May I request of you to obtain a passage to Alguasiris, Malaga, or Cadiz, in a Spanish ship of war, for Mr. Faulkner, brother to the late gallant Captain of the Blanche, who distinguished himself so highly at Martinique, and afterwards in taking the Pique, on which occasion he fell like Epaminondas. I am, Sir, &c., J. JERVIS. Sir, To the Hon. W. F. Wyndham. Victory, off Toulon, 15th July, 1796. I was yesterday honoured with your Excellency's letter of 27th June, enclosing copies of three papers communicated to you by the secretary of state to his serene highness the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and another relative to the terms of the treaty with the Pope, which appear most dreadfully humiliating to his holi ness. The viceroy will send advice boats occasionally to Civita Vecchia, which will open the communication with the fleet, and I will not fail to convey your despatches to England, in the most safe and expeditious way. All except those I received yesterday are well on their journey through Spain, and I have no doubt will reach their destination soon. I expect the Penelope cutter every hour, and, as she returns to Spithead immediately, I intend to send those in my possession by her, and you may rest assured that every means in my power shall be used to facilitate your correspondence. I have the honour to be, &c., J. JERVIS. About this time, July, peace was concluded between the Pope and the French, or rather the former was under the necessity of submitting to any terms Buonaparte might please to dictate; and the states of the church from this period became a hostile instead of a neutral territory, increasing the demand upon the admiral for vigilance, and requiring the detaching of more vessels for the purpose of watching the coast from Civita Vecchia to Gaeta. Naples at the same time entered into an armistice with France, the French general not feeling himself as yet sufficiently strong to take possession of it. The reader who wishes to understand the state and politics of Southern Europe in these revolutionary days must read, in connexion with each other, the lives of Nelson, Collingwood, and St. Vincent. He will then perceive the whole scope of the dark intrigue, fraud, and cruelty, not of the French alone, but of those who were called our allies, and who were paid enormously for being so. Sir, To Sir William Hamilton. 15th July, 1796: I am honoured with your Excellency's letter by Lord Garlies, and another, a copy of which I have sent to the viceroy. I have not been unmindful of your situation, and that of my fair countrywomen in Italy, and have had them continually in my mind's eye. A line-of-battle ship I cannot spare, my numbers being small; but a frigate has always been ready to fly to your protection. The Pope having made his peace, and Naples entered into an armistice, I am in some degree relieved from the apprehensions I felt for Lady Hamilton and you. It would be great injustice to the Cabinet of Naples not to admit that it shewed great vigour until the republican army took post in the centre of Italy. The Austrian army has been miserably deficient in point of numbers, and the Council of Vienna seem to have wanted that energy by which alone these devils can be checked. It is not too late yet, if the new parliament will sanction a large loan. The requisition you make to Captain Craven, for a transport to proceed to Alexandria, has my thorough approbation, and I have the honour to be, Your Excellency's, &c., CHAPTER VIII. Observations on the mistakes made by Mr. Pitt in the commencement WHILE I profess to approve of Mr. Pitt's conduct generally as a statesman, I cannot conceal what have always appeared to me to have been his political errors; to one of which I must here allude. He was much too sanguine in his hopes and expectations of preserving Toulon, with a force totally inadequate to the purpose. I have reason to believe that he placed too much reliance on the reports of smugglers, with whom his residence at Walmer |