“And no news,” continued My Lady, not heeding the interruption, “of the French fleet, so evacuation now only waits the providing of suitable vessels.”
“Ruffo hadn’t the power,” said the Admiral; “it was expressly reserved from him. I shall see to this; but I suppose it’s only another of their d—d scheming tricks. Foote will have something to say to it. Troubridge has wrote that the Governor of Procida is an honest man, etc. I hope he may be. If he is, he is the only one in the two kingdoms. Trinder, ask the captain to crowd on all sail, and tell Mr. Vassall to signal it on to the fleet.”
Presently we swept once more between the Islands into that glorious Bay which we had left under such inauspicious circumstances. What a difference now! Then we were, with a few Portugals and transports, helping the hapless Court to fly for their lives; now we were eighteen of the line, standing proudly in, the tack as we passed the Islands giving us the favour of the breeze. Soon we were near enough to hear from Captain Foote, who, on His Majesty’s frigate the Sea-Horse, had been commanding the gallant little squadron of bombs and small craft which had been maintaining the blockade since Captain Troubridge joined us off Maritimo, to give us every available ship against the overpowering force of the French.
Captain Foote confirmed the Cardinal, and added that though the evacuation had not yet begun he had vessels nearly sufficient to take the evacuating force to Toulon.
“Evacuating force!” shouted the Admiral. “By G—d, they shall never evacuate, except as the unconditional prisoners of His Sicilian Majesty!” And Captain Troubridge, who had come on board, and never concealed his opinion for any man—indeed, we had seen but lately how he had upbraided the Admiral himself—was quite agreed.
“Trinder,” said the Admiral, “tell Mr. Vassall to signal that the truce is at an end, and no one will be allowed to leave the castles.”
“Begging your pardon, my Lord, the Cardinal considers it a treaty, not a truce.”
“The Cardinal may consider it what he chooses. Neither he nor any man here had the power to make a treaty; and the armistice, I take for granted, is, that if the French and rebels are not relieved by their friends in twenty-one days from the signing of the armistice, they shall evacuate Naples, in this manner infamous to His Sicilian Majesty and triumphant to them, as stated in the Article.”
“Those in the castles, my Lord, are preparing to evacuate in a day or two at the latest. They look upon it as a treaty, not as an armistice.”
“He could not make but an armistice, sir,” said the Admiral; “and all armistices signify that either party may renew hostilities, giving a certain notice fixed upon by the contracting parties. In the present instance, I suppose the Cardinal thought that in twenty-one days he had not the power of driving the French from the Castle of St. Elmo, or the rebels from the lower Castles of Uovo and Nuovo. The French and rebels thought that if they could not be relieved in twenty-one days they could, when unable to remain any longer, covenant to be removed to a place where they may be in a situation to renew their diabolical schemes against His Sicilian Majesty and the peace and happiness of his faithful subjects. And their removal was to be at the expense of His Majesty, and those enemies and rebels were to be protected by the fleet of His Sicilian Majesty’s faithful ally—the King of Great Britain. Therefore, evidently, this agreement implies that both parties are supposed to remain in statu quo; but if either party receive relief from their situation, then the compact of course falls to the ground, and is of no effect; for if one party can be liberated from the agreement, it naturally implies that the other is in the same state. And I fancy the question need not be asked whether, if the French fleet arrives this day in the Bay of Naples, the French and rebels would adhere one moment to the armistice? ‘No!’ the French Admiral would say, ‘I am not here to look on, but to act.’ And so says the British Admiral; and declares on his honour that the arrival of either fleet, British or French, destroys the compact, for neither can lay idle.”