly decomposed bronze. 
 
 ' I thank you for the cargo of sulphur & Jaci cristals, & long for their arrival ; 
 do not spare gauze, fine paper, & then tow, but be sparing of sawdust. 
 
 ' I have now a commission exclusively for you, which will be of great service 
 to Sr. Wm. Codrington* in his W. India estate, & as I have settled it, I dare say 
 you will not find much trouble in doing it ; if it was not very material to him, I 
 would not trouble you. It is shortly this. He has purchased some time ago a 
 Spanish asses, & sent them to the W. Indies to cover mares ; when they arrived, 
 one died, & the other did not get stock ; he suspects the Spaniards had play'd 
 some tricks with them. He is inform'd that in Calabria there are many large 
 asses, & many cover ; he does not want the enormous ones, but I enclose his 
 note, & you will understand that he wishes to have two purchased, & no difficulty 
 will be made about the price ; but they must be tried, approved foal-getters. I 
 understand Duca di Monteleone has the greatest stock in his country. The 
 money will be remitted by a bill of Herries on Naples, or in any other mode you 
 please ; the asses will be directed to be sent by sea to Genoa in a felucca or 
 tartan, bound direct from Naples to Genoa, & addressed to the Consul, unless 
 previous to their embarkation you receive another address at Genoa, in which 
 case the Consul will only be desired to see that they are delivered to their address, 
 by letter. Dejean, the Swiss voiturier, will have a man ready to receive them & 
 take charge of them from Genoa, if you will apprize him by letter so soon as they 
 shall be purchased, & can be reasonably expected at Genoa ; a few days 
 expectation will be proper for the voiturier rather than the asses shall wait him ; 
 &, of course, you will have responsibility from the time of their embarkation. If 
 any ship is coming direct from Naples to London, & the captain will undertake 
 the charge, it may be the shortest & easiest way, but a circuitous, long passage 
 & a careless captain would ruin them, 
 
 ' I wish you would inform me of your plans, whether you shall come to 
 England this autumn or next spring, whether you come en famille, & if you do 
 how you propose to arange. I long extreamly to coma to Italy, & if your family 
 had not been aranged, I should have made you a visit last winter ; if I can better 
 myself I will not move, but, as I am getting possession of the next house to uncle 
 Frederick, & the builder is suiting his speculations to my convenience, if I do not 
 get something before winter, I shall be unable to live in it, & collect my disperse 1 
 vertu about me ; in which case I must let it furnished slightly for 2 or 3 years, Sc 
 this will retain to me a habitation which will contain me & mine when I can afford 
 to live in it ; &, in the interim, I could come to Italy, & avail myself of my friend 
 Finche's frigate, & take a trip next spring to the Archipelago. In short, I must 
 make some arangement. I have reduc'd my state, & give up Edgware Road 
 house next quarter, & have I footman. I shall take a trip in my gig — perhaps to 
 S. Wales for a few days— & then into Derbyshire, but with small means ; I must 
 manoevre to go on. You mentioned travelling with the King of N., will he go to 
 Spain before or after his other visits, & shall you go there ? If you do, I will send 
 a case of minerals to our Charg^ to wait your arrival, & they shall be given to the 
 King's Cabinet, & a return in Spanish or S. American minerals required. If I 
 had my wish, I would get an independent income, take one tour on the Continent, 
 which should be a wide one, & then return & settle quietly, & perhaps undertake 
 a Mineralogical History of our Island. Hitherto & at present I work for others, 
 & do myself little good. 
 
 ' The miserable Deed of Settlement is settled excepting Gen' Clerk's appro- 
 bation. My brother's affairs are well, he need have no debt next year, & in the 
 mean time every debt is provided for ; he may spend 5000 this year & 6000 next year, 
 & by keeping within that bound he may provide for his annuities to the Gen' & to 
 
 * Sir William Codrington, 2nd Baronet, and uncle of the great Admiral Codrington. He 
 died in 1792. 
 
 VOL. I. ;. 
 
146 THE HAMILTON AMD [1790. 
 
 my mother, & liave a ballance in his favour ; if he speculates or purchases, he 
 will be in the lurch ; for his expences will exhaust his income without speculations. 
 ' As to Dutch politicks, I do not see an end to them ; the Funds last week 
 announced some alarm, having fallen 8 pr. cent ; but, as the speculators were 
 engaged at a strange rate, I attribute it to sheer manoeuvre. We shall certainly 
 wish well to the Statholder, but not take any open part. The Elector of Hanover 
 is not precluded from assisting his cousin, in concert with Prussia, & if money is 
 applied the assistance may be effectual, & I hope some will be provided. The 
 French are not in cash, their disorder has not been probed to the bottom; the 
 Treasorier de la Marine broke some time ago, the Treasorier du Militaire is just 
 broke. They seem general in the spirit of reform, but they verge rapidly towards 
 principles less monarchical than for the last reign, & they honor us with imitation 
 not only in dress, but in our useful arrangements. There is now in London a 
 deputation from the Acadi^mie surveying our hospitals to imitate them. I shewed 
 St. Luke's Madhouse, & St. Bartholomew's Hospital last week to the Procnreur 
 GMeral of Paris, who will probably connect the regulations with the plans of that 
 city to reform PHStel Dieu to the system of our hospitals. Their industry, 
 diligence, & universal attention to public & private objects shew them to be the 
 most trusting of people ; if their bustle is directed to useful reforms, and after- 
 wards to render them permanen^, the chances are the people may feel themselves 
 of some weight, & events may follow.' 
 
 184. A. L. S. 'C. F. G.' from the same to the same. Dated July 2nd, 
 1790. 6\ pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' Every day seems to announce the decision of the question — Peace or War, & 
 it is deferr'd, to the disatisfaction of politicians. I keep no copies of my letters, 
 but I believe you will find that 1 am not among the disappointed politicians ; I 
 know that categorical answers are to be evaded, & as the relative state of European 
 poUticks must influence more than the immediate wish of the Cabinet of Madrid 
 & London, at this day nothing is decided. The information 1 gave you a fortnight 
 ago has been realised, the fleet only sail'd from Spithead two days ago, & at its 
 departure consisted of 18 sail & 2 frigates ; by the frigates being left at Spithead, 
 it is to me obvious that their departure is merely to get the great ships down 
 channel, & at Torbay wait the further progress of negociation. One would 
 imagine Spain would be required to pay this armament by the expense attending 
 it. The Dutch fleet, consisting of different strength by different report, has 
 certainly come into the Channel to join ours ; it is immaterial to what number ; it 
 evinces their being determined to act, & this in the negociation it is necessary to 
 demonstrate. They say that they will make the Channel fleet 27 of the line, &, if 
 no more sail from our ports, we shall have a good fleet left at home or to fit for 
 distant service if the war comes on. 
 
 ' It appears that the Russian & Swedish fleets have engaged the 3 & 4th last 
 month ; certain news of the event are not arrived, but in the general view it is 
 sufficient to see the Swedes employ the Russians at home, & prevent their 
 detaching a fleet to the Black Sea, &, untill the ballance is destroy'd by a victory 
 over the Swedes, the appearance of the Dutch or English in the Baltic is 
 unecessary, & they are out of the chances of being involved deeper than they 
 wish, & their combined force tells in the negociation ; & its effect on Russia may 
 produce a disposition to give up the extirpation of the Turks. The K. of 
 Hungary, it is generally thought, will be glad of this change of the Russian 
 politicks ; any advantage which the Turks might gain from the division which 
 Prussian preparations have made of the Austrian forces will be of great importance ; 
 for should y^ Russians be frightened by the combination impending on her, peace 
 must be universal, for France will not then be involved. Indeed, I do not think 
 at any rate France will entrust military operations in the bands of aristocracy or 
 of the King's, & what minister can undertake a war, & the people to decide on 
 every commander. The preparations in the French ports goes on ; the fitting 
 out the ships which were not denied by the Nat. Assembly but approved, did not 
 enable the King to send to Brest the officers he chose to command, for they 
 returned to Paris, being refused admittance to Brest. It is clear that much must 
 
•70o] AELSON PAPERS. 
 
 '47 
 
 be decided by the Nat. Assembly before they can g^et a fleet to sea, & the question 
 will be plainly put, & on the result of that question, whether the supply is to be 
 granted to Spain or not in conformity to treaty & Family Compact, the Spaniards 
 will either stop or proceed, for their Cabinet are not Quixotes, nor the people 
 inclin'd to a war with G. B. 
 
 ' The elections go on rapidly ; I told you the result of my proceedings, &, as I 
 have acquitted myself to my party & to the public, 1 have also acquitted myself 
 to rny family, & personally to my brother, by not having employed the means to 
 punish his political persecution, by keeping up a direct opposition to my own 
 family, which I never had in contemplation, having acted on confidence of a 
 direct engagement with my brother in writing. I also saved him from personal 
 inconvenience & loss by lately acting by him in his private affairs as if he had 
 been my friend. I stand, therefore, on high ground, having my own approbation 
 & the general approbation of my family & friends, & indeed of all parties ; but 
 we must know that my private situation is more difiScult & embarrassed. 
 
 ' I told you that I obtain'd the Act* in the completes! manner. I am in town 
 negociating with the Public Offices the plan to carry it into effect. I solicit from 
 the Treasury the lease of the Gov' lands & the use of the limestone at the forts, 
 which will make the works go on better & cheaper. I apply to Admiralty to see 
 if the Navy Board will not assist you to make a dock ; the Custom-house, I apply 
 to make them build a Custom-house & houses for their officers, or allow you a 
 rent equal to the interest of the money to be laid out on the plan they advise & 
 adopt. I shall take other steps to invite individuals to lay out money ; all you 
 will have to do, after the Inn, & a quay for the Custom-house, & a market house 
 is built, will be to grant leases to such persons as will build according to the plan 
 to belaid down, which can only be done when I have the answer from all the 
 Boards ; but the place must become something considerable ; the arrival of the 
 mail-coaches dayiy, the 5 pacquets, now permanently established with ^1200 a 
 year from Gov*, a legal quay, the market must bring inhabitants, & no one at so 
 small charge may have so fair prospect of doing much good to the country & to 
 yourself. I shall go down, & shall lay out the best plan on paper ; it must be by 
 extraordinary aid of public offices & the public that its perfection can be rapid, 
 but by doing a little, & that little tending to the general plan, the connected 
 efforts of individuals may by slower progress complete the whole; & powers must 
 be given to you, to Meyrick, & me to sign leases on the Pell farms & Pells, in all 
 the cases in which individuals shall be inclined to execute part or parts of the 
 general plan ; & by keeping out of all engagements all the lands not requiring 
 buildings, quays & wharehouses, you will have the benefit from the improved rent 
 of the land for accomodation, & quit rents secured on buildings, which you will 
 have no charge in erecting or repairing, but will be conformable to our general 
 plans of improvements. 
 
 ' I will lay the whole before you with plans, &c., whenever the result of my 
 negociations shall be known. I must not let my journey be thrown away ; pre- 
 parations will be made, quarries opened, & plan of conducting the work settled. 
 The people of Swansea are going to improve Swansea harbour, Morris has the 
 chief inspection, & I have had for _£io the opinion & report of the engineer 
 employed on that work ; &, as much depends on the plan of working, Morris will 
 give an eye & his aid to your works. I shall not consider my ideas to be good 
 till they shall have been thus canvassed & examined. Meyrick will join heartily, 
 & tho' I suggest my being join'd in the giving leases conformable to the plan, I 
 do not wish to have any other charge, but leave it exclusively to Meyrick to act 
 as heretofore. I certainly see farther than they do, & have suited the powers of 
 the Act to the most extended improvements. I must not open too far at once, 
 but to take care that the general plan is not sacrificed or interrupted, & this 
 cannot happen unless promises of leases are rashly given or improvidently with- 
 eld ; & to this point I know that I can be materially useful, & my presence on 
 the spot is not indispensible after ihe plan shall be reduced to paper, which it 
 shall be soon. I shall go to Pembrokeshire this month ; yuu will, however, direct 
 to me in London, as the letters will be forwarded. 
 
 'Adieu, dear Hamilton, love to Emma, & believe me,' &c. 
 
 * A printed copy of the Act accompanies the letter. 
 
I4H THE HAMILTON AND [1790- 
 
 185. A. L. S. ' W. H.' from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated 
 
 Naples, September 2 1st, [i/Jgo. 4 pages folio, with Superscription 
 
 and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' Many thanks to you for not neglecting to write when anything essential 
 occurs, as we ministers at Courts that do not count much are often neglected by 
 our superiors. How far the National Assembly's having adopted the Family 
 Compact may alter the prospect of peace with Spain I cannot judge, but here we 
 expect in consequence of it to receive an account of a battle between the Spanish 
 & British fleets. I hope that will not be the case, and that I shall be able to put 
 my plan in execution of making you a visit next spring, indeed my affairs require 
 it. I find by a letter from Meyrick that I am not to expect much next year from 
 my estate, as many necessary expenses will be required in Wales. 1 only beg 
 that whatever is done that Meyrick & you will put yourselves in my situation, and 
 act as you wou'd do in the like situation. When I am in England I hope to settle 
 all my affairs properly. By degrees I am running into Ross's debt, instead of his 
 being in mine, which he was considerably when I left England. I am determined 
 at any rate to pay all my debts, & one comfort is that I have a sufficient stock in 
 hand to do it. The fitting up my new appartment cost me much more than I 
 thought it wou'd — near ^£4000. I give Emma ^200 a year to keep her & her 
 mother in cloths & washing, and you may imagine every now and then a present 
 of a gown, a ring, a feather, &c., and once indeed she so long'd for diamonds that, 
 having an opportunity of a good bargain of single stones of a good water & 
 tolerable size, I gave her at once ^^500 worth. She realy deserves everything, & 
 has gained the love of everybody, &, wou'd you think it, is preached up by the 
 Queen & nobility as a rare example of virtue. By Aprile's lessons she begins to 
 sing in a capital stile, and has talents for both bravoura, pathetic, & buffo ; but, 
 as her voice & expression is so perfect, the pathetic is what I cultivate most, & I 
 am sure in that she will excell any dilettante in England. Her knowledge of 
 musick will surprise you as it does me, for I did not expect her to apply as she 
 has done. She has grown thinner of late, & is the handsomer for it. I5esides the 
 above-mentioned extraordinary expences I have surely laid out more than ^2000 
 in antiquities since I returned, but I have such a curious collection that must 
 bring me back the 'double, but I am delicate as to the manner of selling, as I 
 shou'd hate to be looked upon as a dealer, & some of my vases & bronzes are so 
 extraordinary I shou'd wish them to be in England ; my cameos & intaglios I 
 shall probably soon dispose of, which I will do in order not to swell my account 
 with Ross too much. A publication of 50 drawings from my new collection of 
 vases will be ready in two months. Adieu,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. My new collection of vases will throw great light upon the ancient history, 
 fabulous history & mithology of the Greeks, but they are a treasure for artists. It 
 is now beyond a doubt that they are Grecian & not Etruscan. I wish Wedgewood 
 had this collection two years in his possession, he wou'd profit much by them. 
 
 ' I am on the whole not sorry you are out of Parliament, for I think you will 
 the sooner get an income, for the Fox party in my opinion, shou'd the K. live, 
 may be long before it will prevail. It is realy hard at your time of life to be in 
 your present state ; however, you are loved & respected by all that know you.' 
 
 186. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 
 King's Mews, November 27th, 1790. 2| pages 4to. [h.J 
 
 ' Lord Hawkesbury* has desired me to introduce to your acquaintance Mr. 
 Jenkinson, his son, who proposes to pass the winter at Naples. 1 have generaly 
 found the reports of school & college friends just, & from some of his contem- 
 poraries, whom I value much, I have often heard that in him great vigor of mind 
 
 * Charles Jenkinson, 1st Lord Hawkesbury, afterwards 1st Earl of Liverpool, 1727-1808, 
 the eminent statesman, Lord of the Treasury from 1767-1773, elevated to the peerage as Baron 
 Hawkesbury in 1786, and created Earl of Liverpool in 1796. The son referred to was his 
 eldest son, Robert Banks, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, 1770-1828. He was First Lord of the Treasury 
 from 1812-1827. 
 
1790.] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 149 
 
 & ability is united to much good nature. His travels will, therefore, have other 
 object than to exhibit the affectation of English manners & hours, which I am 
 told engrosses our young travellers in a degree to preclude even a superficial 
 view of the countries which they visit, because it is deem'd a part of finish'd 
 education. I shall be much obhged if you will direct Mr. Jenkinson's survey of 
 the beauties & extraordinery workings of nature which belong eminently to the 
 environs of Naples, & also to the interesting classical facts nowhere more 
 remarkable since the discovery of Herculaneum & Pompeia ; do not omitt to 
 let him judge of the eloquence of the Bar & of the pulpit, & follow its effect on the 
 course of justice & on the manners of the people ; ask him what would be the 
 consequence of the same police applied to the inhabitants of St. Giles's or Wapping, 
 & he may judge as favorably as I do of the Lazzaroni, altho' I know that genius, 
 acuteness, & eloquence derive lustre, & make impression from the dignity of the 
 object on which they are employ'd. 
 
 ' The influence of the fine Arts, & of music, on civilized society is so generally 
 admitted that it does not require the delirium of enthusiasm to protect them from 
 the contempt of ignorance. Your natural good taste, improved by a long 
 acquaintance with the finest remains of Art, have given to me such interesting 
 illustrations, that I comply with Lord Hawkesbury's request with pleasure ; you 
 will enable me to acknowledge his civilities to me, & when he asks for a letter to 
 you as my friend to shew civilities to his son, I write at length to shew to what 
 extent I press on your friendship. I am, dear Hamilton,' &c. 
 
 187. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated December loth, 
 1790. 4 pages 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' On Sunday the D»' of Athol, your neice, died ; she had been ill for two or 
 three months, they did not know whether she was not with child, & therefore did 
 not know how to treat her in the beginning; she came up to town about a 
 fortnight ago, much reduced, & the time had clear'd up the doubt of her 
 pregnancy, & confirm'd the idea of her danger, but the progress of her disorder 
 at the last was very rapid. I was looking out ior a house at Brompton for change 
 of air on Friday, & on the Sunday she died. She was an excellent mother of a 
 family who will feel her loss ; & she was universally respected ; her aparently 
 cold & formal manner made her less suited to my intimacy than her other 
 sisters. 
 
 ' The Thane of Calder, our friend Campbel,* had a christening last night of 
 the heir apparent; L^ Carohne was as beautiful in looks & complexion as on her 
 bridal day. They are perfectly happy with their acquisition. He has bought my 
 uncle's & S' J. Macpherson's house, as I believe I wrote to you ; he will have 
 room for many good things, & considering how good-natured he is, & how 
 liberaly he protected artists, I think him in luck to have some excellent pieces. 
 His Lenti Vase, his Sitting Philosopher, Canova's Cupid & a group, which is yet 
 at Rome unfinished, of which I form expectations from the Cupid, will be 
 ornaments to any collection. His Rembrant girl, a Nicolas Poussin, head J. of 
 Bellino, Titian head & a Cuyp are excellent pictures. Some few fine E. vases 
 & many middling Etruscans, with a cargo of Ducroz drawings, make his 
 collection ; 1 advised him to make a passage gallery, to take in some marbles, & 
 introduce only agreable furniture & agreable virtu in his appartments, whereby he 
 will set off a few fine things well. I am now satisfied that a small space will 
 contain a great collection, & that a great collection need not be numerous ; your 
 Portland Vase itself is a collection; & the select part of your collection at Naples 
 I dare say will give you lasting pleasure, & that it will not lose by its being drafted 
 to still smaller numbers. 
 
 ' D'Hankerville is again sur le pave, his creditors have taken his hotel at 
 
 Paris, in which I am told he had some fine furniture, & even \i\% pot de was 
 
 Sevre china; he disappeared whhout giving the least hint to any one; it is a 
 
 * John Campbell, created 1st Baron Cawdor in 1796. He married, in 1789, Lady Caroline 
 Howard, 1774-1848, eldest daughter of Frederick, 5th Earl of CarHsle. The son and heir was 
 John Frederick Campbell, 1790-1860, created 1st Earl Cawdor in 1827. 
 
ISO THE HAMILTON AND [l790.- 
 
 matter of curiosity to me where he will find an asylum, & what country has not 
 had full demonstration of his talents. 
 
 ' The armament has been discontinued ; our peace establisht. is not to take 
 place till we see the Northern Powers settled. The Emperor carries all before 
 him in Brabant, but as the guarantees of the Treaty of Utrech have mediated, I 
 conclude they will not forget that altho' they guaranteed the sovereignty to the 
 H. of Austria, they also guaranteed the rights of the subjects ; & as the Emperor 
 has an interest in conciliating their obedience, I expect that with his power he 
 will join much moderation, & grant all the privileges compatible with his 
 conne.xion with the activity of executive power. 
 
 ' I have not heard that the Legges are with you ; if they should be at Naples;, 
 remember me kindly to them. 
 
 ' Pray write to me your decision about visiting England, & whether, in case 
 you do not come, you chuse that I should look at you, & bring all necessary 
 documents for your arangements. 
 
 ' Townleyt deferrs till the spring his journey, & the idea of war deterr'd 
 Tollemache. I would not undertake such a journey alone at this time of the year, 
 but I forsee an agreable party with Townly, & as his object is merely to see what 
 is new in virtu, & to return without any long stay, & also au Pelerino to spend no 
 money, I will not decide till I hear from you. The person whom I commission'd 
 to visit N. America will be in England in January next. I have heard twice, & 
 the prospect is favorable. I shall then know for certain if I shall succeed in 
 bringing a colony to your estate — not of sluggards, but of industrious & spirited 
 fishermen, & all their capital. If this fail, we must be content with the gradual 
 improvement from the legal quay, & incur no other expence but that & an inn. 
 My love to Emma. Believe me, dear Hamilton, ever,' &c. 
 
 188. A .L .S. from Gavin Hamilton to the same. Dated Rome, Decem- 
 ber 28th (1790.'). 3 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I intended sending this letter by Mr. Saunderst the Architect, who brings me 
 a letter from Mr. Greville & has another for you ; he setts out for Naples to- 
 morrow, & will be with you in five days. I need say nothing of his merit, he isi 
 strongly recommended by Mr. Greville; this includes every thing that is good & 
 ingenious, & shall say nothing more on this head, as I know there needs no more. 
 
 'As to the Group of Sig. Nicola la Piccola,t it is diiificult to give a just idea of 
 it by letter, & cou'd have wish'd you had seen it yourself, as the price is high, & 
 tho' not equal to the Laocoon, Apollo, Venus of Medecis, &c., which we call first- 
 rate, yet it has great merit, & is a thing I am very fond of — the grouping & 
 expression is wonderfuU, & executed with great spirit, tho' not highly finished. It 
 is difficult to say which is finest, this or that of Mr. Townley, one must see them 
 together to be able to determine ; it is not known what Mr. Townley paid for his ; 
 this I know, that Lapiccola was offered 1500 crowns many years ago, & supposed 
 to come from Mr. Townley thru' the channel of Mr. Jenkins, & was afterwards 
 critisized for not accepting the offer. It is difficult to say what a thing of this sort 
 is worth, upon those occasions one must consult one's own feelings & one's own 
 purse ; the way to do this is to come to Rome, when you may see & examine this 
 piece of sculptour, & many fine things, among which I can not help mentioning 
 the famous Vase of Villa Lanti, now in the possession of Sig. Volpato, which is a 
 first-rate thing in its way, but of too large a size for you. I propose going to 
 England in the spring or beginning of June, I shall therefore certainly pay you & 
 Emma a vizet before that time, if it was onely to pass 3 days ; I must see your 
 Corregio, I must see the Danae of Titian & many other fine pictures lately 
 brought to light by Mr. Anders, & which are all new to me ; I rejoice in Mr, 
 
 * Charles Townley, 1737-1S05, a scholar and connoisseur, well known as the collector of 
 the Townley Marbles. The Townley Museum was purchased by the British Museum for 
 ^28,200. 
 
 t George Saunders, F.R..S., F.SA., 1762-1839, a well-known architect, who designed the 
 Townley Gallery, British Museum, and was the author of some publications on architecture. 
 
 X Nicolo Lapiccola, 1730-1790, a painter of the Neapolitan School. He worked at Rome, 
 and painted some decorative pictures in the Vatican, which have since been copied in mosaic. 
 
I790, I791-] KELSON PAPERS. 
 
 15' 
 
 Anders's good fortune, he is a worthy man & great in his way. I shall be much 
 obliged to you for a first impression of the vase, & which Mr. Saunders could 
 bnng me on his return to Rome ; your marbles don't as yet apear, when they do 
 I shall nurse them as if they were my own. We have a great many English 
 travellers here, all of whom you will soon see at Naples, but I don't find that there 
 is any dilettante among them ; Lord Camelford* I find to be the same humane man 
 as ever & not without taste. I am, sir,' &c. 
 
 189. A. L. S. from Emma Hart to Charles Greville. Dated 'Naples, 
 
 Jan^, 1791.' s pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I received your oblidging letter on Thursday, and am sensible of the part 
 you take in my happiness & wellfare. I have not time to-day to answer to all the 
 points in your letter, but will the next post. You may think of my aflictions, when 
 I heard of the Duchess of Argyll's death. I never had such a freind as her, & 
 that you will know, when I see you & recount to you all the acts of kindness she 
 shew'd to me ; for they where two good and numerous to describe in a letter. 
 Think then, to a heart of sensibility & gratitude, what it must suffer. Mapazzienza 
 io ho molio. 
 
 ' You need not be affraid for me in England. We come for a short tirne, & 
 that time rnust be occupied in business, & to take our last leave. I don't wish to 
 attract notice. I wish to be an example of good conduct, and to show the world 
 that a pretty woman is not allways a fool. All my ambition is to make Sir William 
 happy, & you will see he is so. As to our seperating houses, we can't do it, or 
 why should we? You can't think 2 people, that has lived five years with alj the 
 domestic happiness that's possible, can seperate, & those 2 persons, that kpows 
 no other comfort but in each other's comppany, which is the case I assure you with 
 ous, tho' you bachelors don't understand it. But you can't imaggine 2 houses 
 must seperate ous. No, it can't be, and that you will be a judge of, when you see 
 us. We will lett you into our plans and hearths. Sir William will lett you know 
 on what a footing we are here. On Monday last we give a concert and ball at 
 our hous. I had neer four hundred persons — all the foreign ministers and their 
 wives, all the first ladies of fashion, foregners and Neapolitans. Our house was 
 full in every room. I had the Banti, the tenor Cosacelli & 2 others to sing. Sir 
 William dress'd me in wite sattin ; no coUor abbout me but my hair and cheeks. 
 I was without powder. As it was the first great assembly we had given publickly, 
 all the ladies strove to out-do one another in dress and jewels. But Sir William 
 said I was the finest jewel amongst them. Every night our house is open to small 
 partys of fifty and sixty men & women. We have musick, tea, &c., &c. ; and we 
 have a great adition lately to our party. We have a new Spanish Ambassador ; 
 and his wife and me has made a great frendship, and we are allways together. She 
 is charming. Think then, after what Sir William has done for me, if I should not 
 be the horridest wretch in the world, not to be exemplary towards him, Endead, 
 I will do all I can to render him happy. We shall be with you in the spring, and 
 return heer in November, and the next year you may pay ous a visit. We shall 
 be glad to see you. I shall allways esteem you for your relationship to Sir William, 
 and having been the means of me knowing him, As to Sir William, I confess to 
 you I doat on him. Nor I never can love any other persqn but him. This 
 confession will please you, I know. I will write more next post,' 
 
 190. A. L. S. ' H. L.' from Heneage Leggef to the same, Dated Naples, 
 
 March 8th, 1791. l\ pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal. 
 
 [H.] 
 
 ' 1 have long been determin'd not to quit this place without adding you to the 
 list of my correspondents, from a thorough conviction that in the course of fourteen 
 
 * Thomas Pitt, 1st Baron Camelford, 1737-1793. He was the son of Thomas Pitt, of 
 Boconnoc, elder brother of the 1st Earl of Chatham, and was created a Baron in 1784. 
 
 t Heneage Legge, 1747-1827. Eldest son of Heneage Legge, Baron of the Exchequer. He 
 married in 1768 Elizabeth, daughter of Sir PhiUp Musgrave. 
 
152 THE HAMILTON AND [1791- 
 
 weeks' residence I had witness'd many scenes which could be little interesting to 
 any body but yourself, but the result of which my real regard for you now tempts 
 me to communicate, with an assurance that I neither have or will drop the smallest 
 hint on the subject to any other person. In Switzerland last year I met L"^ & L^ 
 Elcho,* who had pass'd the preeceding winter at Naples, together with the Duke 
 & Duch's of Argyle, & assured me that, altho' S' W. H.'s public situation would 
 not permit him to declare it, there was no doubt of his being married to Mrs. H., 
 that he had presented her to them upon that ground, & that the behaviour ofboth 
 parties confirm'd her belief of its being so. When we came, he immediately 
 waited upon us with all the kindness & attention that our former acquaintance 
 could dictate, having previously wrote me word while I was at Rome that Emma 
 would be at all times happy to attend Mrs. L. as a nurse, or contribute to her 
 amusement as a companion. Mrs. L. is not over-scrupulous in her inanners or 
 sentiments beyond the usual forms establish'd by the rules of society in her own 
 country; but, as she was not particularly inform'd of any change in Mrs. H.'s 
 situation, she had no reason to think her present different from her former line of 
 life, & therefore could not quite reconcile it to her feelings to accept these offers of 
 friendship & service, tho' there was no doubt of their being kindly intended. Mrs. 
 L., therefore, very soon gave it to be understood that she wish'd to retain her old 
 footing of intimacy with him, but that any other branch of the family was 
 inadmissible, which has certainly depriv'd her of much of his company, tho' he 
 has been good in calling upon her whenever he could. To me you may be sure 
 his companion was no objection, & few days have past in which I have not at 
 some time found myself under his roof. The language ofboth parties, who always 
 spoke in the plural number — we, us, & ours — stagger'd me at first, but soon made 
 me determine to speak openly to him on the subject, when he assur'd me, what I 
 confess I was most happy to hear, that he was not married ; but flung out some 
 hints of doing justice to her good behaviour, if his public situation did not forbid 
 him to consider himself an independent man. Her influence over him exceeds 
 all belief ; his attachment exceeds admiration, it is perfect dotage. She gives 
 everybody to understand that he is now going to England to sollicit the K.'s 
 consent to marry her, & that on her return she shall appear as L^' H. She says 
 it is impossible to continue in her present dubious state, which exposes her to 
 frequent slight & mortification ; & his whole thought, happiness & comfort seems 
 so center'd in her presence, that if she should refuse to return on other terms, I 
 am confident she will gain her point, against which it is the duty of every friend 
 to strengthen his mind as much as possible ; & she will be satisfied with no 
 argument but the King's absolute refusal of his approbation. Her talents & 
 powers of amusing are very wonderfull ; her voice is very fine, but she does not sing 
 with great taste, & Aprili says she has not a good ear ; her attitudes are beyond 
 description beautiful! and striking, & I think you will find her figure much 
 improved since you last saw her. They say they shall be in London by the latter 
 end of May, that their stay in England will be as short as possible, & that, having 
 settled his affairs, he is determin'd never to return. She is much visited here by 
 ladies of the highest rank, & many of the Corps diplomatique ; does the honours 
 of his house with great attention & desire to please, but wants a little refinement 
 of manners, in which, in the course of six years, I wonder she has not made 
 greater progress. I have all along told her she could never change her situation 
 for the better, & that she was a happier woman as Mrs. H. than she would be 
 as L^ H., when, more reserved behaviour being necessary, she would be depriv'd 
 of half her amusements, & must no longer sing those comic parts which tend so 
 much to the entertainment of herself & her friends. She does not accede to that 
 doctrine, & unless great care is taken to prevent it I am clear she will in some 
 unguarded hour work upon his empassion'd mind, & effect her design of becoming 
 your aunt. He tells me he has made ample provision for her, in which he is 
 certainly right, and with that she ought to be content. It must be unnecessary 
 for me to caution you against ever telling them that I wrote to you on this subject, 
 
 * Francis, Lord Elcho, 1749-1808. Eldest son of Francis, 6th Earl Wemyss. He married 
 in 1771 Susan, daughter of Anthony Tracy- Kech, and died six months before his father ; Lady 
 Elcho died in 1835. 
 
I79I.] NELSON PAPERS. 153 
 
 nor should I have done it, if I had not been sure that you are not apprised of the 
 state they are in, & the unbounded influence she has gain'd over him & all that 
 belongs to him. We leave Naples to-morrow, & should have done so long ago 
 if an unexpected eruption of Mc. Vesuvius had not given good cause of delay ; it 
 has not been a very profuse one, but full enough to gratify our curiosity. The 
 weather has been so curious during the whole winter that invalids could not expect 
 much benefit from climate, but I must say Mrs. L. goes away in every respect 
 better than she came, & I am at least a stone heavier than at my arrival. Mrs. L. 
 had the pleasure of a letter from L"^ Stormont two days ago, which made us happy 
 by the good account it gave of the whole family. He will certainly hear from one 
 of us as soon as we reach Rome, where our stay will probably be about 6 or 7 
 weeks, & from whence we shall return to Florence, where from impatience to get 
 here we left the Gallery unseen. 
 
 ' S"' William follows us to Rome in a few days, but will not stay much above a 
 week ; he has had a bad cold & hoarseness, which puU'd him down a good deal, & 
 he has hardly yet recovered the effects of it. 1 conclude you are still either a real 
 or nominal inhabitant of the Mews, therefore shall direct my letter there ; &, after 
 begging you to give my best compliments & regards to your brother, assure you 
 that I am,' &c. 
 
 191. A. L. S. from William Beckford to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 
 ' Paris, Hotel de Boulogne, Rue St. Honor6,' April 7th, 1791. 
 2 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I have just heard from a friend of mine (Madame de Pondoye) that you 
 were at Rome on y'' way to Eng"*. 
 
 ' I cannot help hazarding this to Florence just to enquire how you are, & 
 whether you intend passing thro' France. In that case, I have the pleasantest 
 app*" imaginable either in Paris or in the most beautiful part of the country near 
 it perfectly at y"^ & y'' lovely companion's service. No person in the world will be 
 happier than myself to hear that all y'' wishes are crowned with success, for I look 
 upon you as the first of connoisseurs — not only in the fine arts, but in the science 
 of human felicity. The reign of grim Gothic prejudices is nearly over, & people 
 begin to serve God & themselves in the manner they like best. 
 
 ' I will take up no more of your time at present than is neccessary to 
 express how sincerely glad I should feel to meet you in some part of Europe or 
 other; & that, supposing I should return home next summer, you will not forget 
 that I only wish for opportunities to prove myself y' grateful & affectionate,' &c. 
 
 192. L. S. from Lord Pembroke to the same. Dated Wilton House, 
 
 April 14th, 1791. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal. 
 
 [H.] 
 
 ' I understand that we are to have the pleasure of seeing you in England as 
 soon as the King of Naples returns home, & that Calabrio will probably be 
 ordered to leave this before the autumn, when I hope he may be usefull if 
 properly employed. If I dared ask a favour of a King, I w* desire you to beg 
 General Acton, with my best compliments & wishes, to procure for him from his 
 Sicilian Majesty, before he sets out from hence, the rank which his father has. 
 I believe it is that of Alfiere, but least I sh"^ mistake, pray send for him on the 
 receipt of this & enquire more precisely, & acquaint him of what I now write to 
 you. Unless the young man obtains this before he enters on his functions, he 
 will have lost both fortune & time by staying so long with me; &, indeed, I 
 apprehend that without such rank he would never be able to have the necessary 
 weight, or carry the proper command with those who are to be placed under him 
 for tuition. He is sufficiently able to give it, if let alone, for, tho' he is not a 
 Bourgelat, he is a Sir Isaac Newton in comparison of the professors of his own 
 country, who carry a lazaroni behind them, & a nerbo di bovi in their hand. I 
 take for granted that he will find ready for him in some part of the kingdom 
 a house or covered place of forty French feet, not more, broad, & of a hundred & 
 
'54 Tin: HAMILTON ASD [179T. 
 
 twenty, or as much more as may be, long, but certainly not shorter. No scholar 
 sh'^, 1 think, leave him to instruct other regiments till he has had at least three 
 years' schooling. During the first year eight scholars will be as much as he can 
 well manage; the second year the number maybe increased to sixteen, & the 
 third year to four and twenty, at which number it may for ever remain, if he is 
 allowed three people under him always to help him ; & let me add that he ought 
 himself to chuse these three people from his own scholars. A horse of course to 
 each man — the first year eight, the second year sixteen, & always after four & 
 twenty. Desire General Acton not to think me ofiiciously minute in this detail, 
 & to do me the justice to be persuaded that I have no other view in it but to 
 make myself usefull to the King of Naples. Pray let me know that this has 
 reached your hands safe, when I may hope to see you, & if in the mean time I 
 can be of any use to you before you come. All well I hope with you. Best 
 cornp'^, &c., to everybody. Excuse my making use of the hand of another. 
 Having blotted my letter, & being very lazy, I have desired a friend to copy it for 
 me. Yr's allways,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — I am going to send Calabrio to Newmarket that he may see some of 
 our capital race-horses, & the manner of taking care of them. The Duke of 
 Queensbury* will be so good as to take him there.' 
 
 ■ i. A. L. (mutilated) from Sir W. Hamilton to (Charles Greville). 
 Dated Venice, April 22nd, 1791. 2 pages 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' To-morrow we leave this place, and shall proceed through the Tyrol on our 
 journey home without slopping, except perhaps for a day of rest, till we get to 
 Brussells, where 1 hope to find a letter from you informing us where we are to go 
 on our arrival in London, which will be probably soon after the 20th of next month. 
 I have hitherto succeeded perfectly in all my plans, having taken leave of the King 
 & Queen of Naples at Florence, & also renew'd my(acquaintance) with the Emperor. 
 My reception at Florence by these royal personages was very flattering, as I am 
 sure many English travellers who were present must have mentioned in their 
 letters. It has so happen'd that we have fallen in here with the Count d'Artoisf 
 and his party, & as many of them, particularly the Count Vaudreuill & Due de 
 Guiche, were very particularly acquainted with me at Naples, we have seen a 
 great deal of them & the Polignacs-§ The Count came to us, & passed an 
 evening with us; he is very easy, polite, & agreable. M. Calonne|l is expected 
 here daily. All are delighted ' 
 
 191. A. L. S. from Lord Bristol to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated Bally- 
 scullin, near Magherafelt, May 25th, 1791. i page 4to., with 
 Superscription nd Seal. [H.j 
 
 ' My dear old schoolfellow, nothing shall ever excuse you either to my head or 
 heart if you play me truant; 1 count so much upon y' passing the Channel if you 
 come to Wales that 1 would even send a warrant for you if I thought it would 
 bring you. 
 
 'A month or two will repair you from the fatigues of y"^ journey; you shall 
 have musick every day or no day, you shall see the Giant's Causeway by sea & 
 by land, you shall see extinguished volcanoes & almost burning ones, you shall 
 
 * William Douglas, 4th Duke of Queensbuiy, known as ' Old Q,' 1725-1810. He succeeded 
 his kinsman, the 3rd Duke, in 1778. 
 
 t Charles Philippe, Count d'Artois, afterwards Charles X., 1757-1836, fourth son of the 
 Dauphin Louis, eldest son of Louis XV. He succeeded his brother, Louis XVIH., in 1824. 
 
 + Louis Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil, 1724-1802. He emigrated in 1791. 
 
 § Jules, Duke de Polignac, who died in 1817, and his wife, Yolande Marline Gahrielle de 
 Polaslron, who died in 1793. She was a great favourite with Marie Antoinette, who loaded 
 liiilh husband and wife witii benefils, which, however, did not prevent their being amongst the first 
 to forsake the royal family and emigrate. 
 
 [[ Charles Alexandre de Calonne, 1734-1802, a well-known French statesman, Conlroleur 
 des Finances in 1783. 
 
1 791 ] NELSON PAPERS. 155 
 
 have giouse-shooting or not as you please, you shall fish on salt water or fresh just 
 as you like best, I will meet you where you please, & bring you to the most 
 romantick & perhaps the most sublime scenery you ever saw; only come, & do not 
 disappoint y"^ old friend & schoolfellow.' 
 
 195. L, S. from the Earl of Pembroke to the same. Dated Manchester, 
 October i6th, 1791. 6 pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' The very day after your leaving London I saw a number of horses, & from 
 them chose four for the King of Naples ; since which one has been exchanged, I 
 think the best of the lot, by some objection of Calabria's, a fortnight or more 
 after he had had her in hand. 
 
 ' Angelo was so good as to procure one in' her room, & I am assured she is a 
 very pretty one. 
 
 ' Tho' the horses were bought so early, & perfectly ready to go away within 24 
 hours after, the wise Neapolitan minister, in his chattering wisdom, detained 
 them till y" 8 of Oct", & has ordered, I understand, to go by Mont Cenis in 
 preference to the road over the TyroU. 
 
 ' Considering the season, to which they will be so very foolishly & 
 unnecessarily exposed, I do not expect that, supposing even Calabria sh'' take 
 the best & most sensible care possible of them, they can arrive otherwise than 
 with broken knees, & in the condition of very bad post-horses. I shall be very 
 happy if Calabria merits your protection at Naples, but, entre nous, I am not 
 without great doubts upon that score, so many things have I heard to his 
 disadvantage since he has been gone, & which were kept from my knowledge. 
 
 ' Nobody who ever conversed with him for five minutes ever doubted of his 
 being very weak, & I am very much afraid he is as great & as dirty a rogue as his 
 weakness will permit him to be. 
 
 ' He never tells truth, or acts in a strait & ingenuous manner if he can possibly 
 avoid it. 
 
 ' His self-sufficiency can be equalled by nothing but his ignorance, & his 
 haughtiness & insolence to his inferiors, amongst whom he classes the greatest 
 part of the world, is insupportable. 
 
 ' In respect to his talents for equitation, I fear I shall not reap much credit 
 from them, tho' he knows enough for the rough business of the army to operate 
 tolerably well when under ones eye, as you saw ; but, the moment he is left to 
 himself, adieu panzers, tout est dit. I hope, however, that he wil not disgrace us 
 by using the nerbo di bove, or by taking a Lazarone in cruppa behind him. 
 I wish you may, I beg of you not to make known to him or others the truths I 
 here tell you in confidence, but pray keep them in your minds eye, & do not let 
 King or Gen. Acton know that I give him to them for more than he is, He will 
 do very well for the army purpose, tho' he never will have a good hand, or even 
 a good seat, any more than a good head ; of course, such a man will always want 
 watching. The expenses of your mare ought not to exceed fifty zequins ,for 
 Morani rides her as far as Florence when Orsi the banker will pay Calabria for 
 him at the rate of three shillings a day from his leaving England to his arrival 
 in Tuscany at his father's desire, with which you have nothing to do. The 
 expence of horses sent to Comandatore Pazzi from London rendiis into his stable 
 at Florence came to about two or three & forty zequins each. I have heard 
 strong reasons which make me suspect that Don Benedetto Calabria will charg:e 
 the King & you infinitely more, but I hope you will put General Acton on his 
 guard for the King, & not suffer yourself to be imposed upon. If this attempt 
 sh'' not be made, it will not be the fault of his Sicilian Majesty's Minister in 
 London, who in my hearing advised Calabria to charge double for his dinners & 
 suppers, in order to screw out some necessaries he wanted to buy before he left 
 England. The lad has very pretty natural dispositions that way, & did, I know, 
 before he set out, buy some expensive things to carry with him home by way of 
 presents, which must, of course, be paid out of hay & corn on the road. I beg 
 you will explain to the King & to General Acton that, contrary to my expectations 
 
156 THE HAMILTON AND [1791- 
 
 & intentions, it was not in my power to see the convoy set off myself; I have, 
 however, the pleasure of being certain, from the kind attention of our old friend, 
 Angelo, that everything has been done for the best, as far as the unnecessary 
 delay & the badness of the season will permit, in spite of the Minister's folly & a 
 thousand tricks of Calabria, equal in number, the' by no means equal in good 
 sense, to those of Scapin. I was obliged to go down to my regiment at a very 
 short warning by the King's order, so as to send my Lt., Col. Goldsworthy, who is 
 Equerry to the King, to his waiting at Windsor on a fixed day, & previously to 
 examine with him at Manchester & Liverpool the two last yearns lots of recruit 
 horses. It is, as you may probably have heard in England, under agitation to 
 augment the price of them, or to fall on some other method of procuring them 
 for the Army ; I beg you will explain this also to the King & General Acton. It 
 certainly was not of the least consequence that I did not return to see the 
 exchanged nag, as I had corresponded in the most particular manner about it 
 with Angelo. The Minister, however, was, I am told, in a fever because I could 
 not come to London & see with my own eyes whether the ears were not, perhaps, 
 a little too long or short. I pray heaven to protect me from Lazerone Plenipos 
 if ever his Sicilian Majesty sh"* honor me again with his commands ; in the 
 meantime, I shall tremble every time I see Calabria's hand-writing on a letter, 
 for fear of some accident to the cattle under his care; & I shall finish by being 
 a sincere devotee to St. Gennaija, if he miraculously protects this batch to his 
 journe)'s end, as he did so wonderfully the last. For my own sake I own, more 
 than tor Calabria's merit, I entreat you to protect him as far as you can, by your 
 own good advice make him deserving of it. As I have put you so fully au fait 
 of his wisdom, merits, & amiable character, you may easily put him on his guard 
 against the dangerous rocks of which it is unfortunately composed, as from 
 yourself, without ever giving him any suspicion that I have laid open to you the 
 secrets of it. Without your kind advice, he would certainly soon ruin yourself by 
 his own folly ; &, besides that, he will certainly meet with plenty of ill-nature & 
 persecution from the envy & malice of his own countrymen. I beg leave also 
 strongly to recommend him to the good offices of your lovely Lady H. with my 
 best humbles & wishes, if he makes himself deserv'ing of it by his care of her 
 mare, as he hab prumistd to do. 1 fear her monture will hardly be at Naples before 
 the 1st day of 1792. By the middle of next month I shall be again at Wilton, 
 when I shall hope to hear of your safe arrival in good health & good plight at 
 Naples. Ever yours,' &c. 
 
 196. A. L. S. from Richard Beckford* to the same. Dated London, 
 December 2nd, 1791. 4 pages foHo. [h.J 
 
 ' With a heart overflowing with giatitude I sit down to acquaint you with the 
 sequel of the business you have so kindly undertook, and which, I have the 
 satisfaction of telling you, has successfully ended. 
 
 'Immediately alter your much lamented departure I followed your good advice 
 and ci mmunicated frequently with Mr. Wildman on the subject. I also wrote 
 (by Mr. V\ ildman's desire) a full letter to Mr. Beckford himsell ; who, thereupon, 
 afier several conferences with Mr. Wildman, Mrs. Beckford, and her daughter 
 Mrs. Harvey (all of whom have behaved to me extremely well on this occasion), 
 determined to do something in my favour ; he has, accordingly, been so good as 
 to settle an annuity upon me of ^500, besides paying me .£500 down exclusively. 
 
 ' For this his bounty I shall lor ever be obHged to him and to you, my dear 
 sir, whose friendly and zealous endeavours have been the original means of the 
 provisions so much wanted by me. This, however, is not all, for, two days before 
 his departure for Pans, Mr. Beckford admitted a visit from me, and, m a long 
 conversation, not only friendly but affectionate, he received and recognised me as 
 his brother, assured me that he was now satisfied of the falsity of all the reports 
 he had heard of my ill will towards him, and promised me his friendship and 
 support for ever. 
 
 ' I most sincerely hope that yourself and Lady Hamilton enjoy a perfect state 
 
 ' Probably one of Alderman Beckford's illegitimate sous, of whom he had several. 
 
'79'] NELSON PAPERS. ,57 
 
 of health, and I humbly intreat you will make my best and kindest respects to her 
 Ladyship & I hope will forgive my troubling you with this long scrawl, to which 
 1 will only add, by assuring you that nothing would afford me greater pleasure 
 than the opportunity of being, in any degree, serviceable to your good self or 
 most amiable lady. 
 
 ' With the repitition of a thousand thanks for all your favours, I feel a pride 
 in subscribing myself,' &c. 
 
 u' ^' ^" ^^^^^ ^^^ liberty of begging that you will not mention the good fortune 
 1 have lately met with to any English gentlemen, and particularly not to Mr. 
 AT '^^ Beckford. My city creditors might take an ungenerous advantage of it. 
 Mr. Beckford's benevolence shall be made known in the proper place.' 
 
 197. A. L.S. from Lord Abercorn* to the same. Dated December 9th, 
 
 1791- 3i pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' It is with great pleasure that I receive the news of you & your lovely wife being 
 safely arrived at your journey's end. I hope she received the letter I wrote from 
 Ireland. 
 
 'I am to thank you very kindly for your successful purchase on my behalf of 
 the Parmeggiano. I shall be glad to hear that you are likely to add the 
 Correggio upon cheap terms. The satisfaction of possessing such valuable 
 masterpieces is much enhanced by my owing it to your zeal & kindness. 
 
 ' I thank God, the remains of my family are in perfect health. I returned 
 from Ireland about three weeks. It will be nearly two months before I settle in 
 London for the Parliament season. Our campaign will be, perhaps, a noisy one 
 at first, but neither a difficult nor a dangerous, nor even a tedious one, unless 
 more subjects arise than we are yet aware of. 
 
 ' My house is finished, & I have now only to furnish it at my leisure. I will 
 not put up my pictures till the last, that if anything more than we yet know of 
 should fall in our way we may be prepared with a proper place for it. 
 
 ' I shall be disappointed if I do not soon get some proof under Lady Hamilton's 
 hand that the joy of a happy return to Naples has not entirely put everything in 
 Englarid out of her head. She owes me some compensation for having made it 
 impossible for me to see or hear without making comparisons. 
 
 ' It would make me easier for having bothered you with so many comissions if 
 you could find some use to make of me here. 
 
 ' Adieu, my dear sir. Believe me,' &c. 
 
 198. A. L. S. from William Beckford to the same. Dated Paris, 
 
 December 15th, 1791. 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I am quite happy, my dear Sir W"^, to learn your safe arrival in the realms of 
 peace & sunshine. A thick cloud hangs over Paris at this moment, fraught with 
 some confounded crackers. I expect an eruption every minute. The assembly 
 know not which way to turn themselves, & pubhck credit is at the lowest ebb. In 
 short, I wish myself a thousand leagues away, & w* set forth in depths of hail, 
 snow, sleat, or rain ; & were I certain his Majesty of Naples w'' like my coming 
 into his dominions, & trying to amuse him & his good subjects by every means in 
 my power. 
 
 ' It is with the most heartfelt satisfaction I can assure you that poor R* 
 B[eckford] begins to lift up his head again. By my advancing a sum of ready 
 money the mouths of his most ravenous creditors have been stopped. 
 
 ' Notwithstanding the confusion of the moment, all my baggage, plate, books, 
 horses, carriages, &c., have been admitted duty free & I must own nothing can 
 exceed the civilities I meet with from the nation ; but their is no living in comfort 
 with a sword suspended over one's head by a thread ; I take the dear nation 
 itself to be in that disagreeable predicament. You cannot imagine how tired I am 
 
 * John James Hamilton, 9th Earl and 1st Marquis of Abercorn, 1756-1818, nephew of the 
 8th Earl. He was created a Marquis in 1790, and was subsequently installed a Knight of the 
 Garter. 
 
158 THE HAMILTON AXD [1791. 
 
 of dull, wet, insipid, foggy weather. Let me hear soon whether you are quite 
 certain of the King's favourable dispositions. I can never think of encountering 
 a swarm of English wasps & hornets without the most distinguished support. 
 Her serene Highness the Margravine is by this time in Eng'' blazing away in St. 
 James's Square, where Mr. Wild'' her minister plenipotentiary has taken fo'r her a 
 grand dingy house, ci-devant inhabited by that right rev'' Father in God the 
 Bishop of Derry. She will shew fine sport, & worry the Uuckingham House 
 Lady* confoundedly, in case the D»' of York shou'd throw her fubsical weight into 
 the scale, which is very probable. I have a short stumpy pen, & write more from 
 the fist than the fingers, & make sad blots ; no wonder ! Two or three Deputies 
 are chattering at one end of my room & swilling tea, & observing that, since the 
 introduction of this English beverage, on pense plits lih-ement, Sec, Sec, a deel of 
 French staff . . . . je me prosterne au pied de la Madonne. Adieu, don't forget 
 >"■ most sincere,' &c. 
 
 199. A. L. S. from Lady Hamilton to Romney. Dated Caserta, 
 December 20th, 1791. 4 pages 4to.t 
 
 ' I have the pleasure to inform you we arrived safe at Naples. I have been 
 receved with open arms by all the Neapolitans of booth sexes, by all the 
 foreighners of every distinction. I have been presented to the Queen of Naples 
 by her own desire, she as shewn me all sorts of kind and affectionate attentions ; 
 in short, I am the happiest woman in the world. 
 
 'Sir William is fonder of me every day, & I hope I will have no corse to 
 repent of what he as done, for I feel so grateful to him that I think I shall never 
 be able to make him amends for his goodness to me. But why do I tell you 
 this ? you know me enough ; you was the first dear friend I open'd my heart to, 
 you ought to know me, for you have seen and discoursed with me in my pooi er days, 
 you have known me in my poverty and prosperity, and I had no occasion to have 
 hved for years in poverty and distress if 1 had not felt something of virtue in my 
 mind. Oh, my dear friend, for a time I own through distress my virtue was 
 vanquished, but my sense of virtue was not overcome. How gratefuU now, then, 
 do I feel to my dear, dear husband that has restored peace to my mind, thai ha; 
 given me honors, rank, and, what is more, innocence and happiness. Rejoice 
 with me, my dear sir, my friend, my more than father, believe me I am still that 
 same Emma you knew me. If I could forget for a moment what I was, I ought 
 to suffer. Command me in anything 1 can do for you here ; believe me, I shall 
 have a real pleasure. Come to Naples, and I will be your model, anything to 
 induce you to come, that I may have an opportunity to show my gratitude to you. 
 Take care of your health for all our sakes. How does the pictures go on ? 
 Has the Prince been to you .'' write to me, I am interested in all that concerns 
 you. God bless you, my dear friend ! I spoke to Lady Sutherland^ about you ; 
 she loves you dearly. Give my love to M''HayIy,§ tell him I shall be glad to see him 
 at Naples. As you was so good to say you would give me the httle picture with 
 the black hat, I wish you would unfrill it, and give it to M'^ Duten. I have a great 
 regard for him ; he took a deal of pains and trouble for me, and I could not di> 
 him a greater favour than to give him my picture. Do, my dear friend, do me 
 that pleasure, and if there is anything from Naples command me. 
 
 * The 'Buckingham House Lady' of that peiiod was T'ine Maxwell, Duchess of Gordon, 
 1748-1812, eldest daughter of Sir Wdliam Maxwell, and first wife of Alexander, 4th and last 
 Duke of Gordon. She was celebrated for her beauty an:l wit, and Walpole calls her ' one of 
 the Empresses of fashion.' He also tells the following an_cdotc of her : ' The Duchess of 
 Gordon, t'other night, coming out of an Assembly, said t p Dundas, "Mr. Dundas, you are 
 used to speak in public ; will you call my servant ?"' 
 
 t This letter is printed in Mr. Morrison's Catalogue (first series), vol. ii. p. 230, but it 
 has been considered advisable to reprint it in this series. 
 
 X Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland in her own right (as only daughter of William, 
 17th Earl of Sutherland), and ist Duchess of Sutherland, 1765-1839. She married, in 1785, 
 George Granville, 2nd Marquess of Stafford and 1st Duke of Sutherland. 
 
 § William Ilaylcy, 1745-1820. A poet and miscellaneous writer. The friend of Cowper. 
 
1 79 1, 1792-] NELSON PAPERS. 159 
 
 'We have a many English at Naples, Ladys Malmsbery * Malden,t Plymouth,! 
 Carnegie,§ Wright, &c. They are very kind and attentive to me ; they all make 
 it a point to be remarkably civil to me. You will be happy at this, as you know 
 what prudes our Ladys are. Tell Hayly I am allways reading his Triumphs of 
 Temper; it was that that made me Lady H., for, God knows, I had for 5 years 
 enough to try my temper, and I am affraid if it had not been for the good example 
 Serena taught me, my girdle would have burst, and if it had I had been undone, 
 for Sir W. minds more temper than beauty. He, therefore, wishes W Hayly 
 would come, that he might thank him for his sweet-tempered wife. I swear to 
 you I have never been once out of humour since the 6'''' of last September. 
 God bless you.' 
 
 200. A. L. S. 'B.' from Lord Bristol to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated Wood- 
 
 stock, December 21st, 179 1. i page 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal, [h.] 
 
 1 1 congratulate you, my old friend, from the bottom of my heart, upon the 
 fortitude you have shown, & the manly part you have taken in braving the world 
 & securing yourwJwn happiness & elegant enjoyments in defiance of them. I 
 was for a long time prepar'd to receive you both, & should have been too happy 
 in contributing to unite you had Lord Abercorn been in Ireland instead of 
 England ; nobody mentions your decision but with approbation ; no wonder 
 provided that they have ever seen & heard Lady Hamilton ; & now I flatter myself 
 you have secured your happyness for life, & will enjoy your otium cum dignitate, 
 & take your dignitatein cum amoenitate for the remainder of your days, & I shall 
 claim my old Cabin at Caserta, that I may be a witness of that permanent comfort 
 I so often wish'd you before. 
 
 'As to the Verd. antique slabs, I certainly reckon upon them entirely, & have 
 provided nothing else in their place, Messrs. Heygelin will advance the money ; 
 what becomes of Skawronski on the death of Potemkin?|| I pity her most 
 sincerely. Direct to me in St. James's Square, London, & write soon. Adieu, 
 ever most cordially yrs.,' &c. 
 
 201. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to the same. No date (January loth, 
 
 I792). 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I have taken a liberty with you, & I communicate it to you instead of \J H., 
 because I know it would give her some embarrassment, & she might imagine it 
 
 * Harriet Mary, ist Countess of Malraesbury, 1760-1S30. She was the youngest daughter 
 of Sir George Amyand, and married, in 1777, James Harris, ist Baron and then Earl of 
 Malmesbury. 
 
 t Sarah, Viscountess Maiden, afterwards Countess of Essex, 1761-1838. She was the 
 daughter of Henry Bazett, of St. Helena, and married, first, Edward Stephenson, Esq., and, 
 secondly, in 1786, as his first wife, George, Viscount Maiden, afterwards 5th Earl of Essex, 
 from whom she separated long before her death. 
 
 X Sarah Archer, Countess of Plymouth, afterwards Countess Amherst, ^circa 1763- 1838, 
 eldest daughter and co-heir of Andrew, 2nd Baron Archer. She married, first, in 1788, Other 
 Hickman, Sth Earl of Plymouth, who died in 1799, and secondly, in 1800, William Pitt, 2nd 
 Baron Amherst. 
 
 § Agnes Murray, Lady Carnegie, 1764-1860, daughter of Andrew Elliot, Lt. -Governor 
 of New York, cousin of the 1st Earl of Minto, and wile of Sir David Carnegie, whom she 
 married in 1783. 
 
 II Grigory Aleksandrovitch, Prince Potemkin, 1736-1791, the celebrated favourite of the 
 Empress Catherine. His merits and attractions having been remarked by Catherine, the 
 jealousy of Orloff, the reigning favourite, caused him to be exiled to Sweden, but in 1774 he 
 became favourite en titre^ and during the two years he enjoyed this position he became a member 
 of the Privy Council, Vice-President of the College of War, General-in-Chief and Prime 
 Minister, became the owner of 37,000 peasants, and received about nine million francs in jewels, 
 plate, palaces, and annuities. When he was replaced in the Empress's favour by a younger 
 successor, he had the tact not to show any feelings of annoyance, and succeeded in keeping the 
 sovereign power in his hands for nearly twenty years. 
 
i6o 
 
 THE HAMILTON AND 
 
 [1792. 
 
 unkind in me so soon to trouble you about her prot^gd.* I had settled the 
 Mi^lsummer half year ; & I intended to have done the same at Xmas if I could 
 have kept my account at Mr. Hoare's vifithin bounds. I have overdrawn him 
 ^150, & my next receipt is in May. It will not, therefore, be taken ill of you that 
 I have given Blackburn an order on Messrs. Ross & Ogilvy for £},2 lis. in this 
 form : — 
 
 '"^32 n J. "January 10, \Tg2. 
 
 " Please to pay to Mr. Blackburn or Bearer thirty-two pounds i is. on account 
 of Sir Wm. Hamilton, the particulars of which demand I have transmitted to 
 him at Naples. " C. F. G." 
 
 ' I do not mean this necessary step to be concealed from \J H., but I should 
 be sorry that she considered it unkindly. You will know better than me that an 
 early decision should be taken about her ; Blackburne says she has grown, & that 
 she has been evidently more anxious since Mrs. Cadogan visited her ; I think 
 they judged well in consulting the apothecary, for growing & worms more usually 
 affect persons of her age than great sensibility. The age of curiosity is, however, 
 near at hand, & her future plans shou'd be settled & communicated ; as every 
 part of her history has been stated to you, there can be little difficulty to decide. 
 The natural attachment to a deserted orphan may be supposed to increase from 
 the length of time she has been protected. I have avoided any such sentiment 
 by having only found the means to indulge so amiable a sentiment in U H. ; if I 
 could have done so longer I would, & if I could have taken care of her for life 
 I should have personally seen the progress of it. I had full confidence in Mrs. 
 Blackburn, & in Mr. B.'s discretion, &, as Mrs. Cadogan saw her situated to her 
 satisfaction, I had only to ensure the continuance of her residence with these 
 good people untill her plans of life could be settled. 
 
 'I enclose the accountt that you may see the particulars of what I have 
 
 * Emma, supposed to be Lady Hamilton's daughter by Captain Willet Payne, 
 t The following is the ' account ' : — 
 
 1791. Miss Hart. 
 
 Haifa years' board due January the 6th, 1792 
 French 
 
 Music 
 
 Music book 
 
 Use of a pianoforte 
 
 Dancing ... 
 
 Writing, copy books, &c. 
 
 Remaining the Xmas holidays . 
 
 Washing ... 
 
 Teacher & servants 
 
 Books 
 
 Hair cutting 
 
 Seat at church 
 
 Weekly allowance 
 
 Shoes 
 
 Filligree box for Mrs. Hart by order of Mrs. Cadogen 
 
 Packing-case 
 
 Pair of garters ... 
 
 Bonnet 
 
 6 pair of stocking 
 
 One dozen of red port wine 
 
 Apothecary's bill for the year '90 
 
 Gloves 
 
 Pins, needles, tape, & thread 
 
 Pair of stays, I4J., & stuff skirt, ()s. 
 
 Carriage of two packing-cases for Miss Hart from London . 
 
 Evans' worm powders, Ts.; drawing 2 teeth, 2s. 
 
 4 yards ribbon for a sash, Ss., & 3 flannel pettycoats, I0.f. . 
 
 £ 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 ,3 
 
 .1 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 IS 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 ,3 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 II 
 
 
 
I792-] NELSON PAPERS. i6i 
 
 alllowed her, which you will continue till her plans are decided on. I cannot have 
 an opinion what the plan should be, but that which is most agreable to U H. will 
 be best ; & I know that she will consider your attention on this subject as 
 additional proof of your kindness. 
 
 'It will be expected that I say a few words on the politicks of the year. The 
 crisis of France is not far distant. A war appears inevitable, but nothing can 
 exceed the disorder of their finances. Our Gov' will not dare involve us, they 
 are in alarms about India & the meeting of Parliam' has been defer'd to the 
 end of the month, & some expect a further adjournment, if news does not arrive 
 from Ld. Cornwallis. 
 
 'These adjournments keep my brother W. in hot wa.ter; he has an oposition 
 at Warwick ; if a Gent, without personal interest can made a tolerable figure, you 
 may judge what I might have done by persevering in hostility, but I only am 
 surprised he did not offer the seat to my brother Robert ; he would have done 
 himself credit & have avoided an opposition. My love to IJ H., & I remain,' &c. 
 
 202. A.L. S. from Sir Robert Murray Keith to the same. Dated 
 
 Vienna, January 19th, 1792. 2 pages 4to. [H.J 
 
 ' I seize, with pleasure, the eariiest opportunity of acquainting you that the 
 Russian Ambassador here received last night, by a Courier from Jassy, the 
 very important news, that the peace between the Russians & Turks was signed 
 there on the ninth instant. 
 
 ' I heartily congratulate you on this happy event. 
 
 '*I must add to the ahoye circular a. itvf friendly lines to ask your pardon, 
 my dear Sir, for having delayed to thank you for your kind letter on your return 
 to NapJes. I take a warm interest in whatever concerns your personal happiness, 
 & I hope that your marriage will render it complete & permanent. I have for a 
 month past been in hourly expectation of learning from England something 
 satisfactory touching my own affairs, but to this hour I have no information on 
 that head. May I beg of you to offer my best respests to the Bishop of 
 Winchestert & his family, & to deliver the annexed letter which came enclosed to 
 some person here, who sent it to my house a few days ago. 
 
 ' I have just now heard (& from good authority) that a Courier has been 
 dispatched to recal the Archdutchess, & her husband from the Government of 
 the Netherlands; Prince Charles will be appointed Governour, and Mr. de 
 MetternickJ will remain there as Minister. 
 
 ' Notwithstanding all the efforts of the Bourbon princes, I am persuaded that 
 the Emperor is taking the most prudent steps to prevent a rupture with France. 
 Adieu, my dear Sir, may health & every comfort attend you in your pleasant 
 residence, & be assured of the sincere attachment with which I shall ever 
 remain,' Stc. 
 
 ' I open this letter again to beg of you to look upon the above news of the 
 recal of the Archdutchess as very doubtful if not altogether void of foundation^ 
 
 203. A. L. S» from Lord Abercorn to the same. Dated February 20th, 
 
 1792. 4^ pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I have just received & sincerely thank you for your letter of Jan? 24"^, giving 
 me an account of your successful execution of the commission you so kindly 
 undertook as to my Maestro di Capella. Sig"^ Giuseppe Lanza§ seems exactly the 
 man I want, if he be not too great a one ; & I shall be glad to have set off the 
 
 * From this point the letter is autograph, 
 
 t Brownlow North, Bishop of Winchester, 1741-1820, son, by his second wife, of Francis, 
 3rd Baron Guilford. He was appointed Bishop of Lichfield in 1771, was translated to 
 Worcester in 1774, and again to Winchester in 1781. He married in 1771 Henrietta Maria, 
 daughter of John Bannister, Esq., by whom he had 6 children. 
 
 X Franz Georg von Metternich, 1746-1818, father of the great German statesman, and 
 himself minister at the Hague. He was created a Prince in 1813. 
 
 § Francesco Giuseppe Lanza after residing some years in the Marquis's household returned 
 to Naples in 1812. He was the author of some trios and a couple of opera bouffes. 
 VOL. I. M 
 
16:: TJIE HAMILTON AND [1792. 
 
 moment he can. I am perfectly willing that you should furnish him with 50 
 sequins for his journey ; & beg you will also agree with him in my name, for the 
 salary (specified in English money) that you yourself think proper; all I 
 particularly request is that to prevent any possibility of mistakes or dissatisfaction 
 you will be so good as to specify exactly that & other particulars that I will 
 mention upon paper; of which he may bring one copy with him, & you will 
 enclose another in the first letter you shall be so good as to write me. 
 
 ' I. The sum for his journey, & his fixed yearly salary. 
 
 '2. If I discharge him within the first two years he is to be paid to the day he 
 goes without any deduction ; but, if he on any pretence leaves me within that time, 
 the expense of his journey is to Ise deducted by me. 
 
 ' 3. He is to live at my second table ; his duty is to instruct all my family, to 
 play to us, &c., & to be cheerful and happy ; he is to shew his belonging to me 
 by waiting behind my chair at table, which will be the only duty except musical 
 duty that he will have to perform. 
 
 '4. He will never be allowed to play or perform any where but at home ; his 
 duty will confine him entirely at home; which I shall certainly try to make as 
 comfortable & pleasant to him as possible. 
 
 '5. I never bear the least contradiction or discontent; he must not find fault 
 with anything because one country, &c., is unlike another. I never suffer airs of 
 any sort; at the same I shall undoubtedly wish & endeavour to make his place as 
 happy as possible. 
 
 '6. He must consider himself as coming over on purpose to be established 
 with me, not to catch at any offer that his own countrymen or any body else may 
 make to seduce him from my service. If I find him worthy of having his 
 situation better'd when he has been some time with me, I shall be very willing to 
 better it without asking; but he must trust to me & not be in a hurry. 
 
 ' As I find I shall be too late for the foreign post if I do not close my letter, I 
 think I need not trouble you with any more items ; the fact is, that the particular 
 point I wish to secure is, that Sig^ Lanza may not be too great, which will render 
 him both inconvenient & useless, else I shall not care much about his waiting at 
 table ; if he will but be obliging, & cheerful, & desirous of continuing with me, I 
 shall do all I can to make him happy. 
 
 'The Parmeggiano is not yet arrived; it will relieve me from all my anxiety 
 when once I have it safe & sound in my possession. I have made some very 
 good purchases here, & question whether there are many better collections in this 
 country than mine is already. 
 
 ' I hope a letter which I wrote some time ago to your fair & dear sposa has been 
 received ; my kindest love attends her ; as to any foolish reports in our newspapers, 
 you need not cast a thought upon them ; you do me but justice in feeling sure that 
 you have a friend who would not let you be a sufferer for want of his interposition. 
 
 ' Bright is afraid that a letter of his about the Bronzes may have miscarried. 
 Adieu, my dear Sir; as I began this letter too late, I have not time to say more & 
 save the post. I am,' &c. 
 
 204. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to the same. No date (1792). 
 
 7 pages 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' I have had some correspondence lately with our friend Meyrick, he sent me 
 an abstract of Mr. Davies' account for two years in order to state the net income. 
 There were a few remarks in which Mr. Meyrick & I agreed, but on the whole 
 admit the punctuality & diligence of Davies ; yet, after all, the 2 years do not 
 produce nett above 1200 a year, &, altho' the estimated value is double that amount, 
 if you consider that in many counties of G. B. estates can only be depended upon 
 to produce 2 thirds of the amount of the rent roll, without reckoning rebuilding 
 on extraordinary cases, you have not much to complain ; but even the estimated 
 value of Black supposes that buildings and repairs are made ; consequently the 
 interest &, we might say, capital sunk in making those repairs should be deducted 
 to form a reasonable expectation. Your great kindness has made me revolve the 
 present and probable circumstances attending the estate, & from the improv""'", 
 which are likely soon to take place in the countiy, from the establishment of mails 
 
t79^.-] JJELSON PAPERS. i6j 
 
 to Jrdand six tkn-es a week, & by the good luck I have had in fixing the post office 
 at Huberston before the pacquets were establish'd. I have less trouble in keeping 
 Hubberston in the line of promotion : the contests are now strong, & the offers 
 of providing accomodation of keys, inns, &c., to land passengers & mails at 
 Pembroke ferry, thereby to save the mail coaches 14 miles in their journ-ey to 
 London, & with the difference of 2 miles to Haverfordwest, might have given me 
 trouble — not from the fects being in favorof any other direction of communication, 
 but from the want of a little capital to insure the same conveniences. 
 
 ' It is now come to a crisis relative to Hubberston ; the establishing market, 
 the insuring a good inti, & the providing a good post office & custom house, are 
 ■expences which alone can render the properly in the neighbourhood — these 
 objects will also bring with them necessarly a quay ; & of all these essentials we 
 have only got a post master & the pacquets contracted for to carry the mail next 
 spring ; for the mail coach you saw fail'd in 6 months. I am in correspondance 
 all along both roads to decide which way the (mail shall travel. I shall try to 
 have them 3 times a week by Brecon to Carmarthen, & 3 times by Swansea ; 
 but, if the Brecon will not be bustling, the Swansea shall have 6 times a 
 week, at any rate from C^marthen to Hubberston there shall be mail 6 times 
 a week. As to the dustom house there is violent obstacles, but I shall be 
 able to move it from Pembroke I hope ; but I cannot meet office without 
 being able to ensure the convenience of carrying on the duty ; & the only 
 way I know is by contract to supply gov' with a custom house & key at a 
 certain price, & where such stable advantages are to be ensured there will be little 
 loss in malcing the improv*'*. For instance, if all the improv*^ at Hubberston 
 would cost ^5000, & your agents, for instance Meyrick & myself, were allowed to 
 borrow to that extent for the purposes of improv*, the lease to gov* of custom 
 house would bring in at least 5 p' c', & on the amount of money laid out on the 
 publick buildings there would be no loss of income to you tho' the estate would be 
 charg'd with that debt. The inn should produce the same interest, therefore in 
 the intermediate expence of quay there might be a temporary loss, say of the intrest 
 of ^1000, it would be ^50, but I will be bound to replace such a loss by advance of 
 land & houses from the moment the money is laid out, & I never will propose to 
 you a plan for which you shall be even a temporary loser. 
 
 ' The other improv*' must be carried on by individuals on their own capital, 
 because here is not that security or advantage in providing for individuals which 
 there is with office. 
 
 ' The other power I should wish to have is to exchange estates & collect them 
 near Hubberston or in Roo&e, leaving other parts of the country to others, & 
 uniting all your property in that part of the Haven to which foreign aid is likely 
 to arive. In this general power to Meyrick & self you would not be subject to 
 loss of income, for favorable exchanges & sales may be look'd after & found, & y" 
 opportunity lost while we wait for instruction, & after you have given the approba- 
 tion of a system, & made the condition that no loss of income shall attend its 
 execution, you may safely give the powers. Those you have given to Meyrick 
 would justify legally many of these objects, but you will not find the rents 
 misapplied as heretofore ; he obligingly consults me on what I think would be 
 agreable to you ; I have, however, given no opinion, nor shall not without 
 previously stating the extent & object of it, & what I shall suggest if I am made 
 in any degree responsible, I will not admit without personaly attending thro' the 
 whole detail — with the above powers, which I would like better joint with Meyrick 
 than to myself alone, I would undertake to do great things, & I would, by 
 exchanging with lifeholders, begin the great plan instantly. Every subsequent 
 step would tend to its perfection. 
 
 ' Having said so much on the subject of what I want you to do for your estate, 
 I now proceed to what I wish you to do by an application thro' Conway & the 
 D. of Richmond* to make this go further. 
 
 * Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, 1735-1806, eldest son of the 2nd Duke. He 
 carried the sceptre and dove at the coronation of George III., was sent as ambassador to France 
 in 1765, was constituted Principal Secretary of State in 1766, and was appointed Master-General 
 of the Ordnance in 1 782. 
 
i64 
 
 THE HAMILTON AND 
 
 [1792. 
 
 ' You remember that there remains a good quantity of stone at Paterchurch 
 Point, & there is a fine sea wall ; I want to get the grant of the piles of stones, 
 which, being cut bevil, will suit a sea wall or a fortification, but not buildings in 
 general. I wish, therefore, that you would enclose a letter to the D. of Richmond 
 & a memorial to this effect : — 
 
 ' Property of Sir 
 
 Tenants' Names. 
 
 Hugh Stokes 
 
 Nat. Luck 
 
 Geo. Brown 
 
 F. Andrews 
 
 J. Mathias 
 
 /. Rock 
 
 J. Andrews 
 
 Prickard 
 
 L"* Kensington 
 
 Wid Howell 
 
 Geo. Jenkins 
 
 J. Rock 
 
 Mills 
 
 P. Pavin 
 
 Sam' Hoare .:.. 
 
 J. Powell 
 
 Ann Griffith 
 
 T. Young 
 
 T. Bennet 
 
 D. M'Nichol 
 
 J. Rock 
 
 T. Owen 
 
 Eliz. Mathias 
 
 J. Griffith 
 
 G. Rees 
 
 M. Groyne 
 
 W" Nichols 
 
 J. Moore 
 
 Miss Bowen 
 
 Rent of the Piles 
 
 Williaitt Hamilton 
 Rent 
 
 Lands 
 
 Lands 
 
 Lands 
 
 Lands ., 
 
 Lands 
 
 Lands 
 
 Lands 
 
 Mill 
 
 Lands 
 
 Lands 
 
 Lands 
 
 Lands 
 
 Lands ,. 
 
 House & Garden... 
 
 Cottage 
 
 Cottage 
 
 Cottage 
 
 Cottage 
 
 Cottage 
 
 Cottage ,. 
 
 Cottage 
 
 Cottage 
 
 Cottage 
 
 Cottage 
 
 Cottage 
 
 Cottage 
 
 House & Garden... 
 House & Garden... 
 House & Garden... 
 
 in Stainton &= Lawhaden 
 in the last account 
 pass'd 1 791 
 
 Terms of Leases. 
 
 ;{^47 10 o 3 Lives existing. 
 
 38 o o 3 Lives existing. 
 
 12 o o 3 Lives existing. 
 
 38 a o I Life existing. 
 
 11 Id a I Life existing. 
 
 16 o o i Life existing. 
 
 5 o o I Life existing. 
 
 800 I Life existing. 
 
 6 10 o at will. 
 
 550 at will. 
 
 12 o o at will. 
 
 63 o o at will. 
 
 550... .,... at will. 
 
 19 o 3 Lives existing. 
 
 12 6 3 Lives existing. 
 
 17 6 3 Lives existing. 
 
 5 o 2 Lives existing. 
 
 5 o I Life existing. 
 
 5 o I Life existing. 
 
 5 o I Life existing. 
 
 5 o I Life existing. 
 
 12 o at will. 
 
 19 o at will. 
 
 10 6 at will. 
 
 15 o at will. 
 
 16 o at will. 
 
 550 at will. 
 
 I 6 o at will. 
 
 I I o at will. 
 
 I I o at will. 
 
 ;£283 19 6 
 Lawhaden & Tythes, deducting the \ , 
 
 Church Rent ] "° ° ° 
 
 ;£343 19 6 
 
 at will. 
 
 'Since 1784 these lands have been raised. Stainton ^63 & Lawhaden ^20, 
 in the whole ^83 a year. 
 
 'If you was resident in England I should advise you to buy up the life interests 
 to forward improvements, which with subsisting leases must be remote. And this 
 must be the first step before adventurers can be invited into the country with their 
 capital. 
 
 ' My visits have become annual, & I could make my way in Pembrokeshire if 
 you would give me a present footing there ; without lessing your income you 
 might give me a chance of defraying my expenses if not to produce an income. I 
 propose to you to give me a lease of the Stainton & Lawhaden property, subject to 
 the present rates and leases ^343 from Mich' next, & from Mich' 1793, subject to 
 the improved rent of £443. I will also pay the church rent for Lawhaden ^20 or 
 ;^23, which will simplify your account. 
 
 ' The lease for my life & till 99, shall be completed with power to resume with 
 consent of present tenants, & to let to under tenants, will enable me to speculate 
 as far as I can find persons to advance capital & to take all the trouble I please 
 
1792.] NELSON PAPERS. 165 
 
 without risque to your income ; the lands will remain subject for the rent to your 
 receiver & will be resumeable on failure of payment. It will be an ostensible mark 
 of your kindness at the time you change your situation & will render my appearance 
 in the country creditable. I send it that you may give it due consideration. 
 
 ' I have enquired for money at 4 per cent. Messrs. Hoare will get you ^gooo 
 at that rate of interest, which will answer the pay' of the old debt, 3400, the lease 
 of Lawhaden & Meyrick's requisition. 
 
 ' If you will, write a line to Hamilton to desire him to shew the deeds to the 
 person who will advance the money ; I will deliver the letter & see that that 
 business is despatched, it being better that you execute that deed by your hand 
 than by your attorney. 
 
 ' I have now laid before you the draft of every deed which I think necessary 
 to bring your business in future to the simple amount on Messrs. Ross & Ogilvy's 
 books. Meyrick will see the receiver Davis, remit the nett income to Ross & 
 Ogilvy, & no other agent will be required, as their books will contain all your 
 receipts & expenditures in G. B. 
 
 ' I have set down without mystery everything that you can do for me at 
 present & in future without diminution of present income. I have been always 
 flatter'd by your preference & kindness, & no wish is more distant from my heart 
 than the wish of encreasing my comfort by the diminution of your income, or the 
 sacrifice of anything that can tend to your happiness ; Emma needs no assurances 
 from me of my affection & kind concern for her.' 
 
 205. A. L. S. from W. Beckford to the same. Dated Paris, 27th 
 February, 1792. 3^ pages 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' I have rec'^ all your letters, including the one to Wildman, & I cannot express 
 how gratefully I feel these marks of your friendship. 
 
 'Were not the season so far advanced I should be tempted to set forth 
 without delay. The summer I stand in awe of, recollecting too well my 
 sufferings at Posilipe. Next winter will attract me powerfully towards Naples, 
 notwithstanding the flights of noxious animals which overshadow y'' bright 
 climate at that period. What care I for those animals or their croakings.' My 
 skin is become very callous, & I defy them to pick it sore. Now the K. & Q. are 
 perfectly well acquainted with my position I have nothing to fear. Your good 
 offices will have cleared up the clouds which might have been gathering in that 
 quarter, as I make no doubt you have explained the advantage likely to result 
 from the good comfortable sum it is in my power to spend, &c. How rejoiced 
 I am to hear L^ H. has met with the reception she merits. Say everything to 
 her from me that a sincere & genuine admiration of her glorious form and warm 
 heart can dictate. Dagufere is encrouting the K. of Naples at a shameful rate. 1 
 saw yesterday a secretaire (price 19000 livres) of most hideous taste, with a 
 tremendous deal of bronze ornament wretchedly executed, If the K. is desirous 
 of havmg real good work in gold, silver, or bronze, he should apply to Auguste, 
 whose talents equal if not surpass those of the first artists of antiquity. I think 
 you will be enraptured with the furniture I am having made under his directions 
 in the true spirit of Corinth & Athens ; the bronze friezes, &c., finished as highly 
 as the gold vase you saw at FonthilJ. Foxhall has directions from me to examine 
 the drawings you mention, & if these are not too large for a place I have in my 
 eye I shall be extremely glad to take them. Will your man ever be able to 
 complete the Herculaneum drawings, a vol. of which he showed me last summer.? 
 If he could, I might treat with him. Pray reserve a fine copy of your new work 
 for me ; I am continually asked when it will make its appearance. May I, my 
 dear Sir W"", trouble you to let me know what sort of houses are to be had at 
 Naples ; a word from the K. might engage one of the first magnates to hire me 
 his palace. My furniture, &c., require good appartments ; I could not put up 
 with an ordinary or a dull habitation ; I must have terraces & gardens, with views 
 of the sea, & capabilities of placing pavilions, tents, & awnings in an Oriental 
 fantastic style. 
 
 ' We have been buried in snow this last fortnight. To day the sun shines out, 
 & I shall get on horse back. Adieu,' &c. 
 
'65 THE HAMILTON AND [1797, 
 
 206 A. L. S. from Sir R. M. Keith to the same. Dated Vienna, March 
 1st, 1792. if pages 4to. 
 
 ' I have only time to acquaint you of the very melancholy & unexpected event 
 of the demise of the Emperor Leopold, which took place between three & four 
 o'clock this afternoon. His death was occasioned by an inflammatory fever, 
 which, falling on his bowels, resisted all the power of medicine & carried him off, 
 very suddenly, in the third day of his illness. 
 
 ' I need not add that this sad event has plunged the Royal family & this 
 capital into the deepest affliction. 
 
 * ' The delay of the post makes this almost a superfluius letter before it is 
 despatched ; however, it will fjrove to you my goodwill. I ought to have told you 
 in my last letter that Gray, the jeweller, directs to you by the first ship from 
 London a tea chest filled with tea, which is a commission given to me by Prince 
 Auersberg, and intended for the Queen of Naples. The Prince will have signified 
 to you his intentions respecting that present, which I tnrst will be very handsome. 
 I sign this letter on the 5th, and I have the pleasure of assuring you that the 
 King & Queen of Hungary are quite well, & the Dowager Empress getting the 
 better of the dreadful shock she sustained. Adieu, my dear sir,' &c. 
 
 207. A. L. S. from John Flaxmanf to the same. Dated Rome, March 
 
 13th, 1792. i|pages4to. [h.] 
 
 ' In addition to the many instances of your kindness & favor which I hav© 
 already received, I presume to ask another in behalf of Mr. Playfair,J a English 
 architect, of whose talents you will be fully convinced as well from his conversation 
 as his designs % I entreat you to indulge him with the sight of your superb 
 collection of vases, & to assist him as far as you conveniently can in advice & 
 permissions for such things as he may be desirous to copy. I have been 
 emboldened to presume thus far on your goodness by that regard & attention 
 which genius & talents always meet with from your liberality. My wife unites 
 Vvith me in respectful & kindness wishes for the happiness of Lady Hamilton 
 equal to her excellence & virtues. Permit me to intrude on your time with a word 
 concerning myself I am going to restore the Torso Belvidere in a group of the 
 Marriage of Hercules &l Hebe, large as the original torso, which when done will 
 be publickly exhibited in Rome. I owe the idea of this restoration to the 
 ingenuity & learning of Mr. D'Ankerville, & the advantage of his acquaintance to 
 your introduction. I am likewise making a set of drawings, one for each book of 
 Dante, about 100 in number. I have these commissions from Mr. Hope,§ whose, 
 generosity, amiable manners & talents in design you are without doubt acquainted 
 with. I repeat my wishes for yours & your amiable Lady's continued & 
 increasing happiness, & I have the honor,' &c. 
 
 208. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to the Earl of Orford.f Dated 
 Naples, April 17th, 1792. 5 pages 4to. and foUo, with Super- 
 scription and Seal, [p.] 
 
 * Since my return here I have been in one perpetual hurry, and the Holy Week 
 
 * From this point the letter is autograph. 
 
 f John Flaxman, 1755-1826, the well-linown sculptor and draughtsman. Pie went to 
 Italy to study in 1787, and remained there for seven years, when he returned to London, where 
 he held the position of an artist of acknowledged fame and standing until his death. 
 
 % James Playfair, an architect, father of the well-known W. H. Playfair. He died in 1794. 
 
 § Thomas Hope, circa 1770-1831, an author and virtuoso, eldest of the three sons of John 
 Hope, of Amsterdam. After studying and sketching architectural remains in Egypt, Greece, 
 Sicily, and other countries, he settled in England, devoted himself to literature, and employed 
 part of his large fortune in collecting ancient sculptures and vases, Italian pictures, and 
 other works of art. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society, and of the Society of Antiquaries, 
 and was a patron of Canova, Chantrey, Flaxman, and Thorwaldsen. He married Louisa, 
 daughter of William de la Peer Beresford, Archbishop of Tuam, and was the father of the late 
 well known Mr. A. J. Beresford Hope. 
 
 * Horace Walpole. 
 
1792.] NELSON PAPERS. 167 
 
 having carried off most of the foreign travellers to Rome, it is now only that I 
 begin to breathe. Having resided at Naples upwards of 37 years, foreigners of 
 every denomination contrive to bring letters of recommendation, and as your 
 countrymen can without much difificulties, paying 2 Guineas at the Secretary's 
 office, get a letter, they now all bring me such letters, & think themselves entitled 
 to get that penny's worth out of me, and after all it is most difficult to content 
 them. It appears to me that education in England does not improve, for of 
 upwards of 100 British travellers that have been here this winter I can scarcely 
 name those who can have reaped the least profit, for they have lived together 
 and led exactly the same life they wou'd have done in London. I respect 
 Magna Charta, but wish there had been in it some litde restraint upon emigrants. 
 Lady H., who has had also a difficult part to act & has succeeded wonderfully, 
 having gained, by having no pretensions, the thorough approbation of all the 
 English ladies. The Queen of Naples, as you may have heard, was very kind to 
 her on our return, and treats her like any other travelling lady of distinction ; in 
 short, we are very comfortably situated here. I have often thought of you, my 
 dear Lord, and the infinite trouble you must have had upon coming to a title 
 which wou'd have made the happiness of most people, but I shou'd imagine must 
 rather disturb your philosophic retirement. But in this world one must do one's 
 duty and fulfill every obligation in the best manner we can ; without which no 
 thinking man can be happy. You can not imagine how delighted L^ H. was in 
 having gained your approbation in England. She desires to be kindly remember'd 
 to you. She goes on improving daily, particularly in musick & in the French & 
 Italian languages. She is realy an extraordinary being, & most gratefuU to me 
 for having saved her from the precipice into which she had good sense enough to see 
 she must without me have inevitably fallen, and she sees that nothing but a con- 
 stant good conduct can maintain the respect that is now shown her by every body. 
 It has often been remarked that a reformed rake makes a good husband. Why 
 not "dice versa? The barbarous assassination of the King of Sweden makes a 
 strong impression at this Court ; it is realy terrible to reflect what disasters have 
 afflicted crowned heads in our time. The Neapolitans, provided they can get 
 their bellies filled at a cheap rate, will not, I am sure, trouble their heads with 
 what passes in other countries, and great pains are taken to prevent any of the 
 democratic propaganda or their writings finding their way into this kingdom. 
 
 ' Now that I have a little leisure, I shall endeavour that the first volume of my 
 new collection of vases, all of which were under ground 3 years ago, shall be 
 published within two months, and I flatter myself that this publication will be of 
 infinite use to the Arts, & will lay open a noble field for antiquarians to display 
 their erudition ; but my object is principally, as it always has been, to assist & 
 promote the Arts. Prince Augustus* is still here and has really been very ill, 
 but is now perfectly recover'd & will probably go to Rome next week ; you may 
 well imagine that H. R. H.'s illness has also given me some employment. He is 
 most amiable, but I fear will never enjoy perfect health. Adieu, my dear 
 Lord,' &c. 
 
 209. A. L. S. from the Marquis of Abercorn to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 
 April 20th, 1792. 5 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal. 
 
 [H.J 
 
 ' I am bound to give you early notice of the safe arrival of the Parmeggiano, 
 which I received at the Priory (where I am spending my Easter) a few days ago. 
 All I had heard of it from you & others, did not prevent or diminish my surprise 
 at the wonderful beauty and magnificence of a piece of art that I almost prefer 
 to any I ever saw in my life ; certainly very much to the Tra,nsfiguration ; it has 
 every perfection of colour, sublimity, & effect ; I had not an idea of what Parmeg- 
 giano was before. 
 
 * Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, 1773-1843, sixth son of George III. A year after 
 the date of the letter he married, at Rome, Lady Augusta Murray, but this marriage, having 
 been deemed a violation of the Royal Marriage Act, was dissolved in 1794. fie never con- 
 tracted another marriage. 
 
i68 THE HAMILTON AND [1792. 
 
 'Sir George Beaumont* & Knight were with me when it came, & they were 
 absolutely in raptures at it ; it is undoubtedly the finest thing that ever came into 
 this country, & I am much objiged to you for recommending it & getting 
 it for me. 
 
 ' I am also to thank you for the dogs, which are running about the Priory in 
 great health & spirits ; in their size, however, I must confess myself disappointed, 
 
 ' I hope Sig' Giuseppe Lanza is on his way to me long since ; we are impatient 
 for him, as a good musician & singing master in the house is quite essential ; ha 
 will have a good deal of employment in his Hne with my wife t & daughters, but 
 we will try to make things pleasant to bim ; as to his waiting at table 1 am very 
 indifferent about it, farther than as it ascertains & marks his place & station. 
 
 ' We have had a very pleasant Easter at the Priory, with a good deal of good 
 company. My new rooms are much in vogue, & are excellent for music ; when 
 will you & your lovely wife see, try, & ornament them ? My wife desires me to 
 assure you both that nothing will give her so much pleasure asi an opportunity of 
 making the sejour pleasant to you. 
 
 ' I am expecting a letter from my bellissima cugina, which she told me would 
 in a few days follow the most kind one 1 received from her some days ago upon 
 the news of rny marriage ; whether it arrives soon or not I shall very shortly 
 write to her. 
 
 ' By the way, before I close this, let me say one word (which I am sure yon 
 will at least take in good part) upon the subject of yorar Correggio. Whatever 
 idea it may naturally give yoo of English taste, the fact is, it has not made any 
 stir among the amateurs, though, to do Vandergucht justice, he has placed it in 
 his room to advantage. He has had but two offers for it, one (I think) from Sir 
 Peter BurrellJ of 1000 g»., & one from a person he does not name for 1200. Now, 
 if you are determined not to part with it under the value you put upon it, of course 
 it needs no consideration. But, if you do mean finally to sell it for the most it 
 will bring, I am inclined to advise you to take the 1200 while you can get it, 
 because, as well as I can judge, I rather think there is a sort of^ disposition or 
 fashion to undervalue it, which will tend to make offers fall sooner than rise. All 
 this, however, I only give as my opinion, & I do it because, though it is that of 
 others, I am the only friend who would venture to give it to you. 
 
 ' I need not add with what regard I am always,' &c. 
 
 310. A Draft of Letter from Romney to Lady Hamilton. No date 
 
 (i792),§ 2| pages 4to. 
 
 ' What must you think of my neglect of answering your kind letter ? Do not 
 accuse me of ingratitud. 1 wish I could express myself as I felt at the perusal of 
 it to find your happyness so compleat : May God grant it may remain so till the 
 end of your days. You may be assured that I have the same anxiety that Sir 
 William and yourself should continue to think well of me, and the same desire to 
 do everything in my power that may merit your esteem. I have waited till I 
 could give you some account of the picter of Cassandra and some other of the 
 
 * Sir George Rowland Beaumont, 1753-1827. A connoisseur and patron of art whose social 
 position, wealth, and cultivation secured for him a distinguished position as a ruler of taste. He 
 was the intimate friend of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Wordsworth, Coleridge, &c. He presented 
 many fine pictures to the National Gallery. 
 
 t The Marquis was married three timea : first in 1779 to Miss Catherine Copley, who died 
 in 1791 ; secondly, six weeks before the date of the letter, to his cousin, Lady Cecil HamjUon, 
 from whom he was divorced in 1799 ; and thirdly to Mrs. Hatton, daughter of Arthur, 2nd Earl 
 of Arran. The daughters mentioned were three in number : Harriet Margaret, who died in 1803 ; 
 Katharine Elizabeth, who married in 1805 George, 4th Earl of Aberdeen; snd Maria, who died 
 in 1814. 
 
 % Sir Peter Burrell, 1st Baron Gwydyr, <r«Ya 17 50- 1820, grandson of Peter Burrell of Langley 
 Park, Beckenbam. He married Lady Priscilla Bertie, who became Baroness Willoughby de 
 Eresby, and was the brother 0/ the Countess of Beverley, the Duchess of Northi^mberland, and 
 the Duchess of Hamilton. . ^ 
 
 § Answer to I^adyrHamilton's letter given under 199, and also reprinted from Mr, Morrison s 
 QatalogiK, first series. 
 
1792.] NELSON PAPERS. 169 
 
 pictures you were so kind as to let me see. The Cassandra is at last gone to the 
 Shakespeare Gallery. It suits. 
 
 ' The King and Royal Family saw it. I hav never heard from the Prince of 
 Wales till a few days ago Mr. West called and said the Prince desired him to 
 look at the picture for His Royal Hiness. They are near finished. The lively 
 one I have made to suit Calipso. 
 
 ' I am anxious to know what you would wish me to do with the picture with a 
 bonnet as you have not mentioned it in your letter. Mr. Crawford has expressed 
 a great desire of possessing it in preference to the other. I shall wait for your 
 instructions. I sent, as your Ladyship required, the picter in black to du Tens. 
 
 ' I was lead into a thing that gives me uneasyness. I was solicited so very 
 strongly for a letter of recommendation to your Ladyship, that I was not able to 
 get off. The person was then in Italy, but was not informed who he was. I hope 
 your Ladyship will forgive me for taking such a liberty, and that nothing un- 
 pleasant happened.' 
 
 211. A. L. S. from W. Beckford to the same. Dated Evian, July 31st, 
 1792. 2| pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 _'I left Paris just in time to avoid a scene of the most frightful confusion, & am 
 quietly established in one of the wildest forests of Savoy, on the borders of the 
 lake. My pavilions are in a style you would like, & L^ Hamilton be in raptures 
 with. They have been planned, executed, & adorned by the first artists of Paris, 
 who are all here in my suite, with the addition of the best clarionets, oboes, drums, 
 major & minor, of the ci-devant Gardes du Roy des Fran^ais. It rains at this 
 moment, which deranges my encampment a little. I wish you could take a peep 
 of it by the aid of some miraculous telescope without stirring from under your 
 canopy of soft blue sky. Pray let me know, in case French affairs keep me from 
 Paris, what sort of a house I c* have at Naples. I feel a very strong inclination 
 to pass a few months near you. If my last letters from Paris had not miscarried 
 I think I sh* not have remained so long without hearing from you. You must 
 have had many opportunities by this time of sounding dispositions pour &" centre 
 man voyage. Inform me, I beg, of the result, & the sooner the better, that I may 
 settle the plan of my journey. My kindest comps. attend L^ H., & I remain ever,' &c. 
 ' Direct a Geneve, paste restante.' 
 
 ■212. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Lausanne, September 
 
 28th, 1792. 2j pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I have been obliged to cross over the lake in a violent hurry, for all Savoy is 
 bedivelled & bejacobinized, & plundering, ravaging, &c., is going on swimmingly. 
 I found this place in sad confusion, & its government half crazy with alarms, 
 suspicions, &c. I shall rest myself 3 or 4 days at Bienne, & then proceed to 
 Constance & the Tyrol on my way to Italy. My musicians, 7 in number, including 
 their director, Miller, are sett off for Naples, & will probably arrive a fortnight 
 Jsefore me ; so I beg you will have the kindness to order passports for them to Rome. 
 J have recommended them to Madame de Pontdoye at Prince Camille de Rohan's.* 
 * Their names & countries are as follows : — 
 
 Miller Krasinski | Pole. 
 
 Philip ^ 
 
 Smuck I 
 
 Kershner i „ ^ 
 
 Welscht f ^" Germans. 
 
 Rheim | 
 
 Gallet J 
 
 * Camille Philippe Ferdinand, Prince de Rohan, 1765-1843. A Knight of the Golden 
 Fleece, and head of the house of Rohan. 
 
 t Ernest Louis Miller, or Midler, whose works were published under the pseudonym of 
 Krasinski, was a Polish musician who arrived in France about 1768, married, and had a daughter 
 who became a celebrated dancer, and married Gardel, the violinist. Miller died at Paris 
 in 1798. 
 
ijo THE HAMILTON AND [1792, 
 
 I am contracting my train as much as possible ; for these are no times for much 
 suite in traveUing ; roads & inns are all crowded with poor unfortunate victims of 
 the present mania flying from & to misery. That we may meet soon in peace & 
 sunshine is the fervent prayer of yours,' &c. 
 
 ' I hope you have had the goodness to remember my lascia passare for Rome, 
 & a few words of recommendation to some capital personage there, in case I 
 should have any plague these plaguy times. 
 
 ' I have taken the liberty of addressing several cases to you of books, 
 wines,' &c., &c. 
 
 213. A. L. S. from Mr. Miller to the same. Dated Milan, October 12th, 
 
 1792. I page 4to., with Superscription. [H.] 
 
 ' Pardonnez, Votre Exelence, la libertez que je prends de vous dcrire, comme je 
 suis chargez de conduire k Naples la Musique de Monsieur de Beckford ; on 
 m'assure dans ce moment qu'il faloit avoir un passeport de Naple pour nous 
 rendre de Rome k notre destination ; en concequance, j'ai Thonneur de prier son 
 Exelence d'avoir la bontfe de nous en faire passer un \ Rome, k la poste restante. 
 Vous obligerais infiniment celui qui a I'honneur d'etre, &c. 
 ' Voici les noms : 
 
 de Krasinsky dit Miller, de Varsovie. 
 
 Rhein allemand. 
 
 Schvend allemand. 
 
 Kirschner allemand. 
 
 Schmuck allemand. 
 
 Welsche allemand. 
 
 Galant allemand ; vennant tous de Lausanne.' 
 
 214. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to the same. Dated Stackpole 
 
 Court, November 9th, 1792. 5 pages 4to., with Superscription 
 and Seal. [h.J 
 
 ' I have been since August in Pembrokeshire. I was unwilling to omit every 
 attention which the opening the communication between Wales & Ireland required 
 to give a better chance to the Inn, which is covering in ; you have seen weather 
 not very agreeable in Pembrokeshire, nothing I ever saw in any country equals 
 what I have seen since August — eternal rain, & whenever it ceases the winds from 
 N. & East as cold as in winter. It is surprizing how much superintendance every 
 work here demands, so little are the people accustomed to conduct works, or to 
 consider plans on an enlarged scale. I am so hamper'd by them that I do not 
 think that I shall be able to leave the country these 2 months, which I do not 
 grudge, as all the outline of what can be done well will be traced & set on foot in 
 that time. The lease of Stokes, which cuts off a good slice of the Pill farms, 
 hampers me a little, but I have out of leases sufficient to begin ; the whole of the 
 success in collecting persons to build depends on my personal connexions, & I 
 am sorry to say that I prefer extending them with industrious people from abroad ; 
 I mean from the colonies & America than in Wales, & this from the difficulty of 
 breaking thro' Welsh old habits, but previous to engaging with strangers skill'd in 
 commerce & fisheries it requires much inquiry to make a proper selection for 
 necesity alone makes such men change situations, & they too often require 
 assistance to remove. I have got six Quaker families from America, & I have 
 hired Robinson (Mr. Keemars) at £^o a year to accomodate them till cottages 
 can be built. I call them cottages because they are to be houses consisting of 2 
 floors only & cheap buildings, but it is inconceivable the trouble I have had to 
 assist these people on their arrival, &, tho' some of the first people laugh at my 
 plans, they have been trying to get these families from the estate, L'' Milford 
 offer'd to settle them at Nayland & on their own terms. 
 
 ' Campbel, on the other hand, offer'd me every assistance in the handsomest 
 manner. I took Robinson Hall to be enabled to give them shelter, and to provide 
 for a succession of settlers if I can persevere in the employment. You may very 
 well see the reason 1 solicited you to give me the Pill farms on a rent which, by 
 
V9^-] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 17' 
 
 your report from Black, you might know to be tbe improved value of those farms, 
 without valuating any extraordinary exertions which might make. I told you that 
 I should willingly make those exertions on your account, but that I should not 
 advise you to launch into expensive plans of colonisation, but I limited the object 
 of your improvement to those indispensably necessary for the pacquets and for 
 the estate, under the direction of iMr. Meyrick & myself We go on in perfect 
 amity, and there will soon be an end to the works we can make with the funds 
 entrusted, and, notwithstanding the inn cannot pay good interest, yet the adjoining 
 property will idemnify you with a prospect of greater advances. There is not a 
 doubt that those who take land on building leases will save themselves at any 
 event and may get considerably, but I grudge putting into other hands a speculation 
 which I am confident they cannot conduct, & the losing the chance of deriving 
 considerable benefit to myself, which I am certain I should realise after allowing 
 you the highest estimated value of these lands, according to which it will be 
 prudent to grant leases. I should not repeat this subject if you had not had a 
 year to inquire into the proposal I made to you to acquire some interest, under 
 you, in the speculation I plan'd and execute ; & it is not doing for me more than 
 you did by giving to Stokes & to Levett the remainder of the lands ; & I never 
 will be a claimant on your friendship to lessen your income; but unless I get 
 some income I cannot go on ; & I cannot desire a better employment for myself 
 than to follow up the improvement of Milford, to make it a port & a market, 
 bring people, manufactures & fisheries, by collecting capital among merchants to 
 erect buildings & carry on a foreign trade. This would confine me for the greatest 
 part of the year in Pembrokeshire for some years, & if I succeed, 1 shall be repaid 
 with credit & income. If I fail your property does not suffer ; for it is responsible 
 to you for the rent. I can live here at moderate expence ; this year, not to be a 
 dependant on my friends, I have taken a lodging at Hakin, to be near the spot, at 
 only 12 shillings a week, but if I was to embark on my account I should fit up a 
 cottage, & with the chimeras of a rising town & trade I should be happy among 
 my friends in Pembrokeshire, & have only to pray for your health & good 
 weather. 
 
 ' I leave a small scrap only for the speculation of Princes in different parts of 
 Europe. I think matters serious everywhere ; will you believe that the Rights of 
 Ma7i has been translated into Welch & circulated with industry. I hope the 
 French will leave Naples & Sardinia quiet ; my love for Italy makes me pray for 
 its tranquility ; but if there are symptoms of restlessness in G. B., & of confusion 
 in Ireland, what reason have I to think that Germany & Italy will escape contagion. 
 I rejoice to have from all quarters the best account of you & Lady H., remember 
 me kindly to her, & tell her she might sometime give me her commands if I can 
 do any agreable for her in England. 
 
 ' Mr. Mackinnon is to bring an English wife to Naples, & Macaulay has intro- 
 duced him to so many capital houses that I am persuaded no person belonging to 
 the factory of Naples ever has been so respectably connected. Macaulay expects 
 to be favoured by Ly. H. as well as yourself Believe me,' &c. 
 
 ' Campbell desires his best compliments. L^ Caroline is recovered, I hope, 
 entirely from her last laying in. She was at death's door for some months.' 
 
 215. A. L. S. from Lady Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Caserta, 
 December 4th, 1792. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' I have the pleasure to inform you that Sir William is out of danger, and very 
 well, considering the illness he as had to battle with. He as been 15 days in bed 
 with a billions fever, and I have been almost as ill as him with anxiety, aprehension 
 and fatige, the last, endead, the least of what I have felt, and I am now doubly 
 repaid by the dayly progress he makes for the better. Luckily we were at 
 Caserta were his convalescence will have fair play, and I am in hopes he will be 
 better then ever he was in his life ; for his disorder as been long gathering and 
 was a Liver Complaint. I need not say to you, my dear Mr. Greville, what I have 
 suffered. Endead I was almost distracted from such extreme happiness at once 
 to such misery, that I felt your good heart may imagine. I was eight days 
 
172 THE HAMILTON AND [1792, 1793. 
 
 without undressing, eating or sleeping. I have great obligations to the English 
 ladies and Neapolitans. Altho' we are 16 miles from Naples, Lady Plymouth, 
 Lady Dunmore,* Lady Webster,t and several others sent twice a day, and offered 
 to come and stay with me, and the King and Queen sent constantly morning and 
 evening the most flattering messages, but all was nothing to me. What could 
 console me for the loss of such a husband, friend and protector .'' For surely no 
 happiness is like ours. We live but for one another. But I was too happy. I 
 had imagined I was never more to be unhappy. All is right. I now know 
 myself again, and shall not easily fall into the same error again. For every 
 moment I feel what I felt, when I thought I was loseing him for ever. Pray 
 excuse me : but you, who loved Sir William, may figure to your self my situation 
 at that moment. 
 
 ' I will trouble you with my own affairs, as you are so good as to interest 
 yourself about me. You must know, I send my grandmother every Cristmas 
 twenty pounds, and so I ought. I have 2 hundred a-year for nonsense, and it 
 would be hard I could not give her twenty pounds, when she has so often given 
 me her last shilling. As Sir William is ill I cannot ask him for the order ; but if 
 you will get the twenty pounds and send it to her, you will do me the greatest 
 favor ; for if the time passes without hearing from me, she may imagine I have 
 forgot her, and I would not keep her poor old heart in suspense for the world, and 
 as she as heard of my circumstances (I don't know how), but she is prudent, and 
 therefore pray lose no time, and Sir W™ shall send you the order. You know 
 her direction — Mrs. Kidd, Hawerden, Flintshire. Could you not write to her a 
 line from me and send to her, and tell her by my order, and she may write to you 
 and send me her answer ? For I cannot divest myself of my original feelings. It 
 will contribute to my happiness, and I am sure you will assist to make me happy. 
 Tell her every year she shall have twenty pound. The fourth of November last, 
 I had a dress on that cost twenty-five pounds, as it was Gala at Court ; and 
 believe me I felt unhappy all the while I had it on. Excuse the trouble I give you, 
 and believe me yours,' &c. 
 
 216. A. L. S. from Lord Pembroke to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated Wilton 
 
 House, January 15th, 1793. 2 pages 4to., with Superscription. [H.] 
 
 'When Lord Lucan| told George Selwyn§ that the King was about to make 
 him an Irish Peer, the latter, in wishing him joy of his title, said he hoped his 
 Majesty, should he ever think of conferring any dignity on him, would do it in 
 pounds, shilHngs, & pence. What may be the great Calabria's Adjutancy worth 
 to him p'^ day, week, month, or year? Pray give my best thanks wherever they 
 may be due for his promotion, & let me know when, & in what condition, the 
 mare is arrived at Naples, which was left behind at Lyons. Pray, say also how 
 he goes on, & in what he is employed. He has routme, but not much knowledge, 
 tho' more than any of his countrymen at Naples. I hope you are so good as to 
 keep an eye over him, & not to let his ignorant vanity run away with him. Lady 
 Hamilton, I trust, continues well, & I desire you will never fail to make my best 
 humblest wishes acceptable to her. Remember me to all friends at Naples. 
 What is Princess Belmonte about ? The intelligence in the enclosed |1 appears to 
 me to be impossible ; you must, of course, know the truth, & I beg you to tell it 
 
 * Lady Charlotte Stewart, sixth daughter of Alexander, 6th Earl of Galloway, and wife of 
 John, 4th Earl of Dunmore, whom she married in 1759. She died in 18 18 at a very advanced age. 
 
 t Elizabeth Vassall, Lady Webster, afterwards Lady Holland, 1770-1845. She was the 
 daughter and heiress of Richard Vassall, and married first Sir Godfrey Webster. It was during 
 this visit to Italy that she met Henry Fox, 3rd Baron Holland, who married her in 1797, imme- 
 diately on her divorce from Sir Godfrey. 
 
 X Charles Bingham, ist Earl of Lucan, 1730-1799, created a Baron in 1776, and an Earl 
 in 1795. 
 
 § George Selwyn, 1719-1791. The well-known wit, for many years M.P. for Gloucester. 
 
 II The ' enclosed ' was a newspaper cutting reporting an account given at the bar of the 
 French Assembly of the reparation which the French Republic had received from the King of 
 Naples in respect to a Note said to have been sent to the Divan by the agent of that Prince to 
 prevent Semonville from being received as Ambassador of France to the Ottoman Porte. 
 
1793-] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 173 
 
 me in your next. The Pope, it is assured, has now a minister in London, actually 
 implormg the help of the heretick Britons. What of the Palmerstons with IVIiss 
 Carter, who are the best of all people possible ? Ever, may dear Hamilton,' &c. 
 
 ' If his Holiness would make soldiers of his Monsignori, priests, & monks he 
 need not fear the French or any body else.' 
 
 217. A. L. S. ' C. F. G.' from Charles Greville to the same. Dated 
 Stackpole Court, January 26th, 1793. 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' When I received your letter announcing your recovery I was very seriously 
 ill; I am now well, but my oracles order me to be quiet & to confirm my recovery; 
 my letters have been stopt at London, my brother was at Windsor ; I had there- 
 fore the news of your illness & recovery by the same post, & the K. has obligingly 
 told Robert whenever he heard any accounts which could be pleasing to him & to 
 rne. The air of Naples, & the clearing off accumulated bile will, I sincerely hope, 
 give you long, very long, continuance of health & happiness. Emma kindly wrote 
 to me, because she knew that I should share her happiness, & you may be assured 
 that her alarm for you will make her doubly anxious to please you henceforward, 
 & it is as great a comfort in health to enjoy uninterruped serenity & attention as 
 it is in sickness to be kindly nursed. I therefore hope that every earthly happiness 
 may attend you. 
 
 ' You may say why do you not write oftener? I am yet in Wales, &, as I do 
 not know when I shall return after I leave it, I shall stay out some weeks more 
 after which I shall lay the laboring: oar on Meyrick. There has been alarm 
 universaly, & the intentions of the dissaffected have extended to this country, & 
 all sorts of sedition preached up. The gentlemen have associated to suppress 
 disorder, & I have not been idle, but, tho' I am in the Commission of the Peace, I 
 have not qualified ; I have been elected to some of the turnpike trusts, in which I 
 have acted ; I beged my Brother Warwick to exchange at a fair valuation Caldy 
 Island for the same income I could give in Warwick. He then refused, & I shall 
 never to the end of time look to him but as a person whom at a distance I wish 
 well. I am sorry I troubled you this year, because my letter would have come 
 when you was unwell ; but all I wish'd has been to have a field open'd to my 
 industry which would, if successful, benefit me without empoverishing you, & I 
 was urged from the delicacy I felt of mixing in the county business without even 
 a freehold or a leasehold title to do so ; & I should have quitted with regret a plan 
 which I think with time and patience I could compass, & our friend Meyrick has 
 told you that in his opinion your interest & my personal connections might do 
 more for me here than I could do elsewhere. I therefore wrote to you, as I 
 always shall, from the sincerity of my heart. 
 
 ' I am so much out of my calculations on politicks that I do not know what 
 will happen. I have zealously join'd in the same line of politicks with the D. of 
 Portland, L* Carlisle,* L* Loughboro,'t & indeed I have thereby only persevered 
 in my uniform opinions. I deprecate a war if France can be brought to order 
 without us, but the combination of last year having been ineflfectual, tho' greater 
 than we have seen before, I trust that sufficient strength may this year be opposed 
 to their licenciousness ; if they can be confined to their own country they will 
 have sufficient to do to restore good order. They seem to be desperate, & the 
 impending execution of the sentence of Louis seems to [be] the last bravado 
 of sanguinary policy; the execration of mankind will be heaped on Egahtd,J 
 
 * Frederick Howard, 5th Earl of Carlisle, 1748-1825. Eldest son of the 4th Earl, whom he 
 succeeded in 1758. He filled several high posts, being Treasurer of the Household in 1777 5 
 President of the Board of Trade in 1780 ; Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1783 ; and Keeper of 
 the Privy Seal in 1783. 
 
 t Alexander Wedderburn, 1st Baron Loughborough, and 1st Earl of Rosslyn, 1734-1805. 
 An eminent lawyer. Made Solicitor-General in 1771 ; Attorney-General 1778 ; Lord Justice of 
 Common Pleas in 1780, when he was created Baron Loughborough; and Lord High Chancellor 
 in 1793. In 1795 he was created Earl of Rosslyn. 
 
 i Louis Philippe Joseph, Duke d'Orleans, called ' Egalite,' 1749-1793. Being averse to the 
 coup d'etat of Maupeou, he was exiled, and only returned to Court on the accession of Louis XVI. 
 He was arrested as a Bourbon, was condemned to death, and guillotined. 
 
174 THE HAMILTON AND [1793. 
 
 Marat,* & Robertspierre,t & their turn will come. I write a line to Emma ; 
 believe me,' &c. 
 
 218. A. L. S. from Henry Swinburne to the same. Dated Hamsterley, 
 January 31st, 1793. 3^ pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I did not hear till lately in a letter from my son that you had been so 
 dangerously ill, but, as I heard at the same time that you were perfectly recovered, 
 I can only add my congratulations to that of all your friends. At the same time 
 I have to add my particular acknowledgement for the kind countenance you & 
 Lady Hamilton shew Harry, who, I hope, will, by his propriety of behaviour & 
 conduct, prove himself worthy of it. He seems to have been very happy at 
 Caserta in being admitted into your society, and seems to have paid very little 
 attention to the projects his friend, Padre Antonio, had formed for him. To be 
 sure, after one has been admiring a Raphael or a Correggio all morning, it would not 
 be advisable in the evening to shew that person a Reynolds or a Vanlo that one 
 wanted to sell, and therefore I would not wish P. Minasi to take him from a view 
 of Lady H's. unaffected, or even another lady's artificial, graces to pay a visit to 
 a Neapolitan dowdy. He will, however, be no worse for having inspected the 
 premises, and will have nothing to regret if he does not take them upon a lease 
 for life, though I have often known fair, fat, & forty, conquer eighteen most 
 compleately by dint of skill, experience & complaisance. I could not in justice to 
 my son refuse P. Minasi's request, as he was by the ruin of his good but unfor- 
 tunate master turned adrift upon the world, and not give him an opportunity of 
 seeing whether the proposal suited him. By his account all the English travellers 
 now abroad seem huddled together in Naples, and of course you must be 
 pleasanter at Caserta than at the capital. The late events must render the 
 sovereigns still more averse to public exhibition, and I fear the fine thoughtless 
 bonhommie days that I remember at Naples are for ever vanished, & have made 
 way for uneasy apprehensions & forebodings. We seem, a small proportion of 
 restless or disappointed spirits excepted, pretty unanimous in defending both our 
 country from French attacks and our minds from the taint of French principles, if 
 that name can apply to such vague blasted ideas as they have of everything. I 
 was delighted that at any price poor dear Naples escaped their fury, I hope for a 
 long time, as I look forward to some happy future day when the situation of my 
 concerns & my family will alow me to spend a few years in a place I prefer to all 
 others merely for the advantages of the local. You, & Padre Minasi & Gatti are 
 probably the only people that remember my face, but a small society would better 
 suit me now than the gaiety of a court. I should be very happy indeed, and envy 
 my son very much the advantage to make & cultivate the acquaintance of Lady H. 
 There is but one voice, but one opinion about her, and that is approving your 
 choice and envying your felicity. Nothing is equal to the bliss of enjoying the 
 society of an accomplished woman, who joins to those accomplishments the 
 beauty that so much oftener falls to the lot of fools. 
 
 ' We are upon the move to London without any settled plan when we shall 
 return hither or where we shall go. 275 miles is a serious distance for the removal 
 of a large family, & therefore it is frequently wiser to remain longer at a place 
 than to be trotting up and down twice a year. Young Tempest, son of the 
 Member for Durham,| whom you must have seen at Naples, died lately and 
 leaves his father & 20,000 a year without an heir. My second son is on his way 
 to China, an expedition I have all my life longed for, and though he is not yet 
 
 * Jean Paul Marat, 1744-1793. He came over to this country, and studied physical science 
 and medicine, but on the breaking out of the Revolution plunged into politics, and became one 
 of the most violent members of the Convention. He was assassinated in his bath by Charlotte 
 Corday. 
 
 + Maximilien Marie Isidore de Robespierre, 1758-1794, the famous Revolutionist. 
 
 + John Tempest, 1739-1794, ?iI.P. for Durham. The son referred to as having lately died 
 was his only child, John Wharton Tempest. He had just attained his 21st year. John Tempest, 
 having no surviving issue, devised his great estates to his nephew, Sir Henry Vane Tempest, whose 
 only daughter and heiress became the second wife of the 3rd Marquis of Londonderry. 
 
I793-] NELSON PAPERS. 175 
 
 half way there I am beginning to prepare myself for listening to all the wonderful 
 tales he is to tell me when he returns. Mrs. Swinburne begs me to present her 
 best compliments to you and Lady Hamilton. Believe me,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. I take the liberty of inclosing a letter for Padre Minasi. I was very 
 much surprized to find by Harry's last letter that he has not seen the Queen. I 
 should have thought she would have wished to see a son of Mrs. Swinburne's, & 
 besides a youth that attended her sister & unfortunate brother-in-law for three 
 years, from the beginning of their troubles almost to the scaffold. Indeed he was 
 disabled from staying quite so long, or else he would have faUen among the 
 victims of the loth August. Perhaps the advisers of the Queen tell her he is sent 
 to ask some favor from her. I wish she could know there is nothing she could 
 offer that he w'^ take, & that at this moment his wish to pay his respects to her or 
 her husband's family is doubly disinterested.' 
 
 219. A. L. S. from the Duke of Roxburghe to (?). Dated London, 
 
 March 4th, 1793. i page 4to. [p.] 
 
 ' I have rec'' Mr. Creeke's Catalogue which you sent; unless it is a Catalogue 
 of some extraordinary sale of books which you can send some time before the 
 sale begins, I believe it will be best not to send any catalogues while I am in 
 town. The truth is that I have more lying on my table than I can read. But, as 
 I suppose you look over all the catalogues pubhshed in Edinburgh, I wish you 
 would secure such books as I have mentioned to you, should any of them appear 
 in them. 
 
 ' I am, sir, yours,' &c. 
 
 220. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 
 March 12th, 1793. 5 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal. 
 [H.J 
 
 ' I have heard from many quarters of the pains you have taken & the success 
 you have had in planting a colony at Hubberston. I suppose you now to be in 
 London ; I wish I coud hear of your having any prospect of getting present bread 
 for what is life but the moment, the present moment. You see every one takes 
 care of himself, our friend Lord Loughboro' is Chancellor. Poor Fox seems 
 nearly to stand alone. I am but a poor politician, but it realy appears to me that 
 if our Government is not supported in driving the mad French into their own 
 limits that sooner or later they wou'd overturn every government in Europe, & 
 surely it is worth spending some millions to save our happy constitution. 
 
 ' Since my last illness, which was indeed the first I have suffered in my life, I 
 have been better & more alive than for some years passed ; between Caserta & 
 Naples I pass my days agreably. Emma goes on perfectly to my mind, but she 
 has made our house so agreable that it is more frequented than ever, &, of course, 
 I am at a greater expence. However, I may safely say that no minister was ever 
 more respected than I am here, & the English travellers, as Lord Cholmondley* 
 will tell you, feel the benefit of our being so well at this Court, for Emma is now 
 as well with the K. & Q. as I am, & of many parties with them. Their Sic. 
 Majesties have particularly distinguished the British travellers. The first volume 
 of my vases is finished, & as many books as will make up my advances are 
 waiting for convoy with the box of bronzes for Knightly. I hope we shall soon 
 see a British fleet in the Mediteranean. The French have been compleatly 
 beaten off of Sardinia with loss of men, the Admiral's ship, the Tonnant, two 
 frigates, & some transports of which we have not yet the particulars. The fleet 
 is returned to Toulon to refit. 
 
 ' You may well imagine that it is my sincere wish to contribute to your interest 
 
 * George James, 4th Earl, and 1st Marquis of Cholmondeley, 1749-1827, grandson of the 
 3rd Earl, whom he succeeded in 1770. He was sent as Envoy Extraordinary to Berlin in 1782 ; 
 was Lord Steward of the Household in 1S12 ; was created a Marquis in 1815 ; and was made a 
 K.G. in 1822. 
 
176 THE HAMILTON AND [1793. 
 
 & happiness as much as you have always done to mine ; what ever plan for you 
 in Wales comes to me approved by Meyrick & such as can not affect my present 
 income, of which I can not afford to lose a farthing, I shall be ready to give my 
 consent to. In these extraordinary times I look upon my estate in Wales as my 
 sheet anchor. I am sure v/ith its produce I cou'd live up in my new appointment, 
 having discharged all my useless servants, more to my mind than 1 do in my 
 present grand stile, when I am continually plagued with some scrapes or nonsence 
 of our travelling countrymen who are more numerous than ever. I wish \J^ 
 Abercorn would take my Correggio & give me ^1200 for it at his leisure, or give 
 me an annuity of the value. I still persist it is a glorious & uncommon picture 
 but it must be removed from Vandergucht's ; do help me in this if in town. 
 Y",' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. Emma's kind love.' 
 
 221. A. L. S. from Lady Hamilton to the same. Dated Caserta, June 
 2nd, 1793, 4 pages folio, [h.] 
 
 ' I should have answered your kind letter sooner ; but I have not had time to 
 write to any of my friends these five months, which I am sorry for, as they may 
 accuse me of neglect and ingratitude, which, if they do it, will be a wrong accusi- 
 tion ; for I litterally have been so busy with the English, the Court and my home 
 duties, as to prevent me doing things I had much at heart to do. 
 
 ' For political reasons we have lived eight months at Caserta, that is — ^making 
 this our constant residence, and going twice a-week to town to give dinners, balls, 
 &c. &c. &c., returning here at 2 or 3 a clock in the morning after the fatige of a 
 dinner of fifty, and a ball and supper of 3 hundred. Then to dress early in the 
 morning, to go to court, to dinner at twelve a clock, as the Royal familly dine 
 early, and they [have] done Sir William and me the honner to invite us very, very 
 often. Our house at Caserta [h]as been like an inn this winter, as we have had 
 partys, that have come either to see the environs, or have been invited to court. 
 We had the Duchess of Ancaster* several days. It is but 3 days since the Devon- 
 shire familly has left ; and we had fifty in [our] familly for four days at Caserta, 
 'Tis true, we dined every day at court, or at some casino of the King ; for you 
 cannot immagine how good our King and Queen [h]as been to the principal 
 English who have been here — particularly to Lord and Lady Palmerston, Chol- 
 mondeley,t Devonshire, Lady Spencer,| Lady Bessborough,§ Lady Plymouth, Sir 
 George and Lady Webster. And I have carried the Ladies to the Queen very 
 often, as she [h]as permitted me to go to her very often in private, which I do. 
 And the reason why we stay now here is, I have promised the Queen to remain 
 as long as she does, which will be tell the tenth of July. In the evenings I go to 
 her, and we are tete-a-tete 2 or 2 hours. Sometimes we sing. Yesterday the King 
 and me sang duetts 3 hours. It was but bad, as he sings like a King. To-day 
 the Princess Royal of Sweden comes to court to take leave of their Majesties. 
 Sir William and me are invited to dinner with her. She is an amiable princess 
 and [hjas lived very much with us. We have given her several dinners, balls, 
 &c.; for she loves dancing dearly. The other Ministers' wives have not shewd 
 her the least attention, because she did not pay them the first visit, as she travels 
 under the name of the Countess of Wasa. In consequence the Queen [h]as not 
 asked them to dinner to-day, and Her Majesty told me I had done very well in 
 
 ' Mary Anne, Duchess of Ancaster, 1734-1804, daughter of Major Layard, and second 
 wife of Brownlow Bertie, 5th and last Duke of Ancaster, 1729-1809, whom she had married 
 in 1762. 
 
 t Lord Cholmondeley had married in 1791 Georgiana Charlotte Bertie, 1755-1838, second 
 daughter of Peregrine, 3rd Duke of Ancaster, and co-heiress with her sister. Baroness de 
 Willoughby de Eresby. 
 
 X Lavinia, 2nd Countess Spencer, 1763-1831, eldest daughter of Charles, 1st Earl of Lucan, 
 and wife of George James, 2nd Earl Spencer, whom she married in 1781. 
 
 § Henrietta Frances Spencer, 3rd Countess of Bessborough. She was the second daughter 
 of John, 1st Earl Spencer; married in 1780 Frederick, 3rd Earl of Bessborough, and died 
 in 1821. 
 
1 79.3-] KELSON PAPERS. 
 
 ^77 
 
 waiting on Her Royal Highness, the moment she arrived. However, the Ministers' 
 wives are very fond of me, as the see I have no pretentions ; nor do I abuse of 
 Her Majesty's goodness, and she observed that the other night at Court at Naples 
 [whenj we had a Drawing-room in honner of the Empress having brought a son. 
 I had been with the Queen the night before alone ^«/a;«///£', laughing and singing, 
 &c. &c., but at the drawing-room I kept my distance, and payd the Queen as 
 much respect as tho' I had never seen her before, which pleased her very much. 
 But she shewd me great distinction that night, and told me several limes how she 
 admired my good conduct. I onely tell you this to shew and convince you, I 
 shall never change, but allways be simple and natural. 
 
 ' You may immagine how happy my dear, dear Sir William is ; and I can 
 assure you, if ever I had any little teazing caprice it is so entirely gone that 
 neither Sir William or me remembers it, and he will tell you the same. Endead, 
 you cannot immagine our happiness. It is not to be described. We are not an 
 hour in the day seperable. We live more like lovers than husband and wife, as 
 husbands and wives go now-a-days. Lord deliver me ! and the English are as 
 bad as the Italians, some few excepted. 
 
 ' I study very hard, and I have made great progress in French and musick, 
 and I have had all my songs set out for the viola, so that Sir William may 
 accompany me, which [h]as pleased him very much, so that we study together. The 
 English garden is going on very fast. The King and Queen go there every day. 
 Sir William and me are there every morning at seven a clock, sometimes dine 
 there, and allways drink tea there. In short, it is Sir William's favourite child, 
 and booth him and me are now studying botany, but not to make ourselves 
 pedantical prigs, and to shew our learning like some of our travelling neighbours, 
 but for our own pleasure. 
 
 ' Grefifer is as happy as a prince. Poor Flint, the messenger was killed 
 going from hence. I am very sorry. He was lodged in our house, and I had a 
 great love for him. I sent him to see E^ompea Portici and all our delightfuU 
 environs, and sent all his daughters presents. Poor man, the Queen as expressed 
 great sorrow. Pray, let me know if his family are provided for, as I may get 
 something for them, perhaps. Addio. Love me and believe me your sincere friend. 
 
 ' Pray don't fail to send the enclosed.' 
 
 222. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. No date (June, 
 
 1793). 8 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I have been a month in town, & I have recover'd in a great degree my health 
 & spirits. I acknowledged your kind letter which I received in Pembrokeshire, 
 & you have by this courier the result of the consultation of your & my friends. I 
 avail'd myself of Meyrick & Morris to consider the propositions I made you which 
 were not to their mind, because they thought it would force me too far into specu- 
 lations, & that I might be connected in a reasonable degree with the estate & 
 become a freeholder, & without taking from your present income derive at least 
 their expenses from the contingent improvement arising from my plans ; which 
 you might hear of with greater pleasure when you had the guarantee of several 
 friends that your income was not wasted in speculations. I have desired Meyrick 
 to give his reasons & his opinion, &, as you have had experience how many words 
 are necessary to comply with forms, I desired him to get both the solicitor & 
 council to state precisely & clearly in plain English what the deed proposes ; & 
 also to make it clear that you will remain free to recall the powers of these deeds 
 at any time, & that your will may settle the inheritance of your estate just as at 
 any fancy may inchne you to do. I have been always sensible of your kind 
 intentions, & I shall hope to remain on the same footing in your opinion as 
 heretofore ; & my a.iie.c\\on for yoii both will entitle me to the preference I enjoy. 
 ' Meyrick will tell you Messrs. Hoare have given me notice of their intention 
 to call in the ^9000, & it became necessary to give special powers to act in your 
 absence. I think the deed includes all the points necessary to ensure perfect 
 regularity. If prospects of improvement were to be judged of by the situation of 
 affairs this year the result of the plan offer'd for your approbation would not have 
 more effect than to make me appear connected with the county, & enable me to 
 VOL. I. N 
 
178 THE HAMILTON' AND [i793- 
 
 avail myself of whatever situation your, Meyrick, & Campbel's property might 
 bring about. If times mend, & I can urge on reasonable speculations & derive 
 benefit from them you vfould be pleased that I succeeded, being certain that 
 Meyrick, Legge, & Macpherson guaranteed your income, & that you had the 
 ultimate allotment of the inheritance to your future decision. 
 
 ' I send you a letter for Mr. McKinnon from Mr. Macaulay, & when you have 
 leisure to think of him you may apply a comparison of the plans proposed to you 
 & the plans Macaulay has allowed to go on without any regular settlement, & 
 without the checks either of securities or bonds or even articles. His confidence 
 may be well placed for aught I know, but I wish he had been advised by a friend 
 like Meyrick, & saved you the trouble of affording him assistance by your judge- 
 ment, &your consideration at Naples as Minister. 
 
 'You will have heard or seen what passed between him & Macaulay. His 
 plan of partnership was to advance ^4000, & Macaulay to advance as much ; & 
 positively to limit their concerns to the banking & commission business, instead 
 of which Macaulay advances above his proportion, & McKinnon advances none ; 
 & Macaulay good-naturedly permits his cash to continue singly to support the 
 partnership, & is ■willing to let McKinnon share the profits. But he has been 
 alarmed by McKinnon not adhering to his engagement, but launching out in 
 a speculation, probably a good one, of Galipoli oil, & neglecting to send any 
 acknowledgement of the receipt of money transmitted thro' you, and when he 
 sent the letter by poor Flint the conditions did not correctly correspond with 
 the articles on which it was mutually agreed to proceed. I tell Macaulay that 
 McKinnon from gratitude, from good sense, & from honesty should feel that he 
 is hterally no more than an agent, managing Macaula/s cash, untill he can 
 advance his share of the principal, & if Macaulay gives him an equal share in 
 the profits & dispenses with his advancing his proportion, he is doubly bound to 
 be accurate & punctual, and to make himself responsible for every shilling he 
 receives with all the punctilio of a correct man of business, which he has not in 
 my opinion done, & I wish you will tell him I think so. Macaulay has wrote 
 what he expects him to do at this time ; it is impossible for him to expect more 
 from your friendship but a few minutes' exhortation & a proper acknowledgement 
 of the money received thro' your hands ; if McKinnon is not a fool he will give 
 Macaulay every satisfaction & security in his power, for if he does not a very fair 
 chance of fortune will vanish. 
 
 ' I am rejoiced that events will connect you in the political scene of this 
 summer. 
 
 'The courier whom Castlecicala* sent on Monday with the account of his 
 successor's death will give the particulars. No body knows precisely the cause, 
 but he appeared to be so anxious & so impressed with the importance of his 
 mission, & some say he has been particularly so since the arrival of the last 
 courier, that he was overpowered with it & shot himself, after having been doing 
 his usual business in the forenoon. He left a paper on the floor close by him to 
 say that he was alone concern'd in putting an end to his existence, & that he died 
 voluntarily ; he had bolted his door, & the Chargd des affaires & some people of 
 the house, who were alarm'd by the report of a pistol, broke open the door & 
 found him sitting upright with a pistol in his hand, but senseless, and he breath'd 
 for half an hour. 
 
 ' His sister & brother-in-law, & I must also say particularly P. Castlecicala, 
 are in the greatest affliction. 
 
 ' I hope all the confederate states will be as zealous as we are in the common 
 cause. I understand we are sending more force ; I hear of nine reg*" from 
 Ireland ; we send all we can, & our fleet, I hope, will not be idle in the Mediter- 
 ranean. If I could decide I should succour the insurgents in Brittany ; they 
 appear to be most important. Custine has got to the Northern army, of the 
 weakness of which he has made a complaining report ; the desertions from the 
 23 to 28 May they state as high as 10,000 men, many gone home, but Cond6, 
 
 * Count Castelcicala, who had been for some time Ambassador to this country from Naples, 
 had just been succeeded by the Duke de Siciogniano, who on May 31st, very shortly after his 
 arrival, committed suicide by blowing hi^ brains out. 
 
I793-] KELSON PAPERS. 
 
 179 
 
 Valenciennes, Lille, &c., are not taken, & we are in the month of June. Tobago 
 is recovered from the French, & we may perhaps hear of another island or two in 
 the course of a month or two, but I hope you will have a considerable share 
 in the emancipating Islands from French tyranny. 
 
 ' If anything occurs you may depend on hearing from me ; I shall go to 
 Pembrokeshire before I can hear from you, & return in August to England. If 
 you shall invest me with the solid charge which the deeds will give I shall return 
 again in the autumn, & you may be assured that I shall not value the obligation 
 if it is not agreable to you to confer it, but that it will make me happy & comfort- 
 able if you approve it. 
 
 ' Tell Lady H. that I hope that she does not follow the fashion of others ; at 
 the birthday the prevailing fashion was very unlike a court dress, & very unlike a 
 Grecian dress, & very unlike \J H. dress, but evidently an imitation of her, & 
 you may tell her that her own country cloathing is far more adorning than all the 
 trappings of French milliners on awkward inanimate damsels. 
 
 ' 1 now conclude with kindest remembrances to Ly. H., & am ever,' &c. 
 
 ' Robert will write a few lines, & he can give you the best account from head 
 quarters, no one being in greater favour, nor more deservedly.' 
 
 223. A.L.S. from Lady Diana Beauclerk to the same. Dated Richmond, 
 
 July 20th, 1793. iJpages4to. [h.] 
 
 ' The bearer of this letter is by far the dearest thing to me upon earth, & I do 
 flatter myself that you have enough friendship left for me to be kind to my son 
 Charles Beauclerk.* Nothing would make me so happy as a certainty that during 
 his residence at Naples you would grant him your protection, & I think you will 
 find him worthy of it. Overwhelm'd, as I am, by repeated misfortunes, parting 
 from him is very painful indeed, but it must be. 
 
 ' A thousand comp*' to L^ Hamilton, & pray tell her if it is possible she should 
 feel the least spark of gratitude for the admiration of such a poor animal as I am, 
 she can fully repay me by joining you in the protection of my son. If I was 
 something younger, not quite so poor, nor quite so unhealthy, there are few things 
 I should like better than going myself to Naples, & assuring you both how much 
 I am y"^',' &c. 
 
 224. A. L. S. from John Flaxman to the same. Dated Rome, July 30th, 
 
 1793- 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' Last week I received a polite confirmation of the order for the late Loi d 
 Mansfield's monument from the present Lord Mansfield ; as this correspondence 
 & order are the consequences of your friendly opinion & recommendation, I shall 
 endeavour to retain a just & grateful sense of the obligation. After having taken 
 ten days to consider & digest the subject, I take the hberty (by Lord Mansfield's 
 desire) to beg your criticisms on the enclosed thought— it represents Lord Mans- 
 field on an exalted seat between Wisdom & Justice, his attention earnestly fixed 
 on the equal balance of the scales of Justice, 1 have given the Athenian Minerva's 
 helmet to Wisdom to mark his Lordship's Attic wit ; above his head are the swords 
 of Justice & Mercy bound together by a civic crown (these two swords really exist 
 in the Tower of London, & are carried before the King at his Coronation). I do 
 not think a statue of Wisdom characteriz'd as above can be objected to as improper 
 for Westminster Abbey, considering there are already in that church statues of 
 Mars, Minerva, Ocean, Earth, Hercules, &c., if any difficulty should arise the same 
 figure may remain, with the change only of her insignia into those of the Christian 
 Virtue, Prudence. I will be much oblidged to you to favor me with your able 
 remarks when convenient, that I may forward them with the enclosed sketch to 
 
 * Charles George Beauclerk, the writer's only son. He died in 1846. 
 
 t William Murray, ist Earl Mansfield, 1706-1795, the famous lawyer, called by Pope ' The 
 Silver-tongued Murray,' appointed Solicitor-General in 1742; Attorney-General in 1754; Lord 
 Chief Justice in 1756, when he was created a Baron ; and in 1776 an Earl. He was succeeded 
 in the title by his nephew, David Murray, 6th 'Viscount Stormont. See note ', p. 17. 
 
i8o THE HAMILTON AND [i793- 
 
 his Lordship. Permit me again to make my grateful acknowledgements for the 
 trouble you take in my behalf ; with respectful remembrances from Mrs. Flaxman 
 & myself to your excellent consort, I have the honor to be,' &c. 
 
 ' I have begun the engravings from Eschylus, & I shall have the honor, when 
 it is compleated, of troubling you with one of the first copies. 
 
 ' The composition of the above monument is justified by two monuments of 
 antiquity — the Basrelief of the Apotheosis of Homer in the Colonna Palace, in 
 which Homer is seated in a chair with the Iliad & Odyssey on each side of him ; 
 in an al/o relievo in the saloon of the Villa Albini, Antoninus Pius is placed on a 
 lofty seat (perhaps as a judge) attended by figures of Eloquence, the Genius of 
 Rome,' &c. 
 
 ' Lord Mansfield to J. F. London,- June 28M, 1793. 
 
 ' Sir, — I am naturally very desirous that the monument to be erected to Lord Mansfield 
 should be executed in the most masterly manner, & shall therefore be happy to have it 
 executed by you. 
 
 ' I approve of your general idea to have three figures, & should wish you, after having 
 submitted the sketch to S'' W™ Hamilton, and had his approbation, to begin the model as 
 soon as you conveniently can; before we can settle the dimensions of the work itself it will, 
 I imagine, be necessary to send you a drawing of the space in West' Abbey alloted to this 
 monument. In the meantime I think it right to inform you that the whole expence every 
 article whatever included must not exceed two thousand five hundred pouttds. I shall wait 
 your answer, & am,' &c. 
 
 225. A. L. S. from the Earl of Pembroke to the same. Dated Ports- 
 mouth, August 8th, 1793. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' Calabria may do very well if he pleases, not indeed because he has any great 
 knowledge, but because his competitors have none at all ; pray do not forget to 
 recommend him to the new Inspector-General, Zechauter. I hope that your 
 having kept your bed eight days will be the last time, as it was the first. I am 
 very happy your bow window escaped, & hope it is now out of danger. Letters 
 are so subject to be opened in the many different states thro' which they pass, 
 that I shall not venture to write any politics any further than to say that, with 
 all good men, I devoutly pray that all the exterminators may be exterminated 
 soon, and that the modem Gauls accordingly may be sent A tons les Diables, being 
 truly a set of sauvages, Idches, frivoles, ridicules et inhu->nains ; ainsi soit-il. Amen. 
 Pray present my very best wishes in your very best manner to Lady Hamilton, 
 and tell her that, old as I am, I hope so soon as the hurly-burly of war shall be 
 over, to be tempted to get on board something here to wait upon her in her box at 
 St. Carlo. In the meantime I have a favor to ask earnestly of you in respect to 
 Henry Grand, who is a godson to me and also to Lady Pembroke, who joins 
 with me in the request with me, that you would be so good as to take him a little 
 by the hand, and be kind to him at Naples ; he is in reahty more an Englishman 
 than a Frenchman, tho' I understand that his being considered as the latter has 
 put him en tres mauvaise odeur at Naples. We have advised him to come to 
 England and live with us till the troubles are over. I beg to be remembered to 
 my old friend Aprile. What, pray, of Princess Belmonte, &c. &c. &c. ? Adieu, 
 my d"^ Sir Wm., always very obediently and sincerely yours,' &c. 
 
 826. A. L. S. from Captain Nelson to the same.* Dated Leghorn, Sep- 
 tember 27th, 1793. 5 1 pages 4to. [H.J 
 
 ' I came in here Tuesday evening, having seen nothing of the vessels I went 
 after, nor are they arrived here. In my hurry of sailing I find I have brought 
 away a butter-pan, don't call me an ungrateful guest for it, for I assure you I 
 
 * Nelson made Sir William and Lady Hamilton's acquaintance about the loth of September, 
 having been sent by Lord Hood, immediately after the surrender of Toulon, with despatches 
 for Turin and Naples. Sir William, anxious to do Nelson special honour as the bearer of such 
 despatches, invited him to stay at his house. 
 
1 793-] NELSON PAPERS. i8i 
 
 have the highest sense of your and Lady Hamilton's kindness, and shall rejoice 
 in an opportunity of returning it. I am here not a little teaz'd by the PMpMeuse 
 French frigate of 40 guns who is going to sea. I have given notice to the 
 Governor of my intention to go to sea every hour since my arrival, therefore I 
 shall not remain one moment after he is adrift. I will not break the neutrality of 
 the port, but in the present case with such people a laudible licence may be taken. 
 If I can lay hold of him the two Courts may negociate for his restitution ; what 
 may happen to me I am indifferent to, if it will serve our country at all risks I 
 will not suffer a ship nothing better than a pirate to get loose amongst our trade. 
 Only yesterday the crew reduced the Cap"" to be Serj' of Marines, made the Serj' 
 L' of Marines, and the Lieut, of that corps to be Cap" of the ship ; with no small 
 difficulty the Capn. got on shore, but not a rag of cloaths will his miscreants give 
 him. Since I have been here two French row-boats have been laying outside the 
 . Malosa, and to-day an Enghsh ship has sail'd, upon which if necessary I shall 
 ground a defence of my conduct. She has 500 men, & says he will board me if I 
 put to sea after him. 1 shall most assuredly give him the opportunity if he pleases. 
 She is a most noble frigate of 28 18 pounders on her main deck. One of my 
 Ragusa vessels I find is liberated although bound to Marseilles, the property 
 being Turkish, Mr. Sidney tells me. I sail to-morrow for Toulon, & if this 
 Frenchman is not gone shall endeavour to lay in his rout. 
 
 ' I beg my respectful compliments to Lady Hamilton, and that you will believe 
 that I consider myself your much obliged,' &c. 
 
 ' They tell me the Neapolitan squadron was between Gorgona & Cape Corsi 
 on Wednesday morning. 
 
 ' The sending off the prints adds to the kindness I have already receiv'd from 
 you and Lady Hamilton ; I have sent 20 dollars, I do not know if I am right in my 
 calculation. I shall go off Monte Christo, when I shall hear something and shall 
 act accordingly. I know we carry the good wishes of yourself and Lady Hamilton, 
 which will be of more service to us than all the masses. Thanks about the water ; 
 before you get this letter I shall be under sail ; my poor fellows, when I told them 
 the service I was going on, said they would exert themselves to the utmost. Please 
 to put in your letter to Lord Hood where I am gone. Believe me, dear sir,' &c. 
 
 227. A.L.S. from Henry Swinburne to the same, Dated Bath, October 
 6th, 1793. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal. [h.J 
 
 ' I have many thanks to return yoi4 for your kind letter and the interest you 
 take in the welfare of my family. I should have acknowledged the obligation 
 sooner, had I not been extremely hurried with the necessary preparations & 
 consequences of an event which has taken place in the family, and which renders 
 it unnecessary for me to say anything on the rnatrimonial part of you# letter. My 
 eldest daughter was married, on the 7th of last njonth, to Mr, Benfield, M.P. for 
 Shaftesbury, & I am at present one of a party that have been visiting his borough 
 & the neighbouring places of note. Jt is a match of her own prudent choice, and 
 the difference in their ages is the only possible objection, if it be one, which I do 
 not think it. Everything hitherto promises a great deal of happiness. His 
 fortune is above that of most individuals, and I am rejoiced to see that the 
 generosity of his temper is of a piece with his riches. I am much better satisfied 
 to have my daughter (who has seen a great deal of the world, & with great 
 accomplishments of mind and person unites a most excellent steady judgment) 
 married to such a man than to the most fashionable among the young men of the 
 age, who would soon grow insensible to her merit and neglect her for some newer 
 object of their passion, besides their foolish method of passing their lime with 
 dogs and horses. She may command everything money can purchase, & form 
 what society she pleases to assemble around her. 
 
 ' Henry has taken a commission, & is second ensign in a new regiment raising 
 by Major Doyle mostly in Ireland, to be called the Prince's Own, & what 1 dislike 
 to be drest like your Liparotes in green & red."' I am glad to have him thus 
 started in a profession, let it be what it will, for I cannot afford to keep him as an 
 idle lounger in Bond Street, nor, if I could, should I consent to his loitering the 
 best part of his life away in useless pursuits, if they deserve that name. My 
 
iS2 THE HAMILTON AND [1793. 
 
 second daughter, the Queen of Naples' goddaughter, is prodigiously grown for 
 her age, & I think will be a handsomer woman than Mrs. Benfield, though she 
 cannot be a finer figure. My second son was well off Sumatra in April last with 
 the Embassador to China. I dare hardly look forward with any degree of hope 
 tow^s a journey to Naples, though I should be happy to indulge a reasonable one 
 of returning thither. Mrs. Swinburne thinks her health requires a warmer latitude, 
 but our finances will scarce allow so long & expensive a trip, & I imagine she 
 will content herself for this winter with the coast of Hampshire. 
 
 ' We expect great things from your six thousand Lazzaronis sent to Toulon, 
 but wonder much that a certain person, who delights in military tactics, did not 
 put himself at the head of his troops on so pleasant an expedition. As this is to 
 be the Cheval de bataille of ministers for the ensuing meeting of Parliament, and 
 to cover all the sins committed at Dunkirk, & the omissions of our fleet, you may 
 be sure we shall take as much care as possible to make good our footing in 
 Provence, & to render the defence of Toulon proper for a prince to preside over, 
 as Louis the I4th's minister used to settle matters for him. I doubt, however, 
 that war cannot be carried on without money, & money cannot be long procured 
 without taxes. The consequence of which progress will be very unpalatable to 
 John Bull. I beg leave to present my best respects to Lady Hamilton, & to 
 assure you of my sincere & lasting attachment. I remain,' &c. 
 
 ' My daughter desires to join her best compliments.' 
 
 228. A, L. S. from Sir. W. Hamilton to Mr. Evan Nepean.* Dated 
 
 Naples, November 2nd, 1793. i page 4to. [P.] 
 
 'I received the favor of your letter of the 27th of August by Capt. Sutton of 
 the Ramilies the 30th of Ocf, and I dispatched the packet inclosed and directed 
 to Lord Hood triplicate, by the Nancy cutter, who sailed from hence to Toulon 
 the 31st of October. I have the honor to be, sir — begging the favor of you to 
 present my respectful! compliments to Mr. Sec? Dundast— your most ob* humble 
 servV &c. 
 
 229. A. L. S. from Rev. Edmund Nelson | to his daughter-in-law. § 
 
 Dated Friday, December 13th, 1793. 3 pages 4to. [n.J 
 ' I have only this moment been able to speak upon the subject you mention 
 to J. Thurlow. Mary ii sixteen years of age, is a spruce girll, and knows as 
 much as her years and education will allow otT, is willing to take Bett's situation, 
 if you approve it. Respecting Bett, John talks like a kind father. When she 
 returns to him he will do all that is within his power to recover her, and will take 
 her at any time you shall wish it, and, if the younger daughter is approved, will 
 bring her when Bett leaves you. All this is teazing, yet, still, not an object to 
 make yourself uneasy. Bob Nelson has offered his daughter Mary, whom you 
 know, and Carter, the schoolmaster, has a young woman they would gladly get 
 from home, not the London daughter. 
 
 ' I am indeed vexed your health is so precarious, and your resolution not equal, 
 I fear, to the trial you meet with, your own good understanding is a much better 
 source of comfort than anything that can be offered by me, or any of those who 
 have great respect towards you. My only fear respecting myself is that anything 
 should be left undone by me, or thnt you will not, through kindness to me, be 
 explicit enough to give me a hint off. SwafTham you are not perfectly pleased with. 
 
 * Sir Evan Nepean, 1752-1822. Secretary to the Admiralty; Secretary of State for Ireland; 
 he was subsequently one of the Lords of the Admiralty, and Governor of Bombay. He was 
 created a Baronet in 1802. 
 
 t Henry Dundas, ist Viscount Melville, 1742-1811. Treasurer of the Navy in 1783, and 
 Home Secretary in 1791. He was created a Viscount in 1802, and was impeached and acquitted 
 in 1806. Afterwards he never again took office. 
 
 X Rev. Edmund Nelson, 1722-1802. Rector of Hilborough and of Burnham Thorpe, 
 Norfolk, and father of the Admiral. 
 
 § Frances Nelson, afterwards Viscountess Nelson, 1763- 1831. She married, first, Josiah 
 Nisbet, and secondly, in 1787, Captain, afterwards Lord, Nelson. 
 
1793-]' NELSON PAPERS. 183 
 
 Can you fancy any other place ? Spending the winter months with me at Bath ? 
 you have sent me no word about it. 
 
 ' To leave you in an unpleasant or unsettled state I shall regret, though my 
 intention is to leave Burnham early in the next month ; yet to accommodate you 
 in any way that scheme shall be altered, and, if you can put yourself under my 
 protection, a poor substitute, all shall be done that can be. Don't at this time 
 consider the expense ; it can, it shall be made easy. Sure, I am, our dear friend 
 would have it so, and, to look no further, why might not the summer be passed 
 away at the Parsonage ? Be assured, if I omit anything, it is for want of judge- 
 ment. Do you like to come here ? I am in all situations yours,' &c. 
 
 230. A. L. S. from W. Beckford to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated Lisbon, 
 
 December 24th, 1793. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' I conclude, my dear Sir W", that you are so engaged with subsidizing & 
 Toulonizing the Court of Naples that you have scarce a moment to think of any 
 other object— except one, indeed, which is justly formed to eclipse every other. 
 How is this lovely object, & does she still do me and Fonthill the honor of 
 recollecting us sometimes ? If you do find a minute to cast your eyes over this 
 scrawl, you will learn that I am once more in this land of parroquites & oranges. 
 If the season was less boisterous, and the French cruizers not quite so busy at the 
 very mouth of the Tagus, I should sail forth with the first fair wind & pay you a 
 visit. This country is by no means quiet— the priests are chop-fallen, the oracular 
 images of our Lady & St. Anthony are mute as the fishes to whom he preached, 
 and the ministers scared by the terror of France out of the scanty remains of 
 their senses. Poor Mary Portugal fancies herself damned to all eternity, and, 
 therefore, upon the strength of its being all over with her, eats turkey and oyster 
 sauce Fridays and Saturdays, and indulges in conversations of rather an unchaste 
 tendency. Were there ever such times, such vertigos, such bedevilments.? Society 
 is almost totally disolved in every part of Europe. When I left England we were 
 all alarm, association, subscription, declamation, & imprecation — no real business 
 seemed to be done. However, there is no saying what is going forwards at home 
 at this hour, for we are perfectly newsless at this dirty fag-end of Europe, & shall 
 remain so till the next packet arrives, which, unless the wind changes, may not 
 come in these four or five days. Pray let me know how you & L^ Hamilton are, 
 & whether the English swarm sticks as close as [ever at] Naples. Very probably 
 [I] may scramble about Posilippo once more next Spring, for I should not die con- 
 tented without seeing you, L^ H. & Naples again. If I come, it will be quite sans 
 fagon, with very little suite or incumbrance, & no French. Adieu, my d"^ Sir W", 
 I am, with the most affectionate regard,' &c. 
 
 'P.S. Inclose y"' letter to Mr. Wildman, who will forward it to me by the 
 packet, the only safe conveyance.' 
 
 231. L. S. from Sir W. Sidney Smith* to the same. Dated Victory in 
 
 Heires Bay, December 24th, 1793. 8 pages folio, [h.] 
 
 'The combined forces evacuated Toulon on the 17th past. I would gladly 
 spare myself the painful recital of so disagreable a day's work, but I feel obliged to 
 acquit myself of the task, as the account of it cannot but be very acceptable to 
 you, and you have a right to expect it of me. 
 
 ' The necessity of keeping possession of the heights round the anchorage so as 
 to prevent the enemy raising batteries against the fleet obliged the army to occupy 
 a chain of posts of near fifteen miles in circumference from Cape Brun round the 
 town to Cape Capet, the distance these posts were from each other reduced them 
 to stand on their own leggs, though the number of men disembarked (not quite 
 18,000 of all nations) was by no means sufficient to man them all as they required, 
 
 * Sir William Sidney Smith, 1764-1840, a celebrated naval commander, who was a Post- 
 Captain at 19, distinguibhed himself at Acre, became an Admiral in 1821, and in l8jo 
 succeeded William IV. as Lieutenant-General of Marines. 
 
1 84 THE HAMILTON AND [1793. 
 
 still less to afford a regular relief in the severe duty of raising works to stand a 
 siege. Thus the excess of fatigue together wiih the exposure of troops under 
 tents at an advanced season of the year necessarily produced sickness, which 
 together with casualities and desertions caused a daily diminution of our force 
 that was scarcely ballanced by the arrival of small detatchments from time to 
 time. Discord, the natural consequence of the assemblage of so many nations, 
 showed itself on every occasion, extending from the chiefs to the private sentinels, 
 so that nothing went on with soirit. There was no Commander-in-chief acknow- 
 ledged as such by all. The natural preponderance of British Commanders from 
 the number of the subsidiary troops under their orders was constantly resisted by 
 the Spaniards, and became a perpetual source of jealousy, which vvas carried to 
 such a length as to create a positive animosity between the subordinate officers, 
 each party taking a delight in quoting any anecdote which could throw blame on 
 the conduct of the other. 
 
 ' The decree of the National Convention to raise an army against Toulon by 
 the levi'e en masse, had produced a force around us which all reports stated to be 
 at least 120,000 men ; their distress for provisions urged them on to the immediate 
 attack of Toulon, where they expected to find a sufficiency, and all accounts of 
 deserters agreed that the Republican Generals were using every means by persua- 
 sions and threats to incite the soldiers to the enterprize. This situation of things, 
 while it afforded little hopes to the Royalists of an effectual effort in their favor, 
 encouraged the Democrates in the town, which were by far the greatest number, 
 to form plots to favour the attack of the Republican army. The discovery of this 
 disposition among the majority of the town people dictated the measure of 
 disarming them, and the impossibility of discriminating rendered the order 
 general, which encreased the number of the discontented; the Royalists being 
 offended by the want of confidence in them. 
 
 'As a prelude to the general assault the enemy directed an uninterrupted fire of 
 shot and shells against the port of the Hauteur de Grasse for several days and 
 nights. The troops, being unsheltered from the shells, suffered much, and were 
 so harassed that it is not to be wondered at they were not able to resist the attack 
 which the enemy made on that port on the rainy and stormy night of the sixteenth. 
 The accusation of the port being surprized falls entirely on the Spaniards, whose 
 part of the works the enemy first entered; our people drove them out again, but 
 were at length overpowered and destroyed by numbers. The proof of their 
 gallant defence is in the wounds of those who escaped being all with the bayonet. 
 I forbear to repeat the mutual accusations made by the different nations of each 
 other during the whole of this business from beginning to end ; candour obliges, 
 me to allow that each may be able to procure single facts of misconduct, but these 
 ought not to be advanced as suiificient to support assertions of general censure. 
 The English troops were least numerous of any nation, therefore less was to be 
 expected of them ; however, they stood their ground so well that the accusation 
 of abandoning posts of consequence without orders, unattached, has never been 
 extended to them. 
 
 'The morning of the first discovered the enemy in possession of the important 
 post of Fort Mulgrave on the Hauteur de Grasse and the motley crew of all 
 nations stationed to defend it crowding to the water like the herd of swine that 
 ran furiously into the sea possessed of the Devil (surely fear is a strange devil, 
 for it makes men do most ridiculous things) ; multitudes of the enemy were also 
 found to have possessed themselves of the heights of Faron which command the 
 town, having forced the Pas de la Masque ; they were, however, repulsed in their 
 attack on our redoubt with considerable loss. At this conjuncture the Council of 
 all Nations was assembled, and the first question agitated was whether a sufficient 
 force could be detached from the garrison of the town to recover the posts above 
 mentioned, or to reinforce those immediately menaced. It was decided that the 
 small garrison of 1500 men which remained in the town could not be further 
 weakened with safety at a moment when there was the greatest reason to appre- 
 hend a revolt among the town's people within the walls. The next question was 
 whether the place was tenable without the possession of those posts, which was 
 decided in the negative ; orders were consequently given to evacuate the whole, 
 and for as many of the Royalists as chose to take refuge on board the ships, to be 
 
I7930 NELSON PAPERS. 1S5 
 
 assisted therein. The idea of sauve qui peut now seemed to possess every body ; 
 the fleets of the difl'erent nations, alarmed at the idea of being burnt by red-hot 
 shots or shells from Fott Musgrave, Balaquer et L'Eguillette (now in possession 
 of the enemy) weighed anchor, and crowded out of the road in such haste as to 
 alarm the troops on shore lest they should be left behind ; indeed, many of the 
 Neapolitan and Spanish soldiers would have been so left had not the English 
 squadron staid to receive them after the ships of their own nations were gone. 
 This 1 aver to be the fact, and 1 wonder by what system of reasoning an Admiral 
 can consider himself responsible to his Sovereign for the safety of the. fleet only, 
 when the army is equally under his care ; yet this was the language. The little 
 order, wh'ch had hitherto been preserved on shore, was destroyed by this precipi- 
 tation, which gave the retreat every appearance of a most disgracefull flight. 
 
 ' The disagreable scene was heightened and one's feelings tortured by the 
 lamentations of women and children, who with their husbands and fathers were 
 obliged to leave their homes and their property to save their lives, under the 
 certainty of a public execution if they escaped the massacre to be expected on an 
 enraged and merciless enemy entering the town. The impatience of officers and 
 brutality of the soldiers in claiming a preference at the place of embarkation 
 increased the confusion ; in short, the whole of this horrid scene is not describable. 
 A few muskets fired in the town, perhaps from the windows by some mad-headed 
 Republicans, raised a cry that their party had made a revolution in the town. 
 The tumult and pressure on this alarm became such that many were forced into 
 the water and drowned. I happened to be near the Admiral at the time this 
 report came to him, and took the opportunity of again urging a request I had 
 before made, to have the gun-boats put under my command, being confident that 
 I could keep any mob in order by grape-shot, and having less reason to be 
 apprehensive of being set on fire by the enemy's red-hot shot and shells than the 
 ships had ; I knew I could keep my station so as to awe the town to the last, and 
 co\ er the embarkation ; this request of mine being granted, I next urged the 
 burning of the arsenal, a measure which had been resolved in the Council, but 
 which, being everybody's business in general, became nobody's in particular ; for 
 this reason I volunteered it under the disadvantage of there being no previous 
 preparations for it whatever on suth short notice. Lord Hood did me the honour 
 and favour to confide this hazardous service to me, which was the more difficult, 
 as but few boats could be spared from the business of embarking the troops. I 
 went on board the Conception to ask Admiral Langara for his gun-boats, they were 
 reluctantly granted me, and as reluctantly followed me some part of the way 
 towards the Arsenal ; they disappeared soon afterwards, and I never saw them 
 more. My force was consequently reduced to the Swallow Tender, three English 
 Tarian gun-boats, a Spanish mortar boat without ammunition, and the Victory's 
 pinnace ; with this (inadequate as it was) I rowed into the Bason and the Dock- 
 Yard ; a Spanish filuga joined me afterwards with an Aide-de-Camp destined to 
 command the force which had disappeared and with which he was to undertake 
 the burning the ships in the Bason before the town ; he staid with me to the last, 
 3nd behaved well personally, but never could collect force enough to perform the 
 particular part of the service which I destined for him while we were fully occupied 
 in the Arsenal.* It was impossible to make our prej)arations openly, the workmen 
 having already taken the three-coloured cockade, and the galley slaves who were un- 
 chained to the number of at least six hundred, showing themselves jealous spectators 
 of our operations. I restrained them in a body on board their galleys by keeping 
 the guns of the Swallow Tender loaded with grape pointed at them with hghted 
 matches, threatening them with certain destruction if they moved, at the same 
 time promising them that no harm should happen to them if they remained quiet. 
 I then sent off a letter to the Admiral for more force, which (small as it was when 
 it came) happily arrived in time to intimidate and prevent a contest, which must 
 have ended fatally for us from the inequality of numbers. The shower of shot 
 and shell from the enemy contributed to keep them in order; every explosion 
 silenced the murmurs and tumultuous debates of this herd of villains, and enabled 
 
 * Up to this point the letter is publibhed in Bfirrow's Life and Cqnes/ondence of Sir Sidney 
 Sinith. The remaindt-r is unpublished. 
 
i86- THE HAMILTOX AXD [1793. 
 
 us to proceed with better effect with our preparations for a general conflagration. 
 Cartaux' army drew down the hills and made a lodgement in the Boulangerie 
 close on the other side the dock wall, from whence they poured in an irregular 
 though quick fire on us the whole evening, the bombardment continuing from 
 Malbousquet and Missiei, now in Cartaux' possession, check'd this first 
 adventurous party, and kept the town's people within doors, so that they never 
 came near enough to see how inadequate our force was to withstand their attack 
 if they chose to make it. I kept a gun-boat stationed to flanck the ditch with 
 random shot from time to time after it grew dark, which had its effect in dispersing 
 the mob of assailants whose shot from over the wall spattered the water about us. 
 We remained with this handful of men to keep the whole force of the enemy in 
 check till the rear of our collumn moved of, at which time we put the matches to 
 the trains and embark'd. 1 had the satisfaction to see the several fires that had 
 been prepared burst out at once. Pitch, tar, hemp, rosin, oil, timber, and 
 manufactured naval stores, together with ten sail of the line united in our general 
 blaze, so that no efforts of the enemy could extinguish the flames ; they were 
 check'd in their approach by the fear of explosions. A most tremendous one 
 took place while we were in the act of burning the Hero and Themistode, two 
 seventy-four gun ships, which lay detached without the Arsenal, and were 
 defended by the French prisoners on board, from over whom the guard had been 
 withdrawn. A second explosion nearly involved us all in the destructive vortex, as 
 we were within the sphere of falling timber on fire. The whole scene was most 
 awfully grand. We lost one lieutenant and three men, killed out of two boats 
 that were destroyed. We compleated our work of setting fire to the ships above- 
 mentioned, saving every living soul on board, and were then called to save a 
 number of poor creatures whose cries were heard from the shore through this 
 cloud of smoke. They were not endangered from the flames, but were flying 
 from the knife of the villanous assassins, who, having yet the upper hand in the 
 town, on the retreat of our column, were proceeding to every act of atrocity; men, 
 women, and children crowded into the boats, and out off from the shore were 
 without oares, calling to us to save them by the most sacred of all ties — 
 our professed friendship. We accordingly returned to the quay again and 
 received ever)' one of them, in spite of a heavy fire of musquetry from their 
 pursuers, whom we repulsed with grape-shot from the Swallow. At length, 
 having exhausted our strength, and having saved every friend and destroyed 
 every enemy within our reach, we returned on board at two o'clock in the 
 morning, running the gauntlet of these dreaded forts of Ballaguea & L'Eguillette. 
 We reached the Victory just in time not to be left behind, the ships being in the 
 act of getting under way. I had the satisfaction by this finish to secure as much 
 advantage and honour to ourselves as coul.l be extracted from so disgraceful a 
 busyness, and I am now on my way to England with Lord Hood's despatches to 
 announce the event. It is certainly much better for us that their ships should 
 have been burnt, than that they should be kept to be employed against us 
 hereafter under any form of French Government whatever. Some will have 
 escaped the flames, and the Spaniards can best explain why they withdrew the 
 force destined for the service of burning those in the Bason before the town. I 
 will write to you from England when 1 know what effect this event has on our 
 general politicks, which, to be sure, must receive a new impression from the 
 conviction that the combined force of Europe cannot hold its own against such 
 swarms, much less make any way against them ; indeed, the confusion of tongues 
 is as much against the success of the work at present in hand as it was against 
 the construction of the Tower of Babel of old. Our cheif faults were mixing the 
 troops and workmen instead of giving each a separate post to defend on their 
 single responsibility, and not agreeing to obey the orders of one Commander-in- 
 Chief, if a dispassionate, unprejudiced man could have been found possessed of 
 general confidence and the several languages necessary. Perhaps, too, we did 
 wrong in not accepting the services of the French, who were willing to expose 
 themselves on their own cause. 
 
 'Excuse this not being in my own handwriting,* but I have had a copy made 
 
 * This last paragraph only is in the Admiral's own handwriting. 
 
>794-] NELSOX PAPERS. 187 
 
 from my rough scrawl. You have my full permission to communicate the above 
 as it stands to General Acton for the King's information. 1 have also referred my 
 friend Sir James Douglass to you for particulars which I have not now time to give 
 him, having given you the preference. Adieu, my dear Sir, believe me,' &c. 
 
 232. A. L. from Lord Bristol to the same. Dated Trieste, January 15th, 
 
 1794, I p.m. I page 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' This moment the whole fleet of transports, gun-boats & all, are under weigh 
 for Venice ; the wind is neither favourable nor strong, but in two days they hope 
 to reach it, & as no one is likely to give you information but me, I will not lose 
 the opportunity Col. Williams gives me of writing you, especially as you may 
 communicate it d la premihe des femmes—ceile mattresse femme! 
 
 'This damned climate— cold, damp, and ungenial — ruins me. 
 
 ' I have been in bed these four weeks with what is called a flying gout, but 
 were it such it would be gone long ago, & it hovers round me like a ghost round 
 its sepulchre. 
 
 ' My best love to dearest Emma.' 
 
 233. A. L. S. from Lady D. Beauclerk to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 
 Marlborough House, January 20th, 1794. \\ pages 4to., with 
 Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I can not resist the desire I have to thank you & Lady Hamilton for your 
 great goodness to Charles, tho' boring you with a letter you will perhaps think 
 rather troublesome. Charles writes me word that nothing ever was equal to both 
 your goodness & L^ Ham. to him, & my gratitude is in proportion to my affection 
 for him, which I do assure you is unbounded. I heartily wish I was at Naples ; 
 I think if I was twenty years younger I should set off" directly if it was only to 
 thank you & L^ Ham: Pray order Charles when he writes to say how his health 
 is, for that is a matter he never thinks of mentioning, & I am a little fearful of the 
 heat of the climate. 1 hope you & L^" Hamilton will like him half as much at 
 least as, he likes you both. I am,' &c. 
 
 'P.S.— This letier is intended for Lady Hamilton as well as you, only I prefer 
 being- troublesome ioj/au, as an old fiiend.' 
 
 234. A. L. S. from Cap* Nelson to Rev. Dixon Hoste. Dated Leghorn, 
 
 February 14th, 1794. i page 4to., with Superscription. 
 
 ' You cannot receive much more pleasure in reading this letter than I have 
 in writing it, to say that your son* is everything which his dearest friends can wish 
 him to be, and is a strong proof that the greatest gallantry may be under the 
 most gentle behaviour. Two days ago it was necessary to take a small vessel 
 from a number of people who had got on shore to prevent us ; she was carried in 
 high style, and your good son was by my side. We had six men badly wounded.' 
 
 235. A. L. S. from W. Beckford to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated Lisbon, 
 
 February i8th, 1794. 3f pages 4to. [h.J 
 
 ' I cannot express to you, my dear Sir W™, how happy your letter of the 24th 
 Dec'' has made me. I most heartily rejoice that you are well, that you are very 
 busy w'nh your vases & y"" politicks, & that L^ H. has not forgotten me. Nothing 
 would afford me more satisfaction than the opportunity of paying you a visit & 
 examining the glorious treasure you have collected. I cannot pass thro' England 
 at this juncture because, as a member of Pari', I should be seized by the way, and 
 an embargo laid upon my proceedings. But if I could discover a good, snug, 
 neutral vessel, I v/'^ set sea-sickness at deffiance & sail forth without further 
 
 * Sir William Hoste, 1780-1828, second son of the Rev. Dixon Hoste, and a well-known 
 nival commander. He entered the Navy at 13 under the care of Nelson, dislinguishiid 
 himself on many occasion^, particularly at Leisa, and was made a Baronet in 18 14. 
 
1 88 THE HAMILTON AND [1794. 
 
 ceremony, tho' the holy people here would be very loth to let me go, for I am a 
 pattern of sanctity, & have set St. Anthony a going again so effectually that the 
 patriarch, the Inquisitor, & the Heads of religious houses stuff me with sweetmeats 
 and smother me with caresses. 
 
 ' We have the most heavenly weather imaginable ; the orange trees are in full 
 blow, the hills embroidered with tulips, narcissus, & anemonies. This very eve^f 
 the monks of St. Vincent, who have 18 or ;^20,ooo a year at their disposal, give 
 me a grand entertainment in the open air. We shall feast like Absolom on the 
 house-top, to the sound of the lute, the harp, and the sack-but ; but we shall not 
 have the pleasure, like that graceful young gentleman, of being surrounded by 
 concubines — snug's the word at Lisbon — in that particular. 
 
 ' I expect your book by the first packet, & shall devour it with eagerness, not 
 having been able to pick up a scrap of literature since my arrival in this fag-end 
 of Europe. You may suppose, then, that I am pretty sharp set, & that I shall not 
 be disposed to cavil at any little errors your printers may have been guilty of. 
 
 ' Pray let me know if your coast is clear of French vessels, & how the loss of 
 Toulon sits upon the stomach of the inhabitants of Naples. Are you alarmed, or 
 are the combined fleets still masters of the Mediteranean ? You will find Lord 
 Howe has cut a very shabby figure, but I have now warm hopes that Barrington* 
 will retrieve the lost honour of the British Flag. 
 
 ' Remember me in your kindest manner to the lovely Emma, whose friendship 
 for me throws a bright ray over my whole existence. I cannot help looking upon 
 her as a sort of superior being — so good, so candid, so ingenuous, that the poor 
 old woman who mistook her in the dawn of the morn's for a sta'ue of the holy Virgin 
 need not have been ashamed to have renewed her hqmmage in open daylight. 
 
 'Adieu, my d' Sir W™, let me hear from you immediately j continue directing 
 to Mr. Wildman, tho' slow, it is the surest method of conveyance. With the 
 most perfect regard, believe me,' &c. 
 
 236. A. L. S. from Sir Joseph Banks to Robert Fulke Greville. Dated 
 
 Soho Square, April 4th, 1794. i page 4to., with Superscription. 
 
 [EL] 
 
 ' I have great pleasure in congratulating you on having been last night elected 
 a Fellow of the Royal Society, and shall be much flattered if you attend that body 
 on Thursday next, in order that you may be admitted to your franchise, which 
 otherwise you will not be able to do till the first day of May, the interval being 
 the Easter holidays. Believe me,' &c, 
 
 237. A. L. S. from John Flaxman to Sir W. Hamilton. No date. i| 
 
 pages 4to. [plJ 
 
 'When I troubled you last by the favor of Mr. Bunce, I informed you that my 
 departure from this city was to have been in a short time ; but I have the honour 
 to inform you at present with much more satisfaction that I shall be detained here 
 three years longer by the noble patronage of Lord Bristol, who has ordered me to 
 jnake a large group for him in marble of the fury of Athamas, from Ovid's 
 Metamorphoses, from a small composition of my own. I am concerned I have 
 not had the advantage of your excellent judgment on the bas-relief I have done 
 of Amphion and Zethus delivering their mother, Antiope, from Dirce & Lycus; 
 but, if you will permit Mr. Smith to inform me whether you are likely to come to 
 Rome within 6 or 8 months, in case 50U are not likely to be here in that time I 
 will beg leave to trouble you with a drawing from it, if you will have the goodness 
 to inform me by the same means how I may convey it to you with safety, & I will 
 trouble you at the same time to indulge me with some few particulars of the 
 Greek stories represented on those beautiful Etruscan Vases which you have added 
 to your collection since I was at Naples, & which I have so great a longing to 
 see, also when this charming acquisition to Art is likely to be published. The 
 
 * Samuel Barrington, 1729-18CO, fifth son of the 1st Viscount Barrington. He entered the 
 Navy at the aye ot II, and became a Pust-Captain in 1747, and in 1787 was advanced to the 
 rank of Admiral, having commanded under Sir Edward Hawke, Lord Rodney, and Lord Howe. 
 
1 7 94-] NELSON PAPERS. 189 
 
 bearer of this letter is Mr. Percier * a French architect of the first talents, for 
 whom I will entreat the favour (if you will permit me to intrude so far on your 
 goodness) of giving him leave to see your collection, & to make some trifling 
 sketches, if he desires it and his short stay at Naples will permit; it is a favour 
 which your generous spirit delights in giving to ingenious men, and a favour he 
 deserves to receive as an artist and a man. I cannot conclude my letter without 
 telling you the liberality of Lord Bristol has reanimated the fainting body of Art 
 in Rome ; for his generosity to me I must be silent, for I have not words to 
 express its value. 
 
 ' I have the honour to be,' &c. 
 
 238. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 
 April loth, 1794. 5 pages folio, with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' The King's messenger, Fabiani, brought me your letter of the 7th March 
 with your conveyance deeds, and also the mortgage deeds from Ross, Ogilvie & 
 Hamilton, a few days ago, and at a time that I have scarcely a moment to give to 
 my private affairs, for we are in the midst of the discovery of a Jacobin conspiracy, 
 which has been excited by money from the French National Assembly under the 
 direction of a French merchant now at Paris, who owes his ample fortune to this 
 country, where he resided many years, and particularly to the Court favor. His 
 name is Pesched, but I can not enter into these details, which is done fully in my 
 dispatch to Lord Grenville ; let it suffice that I tell you that the plot was not ripe ; 
 the man, one Falco, a Neapolitan physician, who was to have killed the King of 
 N., is taken and has confessed all. I hope in a few days and by a few executions 
 all will be quiet again ; however, it stops for the present the Neapolitan squadron 
 that was going to join Lord Hood off Bastia. I am employed in sending mortars 
 and other artillery stores, of which Lord Hood is in want for the attack of Bastia, 
 and the Romney is now taking them on board ; judge then if I can at this moment 
 give much time to the consideration of my own business. As I was under the 
 necessity of paying off Hoars according to their demand (which, entre nous, was, 
 I think, shabby in so short a time), I cou'd only apply to Ross & Ogilvie to help 
 me out of the scrape, and now I see no other way than to finish the business by 
 signing all the papers they send me, even that of appointing Davies to receive 
 and answer for the payment of the interest on the mortgage. I can not see, as he 
 is already the receiver of the rents of my whole estate, how it can disgust my 
 friend Meyrick. He will see that such a sum instead of going to me will go to 
 pay the interest on the mortgage. I shou'd fear that was I to sign the 
 Conveyances you propose, that it might affect the dispositions I have made in my 
 will. I understand little of these matters ; certain it is I mean everything that 
 is friendly and kind towards you, and I have not any doubt you are equally so 
 inclined towards me. It is my firm determination to go to England as soon as this 
 horrid war is at an end. Therefore keep your papers, which I send back in the 
 state they came, and they may serve if we come into that arrangement. This 
 summer must, I think, decide something, for it is quite impossible the war can be 
 carried on at the expence we are now under for another year. I wou'd then 
 endeavour to be in England in April & stay till Sep"^ in order to settle my affairs in 
 Wales for the rest of my life, and if in doing it I cou'd serve you without putting 
 the estate out of my own power (which I wou'd not do for any one on earth, tho 
 sooner for you than any one else) I shall be happy; as to the interest I have in 
 Wales with respect to a seat in Parliament, make use of my name as you please. 
 I know, if I had lived in Wales a year or two longer than I did, I must have been 
 chosen for Haverfordwest in return for my interest in the county, which I always 
 gave to Lord Milford's family against the Owens. Certainly I can never think of 
 passing a winter now out of a warm climate, & shou'd revolutions which may 
 happen or other accidents drive me from hence, if I cou'd get home what I have 
 here in pictures, furniture, & antiquities, I shou'd be able to pay off my debt. 
 
 * Charles Percier, 1764-1838, a celebrated French architect, made a member of the 
 ' Institut ' in 1811. He also illustrated Horace and La Fontaine. 
 
1 9^ THE HAMILTON AXD [1794. 
 
 But I really tremble when I think what we have just escaped. The present 
 conspiracy being entirely French, my house wou'd surely have been plundered 
 had the plot taken place, which was intended as soon as the fleet was sail'd and 
 the troops gone to join those of the Emperor. At this moment all are stopp'd, 
 and I question if this Government will venture to part with more of its forces 
 than what it is obliged to do by its treaty with Great Britain. 
 
 ' I am worn out with having been obliged, all at once, to write long letters to 
 Lord Hood, & also a long dispatch to Lord Grenville on the present critical 
 situation of Naples. None of the principal nobility seem to have had any share 
 in this conspiracy, and the lower class are out of the question. There is scarcely 
 one of near 40 in prison that is above the age of 24, and some much younger. 
 All is kept secret yet, but I believe in a few days this Government will publish all 
 the examinations, and the most guilty will be publickly executed. The plan was 
 certainly far from being ripe for execution, but it was terrible & well laid. The 
 palace and arsenal to have been set on fire here, & the sovereigns & R. family at 
 the same time to be seized and murder'd at Caserta. They were bribing with 
 French money, and enrolling people for the execution of the several objects. 
 
 ' It is hard that Lord Warwick will not pay me what I have advanced by his 
 order to the painter Wallis, whose general receipt I have now sent to Ross & 
 Ogilvie ; I suppose Knight has paid into Ross & Ogilvie, as I desired, ^400 for 
 the Bronzes, which I am happy he is pleased with, they certainly cost me more. 
 I flatter myself the sale of my books will soon bring me back the ^600 I advanced 
 the editor here, Mr. Tischbein. My present collection of vases is fine beyond all 
 description ; the 2'' volume is in the press, & will be ready in about two months, 
 & the prints for the third are engraved ; there will remain subjects enough for 
 two more volumes if the public shall appear desirous of them. I am quite 
 happy that Robert is on the point of advancement, he richly deserves it, and I wish 
 I cou'd hear of something turning up in your favor ; yours is the hardest case I 
 ever heard of, but you had the same fate as the hare with many friends in Gay's 
 Fables. 
 
 ' I am much obliged to Macaulayfor several interesting letters, but, entre nous, 
 I wish he wou'd come to Naples & look a little after his own affairs. Mackinnon 
 is certainly active, & his business seems to increase, but I think he seems to live 
 upon too expensive a plan. His wife is just gone posl to Rome to enjoy the Holy 
 Week. I can give you no other light about the green talc & pieces of Vesuvius, 
 but that they belonged to Geri, the King of Spain's gardener at Portici, who was 
 a great observer of Vesuvius, & the Abbe Meccati published about the year 1750 
 his observations, so that probably he refers to Meccati's book, not much 
 esteemed. Mrs. North, the B. of Winchester's wife, has made an immense 
 collection in your way — cristals, gems, & minerals — whether good or bad I know 
 not; she is sending them home, keep your eye on them, for I don't believe she 
 will return home alive, tho' in no immediate danger at this moment. Emma 
 goes on perfectly well, & is on the best footing here. Lady Spencer has lived 
 with us at Caserta. Adieu, y''" ever,' &c. 
 
 239. A. L. S. from Captain Nelson to the Rev. Dixon Hoste. Dated 
 'Camp' (before Bastia), May 3rd, 1794. 3 pages 4to., with Super- 
 scription and Seal. 
 
 ' Your letter of March loth I received only yesterday : it ought to have arrived 
 near three weeks ago. Your good son had long ago received your letter relative 
 to the melancholy event in your family, as I brought it from the Victory for him, 
 and I am sure he has repeatedly written, because he has told me so, and I have 
 not failed to remind him of the pleasure his letters must give you. The little 
 brushes we have had since 1 wrote to you only serve to convince me of the great 
 truth of what I wrote to you. In his navigation you will find him equally forward ; 
 he highly deserves anything I can do to make him happy. Do not spoil him by 
 giving him too much money ; he has all that he wishes — sometimes more. I love 
 him, therefore shall say no more on that subject. 
 
 ' You will have heard that we are before Bastia with 1000 regulars & marines, 
 & 300 seamen. We landed on the 4*'' April, the enemy have force, but what we 
 
1794-] NELSON PAPERS. igi 
 
 cannot' exactly say. Gen' D'Aubant, with iioo as fine troops "as ever marched, 
 will not join us, declaring that our united force is unequal to the attempt. The 
 army here is commanded by Lieut. Col. Villette, a most excellent officer, and I 
 have the pleasure of giving my assistance. We shall, in time, accomplish the 
 taking Bastia, I have no doubt, in the way we proposed to assault it by bombard- 
 ment and cannonading, joined to a close blockade of the harbour. We now hear 
 that Gen' D'Aubant will take the field when the reinforcements arrive from 
 England. I am almost afraid to say what I think such conduct merits. The 
 King cannot approve of it. Bastia is a large town walled in, with a battery to the 
 North and South of it, a citadel in the middle defenced by 30 pieces of cannon & 
 8 mortars, four stone redoubts on the nearest hill & 3 other forts above them ; the 
 town contains about 12,000 inhabitants, it is said 14,000 ; the troops we differ 
 about as to numbers . success, I. trust, indeed, have little doubt, will crown our 
 zealous & well-meant endeavours ; if not, our country will, I believe, sooner forgive 
 an officer for attacking an enemy than for letting it alone. This island, the finest 
 almost in the world, I hope, will belong to England. The inhabitants are strongly 
 attached to us, and it will give us the command of the Mediterranean. The 
 Italian States & the Spaniards, I believe, are jealous of our taking it, well knowing 
 its consequence. The Agamemnon is moored off our coast ; your dear boy wibhed 
 much to come ashore with me, & if I had not thought the danger was too great 
 I should have brought him ; however, he has been several times to see me. The 
 zeal of our soldiers & seamen is, I beheve, almost unexampled ; there is not one 
 who does not consider himself as personally interested in the event and deserted 
 by the General ; it has, I am persuaded, made them equal to double their numbers. 
 The enemy have only made two faint attacks at sortie. May 4th. — Your son has 
 just left me, he is writing you, but may not be in time for this conveyance. I beg 
 to return my thanks to Mrs. Hoste for her compliments. I am,' &c. 
 
 ' If you see any of my Burnham friends I beg to be kindly remembered to 
 them.' 
 
 240. A. L. S. from the same to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 'Camp' (Bastia), 
 
 May 7th, 1794. if pages 4to. [H.J 
 
 ' I hear from Lord Hood that the Neapolitan frigate which arrived this day 
 sails to-morrow morning, therefore I will not let the opportunity slip of enquiring 
 after you' and Lady Hamilton, for whose kindness I feel myself so much indebted. 
 Our enemys are obstinate, but behave infamously ill, not like men of spirit, but I 
 have no doubt we shall soon bring down their proud stomacks ; our loss has been 
 really nothing, theirs', deserters say, very great. You may remember seeing Capt. 
 Clarke of the troops on board Agame?nnon, he has lost his right arm & part of 
 his right side, but is still, I am happy to say, likely to recover. St. Michel & the 
 Commander of the troops are gone, as they tell the people, for succours ; the 
 Mayor got off last night in a very fast sailing boat, the ships' boats could not 
 overtake them. My dear boy is very well and thanks you for your remembrance 
 of him. I beg my best respects to Lady Hamilton, and that you will believe I 
 feel myself your most oblig'd,' &c. 
 
 241. A. L. S. from Lord Bristol to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated Sienna, 
 
 July I2th, [i7]94. i^ pages folio, with Superscription and Seal. 
 
 [H.] 
 
 'The first time I had the honor of writing to you it was to request a favor ; I 
 flatter myself that upon this occasion I may be able to confer one, if to a person 
 of your philosophical genius the communication of a phenomenon singular in its 
 nature can be deem'd such. 
 
 ' Upon Monday, i6th June, as you will find by the inclosed narrative, in the 
 midst of a most violent thunderstorm, about a dozen stones of various weights and 
 dimensions fell at the feet of different people — men, women, & children. The 
 stones are of a quahty not found in any part of the Sienese territory ; they fell 
 about 18 hours after the enormous eruption of Vesuvius, which circumstance leaves 
 a choice of difficulties in the solution of this extraordinary phenomenon— either 
 
192 THE HAMILTON AXD [1794. 
 
 these stones have been generated in this igneous mass of clouds which produced 
 such unusual thunder, or, which is equally incredible, they were thrown from 
 Vesuvius at a distance of at least 250 — ^judge, then, of its parabola. The philoso- 
 phers here incline to the first solution. I wish much, sir, to know your sentiments 
 & those of your friends. My first objection was to the fact itself, but of this there 
 are so many eye-witnesses, it seems impossible to withstand their evidence, & now 
 I am reduced to a perfect scepticism. 
 
 ' If you are good enough to communicate those sentiments, be good enough to 
 address them to me at Florence ; & believe me to be, with the highest esteem,' &c. 
 
 242. A.L.S. from the same to the same. Dated July 15th, 1794. \ page 
 
 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' My blundering head, dear S. W™, forgot to send you yesterday this specimen 
 of the aerial stone ; in case you desire a larger specimen for your decision I will 
 send it. 
 
 'All the philosophical world is in arms about this phenomenon, & all impatient 
 to know your opinion ; the chief point is whether in this eruption Sign™ Vesuvius 
 has emitted such a sort of stone ; next, whether it is be chemical[ly] possible for 
 such a stone to be generated in a thunder-storm. Ten thousand good wishes to 
 dear, respectable Emma, from y"^ faithfull friend,' &c. 
 
 243. A. L. S. from Sir. W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 
 July I sth, 1794. 5 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' Altho' I have little time, I cannot let this post go without thanking you for 
 your last letter, with the glorious news of Lord Howe's victory. Your letter gave 
 me great satisfaction, as I find you took my not having complied with your 
 arrangement of my affairs in the true light. My affection for you is not abated ; 
 but, sensible that the course of nature will not allow me many years more of 
 enjoyment in this world, I am determined not to risk anything that might distress 
 me in the latter part of my life, and I did not see clearly into your plan, altho' I 
 have such a confidence in your head and heart to believe that you thought it — 
 and perhaps it was — the best. 
 
 'When this war is at an end I will certainly make you another short visit, and 
 we will then see fairly on the spot what is best to be done consistently with my 
 present ease and future good ; but I am like the Irish Member of Pailiament 
 who, when a great present expense was proposed for the benefit of futurity, 
 desired to know what futurity had done for us. 
 
 ' My dispatches will have given a general account of our late most formidable 
 eruption of Vesuvius, & a short private letter I wrote to Sir Joseph ; but 1 am 
 preparing an account for the Society. All are still alarmed, for the subterraneous 
 hisses accompanied by a sound of boiling water is heard often at the foot of 
 Vesuvius, and more mischief may be done; however, having seen the wondrous 
 evacuation of the mountain of the 1 5th, I am easy as to earthquakes here, which 
 the Neapolitans are in great fear of. The matter thrown up in a few hours during 
 the late eruption collected together wou'd make another near as big as Vesuvius. 
 We know little of the force of Nature ! 
 
 ' I flatter myself Thompson* may have made some usefull observations, as this 
 eruption affords every sort of chimical operation, and has been wonderfully rich 
 in electrictrity and variety of production of air. Now the Meffettis begin to be very 
 active. The misfortune is that the heat here is so great now that one is naturally 
 sleepy & indolent, whereas the present moment requires much activity. I shall 
 not send my ace' untill I see Vesuvius in a perfect calm. Y" ever,' &c. 
 
 * Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, 1753-1814, the well-known American chemist and 
 physicist, who came to Europe m 1776 as the bearer of the news of the evacuation of Boston, and 
 became Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. He afterwards entered the service of 
 Bavaria, and was created Count Rumford. A large number of his articles, both in English and 
 French, are published in the Philosophical Transactions. 
 
1 794-] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 193 
 
 244. A. L. S. 'B.' from Lord Bristol to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated Sienna, 
 
 August 4th, 1794. 2 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I communicated your vei7 excellent and most philosophical letter, my dear 
 S' W™, to Father Soldani,* in whose convent I am now writing ; he is in raptures 
 at learning that you had even for an instant the same idea as himself about the 
 formation of these stones, whose generation appears to him every day more and 
 more incontrovertible. His pamphlet on the subject is gone to the press, but in 
 the meantime he begs you will be good enough to make his correspondent. Dr. 
 Thompson at Naples, communicate to you an abstract of his dissertation, in which 
 you will see the whole history oi the. facts well detailed. 
 
 ' Soldani is a most sensible, candid, unprejudiced, & intelligent man, indefatig- 
 able in the pursuit of truth, & with a mind open to all information from whatever 
 quarter; he wishes much to know if your Vesuvius has thrown out any stones 
 resembling the fragments I sent you ; such a circumstance wd. a little stagger his 
 theory, wch. all the babbling of Sienna — male, as well as female— does not as yet 
 effect. The phenomenon is certainly marvellous, not to say singular, for historians, 
 both ancient & of the middle ages, have recorded something similar. Livy in 
 Servius's reign, & a much more modem historian in the irruption of Attila the 
 Hun, but neither of them were philosophers, & both have recited only popular 
 opinion. 
 
 ' This request of his will give you the trouble of one letter more & in the 
 month of October I hope to see you at Naples, where I hope to pass the winter 
 for the purpose of sea-bathing. 
 
 'Be so good therefore as to inform me in y' next if you do not judge the air 
 of Pizzofalcone much thinner & purer than that of Santa Lucia or the Chiaia. 
 I recollect Lady Orford bemg lodged there & also the Dutchess of Weimar, at 
 whose concert we were, but I wish for your oracular decision about it, for a 
 quartan fever, which has harassed me these ten months, requires the thinnest air.' 
 
 245. A. L. S. from Captain Nelson to the same. Dated Agamemnon, 
 
 Leghorn, August 31st, 1794. 2 pages 4to. [h] 
 
 ' I cannot allow Mr. Peirson to return to Naples, where he is going to re- 
 establish his health, without assuring your Excellency how much he has deserved 
 your recommendation by a propriety of conduct in every situation in which it has 
 been thought proper to place him, which will ever do him credit. Colonel Wauchop, 
 of the 50th Regt., in which Mr. Peirson was a volunteer and has now a commission, 
 has great regard for him, as had Col. Villette at Bastia ; having served at 
 both sieges, I am enabled to say this much, and of my sincere regard and esteem 
 for him. I should have been glad to have paid my personal respects to yourself 
 and Lady Hamilton had the state of Agamemnon allowed of it, but her ship's 
 crew are so totally worn out, that we were glad to get into the first port to endeavour 
 to restore them, therefore for the present I am deprived of that pleasure. With 
 respectful compliments to Lady Hamilton, believe me, dear Sir, your most obliged 
 and very faithful servant,' &c. 
 
 246. A. L. S. from Lady Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Castella- 
 
 mare, September i6th, 1794. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription. 
 
 [H.J 
 
 ' I congratulate you, my dear Mr. Greville, with all my heart on your appoint- 
 ment to the Vice-Chamberlainship. You have well merited it, and all your 
 
 * Ambrogio Soldani, 1733-1808. A learned Italian ecclesiastic and naturalist. In 1770 he 
 was sent to Pisa to the library left by Padre Grandi to the Convent of San Michele, and in 1778 
 went to Sienna, where he spent his time in examining the fossil shells which exist in large 
 quantities in the mountains in the neighbourhood of Sienna, very much aided by a microscope of 
 Dollond's manufacture, presented to him by Lord Bristol. He was the author of some works 
 and memoirs on his own particular subject. 
 
 VOL. I. O 
 
194 THE HAMILTON AND [1794. 
 
 friends must be happy at a change, so favourable not only for your pecuniary 
 circumstances, as for the honner of the situation. May you long enjoy it with 
 every happiness that you deserve ! I speak from my heart. I don't know a better, 
 honester or more amiable and worthy man than yourself; and it is a great deal 
 for me to say this, for whatever 1 think I am not apt to pay compliments. 
 
 ' My dear Sir William as had the disorder that we and all Naples have had 
 since the eruption — a violent diarea that reduced him to so very low an ebb, that 
 I was very much alarmed for him, notwithstanding I thought I should have gone 
 with him. But, thank God ! we are here as happy as possible in the Queen's 
 Palace, enjoying every comfort and happiness that good health, royall favour and 
 domestick happiness can give us. The other day, the anniversary of our marriage, 
 Sir William told me he loved me better than ever, and had never for one 
 moment repented. Think of my feelings in that moment, when I could with 
 truth say the same to him. I gave here that day a little fete, when Lord and 
 Lady Plymouth, &c. &c., came down here, and I never saw Sir William so happy, 
 nor never was so happy myself. I tell you this, because I know you will rejoice 
 at it. 
 
 ' I will write soon and send you to setle with Mrs. Hackwood ; but all 
 the things were spoilt, and I had no right to pay for them. But I will 
 seile it ; and pray, go and tell her so. For the other affair, I will write to you 
 fully ; and, as this is a letter of congratulation, nothing shall disturb our happy 
 ideas. I wish you could send me an English riding hat, very fashionable. But 
 I desire you to put it to Sir William's account. We have company to-day 
 from Naples, and I cannot write more than that I am dear Mr. Greville's ever 
 sincere and affectionate friend,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. Mother's love to you. She is the comfort of our lives, and is our house- 
 keeper. Sir William doats on her. Give my love to the Col.' 
 
 247. A. L. S. 'W. H.' from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated 
 Caserta, October 28th, 1794. 5 pages 4to., with Superscription 
 and Seal, [h.] 
 ' I have had no return of bilious complaint or diarhea which attacked me in 
 common with many others at Naples during the great heats, and the sulphurious 
 and mephitic vapours of Vesuvius that filled our atmosphere. We are settled 
 here as usual for the winter, and have resumed our chasse ; at present we are in 
 the lark season and shoot at nothing else, but the first of Novr, we attack the 
 bears, &c. I take all good and bad with H.S.M. rather than not have some 
 inducement to be out much in the air, which I always find of service to my 
 health. This Court has given sufficient proof of late of their kindness to me and 
 Emma, and they look upon us and treat us as if we belonged to the family. The 
 pictures arrived safe and are already placed, and make a great noise at Naples, 
 where never were there such Flemish pictures. I am obliged to you for insisting on 
 the Berghem & Teniers being very excellent pictures of the Masters ; the Vandyke 
 is a sublime picture, and the Jordans will perhaps be of more use in improvmg 
 the Neapolitan school in point of colouring than most Flemish pictures that cou'd 
 have been sent. I am realy quite sorry for the melancholy exit of poor Vandergucht 
 which I just read in the newspaper, for I thought him a very honest man, & his 
 father realy loved me, & wou'd sell me a picture much cheaper than to anyone 
 else I wrote to Vandergucht as soon as the pictures arrived, and, as our bargain 
 was, I proposed to return him the ' Battle' of Woverman, the ' Adrien ' of William 
 Vandevelt, & wishing to have some one good picture of the Flemish of about a 
 like value in their room, when you have leisure I wish you wou'd settle that affair 
 for me, & chuse such a picture. The Wovermans is certainly a fine picture, but I 
 am not clear that it (is) a Pbilip; but as it is a well painted picture I shou'd even 
 be content to keep it & only change the two Vandevelds that give me little 
 pleasure. Upon the whole I am weU satisfied, but am clear I shoud not have 
 been so without your assistance. . . . , 
 
 ' Italy as you know, has [been] much alarmed of late fearing an incursion ot 
 the barbarian's, but for the present there does not seem to be any danger, part of 
 
'794.J NELSON PAPERS. 195 
 
 their troops having been called off to Marseilles, where we flatter ourselves there 
 is great confusion. You will have heard of the unfortunate accident that happened 
 at the execution of 3 of the conspirators at Naples, & by which near 100 of his 
 Sicihan Majesty's innocent subjects were either killed or wounded. The soldiers 
 were so convinced that there wou'd be a riot that day, that they mistook the retreat 
 of the mob after the execution for an attack, and began firing. The Neapolitan 
 populace, by not having resented such a provocation, I think give a sufficient proof 
 of their temper and moderation. 
 
 ' I shou'd be glad, at your leisure, to see some account of what has been expended 
 at Milford for the Inn and Landing-place, to which t-fiQ articles 1 limit all improve- 
 ments, as realy my expences increase by everything growing dearer daily. And I 
 do not see that one farthing has been paid into Ross's hands from the estate these 
 two years. I mean now that Ross & Ogilvie shou'd have the whole of my finances 
 in hand, and I cannot comprehend an article of the lawyer, Wm. Hamilton, having 
 had ^200 frorn them on account ; Ld. W. neither pays me the money I advanced 
 by his Lordship's order to Wallis, nor answers my letter ; je n^en comprend rien, 
 but I must have my money from him or Wallis— it is about ^400. I hope now 
 fortune has turned her fair side to you that you will soon be out of all your 
 difficulties. Do let me hear from you often. The English garden begins to be 
 charming, & is one of my great objects here, but the economy of the times has 
 stopped all for the present. Ever yours,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. I suppose my letter on the last eruption of Vesuvius will be read at the 
 opening of the R. Society. I wish to have your opinion of it, as it cost me some 
 pains, & I flatter myself contains some new and curious observations on the subject 
 of an active volcano. 
 
 ' Lord Holland & Ld. Wicombe* have been here together ; the former was 
 here last year and I like him exceedingly, but do not know much of the latter ; 
 they return to Rome next week. I shou'd imagine we shall see few British 
 travellers this year.' 
 
 248. A. L. S. from Joseph Denham to Lady Hamilton. Dated Rome, 
 November 4th, 1794. 2 pages 4to., with Superscription. [p.J 
 
 ' I had the honour of writing your Ladyship this day sen'night, & now again 
 take the liberty to recommend the affair mentioned in my letter to your kind 
 protection. 
 
 ' I dined with Lord Bristol last Sunday, & he has invited me again to-day, but 
 I cannot g:o, as I was pre-engaged ; yet, as his Lordship departs to-morrow for 
 Naples, I intend to call on him this evening. In the meantime, I would not miss 
 the post to inform your Ladyship of what I think it proper you sho"^ know before 
 you see Lord Bristol. I know you depend upon my sincerity, and will never 
 deceive you. 
 
 'His Lordship made a long and elaborate eulogy upon you, praising all your 
 virtues, and particularly your attachment to Sir William, concluding that God 
 Almighty must have been in a glorious mood when he made you, &, tho' in general 
 he made but a bungling piece of work of it, yet he had outdone all the rest in 
 forming Lady Hamilton. From this he travelled into another ground, & said he 
 had a very advantageous proposal to make Sir William, which he hoped to 
 succeed in. Hear and wonder ! 
 
 ' Lord Hervey it seems has obtained a pension from Government of fifteen 
 hundred pounds a year for the loss of his ministry at Florence, & Lord Bristol 
 intends to propose that this shall be turned over to Sir WilHam, provided he will 
 resign his employ at Naples to Lord Hervey, which Lord Bristol seems to 
 consider as a good bargain for Sir William. 
 
 ' As all this was told in a mixed company, I did not think proper to make any 
 comment on so extraordinary a scheme, tho' it occurred to me at the moment 
 that Sir WiUiam co* never be so stupid as to give up ^{^3500 a year for less than 
 
 * John Henry Petty, Earl of Wycombe, afterwards 2nd Marquis of Lansdowne, 1765-1809. 
 Eldest son of the 1st Marquis by his first wife, Lady Sophia Carteret ; he was several times elected 
 M.P. for Chipping- Wycombe. 
 
196 THE HAMILTON AND [1794- 
 
 half the money, nor agree to lose all his consequence at Naples, where I remember 
 he told me he intended to remain even if he were to lose his place, as the air & 
 climate agree so well with him. I am also inclined to think that your Ladyship, 
 too, wo* by no means like to leave Naples, where I hear you are such a favourite 
 of the Queen's. 
 
 'My loyalty both to your Ladyship & Sir William has prompted me to 
 advertize you of all this, that you may be apprized of the object of Lord Bristol's 
 jaunt to Naples. Indeed, I believe he will surprize you at Caserta from Capua. 
 I trust to your secrecy St' prudence in receiving him. 
 
 ' Cardinal de Bernis,* the late French Minister, died here two days ago, & 
 the French Princessest have left his palace, & now reside for a few days at the 
 Spanish Minister's in Piazza di Spagna. I am, with great respect,' &c. 
 
 249. A. L. S. from Captain Nelson to Sir William Hamilton. Dated 
 
 ^^a;«em«OM, Leghorn, 2 1 St November, 1794. 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' Perhaps Admiral HothamJ has wrote to you the present state of the enemy's 
 fleet & of our own ; if so, this will be a how do ye letter ; if not you will, I think 
 like to know the state of both the fleets, and, as I was sent to look into Toulon 
 after the escape of the squadron from Gourgeau Bay, nobody can give you a 
 better account of them. In the harbour of Toulon are 22 men-of-war disposed of 
 as follows ; in the arsenal nearly ready 3 sail of the line ; in the inner road the 
 Gourgeau squadron, 7 sail of the line, & 4 frigates in a state of fitting, are nearly 
 ready by this time for sea ; in the outer road 5 sail of the line & 2 frigates 
 perfectly in appearance ready for sea ; our transports detained with the truce-flag 
 flying are laid up, dismantled in a great degree. What are the designs of the 
 French, you are much more likely to know than myself; at Corsica everybody 
 supposes the attack will be made on that Island ; in Italy, that it will be on Italy ; 
 I am of opinion the latter is most likely. Port Especia (Spezia) is in my opinion 
 the destination of their fleet, and as they will not scruple taking possession of the 
 Genoese forts they will be able to not only maintain their situation, but also be 
 enabled to succour their army in Italy, by either small squadrons or a flotilla, to 
 which the English have nothing to oppose ; how Leghorn will be defended I 
 know not ; sure I am it is capable of a long siege if provisions are laid in, but I 
 don't think there is three days' provisions for the inhabitants in the place, and I 
 really believe it will instantly be delivered up. What allies has poor England ? 
 Our fleet is at St. Fiorenza, refitting and nearly ready for sea ; an unpleasant 
 business has happened with us, the crew of the Windsor Castle mutinied, & 
 insisted on another Captain & first Lieut, being appointed to the ship, which 
 Admiral Hotham thought it right for the benefit of His Majesty's service to comply 
 with, & removed the officers ; they have been tried by their own desire by a 
 Court Martial & most honourably acquitted, the charge against them having been 
 found not only malicious, but without the smallest foundation in truth ; various 
 are the opinions, as you will believe, of the Admiral's conduct on this occasion ; I 
 shall not venture to give an opinion on his conduct ; sure I am that Admiral 
 Hotham is a most amiable good man, & has done what he thought best for the 
 service. I beg my best respects to Lady Hamilton; I do not forget your 
 
 * Franyois Joachim de Pierre, Cardinal de Bernis, circa 1720-1794, the celebrated French 
 statesman. He was sent as Ambassador to Venice, and in 1756 was Minister for Foreign 
 Affairs, was created a Cardinal in 1763, and was appointed Archbishop of Albi in 1764. In 
 !;68 he went as Ambassador to Rome, where he remained for the rest of his life. 
 
 t Princesses Adelaide, 1732-1799, and Victoire, 1733-1799, daughters of Louis XV. They 
 died within six months of each other at Trieste, where they were buried in the cathedral, but in 
 1817 their remains were removed to St. Denis. 
 
 i William, ist Lord Hotham, 1736-18:3. He was the third son of Sir Beaumont Hotham, 
 and first served in the West Indies, and obtained post rank in 1757. He served under Lord 
 Howe in the expedition against Philadelphia, commanded afterwards in the West Indies, early 
 in 1795 was left in command of the fleet in the Mediterranean, and was made an Admiral. In 
 1797 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Hotham, and succeeded his nephew in the baronetcy 
 in 181 1. 
 
1 794-] NELSON PAPERS. 197 
 
 kindness to me & Josiah,* who is a young man grown. Believe me, ever your 
 most obliged,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. — Voor A gajitemnon is quite a wreck, being without masts, crew destroy'd 
 by the Corsican expedition.' 
 
 250. A. L. S. from Lady Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Caserta, 
 December 1 8th, 1794. 4 page 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I have onely time to write you a few lines by the Neapolitan Courier, who 
 will give you this. He comes back soon, and pray send me by him some 
 ribbands and fourteen yards of fine muslin worked for a gound or fine leno. 
 Ask any Lady what leno is, and she will tell you, and pray pay Hackwood's 
 and put it down to Sir William's account with his banker. He told me I 
 might ; for I have so many occasions to spend my money, that my 2 hundred 
 pounds will scarcely do for me, [with | a constant attendance at Court now, once 
 and generally twice aday, and I must be well dress'd. You know how far 2 
 hundred will go. To-day we expect the Prince Augustus from Rome. He is to 
 be lodged at the Pallace here, and with us in town. To-morrow we have a great 
 dinner at Court for the Prince. The Queen invited me last night herself, and we 
 passed four hours in an enchantment. No person can be so charming as the Queen. 
 She is everything one can wish— the best mother, wife, and freind in the world. 
 I live constantly with her, and have done intimately so for 2 years, and I never 
 have in all that time seen anything but goodness and sincerity in her, and, if ever 
 you hear any lyes about her, contradict them, and if you should see a cursed book 
 written by a vile french dog with her character in it, don't believe one word. She 
 lent it me last night, and I have by reading the infamos calumny put myself quite out 
 of humour, that so good and virtus a princess shoud be so infamously described. 
 
 ' Lord Bristol is with us at Caserta. He passes one week at Naples, and one 
 with us. He is very fond of me, and very kind. He is very entertaining, and 
 dashes at everything. Nor does he mind King or Queen, when he is inchned to 
 show his talents. I am now taking lessons from Willico, and make great progress. 
 Nor do I slacken in any of my studys. We have been here 3 months, and 
 remain four or five months longer. We go to Naples every now and then, i 
 ride on horseback. The Queen has had the goodness to supply me with horses, 
 an equerxy, and her own servant in her livery every day. In short, if I was her 
 daughter she could not be kinder to me, & I love her with my whole soul. 
 
 ' My dear Sir William is very well, and as fond of me as ever ; and I am, as 
 women generally are, ten thousand times fonder of him than I was, and you 
 would be delighted to see how happy we are — no quarelling, nor crossness, nor 
 laziness. All nonsense is at an end, and everybody that sees us are edified by 
 our example of conjugal and domestick felicity. Will you ever come and see us f 
 You shall be received with kindness by us booth, for we have booth obligations 
 to you, for having made us acquainted with each other, Excuse the haist with 
 which I write, for we are going to Capua to meet the Prince Augustus. Do send 
 me a plan, how I could situate little Emma, poor thing ; for I wish it.' 
 
 251. A.L.S. from Captain Nelson to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated Leghorn, 
 December 19th, 1794. 2j pages 4to, [h.] 
 
 ' You will have heard from Admiral Hotham of his arrival here for necessarys 
 & refreshments for his fleet, and of his intentions on sailing from hence ; therefore 
 1 now only write you a line to say that when anything occurs worth your notice 
 that I shall not fail to write to you, and perhaps oftentimes to tell you that nothing 
 has happened, which news is often most acceptable, Reports here say the French 
 fleet will certainly put to sea very shortly to protect the entrance of a number of 
 corn vessels from the coast of Barbary. We know they have called in their 
 numerous privategrs from the Gulph of Genoa, & that all the men are gone to 
 
 * Josiah Nisbet, i784(?)-i830, Nelson's stepson. He entered the navy and served under 
 Nelson, whose life he saved at Santa Cruz. He received post rank in 1798, and commandtd in 
 the Mediterranean until j8oo, about which time he and Nelson seem to have fallen out on the 
 subject of Lfidy Hamilton, 
 
ig" THE HAMILTON AND [1794, 1795.- 
 
 Toulon to man their fleet. This measure certainly indicates strongly an intention 
 of going to sea. I have no doubts of the event should they be disposed to give 
 us a meeting, and I trust it will be a victory which may rival our home fleet, for 
 why should not laurels grow in the Mediterranean ? The Admiral, I think, has wrote 
 to you to ask for some of the Neapolitan ships ; they may at present be of the 
 greatest service for the protection of Italy (even should a battle take place before 
 their arrival), and I most perfectly agree with you that, although it may not be 
 proper to divulge the whole plan of a campaign (which maybe entrusted to a 
 Commander-in-chief), yet that allies have a right to know what is going on at the 
 moment, to you I may say that Admiral Fortiguerri is the most of all men unlikely 
 to conciliate the esteem of the English. We all love the Captain of the Tancredi 
 — Carraghohilli* (I believe, I know not his name) — we respect the Neapohtans & 
 have a sincere esteem for the King of Naples, who is so attentive to all of us. 
 You will not, I am sure, mention my opinion of Fortiguerri to any-one, for no-one 
 in our fleet knows my opinion of him, altho' I do most of theirs. Letters from 
 Genoa say that all vessels above 50 tons are detained at Nice & Ville Franche 
 for the purpose of transporting 12,000 men somewhere. I have no doubt that 
 Port Especia is their object, although many amongst us think it is Corsica ; 
 accounts are certain that 2 sail of the line are on their passage from Brest to 
 Toulon. Agamemnon will be ready as to masts and yards to sail with the fleet, 
 & my ship's company got tolerably healthy, but as to numbers we are miserably 
 short. Col. Villette probably is with you ; he is not only a good officer but a 
 perfect gentleman, a character not very often met with ; pray remember me kindly 
 to him. I hope Mr. Peirson is perfectly recover'd. I beg my kindest remembrances 
 to Lady Hamilton ; Josiah, assure her, always remembers her goodness, and 
 believe me, &c. 
 
 ' P.S. Dec'^ 20th. We are all on board, & the fleet unmoor'd.' 
 
 252. A.L. S. from Charles Greville to the same. Dated January 5th, 
 
 1795. 4 pages folio. [H.] 
 
 'Your paper on Vesuvius was read in part last night, the remainder will engage 
 the Society t next Thursday. You may suppose that so interesting a narrative of 
 such an event has not lain in the President's drawer during the recess of the 
 Society. Your friends have been favour'd with a sight of it, & I can assure you 
 the labour you must have had in collecting the materials is thankfully acknow- 
 ledged. Your papers, however, I hope, will be like the good landlord's last 
 bottle, be always forthcoming on proper occasions ; & if the events hereafter 
 shall appear to you interesting, we no doubt will benefit from the readiness of 
 your pen & your good observation. You asked my opinion, I therefore give it 
 with sincerity ; I could not otherwise prove myself sensible of that excellence 
 which has attached me to you through life, & which is rare in the world. 
 Whether you write or speak, you appear to prefer the most natural and direct 
 expression of your real sentiment, whereas most people fritter away the sentiment 
 in a profusion of words or in studied arrangement. Your habit is more convincing 
 and more engaging, but the naivete which arises from it would be disgusting in 
 an imitator ■» ho did not possess the same good eye and good heart. 
 
 ' I have begun my duty, and, notwithstanding, my income is encreased, I 
 retain the same establishment and residence at Paddington. My room in the 
 King's Mews makes this possible, & I have had sufficient experience to know 
 that to be independent I must be prudent. The addition of a carriage would be 
 a luxe, but the consequent increase of establishment and expence would not 
 stop there, & %\ ith the necessary expences of Court dress & attendance it would 
 suit to anticipate receipt which only come when due the fourth quarter. I find 
 myself not the less respected because my savings are only in my personal 
 accommodation, & not in any part of my Court representation & duty. By strange 
 
 * The ' captain of the Tancredi' was the famous Francesco Caraccioli or Coracciolo, 1770- 
 1799, who, after serving wiih distinction in the Neapolitan navy and attaining the rank of 
 Admiial, joined the Republican party. On the temporary restoration of the Royal family 
 at Naples, in 1799, he was convicted of high treason, and hanged at the mast-head of the 
 Neapolitan frigate, La Minerva. 
 
 t The Royal Society : this paper is printed in vol. Ixxxv. of the I hilosophical Transactions. 
 
I79S-] NELSON PAPERS. 199 
 
 management my election comes on at Petersfield this week; rext week I ha I 
 take that additional duty. I am very regular at the sittings of llie P. councils, & 
 shall not find them less agreeable from our friend L"" Mansfield being president of 
 the Council. You will be glad that L* Spencer is at the head of the Admiralty, 
 he is a much respected man in private life ; he has good sense and good intentions. 
 I am sure he will be found a man of vigour — a quality much wanted on the present 
 occasion ; & the vote of yesterday of 100,000 men, including 15,000 marines, will, 
 I trust, maintain the honour of Britain. The arts of factious men are, however, 
 active to poison public opinion. L* Chatham was certainly sacrificed, but his 
 change with L* Spencer was not a manoeuvre of the Portland party, but the 
 measure Mr. Pitt thought necessary. You know that L^ Spencer has got her two 
 neices to be maids of honour — one to the P'' of W., & the other to the Queen. 
 
 ' The D^' of Devonshire is at Tynemouth with L^ Besborough, but 1 suppose 
 in Feb'^ or March will come to town. 
 
 ' We have been in real alarm for Holland. The French had crossed the Waal, 
 but we believe from the latest accounts that they were obliged to repass it the 30th 
 of December. The frost was too tempting for the Carmagnols to observe good 
 faith, & the security from an implied armistice facilitated their attack. I hear the 
 Dutch are angry. It seems they are slow in feeling the extent of their danger. 
 The Stadholder I hope will benefit by the event. If they had been able to pour 
 in their forces with a supply of provisions to maintain them for some days in case 
 of a thaw, I realy did not see what could prevent their being at Rotterdam & the 
 Hague before the allies could check them. The frost is weakened, but the snow 
 is unmelted, & the wind to the East detains the ships under orders to the Texel from 
 sailing ; the French recrossing the Waal will leave the Texel accessible when the 
 ice shall melt ; had they penetrated, the P'^ must have gone by Embden or Stade. 
 
 ' The Court will be very brilliant, & both in & out of Parliament the marriage 
 of his R.H. gives real satisfaction, & to no one more than myself Your friend 
 the D. of Brunswick must be happy ; as to the D=', she is, I believe, the happiest 
 of women in having the gros lot fall to the P™ her daughter. 
 
 ' My brother Robert is just out of waiting, prolonged to the extreme length of 
 5 months without interruption ; he is so steady & punctual, that he is in great 
 favor ; & indeed the partiality of all at Windsor for him is very flattering. 
 
 ' You mentioned some time ago that the young protege of L^ Hamilton should 
 meet your assistance on proper occasion. I told you then I wished you to consult 
 \J H. as to what she advised, & that she was too young to be put to anything. 
 Blackburn brought me an account of ^29 for her board, &c., which I shall, as 
 before, desire Ross & Ogilvie to pay. I enquired particularly about her ; she 
 will not be tall nor handsome, but of a good disposition. I had mentioned to 
 Blackburn the impropriety of raising her expectations, & she has no one idea to 
 act or think upon beyond the quiet & retired life which she pa'^ses with Mrs. 
 Blackburn, whose daughters are near her age & are educated with her. I told B. 
 that I conceived something would be decided this Spring, & if she is to be put in 
 a way to help herself it cannot be as you suggested by giving a sum once for all ; 
 a premium is given during the period of learning, & after that time a sum may 
 enable them to derive benefit. If in the interval any good sort of man, either 
 with a profession or fortune, would marry, a moderate dot may have its effect. 
 All this I write because within six months I wish you to consider & decide — both 
 on L'' H. & on her divis account. 
 
 ' I have been to Vandergutch, your letter consoled the widow ; & she could 
 not speak more fairly — " chuse any picture, & I will lay it aside. I wish to sell 
 off, not being able to carry on the business." The Rembrant I wanted to have 
 been sent — half-length — she said was sold. There is a S. Rosa which "L^ Darnley 
 bought at Rome, to which ^300 is affixed, a saint or philosopher on the ground & 
 a horrid goblin stretching over him, a good picture, but a disagreable subject & 
 dear. Another picture — a half-length bourgemaster by Van Hurst, or some such 
 name — a good portrait, smooth, coloring natural, to this 80 gs. ; besides these I 
 saw none which could suit you ; I therefore advise you to say that I represented 
 her good conduct & that you will not trouble her to exchange. If you prefer a 
 bourgemaster & some little picture to the Vandevelts, you may propose that 
 exchange ; & perhaps, as they are small pictures, you may send them by some 
 traveller by land. Y™ ever,' &c. 
 
300 THE HAMILTON AND [1795. 
 
 253. A. L. S. from R. P. Knight* to Lady Hamilton. Dated Whitehall, 
 January 21st, 1795. 5;^ pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal. 
 
 ' I had the pleasure of your letter & very elegant present on my arrival here 
 yesterday, & I heg that you will assure the charming Emma that I never have, 
 nor ever shall, forget her ; neither have I at any time felt any pique or resent- 
 ment towards her, nor do I know to what her expressions on that subject allude. 
 When she ceased writing to me I concluded that her time was occupied in more 
 agreeable pursuits, & that she had had quite enough of my moral prose ; but, 
 however I might regret the loss of so agreeable a correspondent, I never was so 
 unreasonably peevish as to be angry with her for using that natural liberty to 
 which she is so well entitled. It is, however, with the greatest pleasure that I 
 accept the renewal of her correspondence, & doubt not but that she will make me 
 amends for past disappointments. I accept her elegant fragment of Greek 
 sculpture as a memorial of this renewal, & value it accordingly. So far from 
 being too proud to accept of it as a present, let her be assured that I value it 
 much more for being allowed to consider it as such. 
 
 ' So much for preliminaries. Now give me leave to tell you how much I am 
 flattered by your approbation of my poetry. Though an old dealer in literature, 
 it was my first adventure with the muses, & the feeling approbation of a person 
 of your natural good taste is to me more encouraging than that of a thousand 
 professed critics, who judge everything by the rules of their own art of book- 
 making, & not by the impresssion which it makes on their minds. Had not 
 Emma been an Ambassadress, I should have contrived to bring her in as an 
 illustration of my principles of grace, but, as the comedy sa.ys, public characters 
 must not be sported with. Seriously speaking I had once the presumption to 
 attempt it, but could not express my thoughts in a manner worthy of the 
 subject. 
 
 ' I have so lately left my retirement at Downton that I can tell you but very 
 little of what is going on in the busy scenes of this Metropolis. We are all in 
 consternation at the conquest of Holland, though it has been for some time past 
 expected. It is, nevertheless, one of those calamities of which no-one perceives 
 the extent till it arrives and makes itself felt. We are now in a manner cut off 
 from the Continent, & shall probably be ourselves the next object which these 
 tremendous hordes of barbarians will attack. They are building ships of every 
 kind of material that they can get, without any regard to its durability, evidently 
 for the purpose of making one grand effort against the whole extent of our coast 
 at once, which, if it succeeds in only one place will answer their purpose, & the 
 throwing away the lives of two or three hundred thousand cut-throats is what 
 they do not value — it only saves the guillotine trouble. Our party-leaders are in 
 the meantime scrambling for places and emoluments as if we were in no danger ; 
 they seem to me like a drunken crew who plunder the vessel when sinking. Had 
 it not been for this calamitous state of public affairs you should have seen me at 
 Naples before this time, but in the present circumstances we can form no plans. 
 In former wars kings contended with kings, & nations with nations, &, which ever 
 side prevailed, individuals met with some kind of protection both for their persons 
 & properties ; but, in the present dreadful convulsion, the invaders, like the 
 Scythians of old, sweep the earth before them ; property is instantly annihilated, 
 & every man who bears the rank of a gentleman proscribed. Unless therefore 
 the inundation can be opposed by some more vigorous & systematic efforts than 
 have hitherto been employed, we may all be obliged to seek refuge beyond the 
 Atlantic, These are gloomy ideas, you will say, but do not therefore suspect that 
 I am grown low-spirited. Observation on what has past leads involuntarily to 
 conjectures concerning the future ; but I can still look forward and prepare 
 
 * Richard Payne Knight, 1750-1824. A numismatist and author, who, when in Italy, 
 spent most of his time in visiting Sir William and Lady Hamilton. He inherited the estates of 
 Downton, Herefordshire, in 1764, and here he built a castellated stone mansion after his own 
 designs. He made a fine collection of bronzes, coins, prints, &c, , which he bequeathed to the 
 British Museum, of which he was Towneley trustee. 
 
J795-] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 201 
 
 myself for the worst of what may come, without sufifering it to deprive me of a 
 moment's enjoyment of what is present. On the contrary, I think that the feehng 
 oneself prepared for any future ill heightens the relish of every present good. 
 You will, indeed, perhaps accuse me of acting like our party leaders above- 
 mentioned when I tell you that in spite of my alarms I am building bridges & 
 park walks at Downton, & turning my long room here into a museum for my 
 bronzes, with a cast-iron roof to secure them from fire. The putting up of the 
 iron work will be completed to-day, & I hope to have it ready to receive me and 
 my moveables in the course of a month. It will be a very neat & even elegant 
 cabinet, as well as a safe & comfortable one ; &, if public safety & tranquillity are 
 once more restored to Europe, I shall live in hopes of again seeing it honoured 
 by the same company that afforded me so many pleasant moments there when you 
 made a part of it. 
 
 ' Of private anecdote or information I can give you little or nothing, having so 
 lately left the retirement of the country. Our friend the Marquis* is in London, 
 much dissatisfied with the proceedings of all parties in politicks, & I fear not 
 much better satisfied with the proceedings of the Marchioness, who has not 
 borne her elevation with that moderation which her peculiar circumstances 
 required, nor shewn that attention to him which gratitude, if not affection, should 
 have produced. I have not, however, heard any specific charge brought against 
 her; but her general dissipation & extravagance have, T know, given him much 
 uneasiness. Before they went to Ireland I saw very marked symptoms of it, 
 but how they went on there I have not heard, nor have I seen him since his 
 return hither. 
 
 ' I have not seen Lordt or Lady Maiden this great while, but I frequently see 
 & hear from Price. He is among the most constant & fervid of your admirers, 
 for he scarcely ever writes or converses without saying something in your com- 
 mendation. The having heard you sing he reckons an epoch in his life, & often 
 says that you gave him ideas of the power of expression in music which he should 
 never otherwise have conceived. If the French will let us, I have no doubt but 
 that he will accompany me to Naples. As for my Lady, she has her Cicisbeo 
 as usual. 
 
 ' I was favored with a letter from Sir William while at Downton, which I should 
 immediately have acknowledged, but in that retirement I had nothing to say in 
 return but thanks, which would only have bored him. You will therefore have 
 the goodness to assure him that I am fully sensible of his kind attention for my 
 favorite pursuit, that I sincerely rejoice in his & your happiness, & that I hope it 
 will continue uninterrupted by that alone which can interrupt it — want of health, 
 or the approach towards your happy residence of that dreadful moral convulsion 
 which now threatens all civil society. Should this great political disease either 
 expend itself or subside, you may expect to see me forthwith at Naples. In the 
 meantime I shall be happy to hear from you as often as you are not better 
 engaged, & be assured that you shall have plenty of prose in return, from your 
 sincere & faithful,' &c. 
 
 254. A. L. S. from Captain Nelson to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 
 ^Agamemnon', Fiorenza, February ist, 1795. 2 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' As the Admiral sends a ship to you with his dispatches, I shall not say a 
 word about the fleet only what must give you pleasure; that, except being short of 
 numbers, no fleet ever was in better order to meet an enemy than I conceive ours 
 to be at this moment. We are remarkably healthy. I had letters from Lord 
 Hood as late as January ist, and have great pleasure in saying the Bath waters 
 have been of great service, and he begins to turn his thoughts towards this 
 country. I think he will be here the first part of April. I am prevented for the 
 
 * No doubt the Marquis of Abercorn and his second wife, from whom he was divorced 
 in 1799. 
 
 t George, Viscount Maiden, afterwards Sth Earl of Essex, 1757-1839, eldest son of the 4th 
 Earl, whom he succeeded in 1799. He was a D.C.L. and F.S.A., and was Recorder of Leo- 
 minster. 
 
202 THE HAMILTON AXD [1795. 
 
 present from going home by our inferiority, and when the summer gets forward I 
 shall not have that desire ; but we seamen do as we are ordered, and not one of 
 us can say what to-morrow may produce. If it would produce an opportunity for 
 me to pay my personal respects to you, I should be much pleased. Josiah joins 
 me in best respects to Lady Hamilton, and I beg you to believe that I ever 
 consider myself,' &c. 
 
 255. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Leghorn, 26th 
 
 February, 1795. 3 J pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I have only this moment receiv'd your letter of January 31st, it having been a 
 voyage to sea in a frigate in search of the fleet. We have had most tremendous 
 weather, such as I never before experienced in any seas ; the 16, 17, & i8th of 
 this month it blew a perfect hurricane ; we only parted from two sail of the line & 
 I line of battle ship crippled, which reduced us to 10 sail of weather-beaten ships. 
 The Admiral, most wisely, in my opinion, took the first opportunity of getting into 
 a port where his fleet can be a little refitted and got into order for any service 
 which may be wanted, & from what we hear at this place there will soon be 
 occasion for all we can do, and much more. The missing ships will all join us from 
 Corsica to-morrow, and the Berwick, who lost her masts at Fiorenza, will 
 be finished by the 2nd of March ; we shall then be 14 sail of the line, 4 3-decked 
 ships. I wish we were well manned, but we are far from it ; poor Agamemnon 
 can never recover her strength, we want for her 100 good men. 1 wish the Court 
 of Naples could have sent us more ships. I will endeavour to convince you, & I 
 hope you will others from what I shall state, we are certainly equal to meet the 
 French fleet in any part of the ocean, and shall have no doubt did the conquest 
 of the world depend upon the event. But in the present situation of afiairs a naval 
 victory will not save Italy. I will suppose the French fleet sail'd from Toulon 17 
 sail of the line, with their convoy of transports 124 sail, for the port of Especia ; 
 they coast it along shore, the convoy inside them. If an easterly wind comes on 
 they have all the coast to anchor on & many good bays ; therefore they can never 
 separate, & if we do not meet them, all get, uninterrupted by winds, to their 
 desired port, where they are as safe as in Toulon. Suppose we get sight of them, 
 we are almost sure they will have the wind of us, & in this country, so liable to 
 calms, it is almost impossible to get a fleet into such a battle as we must all wish 
 for ; long shots may cripple us & be much more detrimental than if we never saw 
 them. If the enemy is obUged to fight us, we have not a ship to spare to detain 
 their convoy for one moment, which would, uninterrupted, get into Especia ; 
 & suppose we gain a most brilliant victory, of what real advantage will it be to 
 Italy, unless, which I understand from Mr. Udny is not likely to happen, the 
 Austrians will be ready (to) attack them on landing .' These vessels cannot carry 
 at most more than 20,000 men, I think not so many. We ought, my dear Sir, to 
 have ships enough to fight the enemy, & ships enough to attack & destroy the 
 convoy at the same time. All must, I think, depend upon the fleet, and, could 
 such an embarkation be destroyed, Italy would be safe until peace returns, which 
 will most probably be after this campaign. I wonder the Spaniards will not send 
 us four sail of the line ; all ought to bear a part of the burden ; but the allies are 
 a rope of sand, & in the end all will repent of their folly in not uniting with real 
 good will. The victorys of the French arise, I have no scruple in asserting, from 
 the faults and follys of the allied powers. Our reinforcements from England are 
 not arrived. By letters from London of the 7th January, only two are to sail — 
 one 90, one 74. The moment the posts can pass I shall have letters from Lord 
 Hood, & he tells my wife he will tell me how matters are likely to be arrainged 
 with respect to our Mediterranean fleet. His Lordship was to leave Bath on the 
 12 January most perfectly recovered, & I am sure from all which has happen'd he 
 will be very anxious to get out here again very speedily. Capt° Inglefield, with 
 all the attendants for the naval yard at Ajjaccio, are embark'd on board a 50-gun 
 ship. I am glad of anything to his advantage, but really, at these times, we can 
 ill spare good officers from the command of ships. I am much obliged by your 
 good wishes for what maybe done for me ; I have the satisfaction of knowing the 
 King approves of my conduct, but, as to rewards, we know a campaign in 
 
1795] NELSON PAPERS. 203 
 
 St. James's is preferable to all others, and most likely to be rewarded. When I 
 hear anything from Lord Hood which may be pleasant to you to know, I will not 
 fail to write you, or anything else which arise during our slay here, for I think it 
 of the greatest consequence that Ministers at Foreign Courts should have a 
 perfect idea what may, on rational grounds, be expected from our fleet. I am 
 obliged to General Acton for his compliments. I beg my best respects to Lady 
 Hamilton, and that you will believe me, your most obliged,' &c. 
 
 256. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Leghorn, March 6th, 
 
 1 795- ij pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' The Admiral got information this morning from the consul at Genoa that the 
 French fleet was under sail at Toulon on the ist of March, and that Mr. Trevor 
 thought their object was the Island of Sardinia, as several people of that Island 
 had been observed lately much with the French Minister. This information has 
 induced the Admiral to prepare for sea, & probably we shall be under sail 
 to-morrow morning ; the Berwick has not yet joined, but believe she has left St. 
 Fiorenza. If we can but get the French fleet fairly at sea, depend on it we shall 
 do well. With best wishes for your & Lady Hamilton's good health, believe 
 me, dear Sir, your most faithful,' &c. 
 
 257. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Agamemnon, Porto 
 
 Especia, March 24th, 1795. 3 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' Admiral Hotham has no doubt informed you of our little success against the 
 enemy, who afforded very few oppoitunities for any officer to distinguish himself; 
 all were anxious, and sure I am had the breeze only continued we should have 
 given a decisive and destructive blow to the French fleet. 
 
 ' The Illustrious in a gale of wind was drove on shore between this place & 
 Leghorn, but we have the greatest hopes of saving her. Our information from 
 Genoa is that the Sans Culoite is in the Mole, and that the French fleet were 
 seen steering to the westward of the Hiferes Islands ; other accounts say they are 
 in Toulon, & the troop landed ; others that they are now in Vado Bay. I believe 
 in the Toulon account, for what should a crippled fleet do separated from their 
 resources .'' Gentilly commanded the troops destined for Corsica, & when they 
 had beat our fleet he was to have been landed with 3000, & the 10,000 embark'd 
 at Toulon were instantly to have joined him. Admiral Hotham has letters from 
 Lord Hood of the ist February saying that he had acquainted Lord Spencer he 
 was ready to proceed to his command, but that the Victory's men were drafted on 
 board Lord Howe's fleet, therefore he could not sail till their return. By our 
 reinforcements arrival we are still 14 sail of the line, so are the enemy ; therefore 
 I say, as I did before, that if the enemy chuse to cover a disembarkation we 
 cannot hinder them ; any number of transports might have safely navigated these 
 seas during the nearly the week we were in sight of them. With best respects to 
 Lady Hamilton, believe me,' &c. 
 
 'P.S. — Britannia, P. Royal, St. George, Witidsor Castle, Captain, Fortitictle, 
 Agamemnon, Tancredi, Bedford, Terrible, Diadem, Egmont, all ready for ser\ ice. 
 Blenheim & Bombay Castle at Leghorn.' 
 
 258. A. L. S. ' W. H.' from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. 
 
 Dated Caserta, March 24th, 1795. 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I wou'd not let Mr. Wiffin, the King's messenger, go without a line to you to 
 thank you for your last letter which he brought me ; but I have been obliged to 
 write so much on business, not to detain the courier, I shall content myself with 
 telling you that we are all well, & write to you more at length by the post. 
 
 ' I profit of this opportunity to send you a star stone, I suppose from Ceylon, 
 which I think is particular, and I have reason to think has been stolen out of the 
 King of France's collection, for I bought it with two charming Intaglii (I believe 
 the work of Dioscorides), a Bacchus & a lion, from a Genoese merchant that 
 came to Naples. 
 
J04 THE HAMILTON AND [1795. 
 
 ' The stone is, I believe, worthy of your collection, and therefore send it you 
 with pleasure ; it shows the quality of the stone to be saphir, & if I mistake not, 
 the brown strata you will see in it is particular, and constitutes its value. But, be it 
 good or not, you will accept of it as a mark of my remembrance. Emma goes on 
 to my perfect satisfaction, and I do not believe there is any-one that the Queen of 
 Naples loves in her heart so much. I am only afraid of its causing jealousies & 
 iracasseries, which I have hitherto carefully avoided. During these busy times 
 my first object is to fuUfill the duty of my office, which keeps me well employ'd at 
 least ; how far I may be approved of at home I know not, but I can say with 
 Othello I have done the state some service. Nothing plagues me in the 
 business of a minister but the eternal succession of our travelling countrymen. 
 One would have thought there were such difficulties this year, that few wou'd have 
 arrived at Naples, yet I had 74 at dinner the Queen's birthday & Prince Augustus 
 at their head. When a peace will permit us, we shall make you a short visit at 
 least ; but somehow or other I must ensure a little more repose in the latter part 
 of Hfe, either by bringing out an active Secretary, or giving up for a pension & live 
 here in retirement ; this entre nous. Yrs,' &c. 
 
 259. Transcript (in Italian), in Lady Hamilton's handwriting, of a letter 
 (in cypher) to the Foreign Minister of Naples. Dated Aranjuez, 
 March 31st, 1795. 11 pages 4to., incomplete, [h.] 
 
 It is highly probable that the four Italian mail-carriers who were shipped on 
 board a packet have been seized by the French squadron. I already had a 
 serious talk about this with Alcudia,* and with the Minister of Marine, and I hope 
 that orders have at last been given that in future no more than a single mail 
 should be put on board of each packet. In the meanwhile, in consequence of the 
 said non-arrival, and there being here no Neapolitan mail-carriers, a Spanish one 
 is sent off to-day. The four missing mails are those immediately following that 
 of February 3rd, which is the last I received, and I think it my duty to inform 
 your Excellency of it. 
 
 In the conference held the day before yesterday the Duke of Alcudia said to 
 the Prussian Minister that he thought preferable to suspend for the present the im- 
 mediate mission, already agreed upon among them, of a secret agent of this Court 
 to Switzerland. He adduced as a reason for this suspension the news just arrived 
 of the death of Count de Galoz, and of the departure for Berlin of the French 
 Minister Barthelemy.t On this occasion not only did Alcudia confirm in his conver- 
 sation with the Prussian Minister the peaceful intentions of Spain, but he used such 
 expressions as to let one infer or suspect with good reason that his Government 
 had already opened secret preliminary negotiations with the French to that effect. 
 Upon this subject it is worth while remarking that while Alcudia shows himself 
 every day more open and confidential with the Prussian Minister he acts with 
 greater reserve towards the English envoy. 
 
 The peaceful resolutions and tendencies of this Court seem to have been also 
 prompted by the last reports sent in by General Sangro on the present state of 
 things in Navarre and Biscay, and on the probability of an approaching vigorous 
 attack on the part of the French in those provinces, a subject I have already 
 mentioned in my regular correspondence with your Excellency. 
 
 It is surmised that all these things have formed the theme discussed at a 
 Secret Council held on Wednesday last, in the presence of the King and the Queen, 
 only by the Ministers of Marine and of Finance, and Alcudia. The sitting lasted 
 nearly two hours, and on the same evening a special messenger was sent to Count 
 Florida-BlancaJ with a letter written by Alcudia himself. This circumstance leads 
 
 * Don Manoel Godoy, 1767-1851, Duke of Alcudia, afterwards Prince de La Paz, the 
 celebrated Minister and favourite of Charles IV. of Spain and his Queen. 
 
 t Franfois Barthelemy, 1747-1830. A French diplomatist, who negotiated the celebrated 
 ' Treaty of Basle,' He was made a Count under the Empire and a Marquis at the Restoration. 
 
 + Jose Monino, Count de Plorida Blanca, 1 728-1809. An able Spanish statesman, Minister 
 of Charles III. 
 
1795] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 20; 
 
 me to infer with good reason that in the said Council peaceful proposals from the 
 French were discussed, and that Alcudia himself may have demanded that on such 
 a grave business Florida- Blanca should be consulted as an adviser who with his 
 knowledge and long experience is more familiar than any other with the interests 
 of Spain, and so point out the more important subjects to be kept in view during 
 a formal negotiation for peace. Alcudia has a dislike for Florida-Blanca, but at 
 the same time he has golden opinion of his political abilities. Perhaps also at 
 this juncture he wishes that in a matter concerning the whole Spanish nation his 
 advice should join and uphold the decisions of the Court, and thus take off from 
 his shoulder some of the weight of responsibility ; this is the reason that always 
 led me to think that in the case of peace negotiations Florida-Blanca would 
 be consulted, and I already mentioned this last year in my letters to your 
 Excellency. 
 
 Two weeks ago this Minister of Marine sent for Chev'' Malaspina, and ordered 
 him to prepare immediately, and with the greatest secrecy, a plan of defence of 
 the Philippine Islands. Chev' Malaspina is that same officer of marine who has 
 lately made the tour of the world, and who has several times visited Asia, and 
 specially resided in the said islands. He asked the Minister whether this plan 
 of defence was to serve against the French or against the English, because in 
 planning it it was necessary to know its purport in order to regulate the 
 various combinations. The Minister replied that he should prepare it for a 
 war against the English, and Malaspina, in drawing it, has appended to it all 
 the necessary instructions for the Spanish commander of the Philippine Islands, 
 and laid it four days ago before the Minister. The above-mentioned plan has 
 been immediately sent by express to Cadiz, together with other papers, and with 
 the order that two frigates should at once start from that harbour for Manilla, 
 which is the capital of the said Philippine Islands. It is believed that these 
 instructions are jealously kept under the strictest secrecy, and such a belief is 
 based on the nature itself of the facts which I have been for some time reporting 
 to you, and it is also confirmed by the keen wish which the French are now 
 constantly showing to make peace with Spain, in order to be enabled to direct 
 somewhere else the action of their troops, and to repair at least in part by 
 the reopening of commercial interchange between the two nations the present 
 disorder from which their finances greatly suffer. I have, however, not succeeded 
 yet in discovering anything positive about the nature of the preliminary clauses 
 which are now the subject of negotiations ; this, notwithstanding some indirect 
 notions, lead me to believe that the principal matters which Spain has now in view 
 in these negotiations may be reduced to the following : first, the restoration to her 
 of all the part of the Spanish territory occupied by the French by conquest ; 
 second, that in any further pursuance of the war Spain will observe a strict 
 neutrality, even guaranteed and helped by the French themselves in case 
 England were to oppose it ; third, to assure the life and the future position 
 of little Louis XVII. and of his sisters in a permanent and decorous 
 manner ; fourth, that the French should on their own side offer the best 
 facilities towards the peace negotiations, which perhaps some of the Italian 
 States might in future be willing to enter into with them ; zxiA, fifth, a reciprocal 
 armistice 
 
 260. A. L. S. from Sir R. Murray Keith to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 Grafton Street, April 3rd, 1795. 1 page 4to. [h.J 
 
 ' Permit me as an old friend (tho' no longer a colleague) to recommend to 
 your countenance & good offices Mr. Robert Ferguson, son to a gentleman of 
 large fortune in Scotland, and one for whom I have a particular regard. He will 
 have the honour of presenting this letter to you, and from the personal knowledge 
 I have of his good qualities I am fully persuaded that he will shew himself equally 
 deserving of & grateful for the civilities you may have the goodness to shew 
 him, which will add to the many obligations you have already confer'd on 
 me. 1 have the honour to be, with sincere attachment, my dear Sir, your most 
 obedient,' &c. 
 
2o6 THE HAMILTON AXD [179J. 
 
 261. A. L. S. from Captain Nelson to the same. Dated 'St. Fiorenza, 
 
 April 7th, 1795.' 4 pages 4to. [h.J 
 
 ' Our fleet, 14 sail of the line in this port, including Tancredi is at this monnent 
 ready for sea, and from the loss of Illustrious are better manned than they 
 otherwise could have been ; the Admiral has had some trouble about getting our 
 prisoners landed in our King's new kingdom, and only 400 are now on shore, 
 about 600 remain still on board our ships, where we shall get bad fevers if we do 
 not get clear of them. The Viceroy* thinks, I understand, that a prison ship is 
 the most proper place to keep them in, whilst the Admiral thinks that a pestilence 
 will be the consequence of such numbers with filth & vermin being inclosed 
 in so small a space. I cannot help thinking that the shore is the most 
 proper place for them ; there are many abandoned convents in this Island 
 which might be fitted up for their reception ; but, to say the truth, Hotham & 
 Sr. Gilbert do not exactly sett their horses together— there is the cause of all our 
 difificulties, yet both are amiable & good men, & both mean well for our country. 
 By our cutter, the Fox^ who arrived yesterday from Barcelona, we have accounts 
 that the French have four ship of the line & 5 frigates cruizing about 6 leagues to 
 the east now of Barcelona, and by the Consul's letters we have an account that 
 they were then engaged with a Spanish line of battle ship, who was on shore, and 
 it was to be hoped would be destroyed, and not fall into their hands ; are these 
 ships a re-inforcement from Brest, or is it a detachment from Toulon ? in either 
 case it is to be lamented that we have not been at sea ; 12 sail of the line have 
 been ready this 10 days past. 
 
 ' I hope Lord Hood is on his passage, & by this time at Gibraltar, where our 
 convoy of store-ships, victuallers, &c., are arrived ; I trust they will not sail 
 without a strong convoy ; if they do, on the presumption of our victory, we 
 are ruin'd. Admiral Hotham does not propose sailing for 3 days to come. I 
 am not a malcontent in general, but I feel for our situation. On us and 
 our activity depend for the moment, perhaps, the fate of Europe, certain of 
 Italy. 
 
 ' I almost wish myself at the head of the fleet ; don't accuse me of presumptions ; 
 it is only from an anxious desire to serve our country. Pray make my best 
 respects to Lady Hamilton, & believe me most truly,' &c. 
 
 262. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to the same. No date (April 9th, 
 
 i79S0t 6| pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' It is to be hoped that our tidings from Naples may be more frequent, as the 
 circuitous communication is no longer embarass'd. The safe arrival of the 
 Princess of Brunswick put a period to the long expected event, & nothing could 
 begin with happier omen than the marriage of yesterday. You will have had 
 descriptions of the daughter of your friend, I need only say that she was 
 announced as fair and fat ; we found her fair, very animated and agreeable in the 
 expression of her countenance, & in private life would be thought a pretty woman ; 
 her stature is not diminutive, tho' she is not tall ; in short, I was much dehghted, 
 for her manner during the ceremonial was distingii^j she was collected and 
 proper, & on her return from the Chapel to the King's apartment, where the 
 Register was signed and witnessed, & the P. & Pss. were to receive the blessing 
 & embraces of the Royal Family, the respect & affection which appeared in her 
 manner of receiving them from the K. & Q., & the natural & affectionate 
 behaviour to the Psses. proved that she was as much suited to promote the 
 happiness of the family in private life as in the higher duties of representation. I 
 am not afraid of being laughed at by you, who so long have been accustomed to 
 
 * Sir Gilbert Elliot, 4th Baronet, afterwards 1st E^rl Minto, 1751-1814, a diplomatist sent as 
 Envoy to Vienna in 1779. After his return in 1797 from acting as Viceroy of Corsica, he was 
 created a Baron, and on his return from India, where he had been Governor General of Bengal, 
 he was created an Earl. 
 
 t The Prince of Wales and the Princess Caroline of Brunswick were married April 8th, 1795. 
 
I795-] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 207 
 
 think with interest of what relates to the King, that I was quite attendri with the 
 scene, & happy to see how cordialy & sensibly the K. & Q. felt the conduct of the 
 Pss. The invitations were Umited to the Peers & their families, but the number 
 was sufficient to fill the rooms so completely that with difficulty we could make 
 room for the R. Family ; but with their usual good-nature they accommodated 
 themselves to the circumstances, & a more brilliant mob could not be collected. 
 The establishments of the R. Family are so numerous that they filled the Chappel 
 Royal, from which all pews, &c., were removed & carpeted, & the walls hung with 
 crimson & gilt, & lighted with glass lustres, & the end of the Chapel over the 
 altar open'd for a large orchestra in a temporary building made that end 
 handsome ; the opposite end was devoted to the family of Orange in the center, 
 & in the wings the Foreign Ministers & a few of the nobility. A general 
 illumination & a crowd of carriages & people made all the great streets almost 
 impassable ; but, by the different parts affording objects of curiosity, no 
 inconvenience arose, & the joy was not interrupted by any accident. 
 
 ' I am very glad that the P. & Pss. by their condescension in shewing 
 themselves at the window have pleased the people, & I hear nothing but of 
 approbatiorf. 
 
 ' I had a great deal of the official duty, at least my share as V.C. I was 
 taking the sacrament with the K. & R. Family at St James's when she arrived, & 
 I was immediately after the K. returned from Chapel sent to congratulate the 
 Pss. on her arrival. On the day of marriage I was sent to conduct the B. & 
 B'groom, from their apart, to the K. & Queen, & it was my duty with the Ld. 
 Chambn. to conduct the Bride, then return to conduct the Prince, & then return 
 to conduct the King, & thereby was never absent from any interesting part of the 
 ceremony. Robert was equally lucky ; he was fixt on by the King to go on 
 Sunday to conduct the Pss. from Greenwich in the King's coaches, & dined with 
 their R. H. that day, & the K. & P. appointed him Gentn. Usher of Honor for 
 the day of marriage ; of course he held the Pss's. gloves when she received the 
 ring, & I advised him to put the book of marriage service (which the P. & Pss. 
 held during the service alternately, & which the P. gave to Robert) under his 
 pillow. I supposed his repose would be more tranquil than its former possessor's. 
 Their R. H. remain in town till Saturday, when they go to Windsor for a day 
 or two. Robert set out this morning to pass the week with the King ; he is 
 not in waiting at present, but goes by invitation. He is fortunate to be well 
 thought of by the whole family, as he is by his private friends; by which it 
 appears that, by not laying out to be a courtier, a person may sometimes obtain 
 consideration. 
 
 ' I am very much rejoiced with the news from Hotham ; the reinforcement to 
 the Mediterranean will keep you all safe ; I do not know the destination of the 
 French fleet when Hotham stopped its progress, but I was alarmed for Naples if 
 they meant merely mischief, I was not easy for Sicily if they would venture with 
 so large a fleet merely for grain, I was not easy about the Pope's states ; but, 
 divided as I was, I confess I did not trouble much for Corsica. The nature of the 
 force on board, however, appeared calculated only to mischief, either by 
 plundering, or by making a depot for subsequent expeditions, which might divide 
 the operations of the campaign in Italy, which the difficulty of subsistence in 
 France may make more extensive than is imagined. Whatever the speculations 
 of the French may be, it is liow clear that this war is become a war of subsistence, 
 & the first who is starv'd must yield. Former wars were of ambition, to which 
 finances became the limit of their duration ; we have supported war with real 
 against artificial capital, & the reality of our capital will enable us not only to 
 subsist longer, but I trust to secure our allies from the desperate efforts of y" 
 French. 
 
 ' I shall have opportunity, I hope, next week, to send to you some copies of 
 your paper on the last eruption ; Windham's servant will be dispatched. Meyrick 
 is just come to town ; I have not seen him, I will write fully when I do. I now 
 beg to be kindly remembered to Ly. H. & Mrs. C, & Macauly I hope will be 
 supported by you. 
 
 ' McPherson desires to be remembered, he's getting well, but had a severe 
 brush from the cold weather. Adieu, y"' ever aff'ectionate,' &c. 
 
2o8 THE HAMILTON AND [1795. 
 
 263. A. L. S. from Lady Hamilton to (Charles Greville). Dated Caserta, 
 April 19th, 1795. 7 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I write in a hurry, as I have a vast deal to do, and the Queen as just sent 
 to me, that a courrier is to go of for England this afternoon. Poor Sir William 
 as been in bed 8 days with a billious fever, and was better, but wou'd get up 
 yesterday, which as thrown him back, and to-day he is not so well. But the 
 doctor, who is in the house with me, says there is no danger. I am very uneasy 
 and not well myself, as I have been in bed, since he was taken ill. He was 
 allways subject to billious attacks. After this illness, I hope he will be better 
 then he as been for some time, for the quantity of bile he as discharged 
 these days past is incredable, and he is naturally of a strong healthy constitution. 
 We are going to get good sadle horses, as we live much in the country. Riding 
 will do him good and is very good for billious complaints. 
 
 'You never answerd my letter by the last courier, nor sent me what I wanted. 
 So I will not trouble you with any more comissions, but try to find out somebody 
 else who will be more attentive to me. 
 
 ' My ever dear Queen as been like a mother to me, since Sir William has 
 been ill. She writes to me four and five times a day and offer'd to come and assist 
 me. This is friendship. 
 
 ' I have seen letters that the King of England is not pleased with this Court 
 and Sir William, because the did not leave Castilcicala with them. Sir William 
 did all he cou'd, and he does not care whether they are pleased or not, as they 
 must be very ungratefuU to a minister like him, that as done so much to keep 
 up good harmony between the 2 courts, and as done more business in one day 
 than another wou'd have done in ten, owing to the friendly footing he is on here 
 with their Majestys and ministers. So, if they are out of humor, they may be. 
 But, between you and me, I have spoke a great deal to the Queen about the 
 consequence it is to them to have a person of Castilcicala's abilitys and very 
 beloved in England there. And I believe he will return, from a letter I had from 
 the Queen this morning ; and yesterday she said they wou'd do their utmost. 
 But I can assure you Sir William did all he cou'd to have him kept in England. 
 So don't let them blame the best and most worthy man living. For they have no 
 minister like him. 
 
 ' I have had Lady Bath* with me here 2 days. I carried her to the Queen. 
 She is very shy, but she took a great fancy to me as I put her at her ease and 
 did the honners of a ball for her, that she gave at Naples. She envited all the 
 Neapolitan ladies of the first distinction, and I was to present them, and she took 
 a nervous fit and wou'd not come out of her room for 3 hours. At last I got her 
 out, and brought her into the room between me and Lady Berwick ;t and I carried 
 the ladies, who were dancing, one by one to her in a corner, and she took such a 
 liking [to me], that we are very great friends. Sir James seems a worthy good 
 man. But Sir William says he wou'd not have her with all her money. However, 
 I like her, for I think she as a great deal of good about her. You was to have 
 married her, I think 1 heard. However the Queen was very civil to her, as she 
 is to every lady I carry to her. I have had a very bad bilious fever this winter, 
 [and was] near dying. It was owing to fatigue, when Prince Augustus was with 
 us, dancing, supping, &c. &c. 
 
 ' Send me some news, political and private ; for, against my will, owing to my 
 situation here, I am got into politicks, and I wish to have news for our dear much- 
 loved Queen, whom I adore. Nor can I live without her, for she is to me a 
 mother friend and everything. If you cou'd know her as I do, how you wou'd 
 adore her ! For she is the first woman in the world ; her talents are superior to 
 every woman's in the world ; and her heart is most excellent and strictly good 
 
 * Henrietta Lawes Pulteney, created Baroness Bath in 1792, and Countess in 1806 (as 
 being the last representative of Sir William Pulteney, Earl of Bath), and wife of Sir James 
 Murray. She died without issue at Brighton in 1808, when both the Barony and Earldom 
 became extinct. 
 
 t Anne, Baroness Berwick, daughter of Henry Vernon of Hilton, Staffordshire, and wife of 
 Noel Hill, 1st Baron Berwick, whom she married in 176S. She died in Italy in 1797. 
 
I79S-] KELSON PAPERS. 209 
 
 and upright. But you'l say it is because we are such friends, that I am partial ; 
 but ask everybody that knows her. She loves England and is attached to our 
 Ministry, and wishes the continuation of the war as the only means to ruin that 
 abominable French council. 
 
 ' Addio. Love to Macpherson. Tell him I will write next post. I have 
 received his. Poor Macaully is in a sad way by the victory of that vile Mac- 
 kinnon. Ever yours,' &c. 
 
 264. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated ' Casino Merala, sotto 
 
 S. Elmo," May i6th, 1795. 3 pages 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' I have only time to say 2 words, as the Courrier is going of. Sir James 
 Douglas died yesterday, and Macauly thinks there is a possibility of his getting 
 the consulship with interest, which wou'd set his affairs a little to right. If it is 
 possible, do help him by speaking to somebody in power. Do you know Lord 
 Grenville .■■ 2 words to him would do ; and they cannot make an excuse that [it] 
 is gaven away, as they don't know of poor Sir James's death. So pray, do your 
 utmost, for I wish of all things, that poor Macauly may get [it]. And do, for 
 God's sake, pay Mrs. Hackwood my debt. I wrote to you in Jan? last, to beg of 
 you to do so. But I am affraid my letters never got to you. Get the money from 
 Ross and Ogilvy, and let it be done emediately, tho' she does not deserve it, as 
 the things were all spoilt, and I never cou'd make use of any one thing. 
 
 ' We go to-morrow to Caserta for ten days, as the Queen as beg'd to see me. 
 Sir William as not yet seen their Magestys, since his illness. Theirfore to- 
 morrow we dine at Acton's, and go to Court in the evening, where Sir William 
 will be receved with open arms by all. This air as done him a great deal of 
 good, and he is better then he as been for some years. The Queen as offered 
 me to go to her Pallace at Castelmare, which I believe we shall [do] in the summer. 
 In short, we are so happy, our situation is very flattering in the publick character, 
 and in private we are models for all husbands and wives. This will give you 
 pleasure, I am sure. Remember me to the Colonel, tho he never thinks of me. 
 Is the Princess of Wales handsome ? How can red hair be handsome .' You are 
 in the midst oi feats. We shall next year, as our Princess Royal comes. Yours,' &c. 
 
 265. Copy in Lady Hamilton's handwriting of a Letter (in French) from 
 
 (Galatone?)* to (the Queen of Naples). No date. (Endorsed by Sir 
 
 W. Hamilton ' Aiifairs in Spain, 9th June, 1795.') 7 pages folio. [H.J 
 
 'Votre Majestd sera peut-etre dtonnde de n'avoir point regu de mes lettres 
 par le dernier courier Napolitain, mais voici la cause de mon silence. Les 
 derniferes lettres de V. M. me faisoient entendre que notre digne Gfeeral Acton 
 s'absenteroit peut-etre pour quelque tems, et que rien n'etoit encore status sur la 
 personne qu'on chargeroit de ses ddpartements. Pen de jours aprfes le courrier 
 espagnol arrive avec les lettres du 5 de mois ; notre cour m'y ordonne de corre- 
 spondre ^ I'avenir avec le nouveau directeur Prince Castelcicala ; et de lui adresser 
 mes paquets officiels. J'ignorois quelles seroient les intentions futures de V. M. 
 sur les moyens de lui adresser mes lettres, parce que je doutois qu'k I'arrivde de 
 mon paquet le general ne se trouv^t parti. Je pris done le parti de ne rien 
 hazarder et d'attendre les ordres de V. M. par le prochain courier napolitain ; il 
 est trfes probable que ces ordres seront dans sa lettre que le courrier Restoino 
 Biasiello doit m'apporter en mains propres de Barcelone, ou il est rest^ malade 
 et d'oii il a envoye ici par estafette les paquets ordinaires de la cour. Huit jours 
 se sent dejk passes et il n'est pas encore arrivd. Le manque de cette lettre de 
 V. M. me fait une peine infinie, elle doit etre du 12 mai et marquee N" 11". 
 Cependant comme je vois par mes lettres particuliferes de la meme date que 
 heureusement il n'etoit plus question du depart du g&dral, je lui adresserai k 
 I'ordinaire cette lettre-ci sous enveloppe, et je continuerai de la meme mani^re 
 jusqu'k ce que V. M. ne m'en ordonne autrement. En attendant, permettds, 
 Madame, que je vous felicite et que je me fi^licite k mon tours de ce que notre 
 
 * The Neapolitan Ambassador to Spain. 
 VOL, I, P 
 
210 THE, HAMILTON AND [1795- 
 
 digne Gdndral reste aupr^s de ses Maitres. J'ai toujours regarde son depart 
 comme un veritable malheur pour ses bons serviteurs et pour I'Etat. V. M. le 
 sgait; qu'elle juge maintenant de ma joye en aprenant qu'il reste, et ce n'est pas 
 une joye de courtisan. 
 
 ' Si j'avois dcrit la demi^re fois k V. M. j'aurois dil lui accuser la reception de 
 ses deux num° 9 et 10'' sous les dates du 14 et du 28 d'avril. Je les accuse 
 maintenant ici. J'y vois ses principes et sa profession de foy k I'esgard de 
 I'Espagne — simple amitie ; point de liaison ; point de confiance — et surtout point 
 de dependance. Ce sont Ik les dogmes de V. M. et les miens aussi, car je pense 
 tout de meme, et agis en consequence. Convenez, Madame, qu'il doit etre bien 
 p^nible pour moi de vivre k une cour telle que celle-ci. 
 
 ' Les Frangais veulent toujours la paix avec I'Espagne, mais ils veulent en 
 dieter k leur gre les conditions ; pour y forcer cette cour iJs ont I'air de reconnoitre 
 I'independance de la Guipuzcoa qu'ils occupent. Ils menacent I'Espagne d'une 
 rdvolte dans la Biscaye et d'une grande augmentation prochaine de leurs forces 
 de ce c6te-la. Le malheureux etat int^rieur de la France, son manque d'argent, de 
 vivres et de gouvernement devroit rendre ces rodomontades peu redoutables. Les 
 Frangais n'ont jusqu'a present entre la Navarre et la Guipuzcoa qu'a peine 
 mille hommes, et cela apr^s les derniers renforts qu'ils ont regues. lis vont 
 maintenant armer les Guipuzcoens. L'arm^e espagnoJe est de presque quarante 
 mille hommes, entre troupes de ligne, volontaires, et miliciens. Qu'a-t-on done k 
 craindre, me dira-t-on. Toute cette armee est mal payde, mal vetue, mal nourrie 
 et par Ik en partie malade, mal disciplin^e ; le soldat assez bon mais presque 
 tons les officiers sans courage, sans honneur, et plusieurs dans des mauvais 
 principes. En voici la plus grande preuve. Sangro est un bon general ; il a 
 presque le double de forces sur I'ennemi. Nous sommes dejk au mois de juin, 
 et Sangro ne bouge pas de ses postes. C'est qu'il n'a aucune confiance en son 
 arm^e. II demande meme tons les jours k la cour des recrues, de I'argent et 
 preche que tout cela va mal. Le mauvais etat des affaires en Biscaye paroit 
 avoir caus6 I'envoy mystdrieux du marquis d'Iranda. L'on croit qu'il va 
 negocier k S. Sebastien avec les comissaires de la Convention, et avec les chefs 
 de la Guipuzcoa. Les uns ajoutent que Burgoine va s'y rendre aussi incessament 
 pour renouer les negociations interrompues k Figueres, et des autres croyent 
 qu'lranda pourroit aller lui-meme negocier k Paris. V. M. verra tr^s en detail dans 
 ma depeche d'aujourd'hui ce qu'on pent en croire jusqu'k present, et ce qui est 
 encore douteux. Je la prie de lire cette ddpeche attentivement, puisqu'elle contient 
 tous les renseignements du moment sur les negociations et une recapitulation sur 
 I'etat actuel des affaires. Alcudia veut faire la paix ; j'en crois plusieurs articles 
 convenus et d'accord en partie avec le projet de traite que j'envoyai k votre cour 
 mardi dernier. Mais il en trouve d'autres trop durs ; il voudroit les radoucir ; et 
 cependant il n'en prend pas la bon voye, qui est celle de I'energie et de la fermete ; 
 ce moyen a ete de tout tems I'unique pour mettre les Frangais k la raison. 
 Mais .... Imaginez, Madame, un jeune homme qui a des sensations au lieu 
 d'idees, des habitudes pour principes, des appergus momentanes pour calculs, des 
 amusements pour occupations, un bon caractfere, bon mais sans fermete, et un 
 amour propre exalte par d'eternelles et basses flatteries, placez ce jeune homme 
 au pinacle de la toute puissance sans une seule ' 
 
 266. A. L. S. from Captain Nelson to Rev. Dixon Hoste. Dated 
 
 ^Agamemnon, off Minorca,' June 22nd, 1795. 3 pages 4to., with 
 
 Superscription. 
 
 ' Although your good son writes the day of receiving a letter from you, yet I 
 will not let the opportunity slip of sending a line to thank you for your news. 
 The charges and politics of ministers and men are so various that 1 am brought 
 to believe all are alike ; the loaves and fishes are all the look out, The ins and 
 outs are the same, let them change places. The extraordinary circumstances of 
 the Prince of Wales's debts is much more lamentable ; his best friends must be 
 hurt, and the others are, so far as I hear, as much in debt as people will trust 
 them. They are of an age to know better, and if they will not practice what they 
 know, they ought to be punished by letting them feel that want they are making 
 others so severe partake of. However, I trust, if this debt is once more paid that 
 
I795-] NELSON PAPERS. 211 
 
 he will be acquainted by the Nation they will pay no more for him. What a 
 figure would the Duke of Clarence have made had he served, out of debt and 
 beloved by the Nation ; in short, our profession in war is so popular that he 
 might have done what he pleased. 
 
 ' We have just got accounts that the French Fleet is at sea, twenty-two sail of 
 the line. Sir Sidney Smith did not burn them all. Lord Hood mistook the 
 man ;_ there is an old saying, Great talkers do the least we see. Admiral Hotham 
 is waiting here with twenty English and two Neapolitan ships of the Line for 
 our invaluable Convoy of Stores, Provisions, and Troops from Gibraltar ; I hope 
 the Enemy will not pass us to the westward and take hold of them. This Fleet 
 must regret the loss of Lord Hood, the best Officer, take him altogether, that 
 England has to boast of; Lord Howe certainly is a great Officer in the manage- 
 ment of a Fleet, but that is all ; Lord Hood is equally great in all situations that 
 an Admiral can be placed in. Our present Admiral is a worthy, good man, but 
 not by any means equal either to Lord Hood or Lord Howe. Fame says I am to 
 have my Flag or the Marines ; I hope the latter. The former will most likely 
 throw me out of service, which I should very much regret. I long for one more 
 good Action with the Fleet, and then peace. I beg my best respects to 
 Mrs. Hoste, and also to Mr. and Mrs. Coke ; I hope a son will come forth.' 
 
 267. A. L. (mutilated) from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. 
 Dated Naples, July 7th, 1795. 4 pages 4to. [h.J 
 
 ' The business of my office which, as you may imagine (as I do it all myself), 
 has been hard upon me for some years past, & I attribute the attacks of bile, to 
 which I have been subject to of late, in great measure to the confinement at 
 home, for even his Sicilian Majesty has almost given up his shooting for some 
 time past, & of course he has not called for me ; years to be sure count also, but 
 I am now realy more free from those complaints than I have been for some 
 years past, & I believe the best medicine has been exercise on horse-back, which 
 I continue when I can. 
 
 ' I received your letter of the 6th of June with the packet enclosed from 
 Mr. Alexander Murray, which I gave into Macauley's own hand, as poor young 
 Murray is in so weak a state in bed as to be incapable of business or any 
 application, & his death expected from one moment to another. 
 
 ' I am sorry to see that poor Macauley's spirits begin to fail him, & I realy fear 
 that the masterpieces of villany which Mackinnon has been guilty of, & continues by 
 means of Macauley's & other people's property he certainly is in possession of, will 
 nearly make a bankrupt of Macauley. However, we are doing all we can to help 
 him — I mean General Acton & myself— but as Macauley's scrupulous honesty 
 made him declare at first rather imprudently that he wou'd to the last penny 
 satisfy the creditors of the firm & of the house of Macauley & Mackinnon, & 
 actually began payments, it has I fear enabled the latter, with the assistance of 
 the Tribunals of this country which are most corrupt, & probably are now, by the 
 means of Macauley's money, which Mackinnon has surely secreted gained 
 entirely by Mackinnon, the only resource we have is to prevent the law of this 
 country interfering in a dispute between two British subjects, & I have obtained 
 the King's dispatch that the affair shou'd be decided by six members of the 
 British factory, 3 on each side, examining the accounts & making their report to 
 me. All this gives me much trouble, as you may think ; but no matter if we can 
 but succeed in preventing poor Macauley's total ruin. I believe you may 
 remember that I often advised the not trusting too much to Mackinnon ; that 
 abominable rogue is confined in the Castel del Ovo in the mean time on account 
 of his having certainly sent corn I procured for the King's fleet to a French 
 merchant at Genoa ; yet, shou'd he be tried here with the money he has in hand, 
 he wou'd probably be proved innocent in spite of all we cou'd do against him. I 
 hope I shall have orders to send him home to take his trial there. I see no end 
 of this devilish war yet. As soon as we have peace I shall fly home, for I am 
 sensible of my affairs wanting my presence ; they may appear worse than they 
 realy are by Ross & Ogilvy's books, but I have valuables here that will balance 
 that account if we escape bombardments, earthquakes, invasions, & home 
 conspiracies. You will probably ' 
 
272 THE HAMILTON AND [1795. 
 
 268. A. L. S. from Gavin Hamilton to (Sir W. Hamilton). Dated 
 
 Rome, September nth, 1795. i page 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I have just seen and examined your antiquities restored by the sposino ; they 
 are both done as well as can be, & indeed I think him the most skilful artist we 
 have got, & his restoration of my Antinous proves him to be so ; but what shall I 
 say to you about the price, never having been engaged in any work oi pietra dura 
 for myself or anybody else ; this I know, that these sort of restorations go very 
 high ; he has worked for me for many years, & I never found him unreasonable 
 in his prices. I think, therefor, that you had better leave it to himself, & pay him 
 his demand, onely he begs that you wou'd deduct the value of your work of the 
 vases from the sum total, as he wou'd rather be paid in that way than all in 
 money. About six posts ago I sent you a large letter with inclosed a sketch 
 from my picture of Giorgione, which I hope you have receiv'd. I am,' &c. 
 
 269. A. L. S. from W. Beckford to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated Lisbon, 
 
 September 26th, 1795. 4 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' With the utmost pleasure I accept your kind invitation to Naples. 
 ' I have engaged a Danish ship bound to Leghorn, &, provided the winds 
 second my endeavours, you may expect me early in November. I have worn 
 Portugal threadbare, have built houses and given fetes, & spent money by cart- 
 fulls, & out-canted the most furious adorers of St. Anthony. I own a gentle 
 transition to the Portugese would not come amiss for the sake of vanity, & that I 
 feel myself extremely inspired to worship and glorify your pagan vases. I don't 
 wonder at y' getting well with such a nurse as L^ H. — who would not risk a 
 fever to be so taken care of. Your telling me that your lovely Emma attracts 
 universal esteem is no more than I expected from her candid open countenance & 
 unaffected superiority. 
 
 ' I could not help laughing at the notion of such a determined ipso facto 
 aristocrate as y"^ loving cozen being set down on the Jacobin list. Of all the 
 calumnies which have been floating about the world to my prejudice this is the 
 plumpest. You may most securely answer for my never meddlmg with Neapolitan 
 politicks ; if my taste lay that way I might indulge it at home with a vengeance. 
 My purse, my pen, & my lungs might do wonders in England at this eventful 
 moment. No, my dear Sir W", you may assure his Majesty of Naples that a 
 more loyal subject, a more hearty well-wisher to established forms of Government 
 than myself exists not in all Europe. You may tell him that notwithstanding many 
 temptations to the contrary I have from principle perseverently & uniformly 
 supported my King & his administration. The votes given in the H. of C. by 
 the members I patronize prove this assertion ; & the very distinguished & 
 unprecedented manner in which I have been received at the Court of Lisbon 
 shews plainly the opinion entertained by the prince of Brazil of my conduct & 
 sentiments. My suite will consist of the following persons : — 
 
 ' My physician : Dr. Errhart, who served Louis i6th in the same capacity. He 
 was M^decin de la grande ecurie— consequently the third in rank at the 
 Court — a staunch & faithful royalist. 
 ' Maitre d'hotel : Antonio Carchi, a Roman who was confectioner to Louis i6th, 
 & covered with wounds in defending his rl. master the dreadful loth of 
 August, '92. 
 'Baker: Maurizio Matiula, a native of Turin ; he came to me from the Duke 
 
 de Chablais service. 
 ' Cook : Tournier, a native of France, who has served thirteen years consecu- 
 tively in England without the smallest imputation of Jacobinism, & for 
 whose conduct I will be responsible. 
 Valet de chambre : John Willis "l 
 'Footmen: Joseph Randall ( -r- v i_ 
 
 Charles Smith \ ^ngl'sh. 
 
 Wm. Fowkes J 
 
 ' I cannot travel with fewer servants than the above, & I doubt whether a better 
 
1795-] NELSON PAPERS. 
 
 213 
 
 set could be collected. They are picked out of eighty-seven, for my establishment 
 here consists of that very large number, &. exceeds in splendor & talents that of 
 any prince in Europe. I mean to be quiet & prudent in Naples, & shall most 
 chearfully follow any advice you may bestow upon me. I think it would be fair, 
 however, to let the King know that I am worth humoring, & that no person in 
 Europe can spend more money in his country, if I am properly cherished &" 
 attended to. Nothing would draw me so soon from Portugal but the desire of 
 seeing you & enjoying the arts in y' society & that of L^ Hamilton, to whom 
 say everything that sincere regard, admiration, & friendship can dictate. I bring 
 very little baggage, & only wish for a pleasant airy appartment at the Albergo 
 reale, or any other Albergo, wherever you think best. The less I spend in show 
 the more I shall have for collecting and real comfort, so trlve de parade till times 
 change for the better, or his Neapolitan Majesty should animate me to a display 
 of magnificence \iy peculiar graciousness and distinction. Let me have the comfort 
 of receiving a few lines from you at Florence & Rome poste restante, & be assured, 
 my d-^ S"^ W", that I'm ever,' &c. 
 
 270. A. L. S. from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. No date 
 
 (October 31st, 1795). 8 pages 4to. [H.J 
 
 ' I returned from Pembrokeshire last Wednesday, & at once entered into the 
 bustle of London. Attended the Cockpit after dining with Mr. Pitt, & on the day 
 following was at my station, which gave some opportunity to seeing the outnage 
 which a set of scoundrels committed on Thursday* as the King went to & returned 
 from the House. The concourse was unusual, & the mass was as usual civil, but 
 a party took their station by the road, & following the coach made the effect of a 
 continued outcry of insult and disrespect ; & between old & new Palace yard 
 among various things thrown, one, from the appearance of the fracture, was a 
 bullet, which at the moment it broke the glass the King said was a shot, probably 
 from an air-gun, & the direction from a house adjoining the Abbey, opposite the 
 waiting room of the House of Commons. The king was perfectly composed, & 
 read his speech without any person uninformed being able to judge that all had 
 not passed as usual, &, it being certainly hazardous on his return, much was said 
 when he unrobed, to which he only answered that they might suppose or propose, 
 but that for his part he knew that there was a great disposer of all things in whom 
 he trusted, & he resum'd his seat in the coach with much composure. He received 
 further insult on his return by a stone breaking another glass, & one came into 
 the coach by the open window, & he took it out of his sleeve & gave it to the 
 lord in waiting as a memorandum of the civilities he had received on his going to 
 the H. of Pari'. I received him at St. James', & witnessed the superior composure 
 of H. M., & heard from him the unmerited insult he had received. He ordered 
 the guard not to be dismissed before he should arrive at the Queen's house, & 
 he set out as usual thro' the Park in his private coach. I saw the footmen beckon 
 to the guards, which the press of crowd rendered necessary, & they galloped up 
 just as some persons had endeavour'd to overset the carnage, & another had said 
 that they should pull him out. He arrived safe, & both Houses presented a joint 
 address on the occasion, & the King signed in council yesterday a proclamation 
 offering ^1000 for every offender or abetter convicted. I trust this event will be 
 the occasion of wholesome energy, so much pains are taken to inflame the public 
 mind, & the high price of bread gives so much foundation & dissatisfaction that 
 it requires both the temperate explanation of circumstances & the decided hand of 
 power to curb licentiousness, which is at present grown to an alarming height. I 
 am, however, so confident that the govert. is equal to the task, & that the armed 
 yeomanry with the regular force of the kingdom can preserve order, & that the 
 extensive orders in the manufacturing towns will enable the manufacturers to get 
 thro' the winter that I look chiefly to the means of supplying the poor where the 
 prices of labour are not adequate to the purchase of grain at high prices. In 
 Pembrokeshire this confederation & in the latter part of this summer real scarcity 
 operated, & there have been several risings to stop corn, butter, &c. I went to 
 
 * This attack on the King took place October 29th, 1795- 
 
214 THE HAMILTON AND [i795- 
 
 Wales soon after I wrote to you last, & I staid all September to the 24th of Ocf, 
 during which time I took a full examination of all your concerns, & have put a 
 period to any further deduction from your rents by expenditure. I had so fully 
 stated to you, when you was here, the extent to which I deemed it essential for 
 money to be expended, & your power of attorney specified the proportion of the 
 money then raised by morgage to Mr. Hoare so distinctly that Mr. Meyrick and 
 myself raised rents in proportion to the prospect of the improvements, & when 
 Messrs. Ross withdrew the credit you gave us on them we were all at a loss, & 
 Mr. Meyrick informed you that at any rate the inn, quay & road must be finished, 
 & that a custom-house and warehouse might also be required before individuals 
 would embark their capital. 
 
 ' I informed you about the time the Quakers arrived that I had involved 
 myself personaly to the extent of one thousand to enable them get their first ship 
 out, & by my proposal to you last year I realy meant only to quiet your mind by 
 a certainty that you should enjoy a nett profit from your estate, which the rent 
 roll shewed you had already paid you the interest of the advances which were 
 required, c&; that subsequent improvements should be from other capital than your 
 own. I found much loss likely to arise from stopping, & much risk of your 
 pleasure, in continuing a plan which I was sure in the end would be productive, 
 & at any rate a great benefit to the country. The distresses of last year, and the 
 temper of the lower classes of people made it necessary to shew that you were 
 not indifferent to the country, tho' you had for so long drawn the rents from it, & 
 it was moreover proper to put the whole into a train of final settlement as soon as 
 possible, but every journey involves me more in the schemes of aggrandizing 
 Milford and benefiting the country, which I should not regret if my means were 
 more ample, or if either of my proposals to you could have made you indifferent 
 as to the extent of schemes by a certainty that you was totaly exempt from the 
 risque. 
 
 ' The inn & offices & quay are so near completed as have enable me to close 
 the charges thereon, & part of the timber intended for the customhouse & store- 
 houses as essential as quays remain in hand ; but I found so much more expence 
 incurred on the work which is finished, that I have stopped the progress of all 
 other necessary works on your account, in order that you may this year receive 
 the rents, after paying the interest of your debt, which will in future continue to 
 be regularly paid according to the deed you executed by the advice of Ross & 
 Ogilvie. 
 
 ' I conversed seriously with Mr. Meyrick, & am of the same opinion as 
 heretofore : that every shilling would be lost if the first expenses were not 
 followed up ; &, as I have been so fortunate as to bring everything past to 
 settlement, I am willing to take upon myself the providing a customhouse^ 
 houses for Comptroller & Collector, & a storehouse for the service of the legal 
 quays, which I do not estimate at a less expence than ;£isoo ; & if the quay is 
 continued before the customhouse will at least be £2000. I have taken this 
 decision from the impossibility of postponing these works. The Treasury & 
 Customhouse make the full establishment of the new port to depend on the 
 accommodation being provided, and I do not think it just that you should pay 
 a shilling more for these improvements, & I therefore have undertaken to do 
 what the pubhc boards require, & I shall send you the result of their decision. 
 
 ' I found the tenants who had consented to the advances in consideration of 
 the works begun at Milford beginning to complain & require a reduction ; but I 
 settled every to remain according to the rentroll I sent you in the spring, & I 
 shall ardently wish for peace on every account, & especially to see you on the 
 spot to judge of the benefit which will arise from the proposed plans. I shall not 
 consider any inconvenience which I can encounter comparable to the mortification 
 of seeing so fair a prospect blasted. I shall not want any security for what I can 
 do at my own risque at Milford ; but the extent of what I can do with difficulty 
 I have already stated, & the public will derive more benefit than myself from 
 
 * There is a pencilled note here, in a later hand, to the effect that the customhouse was 
 built with money lent by Mr. Price, and repaid with interest by Sir W. Hamilton. The comp- 
 troller's and collector's houses were not built. 
 
179S-] NELSON PAPERS. -21-; 
 
 these works. When you see what the risque of extending plans of distant 
 improvement by the capitals of individuals realy is, I do not imagine you will 
 be tempted to engage further ; & >et I am of the same opinion as heretofore, 
 that if the farms in Stainton Parish, with the polls & privileges confirm'd by the 
 act of 1790, were conveyed by you to me, subject to the nett rents stated in the 
 last rerit-roU, that it would be worth my while to engage with monied men in the 
 immediate prosecution of the improvements ; & that in a very few years that I 
 should create a considerable income over & above the rent I should be thus 
 obliged to pay during your life. 
 
 ' You do not know how much I am vexed when I am obliged to state things 
 personal to myself, but I have tried by every means to manage for the best ; the 
 increase of rents since you left us justifies my assurances that you should have 
 interest for all your advances immediately from the increase of rents. I think it 
 now impossible to perfect the plan without more immediate connection & residence 
 in the county ; if I could make it answer only to pay my expences, I should 
 willingly devote my time during the summer, & I am sure your property would 
 benefit by it, for I flatter myself I am not disregarded in the county, & that your 
 property, in case of any calamitous event, would prove a more certain & comfort- 
 able asylum from what I have done by your permission than it could be expected 
 from the neglect & dereliction of estate to a steward. 
 
 ' By the first courier I will send you the detail of what exists at present, & 
 some correspondence with Lord Kensington* which will entertain you. Pray 
 remember me kindly to Lady H. Robert desires his love to you, & I am 
 ever,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. My mother is well — we visit. Sister Frances is in town, & her son, S' 
 H., tho' shy, serves as a yeoman officer, & does from public motives what his 
 shyness renders painful. 
 
 ' Your brother Frederick, I believe, has cut you out by suffering a recovery of 
 his estate, & giving an allowance to his son who lives abroad ; you will be 
 surprized to hear that since he has taken to spectacles he is become a capital 
 collector of pictures — thinks nothing of giving 1000 or 1 500 for a picture ; we do 
 not visit. Ld. W. & I meet, but there is something so different in our natures 
 that we shall not come nearer. Robert & I continue as we ought to be ; he goes 
 into a long waiting the i of Jan''. I have thus given account of your relations. 
 You will not be surprized to hear that old friends drop off when I tell you that 
 your nephews are growing gray. For my part, within this year the progress is 
 rapid, but my health is better. Adieu, yrs. ever.' 
 
 271. A. L. S. from William Beckford to the same. Dated Alicant, nth 
 November, 1795. 3 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' A spell seems always destined to traverse my progress to Naples. After 
 being tossed by a confounded storm in the Gulph of Valencia, & chaced by a 
 Barbary corsair, I was forced to take refuge in this odd, Moorish-looking place. 
 I was prettily heavily laden with the good things of this world, so I have had a 
 narrow escape. The corsair was almost within gunshot, & nothing but a 
 miraculous sort of a St. Anthony jerk round of the wind could have saved me from 
 the delights of Algiers or Salee. 
 
 ' I had a constant fever as usual during the whole fourteen days I remained on 
 board, so you may imagine I look like a candle worn down by a thief in it. 
 Never mortal was more jaded, & I much doubt whether I have sufficient strength 
 remaining to encounter a chance of another fortnight, perhaps three weeks' 
 navigation, for the Barcelona packets, tho' sometimes four days in crossing 
 over to Genoa, are often 15 & not infrequently 4 & 20, so the Lord have mercy 
 upon 7ne. I am again thrown out of the hopes of shortly seeing you & Lady 
 H., the sight of all others I wish the most. I shall be obliged most probably to 
 make the best of my way home thro' Corunna, & that very expeditiously by 
 
 * William Edwardes, 1st Baron Kensington, 1711-1801. Having inherited the estates of 
 the Rich family on the demise of his cousin, Edward Rich, Earl of Warwick, he was, in 1776, 
 elevated to the peerage of Ireland under the title of Baron Kensington. 
 
2i6 THE HAMILTON AND [i795- 
 
 dint of tiros & mudas, for political affairs wear an ugly aspect, & a war with 
 Spain seems not unlikely to burst forth. 
 
 ' I had despatched a cargo of cases to Naples containing wines, linnenin a 
 large trunk, liveries, a very fine forte-piano, & I hardly know what else besides ; 
 if they arrive, have the kindness to let them remain — unopened & untumbled 
 if possible— under y' protection, & whatever expences may attend their dis- 
 embarkation & stowage draw for upon Mr. Wildman. You will find amongst 
 them a long tin case containing an abridgement of my daughter's genealogy, 
 beautifully drawn in Indian ink. It is a very curious work, strictly historical, in 
 which I have allowed no fabulous embellishments, and as it partly concerns your 
 own family, may interest you for a moment as well as amuse ; pray take care of 
 it till I come, or the cargo is reshipped. 
 
 ' I cannot yet abandon the hope of finding at length my efforts of coming_ to 
 Naples crowned with success. Nothing would afford me half so much satisfaction 
 as an opportunity of again & again assuring you, my dear Sir Wm., that L^ H. 
 & yourself have not a more grateful, sincere friend than,' &c. 
 
 272. A. L. (mutilated) from Captain Nelson to the Rev. Dixon Hoste. 
 Dated Agamemnon, Leghorn, December I2th, 1795. 3 J pages 4to., 
 with Superscription and Seal. 
 
 'Your letter of November ist I received a few days past, and your good son 
 tells me he has answered his letter. William will have served his two years as 
 rated Mid on the ist of February next. His time as Mid. is absolutely necessary 
 as a part of the long six years. You had better get out his time from the Navy 
 Office, and when his six years draw toward an end, I would have him strongly 
 recommended to Sir John Jervis,* for whenever peace comes it will be very 
 difficult with the best interest to get him made a Lieutenant. I hope he has more 
 than one year's time ; if not, two years is very long to look forward for a continuance 
 of the war. You will have heard of the Austrians being defeated on the coast of 
 Genoa, and a part of the defeat attributed to the want of a sufficient Naval force. 
 However, on inquiry, things may turn out, I have still had the good fortune, 
 individually, to meet with approbation from our Ministers and the Generals. 
 Our Admirals will have, I believe, much to answer for in not giving me that force 
 which I so repeatedly called for, and for at last leaving me \i\\h Agameni7ion alone. 
 
 ' I was put in a cleft stick : if I quitted where I was at anchor the French 
 would have landed in the rear of the Austrian Army, and the total defeat of that 
 army wust have been the consequence ; if I remained at anchor, the enemy's 
 gun-boats in the general attack would harass the left wing of the Austrian army. 
 Much against my inclination, I took the plan of laying quiet, instead of attacking 
 their gunboats ; and most fortunate it has been for the army I did so, for eight or 
 ten thousand men m.ade their escape by the road I protected, and, amongst 
 others. General de Vins himself. The Austrians will make the most of a want 
 of Naval force for all purposes. Admiral Hotham kept my squadron too 
 small for its duty ; and the moment Sir Hyde took the command of the fleet he 
 reduced it to nothing — only one frigate and a brig, whereas I demanded two 
 seventy-four gunboats and eight or ten frigates and sloops to ensure safety 
 to the army. However, on enquiry, which I trust and sincerely hope 
 will take place, on my own account, it will turn out that the centre and 
 right wing gave way, and that, although it must have been very unpleasant to 
 have a number of gunboats firing on them, the left was the only part that was not 
 defeated, but retreated in a body ; whereas the others fled. General de Vins, 
 from ill-health, as he says, gave up the command in the middle of the Baltic, and 
 
 * Admiral Sir John Jervis, 1st Earl St. Vincent, 1735-1823. He entered the Navy at the 
 age of 14, served in North America, the West Indies, and the Mediterranean. He was made 
 K.B. in 1782 for his conduct off Brest, was promoted to be Rear-Admiral in 1787, became 
 Admiral, and was made Commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean in 1795, and after the combat 
 off Cape St. Vincent was the idol of the hour, received a pension of £3000 a year, and was 
 created Earl St. Vincent. 
 
1795. 1796.] NELSON PAPERS. 217 
 
 from that moment not a soldier stayed in his post, and many thousands ran away 
 who had never seen the enemy — some of them thirty miles from the advanced 
 posts. So much for my history. 
 
 ' I tremble at your account of want of bread for our poor. Pray God send us 
 peace. We have established the French [Republic, which, but for us, I] verily 
 believe, would [never have been settled by such] a volatile changeable [people. I 
 hate a Frenchman. They] are equally objects of my [detestation, whether 
 Royalists or] Republicans ; in some [points I believe the latter are the best]. Sir 
 John Jervis took the command of the fleet on the 29th of November at St. 
 Fiorenzo, but I have not yet heard from him or has anybody here. We sincerely 
 hope he has order to send Agamemnon home. We are worn out. I beg you will 
 present my respects to Mr. and Mrs. Coke, also, though unknown, to Mrs. Hoste 
 and your family, and believe me,'* &c. 
 
 273. A. L. (fragment) from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. 
 
 Dated Naples, January 12th, 1796. i\ pages folio, with Super- 
 scription, [h.] 
 
 ' I received your last satisfactory letter of the 8th of December just as I was 
 recover'd from another attack of a bilious fever, which was violent, but yielded 
 directly to a bleeding and five small doses of James's powders, & has by no 
 means deprived me of strength as the terrible fever of last year ; however, these 
 frequent attacks put me on my guard, & render me cautious as to my diet. The 
 multiplicity of business I have had is beyond all description, but I flatter myself 
 I have succeeded in all. You talk of my supplying grain from the magazines of 
 these kingdoms ; I sent Lord Grenville last week a proof of the friendship of this 
 Government towards Great Britain ; 140 thousand salmst of corn, the whole 
 allowed to be extracted from Sicily, is set apart for the demands of England, if 
 they chuse to call for it ; unless fetch'd away by British merchants, I am sure 
 no Neapolitan will venture on his own bottom to carry it to England. 
 
 ' I have sign'd, sealed, & returned the paper, but I have had no letter from 
 Meyrick. I know no more of my affairs in Wales than the man in the moon ; I 
 have not seen a farthing return from the Welsh estates in Ross & Ogilvie's 
 accounts, & yet every expence encreases here, and I am obliged to live as usual 
 and receive foreign travellers, who come recommended to me from all quarters & 
 bring me letters. L* Bristol is returned. Beckford wrote me Novr. nth from 
 Alicant, into which port his ship from Lisbon has been driven by weather and a 
 corsair, and his fright was such as made him doubt if he wou'd come on ; 
 however, all his letters come directed here, and he is paying 13 ducats a day for 
 the best apartment at Naples. I do hope you will contrive some sort of peace 
 that I may come home for a few months & settle my affairs, which are in a most 
 confused state ' 
 
 274. A. L. from Lady Hamilton to (Lord Macartney).J No date 
 
 (February 1796). i page 8vo. [p.j 
 
 ' I have this moment received a letter from my adorable Queen. She is 
 arrived with the King. She has much to do to persuade him ; but he approves 
 of all our prospects. She is wore out with fatigue. To-morrow I will send you 
 her letter. God bless you.' 
 
 275. A. L. S. from the same to the same. No date (February 1796). 
 
 I page folio, with Superscription, [p.] 
 
 ' I have been with the Queen this morning, and she desires so much to see 
 
 * The portions in square brackets are missing from the letter, and are supplied from the copy 
 printed in Pettigrew. 
 
 t A salma equals nearly eight bushels. 
 
 % George, Earl of Macartney, 1737-1806, a well-known diplomatist. Sent to Russia in 
 1764, and to China in 1792, in which year he was created an Earl. 
 
2i8 THE HAMILTON AND [1796. 
 
 you that I have appointed to carry you to her this evening at half past seven. 
 She will be alone, and you will see her in her family way. You will be in love 
 with her, as I am. Sir William is to go with us ; shall we call on you or will 
 you drink tea with us ? — let me know. What a charming morning I have 
 past ; our discorse was on you, we could not have a better subject. We will go 
 to the opera to-morrow, but I would give up all operas for my Queen of Hearts. 
 She expects you with impatience. Addio, Caro Milord, ever yours.' 
 
 276. A. L. S. from the same to the same. No date (February 1796). 
 
 I page 4to, with Superscription, [p.] 
 
 ' I have just received a letter from the Queen to put of the party till Sunday 
 next on account of the weather, therefore, my dear Lord, you must dine with Sir 
 William and self ; pray do, at your hour ; name it, bring your Secretary and 
 tuter, not a soul more. We will shew you our house and all its fine prospects, 
 and all in hand. Ever yours.' 
 
 ' P.S. — Go to Portici, and send me word what hour you will dine — ours is 
 3 o'clock.' 
 
 277. A. L. S. ' Emma,' from the same to the same. No date (February, 
 
 1796). I page 4to., with Superscription, [p.] 
 
 'You will see by the enclosed I have just received from the Queen, my dear 
 Lord, that their is a fatility about the opera ; but I am sure you will think with 
 me our dear Queen is worth all the operas in the world, so we will call on you at 
 half past seven, for with Royalty one must be rather before one's time than after. 
 Send me back my letter when you have read it, for I never shew Royal letters to 
 anyone — first, for fear of showing pride, for you know I have none ; and, last, for 
 many reasons. How could you think we shou'd be angry with you — you are 
 not amiable. Ever yours sincerely.' 
 
 278. A. L. S. from Madame de Crenneville to Lord Macartney. Dated 
 
 Pisa, April 4th (1796). if pages 4to. [p.] 
 
 'As your Lordship was so obliging as to offer me any service in your power, 
 I take the liberty of begging you to be so good as to give me some letters of 
 recommendation to Venise, where I think of going the middle of this month for 
 some little time. Mr. Wyndham* has given me one for the English minister there, 
 but I shou'd be particularly glad to have one from your Lordship for him, 
 recommending me to his protection. It wou'd be adding to the obligation if your 
 Lordship wou'd also be so good as send me some letters for some Venitian 
 families of your acquaintance ; favor'd with your Lordship's protection, I cannot 
 fail of being well receiv'd. 
 
 ' I am asham'd to give your Lordship so much trouble, & hope you will 
 excuse me, & believe me to be,' &c. 
 
 'P.S.— If your Lordship favours me with the letters I take the liberty of 
 asking, I beg you will be so good as give them to Monr. le Ct' de Clarac,f who 
 will forward them to me.' 
 
 279. A. L. S.'W. B.'from William Beckford to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 
 Stratford Place, April iSth, 1796. 4 pages 4to. [h.J 
 
 ' Your letter has made me quite comfortable ; there was a report here of your 
 being ill, which your not writing seemed to confirm. I thank Heaven you are so 
 well, & so classically situated in point of appartment & everything else that man 
 can wish. My ideas of your suite of rooms & the views from them soar very high; 
 
 * The Hon. William Frederick Wyndham, 1775-1828, fourth son of the second Earl of 
 Egremont. He was British Minister at Florence from 1794 to 1814. 
 
 t Probably the father of the French Archfeologist who, in 1818, succeeded Visconti as Keeper 
 of the Museum of Antiquities at the Louvre. 
 
1796.] NELSON PAPERS. 219 
 
 sugardom would be of little use to you, for I am fully persuaded 20 guineas of 
 taste go farther than 200,000 pound weight of riches ; harmony is everything in 
 pictures, furniture, &c. I have been trying to harmonize Fonthill — no easy 
 attempt, I can assure you — wealth having done a confounded deal of mischief. 
 Are you not over-run with ranting Englishmen & mincing Englishwomen, & 
 plagued & broken in upon accordingly ? Were I in yr. favor & power, I w'' shut 
 my doors without ceremony. Twenty-five years of admirable management, & 
 management (without, as you say, any embroils), &c., deserve uncommon privi- 
 ledges, & you have every right to enjoy them. 
 
 ' I cannot sufficiently thank you for your expressions of regard. They strike 
 home to me, for I know them to be sincere, & I am sensible they are not lavished 
 upon every dumplin-headed noodle who has the honour of being your near 
 relation. 
 
 ' It is not improbable that I may pass next winter at Lisbon, where I have 
 formed many entertaining connections. Supposing that scheme to go ofif— 
 which may very well happen, as I am not yet reconciled to sea expeditions or too 
 long land ones — I shall think of Naples. Climate will be a great inducement, 
 but the greatest of all will be yourself. It seems a long while indeed since I 
 have had the satisfaction of seeing you, & I have many circumstances of my 
 travels and adventures to relate, which perhaps you will not find unentertaining. 
 \J Craven in all her letters speaks highly of your habitation, influence, & comforts. 
 I am not in the least surprized at her watchfulness. The Margrave, whilst at 
 Anspach, had begun to make comparisons, which created a vast deal of alarm, & 
 hastened the Italian journey. You have more luck than anybody in finding 
 beautiful objects, so I can conceive all you say of y'^ friend. 
 
 ' I think our blessed climate grows worse and worse every year. This fifteenth 
 of April, 1796, it snows without intermission, & the light admitted into my appart- 
 ment resembles the watry gloom thrown upon poor Jonah whilst lodged in the 
 whale's belly. Never in the month of January did I behold a more deadly day. 
 Whilst frost & sleet & drizzle is our portion, you are enjoying — I take for granted 
 — blue sky & bright sunshine. Adieu, I will engross no more of y' time at 
 present than is just necessary to assure you, my dear Sr. William, that I am,' &c. 
 
 280. A. L. S. from Captain Nelson to the same. Dated Leghorn, May 
 
 20th, 1796. 2 J pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I am come in here for a few days to get provisions ; I can tell you probably 
 nothing new. I had letters from Mr. Trevor of the nth May, he expects an 
 offensive alliance against us by the King of Turin. I am satisfied Piedmont has 
 been lost by treachery, and not by the force of the French, although I cannot 
 think the Emperor sent troops sufficient ever to hope for success ; from Mr. 
 Drake I had letters of the 8th, he says Beaulieu was 38,000 strong, & he hoped 
 no battle would take place before he got his reinforcements, but on the nth some 
 skirmish took place. Salicetti has made the most of it, no doubt, but his account 
 is not very bad ; he says the Austrians lost 12,000 killed and wounded, 1000 
 prisoners & 200 cavalry, the loss of the French 200. This account Salicetti 
 published the day he made his demand for the loan of 36 millions of livres of the 
 Genoese. A number of Neapolitan galliots, &c., are come in, but I find on 
 enquiry they are not the flotilla which is to act with us. I hope the Court of 
 Naples has not caught the Genoese panic, for it is owing to that alone that the 
 French have done what they have. Here the people seem much alarmed, 
 although the French Directory tell the Grand Duke they will respect the 
 neutrality, but I have great reason to believe they only wish to lull the Grand 
 Duke, and then to take possession of Leghorn and to treat Tuscany as an enemy; 
 I wish I may be mistaken. The Viceroy of Corsica has taken in person the field 
 against the rebels, & hopes to subdue them. I assure you, my dear Sir, I almost 
 wish we had done with those ungrateful islanders ; one half of the island hates the 
 other half, and are we always to be at war with the half that is out of office? 
 The rebellion is the struggle for power. Our fleet is healthy ; none of the French 
 ships have yet got to sea, but we believe they will take the first opportunity. Adl. 
 Lingen sails this evening with the convoy for England ; an express arrived 
 
220 THE HAMILTON AND [1796. 
 
 yesterday for the Admiralty, left London 30th April — nothing has transpired. I 
 beg my best compliments to Lady Hamilton, and that you will believe me, dear 
 Sir, your most obliged,' &c. 
 
 281. A. L. S. 'B.' from the Earl of Bristol to the same. Dated Rome, 
 
 June 6th, [i7]96. i page 4to., with Superscription and Seal. 
 
 [H.J 
 
 ' I entreat you not to lose a post in transmitting to me here at Caffb Inglese 
 the proper licence for Mr. Reynagle,* English painter, born in London, now in 
 L^ BristoPs service, & Monsr. Dennis,i Flemish painter, born in Brussels, also in 
 L'' Bristol's service ; for painting at Sora &^ Isola di Sora untill Novr. 15th, 1796, 
 each a picture for L* B., & also the necessary passport for these two superlative 
 artists to enter the Kingdom of Naples & settle at Sora. 
 
 ' Lose no time, I entreat you, as time is precious, & I expect two [of] the very 
 finest pictures ever painted. My best love, respects & all to dearest Emma, ever 
 yours most cordially,' &c. 
 
 282. A. L. S. from Sir W. Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 
 June 7th, 1796. 5 pages 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' It is long since I wrote to you, and indeed my public business is such as to 
 leave me but little time for private correspondence, particularly as I am obliged 
 to ride constantly, which I find the only remedy to keep off my bilious disorder, 
 which gains upon me whenever I am confined to close application. I am 
 determined to maintain my activity as long as I can, and execute the duties of 
 my office as well as I can ; and now it appears to me that the fate of Italy can 
 not remain long undecided. At this moment the enemy carry all before them, 
 having driven the remnant of Beaulieu's army into the Tirol, where it waits for 
 reinforcements, which we are assured are on their march from many quarters of 
 Germany ; but unless they are numerous it is fear'd that the French army — 
 increasing every moment— will be too strong for them to attempt to recover 
 Lombardy, which will depend upon the defence that Mantua (now surrounded by 
 the French, & probably the siege begun) is able to make ; it is said Beaulieu has 
 left a garrison there of 12 thousand men, and sufficient provision for some months 
 in Mantua. The Pope, you will have heard, has engaged Mr. Azora, the Spanish 
 minister, to negociate a peace for him at any rate, & is making no kind of prepara- 
 tion for defence ; on the contrary, this Government is putting the nation in the 
 best state of defence possible, and Ferdinando says that he will put himself at the 
 head of his army and die there rather than submit to an ignominious peace. His 
 firmness at this moment is really admirable, and his address to his people has 
 had such an effect that many horses, &c., are presented to him daily by the 
 nobility & gentry, and those that have not money or horses come in flocks from 
 all the provinces offering their personal services — in short, there is no doubt of 
 their being a very strong party against the French, and that the King, when he 
 takes the field if necessary at a week's end, wou'd find himself at the head of 100 
 thousand men, well-armed, & who know the use of fire-arms, but I hope this 
 appearance will have the desired effect of keeping the enemy at a distance, for in 
 a country like this, where there is certainly a thousand in extreme want and that 
 have nothing to lose to one that has a competency, there is no knowing what 
 effect the flattering prospect the French wou'd naturally hold out to those needy 
 people wou'd have upon them. I must own to you that I think that Italy is in 
 
 • Philip Reinagle, 1749-1833, was a pupil of Allan Ramsay, the Court painter. He studied 
 the old Dutch painters, of whose works he was an excellent copyist, but is best known by his 
 pictures of hunting subjects. He also assisted Barker in his panoramic views of Rome, the Bay 
 of Naples, &c. 
 
 t Simon Alexandre Clement Denis, 1775-1813, was bom at Antwerp, but in 1786 went to 
 Italy and married a Roman lady. He afterwards settled at Naples, where he became painter to 
 the King. 
 
1796.] NELSON PAPERS. 221 
 
 great danger of being completely plunder'd and ruin'd unless some unforeseen 
 accident shou'd operate in its favour, and that very soon. I make no preparations 
 to save my property in case of accidents, least it shou'd give alarm here, but it 
 wou'd be a cruel case shou'd I lose the finest collection of vases that ever were 
 seen, and which with my pictures are surely of the value of 12 thousand pounds ; 
 however, shou'd affairs take a more alarming appearance, I shall not be so 
 scrupulous, but endeavour to secure them. What a pity that Italy shou'd be 
 robb'd of its finest marbles, pictures & bronzes, which you see by what has 
 happen'd at Parma will certainly be the case shou'd the French marauders 
 advance. So much for politicks, which is a subject sufficiently melancholy ; and 
 now I must turn to one full as melancholy, which is the state of my affairs at 
 home. Ross & Ogilvie write me the difficulty of advancing money at this time, 
 & tell me they receive nothing from my estate ; in the meantime I am obliged to 
 live & pay for everything here, and indeed my long residence at this Court has 
 made me so well known all over Europe that every foreigner comes well provided 
 with letters of recommendation to my house — the only where there is any good 
 society or gaiety at Naples, & you may imagine that Emma's doing the honours 
 of my house most admirably increases the company &, of course, the expence. I 
 only desire that I may hear from you some account of what has been expended & 
 placed to my account at Milford, & to know whether I might, by selling the Inn 
 or giving a long lease of it, put some money into Ross's hands, that I may not be 
 reproached for overdraughts. I mean to sell my collection of vases, & have an 
 excellent project for that purpose in a good way if the cursed French do not 
 disturb it. Do, my dear Charles, let me know a little of my affairs, for rather than 
 be distressed in my old age I shall go home, take the Mord au dents and play the 
 devil, altho' I am ever yours with true affection,' &c. 
 
 283. A. L. from Lord Bristol to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 2nd July, 
 
 [i7]96. I page 8vo., with Superscription, [h.] 
 
 ' I have had a long conference with that spirited, active, zealous Marshall 
 Wurmser;* he entreated me to press you to make the Neapolitan troops 
 penetrate into the Romagna as far as Ferrara — that the fate of Italy depended on 
 it — that if they did but show themselves he would profit of it to attack the French, 
 who could not possibly face both armies, that he would cut off their retreat by 
 Milan and Tortona, whilst the K. of Naples might harass them at Bologna & 
 Ferrara, & make 'em disgorge all their plunder. That if the Neapolitan troops do 
 not advance, the French may possibly pour in more troops that he can resist, & 
 the event must be very uncertain, but terribly bloody ; in short, that Italy depends 
 on it. Y"' impression, dear S' W", must be on the Queen — no other has a soul, 
 no, not one.'t 
 
 284. A. L. S. from Captain Nelson to Captain Collingwood.J Dated 
 
 ' Captain,' Leghorn Roads, August ist, 1796. 3 pages 4to., with 
 
 Superscription and Seal. 
 
 ' The Vice-roy tells me you are at Fiorenzo, therefore I take my chance of 
 this like finding you ; my date makes me think I am almost at Leghorn, soon I 
 hope to be there in reality; except 1700 poor devils, all are gone to join the army ; 
 
 * Dagobert Sigisraund, Count Wurmser, 1724-1797, a well-known Austrian General, who 
 had just succeeded to the command of the Austrian troops in Italy, but was defeated by 
 Bonaparte on several occasions, and was obliged to take refuge in Mantua, which capitulated 
 early in 1797. Wurmser returned to Vienna, and was appointed Commander of the troops in 
 Hungary, but died reaching his post. 
 
 t Sir William has endorsed this letter ' Curious and true.' 
 
 i Cuthbert, Baron Collingwood, 1748-1810, the celebrated Admiral. He entered the Navy 
 at the age of 12, became a Lieutenant in 1775, and an Admiral in 1799. He was second in 
 command at Trafalgar, and on Nelson's death the completion of the victory depended upon him. 
 Fpr his services on this ocqasion he was raised to the peerage as Baron Collingwood. 
 
222 THE HAMILTON AND [1796. 
 
 sometimes I hope & then despair of getting these starved Leghornese to cut the 
 throats of this French crew; what an idea for a Christian, I hope there is a great 
 latitude for us in the next world. I know by myself how anxious all must be for 
 authentic news, therefore I will tell you my letters are from Mr. Drake at Venice, 
 copy of one from Col. Graham, the resident at the Austrian army, & from our 
 minister at Turin. 
 
 ' The sortie from Mantua was great, but I do not find the seige has been 
 raised, but I have nothing later than 20th July. Genl. Buonaparte is wounded in 
 the thigh ; the Austrian army — 50,000 foot, 22 squadrons of cavaldry, besides the 
 garrison of Mantua, & 20,000 at Trieste coming forward would commence 
 operations about the i8th or 20th of July; every moment I expect news from 
 Genoa, it can, I hope, hardly fail of being good. 
 
 ' This blockade is compleat, and we lay very snug in the north road as smooth 
 as in a harbour. I rejoice with you our English port is open again to us, I have 
 letters only to the middle of June, all well, and as to publick affairs, Mr. Pitt 
 seems as strong as ever ; what have we to do with the prince's private amours — ■ 
 the world says there is faults on both sides — like enough ! thank God, I was not 
 born in high life. The promotion of flags seems deferred, but I suppose it must 
 take place soon. I have this moment received accounts that the post from 
 Naples (say Capua) which arrived to-day, has brought an account that the 
 truce with Naples finishes to-day, & hostilitys commence to-morrow ; pray God 
 it may be so ; with a most sincere wish for driving the French to the devil, your 
 good health, an honourable peace, us safe at home again, I conclude by assuring 
 you, my dear Collingwood, of my unalterable friendship & regard, and that I am, 
 in the fullest meaning of the words, yours most truly,' &c. 
 
 285. A. L. S. ' C. F. G.' from Charles Greville to Sir W. Hamilton. 
 No date (August, 1 796). 1 1 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' At length I get a safe opportunity. If some interruption to the progress of 
 the French shall leave any communication open Mr. Greaves is on his route to 
 Rome, & the letters which he brought from you assured hira every attention from 
 me, & I trust that he will avail himself of the credentials which he is possessed of 
 to add to the facility of commercial intercourse, when the calamity of war shall 
 find respite & trade flourish ; he will inform you of all his plans, & I know he is 
 grateful for your protection. 
 
 ' The progress of the French in Italy is to me afflicting, but I expect from 
 the climate an auxiliary which does not appear to my hopes more tardy than the 
 armies from Germany. I cannot think that July can suit an army of Frenchmen, 
 & I do not expect an army to regain lost territory before that time, & I much fear 
 the district of Mantua may not suit the health of the Germans. May they come 
 as the deliverers of Italy from a scourge more terrible than it ever experienced ; 
 the short experience of requisitions, contributions & severity will have dissipated 
 the illusions of those who wished to palliate, or who had not capacity to see the 
 necessity of close confederacy to oppose the danger which threatens every 
 Government. We have the blessing of being accustomed to hear of ruin, and 
 are likely to retain energy and industry instead of seeking remedy by anarchy. 
 The General Election at no time was attended with less riot or less success to the 
 seditious ; this will refute the calumny which is thrown on the country by a party 
 certainly not sufficiently numerous to Overthrow good order. Our expences are 
 astonishing, & nothing but the boundless enterprize of France can exceed, but we 
 have not yet resorted to any of the desperate means of substituting violence & 
 rapine to the fair operation of solid capital & unblemished credit, &, while anarchy 
 spreads, we see this period of general election, usually marked for popular licence, 
 peculiarly orderly, & the full employment of our manufactures lessens the 
 pressure of heavy taxes. The crops appear very promising, & the influx of rice 
 & grain will keep the prices by gradual decrease to those of former years, unless 
 the speculation both of farmer & consumer shall be disappointed by unforeseen 
 calamity to the crops, which have not even been prophecyed by the most 
 desponding ; but this paradise is not so free from contagion as not to have had a 
 
1796.] NELSON PAPERS. 223 
 
 great number of voters espousing Home Tooke in Westminster, & it therefore 
 becomes every one to exert himself in his separate station to maintain the 
 ballance decidedly in the hand of Government. I am not returned in this 
 Parliament, I do not yet know whether it will happen, but Robert has got very 
 handsomely into a seat at Windsor. I cannot give you the details of what you 
 see much debated by the newspapers, & I can with truth say that I could not 
 feel more concern at my own difficulties than I do at those which hang on the 
 R. Faniily from this cause ; the idle conversation, added to the circumstances on 
 which it is founded, render arrangements difficult, & yet they will & must be 
 made, for the interest of the state do not admit of the levelling principle being 
 strengthened by such discussions as have lately distressed us. 
 
 ' I shall probably go in about 6 weeks to Wales. Our friend Campbell has 
 the good fortune to be called to the H. of Peers as L* Cawdor, & he is now the 
 first in rank in Pembrokeshire. I had packed up my correspondance with L* 
 Kensington & also my correspondance with L'^ Milford ; they are very curious, 
 but it is not worth sending ; I am now corresponding with the justices ; in short, 
 I am doing what I think important for your interest, & to prevent the improper 
 conduct of any disturbing the good order in the county, & the steps I am taking 
 to follow up the improvements without your further aid & by bringing capital of 
 others begins to be felt. It is difficult to do without capital, but as I give up all 
 my time, & have no idea of profit, but aid the operations of others to acquire it, I 
 at least make many grateful people, & your property will continue to be 
 respectable & favourably viewed by the people. I am in hopes this year to 
 begin the establishment of a building-yard for shipping on a scale to lead to great 
 things. I shall hope to fix on a plan of considerable expence by proportioning 
 the term of a lease to money laid out. The Quakers have sent out one ship to the 
 
 5. Seas this spring, & in about a month another will sail. The outfit of the first 
 was between 3 & ^4000, & the last between 5 & ^6000. You will see that I am 
 as diligent as if you had put me in the situation of having a share of the profit, 
 under the arrangement I proposed last year, but you will always I hope, remember 
 that no plan of mine ever was meant to free me from absolute dependance on 
 your free will & friendship. I am grateful for it, &, let whatever happen, you will 
 have an asylum — honorable & comfortable — for you on your own land, & your 
 turn of mind will make you happy in the damp air of Milford, if circumstances, 
 which Heaven avert, shall interupt your comfort & pleasure in the situation where 
 you bask in a genial sun, & enjoy the confidence of the sovereign & the good will 
 of a nation, which has seen you so long untainted by the fashions, and indifferent 
 to the interested schemes which are supposed to be the sole objects of the 
 frequenters of Courts, or of the confidants of ministers. 
 
 ' I am now ready to make it appear to you that the money advanced will be 
 paid by the rents, & your income not thereby diminished during your life, tho' 
 the debt will remain a charge on it ; distinguish the debt in what you have 
 incurred & consolidated in a sum from what you have allowed to be laid out on 
 the estate, & you will see that I have realised my promise, for when the extreme 
 expectation Meyrick gave you after you had provided ;!{^5ooo for improvements, 
 was that the rents would not fall short or less than ^1800, but that you could 
 not expect ^2000, I can now say that your rent-roll is ;£2279 5^. 3|^. The 
 arrears are greater than I intend them to be, but from this time it shall be less, &, 
 if we can keep the rents from falling below ^2300, I am sure you will not have 
 reason to repent having laid out the money, for people must be encouraged to lay 
 out their capital, & every ^1000 they lay out will improve the country & also 
 rents ; but, as I said before, people must be allowed to prosper, or else it would 
 be at Milford as in many instances I could quote in which a nominal rent led 
 possessors to expences, & the golden dreams have vanished in bankruptcy & 
 misery. As to myself, I am rewarded by seeing poor people active and industrious, 
 
 6, like bees, by combining little capitals, do what appears to less intelligent 
 people impossible. 
 
 ' I was led to expect a line from Ly H. relative to the little protege whose 
 education you have paid for since your marriage. I have not misunderstood 
 your intention, viz., that you wished to put her unto some trade, & by a 
 benefaction once for all to settle her. I am surprised that it should be hinted 
 
224 THE HAMILTON AND [1796. 
 
 more had been done than was necessaiy or required. L^ H. was better apprized 
 than I was as to the whole, Mrs. C. having been with the child to Mrs. Blackburn's, 
 & the expectation of seeing her friends was perhaps a little imprudently hinted to 
 it, for she has never forgot the impression, & tho' she has outgrown the memory 
 of persons her mind has I find been, for a young person, very reserved ; &, tho' 
 I have not seen her for many years, I have had every attention & desired 
 Blackburn to give her no high ideas, & I am convinced the economy & prudence 
 of the family she is in cannot be exceeded, for Blackburn & his wife have now no 
 other scholar, & has a very small income, which with prudence & the aid of 
 Emma's board make out a decent living. I inclose an answer which Mr. B. 
 received on my saying that she must chuse a situation, & from various difficulty 
 I have said that during the present half-year the option must be made ; you will 
 see that she is desirous to do anything, & has sense enough to see the difficulty 
 of her situation. I do not find that she is handsome ; Blackburn says that she 
 has very large eyes & a sensible look, & small, but very active, sometimes ailing, 
 but not sick, supposed to be worms. I hope you will excuse my tardiness in 
 relieving you from this charge. I have thought a little money might be an 
 inducement for a clergyman to marry her, & then I might help him on ; but, if she 
 does not make an impression on a good sort of man, I am sure I cannot find one 
 for her ; & then I do not know whether you would approve such aid. I enclose 
 the last account, by which you will have all before you, & may give me your clear 
 decision. I am still uncertain of her history, but I believe her to be niece to 
 Mrs. C, & that her parents are alive; this she should know, for her age is now 
 such as to make it proper to give her at least the comfort of knowing, or the 
 certainty that she cannot be the better from receiving the information, neither of 
 which I am able to give, unless L^ H. will inform you, or communicate to me her 
 wishes. 
 
 ' I send you 9 copies of your paper, & a parcel from Mr. Knight containing his 
 poems, & a Court Calendar, fearing that the one I sent some time since did not 
 get above half way to Naples ; you shall have a new one when the new edition 
 with the new Parliament shall appear. 
 
 ' Pray let me hear from you ; my kindest remembrance to Lady Hamilton, tell 
 her your accounts make her appear as I wish her to be — the subject of praise ; to 
 Mrs. Cadogan pray remember me kindly. L'' Macartney tells me you are in 
 health & good spirits ; that you may long enjoy them is the sincere wish of your 
 affectionate,' &c. 
 
 286. Copy of Doc. S. ' Horatio Nelson.' Dated 'on board His Britannick 
 Majesty's Ship Captain, off Genoa, September nth, 1796.' i page 
 folio. [h.J 
 
 ' Fact. A French battery at St. Piere d' Arena. The French landing all 
 
 sorts of warlike stores under the guns of Genoa. 
 
 ' The French battery fires on His Britannick Majesty's boats. The boats 
 board & take a French vessel landing warlike stores abreast of the French 
 battery, on which all the guns of Genoa open fire on His Britannick Majesty's 
 ships ; not a shot fired in return to the Genoese fortresses, & only three fired at 
 the French battery to mark the power of the English & their humanity in not 
 destroying the houses & innocent Genoese inhabitants. 
 
 ' How can the serene government of Genoa mark this conduct as strictly 
 neutral ? 
 
 ' Where the French erect batteries cannot be considered as neutral ground. 
 
 ' Everything in Genoa, & from Genoa under its guns or part of the coast, 
 which is really neutral, the Commodore ever has, & will, most inviolably 
 respect. 
 
 ' The inhabitants of St. Piere d'Arena, the Genoese soldiers on the batteries 
 will, if they declare the truth, support the whole of my assertions, that the French 
 fired first, & that the English boats had committed no act good or bad before the 
 French fired. 
 
 ' For the knowledge of every person in Genoa and its neighbourhood.' 
 
I796-] NELSON PAPERS. 225 
 
 287. A. L. S. from Lady Hamilton to Charles Greville. Dated Naples, 
 
 September 21st, 1796. 2 pages 4to., with Superscription and 
 Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' We have not time to write to you as we have been 3 days and nights writing 
 to send by this courrier letters of consequence for our government. They ought 
 to be gratefull to Sir WiUiam and myself in particular, as my situation at this 
 Court is very extraordinary, and what no person as as yet arrived at ; but one 
 as no thanks, and I am allmost sick of grandeur. 
 
 ' We are tired to death with anxiety, and God knows were we shall soon 
 be, and what will become of us, if things go on as they do now. Sir William is 
 very well. I am not, but hope, when the cold weather comes on and we go to 
 Caserta, I shall be better. Our house — breakfast, dinner and supper — is like a 
 fair ; and what with attendance on my adorable Queen I have not one moment 
 for writing, or anything comfortable. I, however, hope soon to get quiet, and then 
 I will write to you fully. Pray, setle Hackwood's account. We desire it. And 
 send me by the bearer a Dunstable hat, and some ribbands, or what you think 
 will be acceptable. Pray do you never think on me. He is our Courrier ; so, 
 pray, do not spare him. In haist, ever your sincere,' &c. 
 
 ' P.S. I have now to-night an assembly of 3 hundred waiting.' 
 
 288. A. L. S. from Commodore Nelson to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 Bastia, October i8th, 1796. 2 pages 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' The Viceroy will write you so fully that it would be impertinent was I to say 
 more than the joy I feel at the resolution, and that I may claim some merit with 
 the King of Naples for my steady support, which in good truth he highly deserves ; 
 not a little must be attributed to Sir John Acton & yourself, and I have full 
 confidence that the conduct of Naples will continue to be such that we may pride 
 ourselves for our advice ; the greatest confidence must be placed in us, and 
 nothing like jealousy. God knows I only feel for the King of Naples, as I am 
 confident the change in his Government would be subversive of the interest of all 
 Europe. We have a narrow-minded party to work against, but I feel above it. 
 
 ' I shall only add that I will still endeavour to prove myself the same active 
 officer which the world has said I am. With kindest respects to Lady Hamilton, 
 believe me,' &c. 
 
 ' Octr. 19th. We have just got the admiral's consent & you will receive his 
 dispatches. Galleys must be sent immediately to Elba to be at our disposal, & 
 the ships shou'd join our fleet as soon as possible ; they may come safely to Elba, 
 & there form the junction. Porto Lorgora must also be partly garrisoned by us, 
 we should not answer it to our country was anything on which depends the safety 
 of our fleet & army be left to chance. 
 
 ' I do not think it impossible but I shall soon be sent to Naples, as the ships 
 are ready. Pray impress Sir John Acton with the great importance of their sailing. 
 
 ' P.S. As our stay in the Mediteranean is a secret & not told to Captn. 
 Kelwick, you must tell him to come to Porto Ferraio ; his orders are for San 
 Fiorenzo, where we shall not be.' 
 
 289. Copy (in Lady Hamilton's handwriting) of Doc. (in French) 
 
 Dated Naples, October 28th, 1796. 
 
 'Article secret et additionnel du Traitd de paix condu ce jourd'hui entre la 
 R^publique Frangaise et sa Majesty le Roi des deux Sidles. 
 
 ' Sa Majestd le Roi des deux Sidles s'engage k foumir k la R^publique Frangaise 
 la valeur de huit millions de livres Tournois, en denrdes, livrables dans I'espace 
 d'un an \ compter du jour de I'dchange des ratifications du present traits. Les 
 dittes denrdes seront dvaludes d'aprfes les prix courant du commerce. La con- 
 signation aux agens ou commissaires nommdes k cet effet par la Rdpublique 
 Frangaise, en sera faite en quatre livraisons dgales de la valeur de deux millions 
 VOL, I. Q 
 
226 THE HAMILTON AND [1796. 
 
 chaqune, de trois mois en trois mois, de manifere que la premiere ait lieu trois 
 mois aprfes I'dchange des ratifications, I'espace et la quantity de chaqune d'elle 
 jusqu'k la concurrence de la premiere somme seront ddtermindes par les dits 
 agens ou commissaires de la R^publique et elles seront livrdes dans la place 
 frontifere des ^tats de sa Majesty, ou dans celui de ses ports qui sera indiqud par 
 les sudits agens ou commissaires. II est en outre expressdment convenu que 
 quoique les dites denr^es doivent etre foumies par sa Majestd Sicilienne, sans 
 qu'elle puisse en exiger aucun payment, il en sera cependant passd un contrat 
 ostensible d'achat au prix duquel sa Majestd renonce dfes k present, et dont elle 
 fera donner la quittance k la personne ou aux personnes qui signeront le contrat 
 pour la R^publique Frangaise. Si sa Majdste Sicilienne pr^ftre de payer la 
 valeur des huit millions ci-dessus mentionnees, en tout, ou en partie en argent, il 
 lui sera libre de le faire. 
 
 ' Fait et arr^te par nous soussign^s ministferes plfoipotentiares de la Rd- 
 publique Frangaise et de sa Majesty Sicilienne en addition au traitd conclu et 
 arrStd ce jourd'hui k Paris, le dix neuf vendemiaire, an 5 de la {cursed), Rdpublique 
 Frangaise une et indivisible, rdpondant au deux d'Octobre, mil sept cent quatre 
 vingt seize. ' Le Prince de Belmonte. Pignatelli. 
 
 ' Charles de la Croix. 
 
 ' Copia conforme all originale del unico articolo segreto formata in Parigi. 
 
 ' Maria Carolina.' 
 
 290. A. L. S. from Commodore Nelson to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated 
 
 Bastia, December ist, 1796. 2 J pages 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' To say I am grieved and distressed but ill describes my feelings on the 
 receipt of the positive order for the evacuation of the Mediterranean ; till this 
 time it has been usual for the allies of England to fall from her, but till now she 
 never was known to desert her friends whilst she had the power of supporting 
 them. 
 
 ' I hope in the present moment that the King of Naples has not commenced 
 the war, and that yet he may make a peace ; God knows how contrary this has been 
 to my feelings heretofore. 
 
 'The Viceroy, whose head and heart are equally great and ever alive to the 
 services of friends and to the honor of England, will write you and you will judge 
 of his distress. I yet hope the Cabinet may, on more information, change their 
 opinion, it is not all we gain elsewhere which can compensate for our loss of honor. 
 The whole face of affairs is totally different to what it was when the Cabinet formed 
 their opinion. 
 
 ' I wish any mode could be adopted that individually as an officer (I may, I 
 hope, without vanity say of some merit) I could serve the King of Naples ; 
 it is the French fleet that I dread appearing before Naples, but a vigorous 
 and some may think desperate attempt might be made for their destruction, 
 viz., forges fixed in the gun-boats, fire ships in numbers, but the first is more to 
 the purpose ; (Jesperate affairs require desperate remedies, but this must be done 
 by officers of more, perhaps, than common resolution, and if, after all, Naples 
 must fall, let it fall as it ought, defending itself to the last. With my most sincere 
 regards, respects I ought to say, to Lady Hamilton & yourself, believe me,' &c. 
 
 291. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated the Minerva, Porto- 
 
 ferraio, December 27th, 1796. 3 pages 4to. [H.] 
 
 ' As Sir John Jervis has wrote you it is needless for me to attempt telling you 
 any news from the fleet, and as I have related to Lady Hamilton my battle, &c., 
 I shall only trouble you to assure the King of Naples that the neutrality which he 
 has thought it proper to adopt shall be most inviolably sacred with me, my 
 individual conduct as Lhave been in command have been and shall continue to 
 be uniform. The good faith of his Majesty and good conduct of his ministers 
 claim from us every attention and respect. 
 
 ' I was sorry to hear that a Spanish vessel was taken out of St. Steffano, and 
 
1796, 1 797-] NELSON PAPERS. 227 
 
 if she is still at Port Ferraio she shall be instantly returned ; the Ad' is equally 
 displeased as myself. Should she or her cargoe be sold, every proper reparation 
 shall be made. 
 
 ' I have to beg that the letters for the Adriatic may be sent off express, they 
 are most important in their object; I also beg that my letter to Mr. Drake may 
 be forwarded. It is possible, my dear Sir, that this may be the last public occasion 
 I shall have to correspond with you ; therefore I have to request that you will, from 
 your own knowledge of my public conduct since I have been in the Mediterranean, 
 write me such a letter, or write one to Lord Grenville as you think most proper (I 
 believe it ought to be Duke of Portland) that I may lay my humble services at 
 his Majesty's feet ; the late Viceroy has handsomely offered such a letter, & I 
 doubt not Mr. Drake and Mr. Trevor will do the same. Believe me, dear Sir, 
 your most obliged,' &c. 
 
 292. A. L. S. ' W. J. B.' from William Beckford to the same. Dated 
 Fonthill, February 2nd, 1797. S pages 4to., with Superscription 
 and Seal. [H.] 
 
 ' I hate writing full as much as you do, but I have made many an effort to 
 ask how you and your lovely Emma go on, & to acquaint you both with my 
 proceedings, but not one of these attempts have succeeded, for by yours of the 
 6th December (only this morning, 2nd February, received) I find you know 
 nothing about me. 
 
 ' My letters, three in number, were dated loth June from Lisbon, & 2nd 
 August & 27th Sept' from Fonthill. If I could by any means in the world short 
 of a balloon contrive to get to Naples, I w* set forth immediately & pass a few 
 months with you whilst my Babels were growing, for I have more than one Babel 
 in hand — the grand Babel so much paragraphed in the papers is not yet begun. 
 
 'I am staying my stomach with a little pleasure building in the shape of an 
 abbey, which is already half finished. It contains appartments in the most 
 gorgeous Gothic style with windows of painted glass, a chapel for blessed 
 St. Anthony— 66 ft. diameter & 72 high — a gallery 185 in length, & a tower 145 
 feet high. 
 
 ' You will probably have read accounts of my Christmas doings at Fonthill, all 
 in the same style. All your vases — nay, all the decent vases in Naples — would 
 not contain half the liquid poured down human throats upon this loyal and festive 
 occasion, which has made the whole kingdom ring and gained me such popularity 
 that I am offered the representation (next turn) of some of the most capital places 
 in England gratis. There's for you. I am not only building, but planting at a 
 monstrous rate. Since you saw Fonthill 1700 acres have been added to it by a 
 lucky & very cheap purchase. The great drive, when finished, will extend, if you 
 follow its various windings, above thirty miles. How happy I should feel in once 
 more guiding you & Ly. H. thro' this most singular labyrinth. I wish to God you 
 would take huff at the Court of N. & its shamefull peace & come to England. If 
 you do, I bespeak you beforehand, & eagerly hope & entreat you will make 
 Fonthill your headquarters. There is no saying but I might have been tempted 
 with the collection, had I seen it in all its glory upon the enchanted ground of 
 Naples, & by the glow of yoiir pure sunshine. Here we see objects thro' our 
 coal-hole medium, & reckon our pence and calculate dully as becometh a race of 
 mercantile Northerns. Seven thousand pounds is a lumping sum, & notwith- 
 standing the uncomfortable idea of once more entombing those beautiful pro- 
 ductions of Grecian Art, if Russia & Prussia would pay the price you expect, I 
 suppose they must have them. Nothing but the state of Europe would prevent 
 my coming to you. I shd. certainly have expected a distinguished reception at 
 the Court, having been used to every sort of honor, &c., at Lisbon, vi'here I was 
 prime favorite, & have continued to correspond regularly ever since with the Pee. 
 of Brazil. You cannot imagine the favors & distinctions with which I was loaded 
 in Portugal, nay, charged with a particular mission to the K., which his Majestie's 
 ministers have not yet thought fit I should deliver ; but the K. is fully aware of 
 my attachment and loyalty, & I make no doubt in a short space of time I shall 
 
228 THE HAMILTON AND [1797. 
 
 again climb the eminence to which I was born, and from whence I was so 
 maliciously and foolishly precipitated. 
 
 ' Scratch me a few lines in answer to these ; assure Ly. H. of my most grateful, 
 affectionate regard, & believe me yours with the most sincere attachment,' &c. 
 
 'P.S. Must you, in case of sale to Prussia or R., deliver them up the whole 
 treasure ? Could you not reserve a specimen, for which I would gladly treat ? 
 but the whole is beyond the powers of sugardom to compass.' 
 
 293. A. L. from Lord Bristol to the same. Dated Venice, February 12th, 
 
 [i7]97. I page 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' Be so good as to present my duty to the King, and entreat him to give me 
 leave to have casts made of his famous statues of Claudius, Aggrippina, Nero, 
 Hadrian & his consort, dug up in the Lago Celano 1752, & sent to Caserta as my 
 account says ; &, if you find him easy on the subject, you may add the Egyptian 
 statues, & what else is good in \as palace at Naples ; but, if you find him difficult, 
 you may plead that Prince Borghese gave me a written leave under his hand to 
 take casts of all the statues found at Gabii, & also of all his statues in the villa 
 Borghese, & surely Lord Bristol will not find the Q. of Naples less friendly than 
 Prince Borghese. 
 
 'If you obtain it, send me the order, not a damned dispaccio, which makes 
 no more dispatch than a French diligence, but a real friendly order that may 
 instantly be executed by the famous Giuseppe Torrenti at Rome, or any other 
 you may recommend. 
 
 ' Direct me under cover to 
 
 ' Petrillo, Aubergiste, Venezia. 
 
 ' I congratulate you & my dear Queen on the news, this day arrived by express, 
 that the French are driven out of Trent & that town reduced to ashes. My love, 
 with your leave, to dearest Emma.' 
 
 294. A. L. from the same to the same. Dated Klagenfurth, February 
 
 2 1st, [I7J97. 2\ pages 4to., with Superscription, [h.] 
 
 ' I send you, my dear Sir William, extracts from two letters I have lately from 
 Venice, & which I should have communicated sooner, but that I wait for a safe 
 opportunity : — 
 
 "Venezia, imo Felfi, l7<)y. 
 " L'affari in Italia ed in Tirolo sono nella piu grave perdita. lo credo 
 coll universal che li generali Austriace sian traditori del loro povero sovrano 
 qui ora si ciarla che possi venire S. A. I'arciduca Gius* col General Clairfait. 
 Dio voglia che questo guerriere sia incontaminabile, e ponga fine a queste 
 disgracie." 
 
 " Venezia, i,FelP, 1797. 
 " Qui si dice resa Mantoua per capitolazione ; ma ci sono delle opozizioni, 
 che dicono che Wurmser quando non le venga accordato da Buonoparte, cio 
 che vuole, che vuol sostenersi fino all' ultimo sangue. 
 
 " Qui descoresi publicamente, che Alvinzi abbia tradito il sovrano, e si 
 pretende di voler sapere che abbia avuto cento mille sovrane, mentre Buona- 
 parte era perduto affato: Basta. Dio ponga rimedio a tanti guai." 
 
 ' Here follows the situation of the two armies as traced to me by some prisoner 
 officers there present. 
 
 ' Nothing can excede the venality of the Austrian officers except their 
 lasdviousness, many of whom are in bed with their whores, when they should 
 have been in the field of Mars instead of Venus. 
 
 ' I tremble for Naples if once the monkeys are able to reach Rome, but 
 Naples missed the moment last autumn when their army could, by joining 
 Wurmser, have annihilated the French. 
 
 ' What the Hungarian recruits can possibly do no one knows, or ventures to 
 guess, but raw troops seldom made raw work. 
 
 ' Naples can yet save and recover Lombardy, but England must save and 
 
1 797-] NELSON PAPERS. 229 
 
 cozier Naples. Are these orthodox politicks or not ? If you can send me any- 
 thing interesting inclose it to Mr. Day, either by express or at Cqff^ Inglese. 
 
 ' Adieu, do you advise me to hire my apartment for next year— yea ornay? 
 My best and kindest love to dear Emma. Does the Queen ever name me to you 
 or to dear Emma — yea or nay 1 ' 
 
 295. Facsimile of an A. L. S. from Admiral* Nelson to the Mayor of 
 
 Norwich (William Herring, Esq.). Dated Irresistible, off Lisbon, 
 26th February, 1797. i page, [p.] 
 
 'Having the good fortune on the most glorious 14th February to become 
 possessed of the sword of the Spanish Rear-Admiral, Don Hanien Francisco 
 Wintheysen, in the way sett forth m the paper transmitted herewith ; 
 
 ' And, being bom in the County of Norfolk, I beg leave to present the sword to 
 the City of Norwich, in order to its being preserved as a memento of this event, 
 and of my affection for my native county. 
 
 ' I have the honour to be,' &c. 
 
 296. A. L. S. from the same to Sir W. Hamilton. Dated Captain at 
 
 sea, April 27 th, 1797. i page 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' I am just seeing a Danish frigate & convoy, by the Captain of which I send 
 you a line to say we are well, and the whole garrison of Porto Ferraio under my 
 protection. You will be pleased to hear the King has conferr'd on me the most 
 honorable Order of the Bath, & I expect Earl St. Vincent will be commissioned 
 to invest me on board his ship, the Ville de Paris. I have only time to beg my 
 best respects to Lady Hamilton, & that you will believe me your obliged,' &c. 
 
 297. A. L. S. ' B.' from Lord Bristol to the same. No date (June, 1797). 
 
 si pages 8vo., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' However vague the report may be, I think it my duty to communicate it to 
 you. I am in bed these 14 days with a jaundice caught in Padua, where now it is 
 epidemicaj Gianti is also with the same bedfellow, 12 miles from Bologna. 
 
 ' 3 days ago a French commissary, well dressed as usual, better mounted on 2 
 English horses of ^50 each, alighted for dinner. 
 
 ' I sent my compliments to beg the news of the day. 
 
 ' Dites k milord que je n'en connais aucune, exceptd que je vais moi \ Ferrara, 
 y preparer les quartiers pour 12,000 Frangois, premiere colonne de 25,000 qui ont 
 ordres de se rendre k Rome y affermir la souverainetd du peuple romain, et puis 
 lui assujettir son vassal, la rdpublique de Naples, avec son Haquende et toutes 
 les redevances qu'un vassal k son suzerain. 
 
 ' Since that day I have heard no more of the 12,000 men, but it is certain that 
 4000 cavalry are sett out from Ferrara for Rome, with that avowed impudent, 
 audacious purpose ; & moreover, that all the innumerable bodies of the new 
 requisition from Lyons & the South of France speak publickly the same language. 
 
 ' The Cisalpini in the meantime is crumbling fast, the municipality of Ferrara 
 is dissolved, & a military Government for all justice established in its stead. 
 
 'An English family that stopt at Mantua, two have just told me its ramparts 
 are totally dismantled — not a gun left in the place, not a soldier in the town — 
 not a zecchi in anybody's pocket after rigidly shutting up the gates for 4 days ; 
 this was by a cloth-merchant of Mantua, who came here trying to fill his belly & 
 his pocket, confirmed. 
 
 ' This morning my physician at Ferrara wrote me a paragraph too interesting 
 not to communicate it to your friend Gen' Acton, who is a philosopher as well as 
 a statesman ; here it is : " Si le Cabinet de Vienne a le bon sens d'Aablir dans le 
 pays Venitien un gouvernement tant soil peu raisonable, de deux Chambres & le 
 Souverain, dans moins d'un mois, toute ma chfere patrie s'y accroche ; si non 
 autant vaut un despotisme qu'un autre." Verbum sapienti. Adieu,' &c. 
 
 * Nelson had been created an Admiral six days before the date of the letter. 
 
230 THE HAMILTON AND [i797- 
 
 298. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Pyrmont, July 14th, 
 1797. 2 pages 4to. [h.] 
 
 ' Amidst the various reports that will naturally circulate relative to the K. of 
 Prussia's health, you will as naturally wish to hear from an eye-witness & an old 
 friend the real state of it. 
 
 ' He arrived here 14 days ago shattered to the very foundation, wasted to a 
 skeleton, & his long body & powerful frame, bent almost double, looked like the 
 bow of Ulysses. 
 
 ' In a few days he grew erect, yet stiff everywhere but where he shouldhs ; his 
 appetite retum'd, his sleep restored seems to announce good stamina & a full 
 resurrection ; his physician, however, was not deluded by what misguided 
 common by-standers, & declared both to me & to others that the temporary 
 dispersion of clouds did not insure fine & lasting weather. 
 
 ' In fact, some days after a silly excess at board, for at bed he could not trespass 
 if he would, threw him back again, & he is now fruitlessly working up his lee-way. 
 
 ' I hope to bring a beautyfuU cabinet to beautyfuU Emma, almost as fair as her 
 skin, & as elegant as her form, & purpose to leave Pyrmont on the first of 
 September in order to reach Italy in its delicious autumn ; but indeed all, all is 
 autumn with her, her leaf is in the seer, & I doubt her returning spring is very 
 distant, for she was rotten at the very core. 
 
 ' The Pope will be a great windfall, &, like an earthquake, shatter all about it. 
 
 'No one here hopes anything from the farcical congress at Lisle, and my 
 letters from England are of the same mind. Adieu, old schoolfellow, let you & 
 I be young still, for with all these games & gambols we may once more go to 
 school, & not be the wiser ; at least, you & dearest Emma will learn nothing new 
 in the cordial assurance of my friendship & esteem. 
 
 ' P.S. — The physicians talk of sending the K. to Naples if he has strength 
 enough to reach it ; your house would suit him well, & he might hire that & the 
 vase together, for he is antiquity mad, & bitt by the same dog as you & I.' 
 
 299. A. L. S. from the same to the same. Dated Trieste, December 
 
 5th, 1797. I page 8vo., with Superscription [h.] 
 
 ' Here is my friend & fellow-traveller, the Chevalier de Corn, the only modest 
 Frenchman I ever yet met ; he is full of virtue & good principles, & will do my 
 recommendation as much honor as credit to your protection ; dest tout dire, 
 adieu, yours,' &c. 
 
 300. A. L. S. ' B.' from the same to the same. Dated Trieste, December 
 
 17th, 1797. I page 4to., with Superscription and Seal, [h.] 
 
 ' I may certainly die out of Naples this winter, but I certainly cannot live out 
 of it, for the gout has already assailed me in this pestiferous climate, & laid me 3 
 weeks on my b(uk, & that you know is not the natural attitude for a man. 
 
 ' Smooth therefore as you term it, my dear friend, my road to my delicious 
 apartment, the' how it came to be rugged I know not, nor can even guess. 
 
 'The Austrians take possession of Venice on the 26th. General Mack* is 
 already there, & promises me a guard of 20 men thro' the Cisalpin. 
 
 ' Poor Mad. de Ritz is in Spandau after playing the fool & some say the knave 
 these last eleven months ; she was arrested the day after the death of that old Pore 
 d'Epicure. 
 
 ' Here many private letters mention that Buonaparte was arrested at Strasburg 
 
 * Karl, Baron Mack von Leiberich, 1752-1828, an Austrian General, named Generalis- 
 simo of the Neapolitan troops in 1798, but, being defeated by Macdonald and Championnet, 
 was sent as prisoner on parole to Paris, whence he made his escape. In 1805 he was 
 entrusted with a new command in Bavaria, but, having been compelled by Napoleon to sur- 
 render at discretion at Ulm with 30,000 men, he was condemned to death, his sentence being 
 afterwards, however, commuted to two years' imprisonment. 
 
1797-] NELSON PAPERS. 231 
 
 on the 30th in Strasburg. Barras* & he are reciprocally afraid of each other. 
 He has got his mistress, & now wishes to get his place. Adieu, my best & 
 constant love to dearest Emma, your,' &c. 
 
 301, A. L. S, ' B.' from the same to the same. Dated Trieste, December 
 26th, 1797. I page 4to., with Superscription and Seal. [h.J 
 
 ' Tho' I wrote you so lately, yet, hearing for certain that an English fleet is in 
 the Mediterranean, I cannot resist informing you by express. 
 
 ' That the French men-of-war armh en flute & chuck full of all the plunder 
 from Venice, incapable of resistance, like the fat aldermen gorged with turtle & 
 venison, are now & for weeks past have been in the port of Corfu, under the 
 rotten canon of a rotten fort. 
 
 ' That 25 merchant ships, loaded in the same manner, hover near the port of 
 Zara, in Dalmatia, where the inhabitants will not suffer them to enter — ^ che 
 BocconeP S' W". 
 
 ' The Russian Consul, a nobleman of Corfu, assures me that a thousand stand 
 of arms dispersed among his countrymen will enable them to massacre every 
 Frenchman in the island, for the whole garrison of the miserable fort consists 
 only of 1700 raggamuffins, sans culotte, sans bas, sans sotiUers. 
 
 ' If you could forward this intelligence to our fleet, be it where it will, you 
 yourself better than I can judge of the important service you will do both to the 
 publick & individuals. 
 
 ' Why, man, ten Spanish galleons are scarce richer, & then the men-of-war for 
 Government. Che Boccone, ti dico P 
 
 * Paul Franjois Jean Nicolas, Count de Barras, 1755 -1829, a celebrated revolutionist. 
 President of the Convention in 1794, and afterwards ' Directeur,' he contributed powerfully to 
 the Coup (fEtat of August 1797, but a few months after resigned, settled in Brussels, and did 
 not return to France until the Restoration. 
 
 LONDON: 
 Printed by Strangeways & Sons, Tower Street, Cambridge Circus, w.c, 
 
m