"SIR,
"I was this day honoured with your letter of May 1st, conveying to me the resolutions of the Honourable East India Company. It is true, Sir, that I am incapable of finding words to convey my feelings, for the unprecedented honour done me by the Company. Having, in my younger days, served in the East Indies, I am no stranger to the munificence of the Honourable Company; but this generous act of their's to me so much surpasses all calculation of gratitude, that I have only the power of saying that I receive it with all respect. Give me leave, Sir, to thank you for your very elegant and flattering letter, and to add, that I am, with the greatest respect, your most obliged and obedient servant,
"Nelson."
Nor did this generous man, for whose just praise language must ever be at a loss, rise from the table at which he had penned the above letter of thanks, till his liberal soul, invited every dear relative in the first degree to a kind participation of the bounty which he had just received; by making out drafts, of five hundred pounds each, for his venerable father—his elder brother, Maurice Nelson, Esq. of the Navy Office—the Reverend Dr. Nelson, the present Earl—and his two most amiable sisters, Mrs. Bolton and Mrs. Matcham: thus nobly disposing of a fourth part of what he had so honourably acquired, in a way which must ever reflect unfading glory on his memory, and no inconsiderable lustre on the characters of those who were thought thus uniformly entitled to the tender regards of such an exalted as well as kindred mind. It will scarcely be supposed possible, that any human being could convert this generous token of his lordship's affection and esteem for his family, into a cause of violent complaint. There was one person, however, who did complain on the occasion; and that with such piteous lamentations, as absolutely induced his lordship's father, in whose house she was at the same time residing, to decline accepting his portion of his son's most honourable gift. The mention of this undoubted fact, has no other object, than to demonstrate how very distant from a unity of sentiment, in some important respects, Lady Nelson and her illustrious husband, must necessarily have been; the unfortunate want of which, is ever likely to occasion a proportionable degree of connubial infelicity, and to account for all it's disagreeable consequences, without resorting to grosser motives.
On the 6th of July, Captain Ball, who had been commanding at St. Elmo with Captain Troubridge, was ordered by Lord Nelson to resume his situation at Malta; for which place he accordingly sailed in the Alexander, with the Portuguese ship Alfonso de Albequerque, and Captain Peard in the Success.
During the siege of St. Elmo, many of the Neapolitans came out, every day, in boats, to the British squadron; and the leaders of different parties, with various views, but all affecting the strictest zeal and most loyal attachment to their sovereign, paid congratulatory visits to Lord Nelson and Sir William and Lady Hamilton: it was not, perhaps, always possible to discover the insincere; but this illustrious triumvirate, as they merit to be denominated, by their extreme circumspection and address, made all of them conduce, whatever might have been their original design, to the promotion of the royal cause. Her ladyship, on these occasions, was eminently successful in conciliating those who had entertained unjust prejudices against the queen; and, by the well timed distribution of necklaces, ear-rings, and other trinkets, among the most active of the female partisans, said to be the gracious gifts of her majesty, who had not any present means of more profusely showering her bounty on her beloved people, in which assertion there was but little departure from truth, such an astonishing progress was made in the attachments of them and their numerous admirers, as would appear scarcely credible to those who are unacquainted with the wonderful influence of the Neapolitan women.
On the 10th of July, his Sicilian Majesty, with his principal ministers, arrived in the Bay of Naples; and went on board the Foudroyant, when his royal standard was instantly hoisted. At the first notice of this event, the Neapolitan royalists came out in prodigious numbers; and, rowing round the ship, called, in the most affectionate manner, for a sight of their beloved sovereign, under the denomination of their dear father. "The effusions of loyalty," says Lord Nelson, in writing to Lord Keith of this event, "from the lower order of the people to their father, for by no other name do they address the king, is truly moving!" It was, indeed, very affecting to hear them; and their transports of joy, on beholding him, are not to be described. Every day, which their king remained on board, did these loyal people continue to flock out; crying—"Father! father! let us only see your face, and we will be satisfied." It was truly pathetic to hear the generous creatures; and to behold the amiable condescension of their worthy sovereign, who never refused to indulge them with a sight of his person. From half past twelve, however, the constant time of dining, till four in the afternoon, when the king usually slept, the most profound silence was preserved by the many anxious and impatient people with whom the surrounding boats were crouded. If the smallest noise occurred, silence was immediately insisted on—"Do you not know," they would softly, but fiercely, say, "that our father is asleep? Would you dare to disturb him?" Then, as the time of his awaking drew near, they generally asked for their good mistress, the name by which they addressed Lady Hamilton; requesting that she would kindly let them know when their father was ready to see them. This, her ladyship never failed to do; and they immediately resumed the eager and affecting cry of—"Father! father!" &c. when the king instantly presented himself to their view, and often spoke to them with the most consoling affability. The effect of Lady Hamilton's continual presents and kind remembrances from her majesty, soon occasioned them to make similar enquiries after their good mother, the queen; and their dear children, the royal offspring—"When shall we again behold our good mother? When shall we once more see our dear children?" In such simple expressions of affectionate regard, did all the humble classes of Neapolitans pour forth their effusions of loyal attachment to their beloved sovereign; while the generality of those who possessed titles of honour, seemed wholly destitute of it's principles. "The conduct of the nobles," Lord Nelson remarked, in the letter above noticed, "has been infamous; and it delights me, to see that his majesty marks the difference in the most proper manner. It has been, and is, my study, to treat his majesty with all the respect due to so great a personage; and I have the pleasure to believe, that my humble endeavours have met with the royal approbation."
The painful anxiety of the king, as he viewed the hostile flag on the distant Castle of St. Elmo, feeling both for the besiegers and the besieged, was excessive; but, when on the third day after his arrival, it was visibly lowered, as he stood on the deck, with Lord Nelson and Sir William and Lady Hamilton, he threw his arms round them in an extacy of gratitude, and hailed those generous friends by the appellation of his preservers and restorers.
In fact, the castle surrendered, on the 12th, by capitulation, after a close siege of eight days, with open batteries; in which, the bravery of Captain Troubridge, and the other British officers serving under him, with a most heterogeneous army of British marines, and Russian, Portuguese, Albanese, Calabrese, and Swiss troops, was eminently conspicuous. The particulars of this siege, as well as it's success, will appear in the following letter sent by Captain Troubridge to Lord Nelson.
"Antignano, near St. Elmo,
July 13, 1799.