patches and Letters extend, is from the 1st of January 1802, to the 30th of April 1804. At the commencement of 1802, though still commanding the Squadron for the defence of the English Coast, LORD NELSON was on leave of absence, and resided at Merton. On the 10th of April 1803, he was permitted to strike his flag; and he remained on shore during the Peace of Amiens, about twelve months. His correspondence while on halfpay, was not very extensive; and the most remarkable Letters are those to the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of London, again expressing his dissatisfaction with the conduct of the City, respecting the Battle of Copenhagen; and to Mr. Addington, the Prime Minister, urging the inadequacy of his income to support his rank, and the unfairness of his pension being limited to £2000 per annum, he having, besides his other services, gained two Battles, while Lords St. Vincent and Duncan, who had fought only one, had each a pension of £3000. But his pension was never increased.

His mind, while on shore, was as fully devoted to the service of his Country, as when commanding her Fleets; and there are several remarkable manifestations at this time, of his attention to his profession. During a tour into Wales, being struck with the value of the Forest of Dean in supplying timber for the Navy, he submitted his observations to Mr. Addington, and it is believed that his suggestions were adopted. In December 1802, he drew up a paper on the Island of Malta; and he soon after sent to the Earl of St. Vincent, then First Lord of the Admiralty, a Plan for manning the Navy.

In the first Parliament after the Union, he seconded the Address; he spoke, on several occasions, in 1802, in the House of Lords, on professional subjects, particularly on the Bill for an Inquiry into Naval Abuses; and he afterwards gave his evidence before the Commissioners appointed to investigate that subject, respecting the misapplication of Prize money by Prize agents.

On the renewal of hostilities with France, LORD NELSON was selected for the command in the Mediterranean; and he hoisted his flag in the Victory, at Spithead, on the 18th of May 1803. The supposed necessity of reinforcing Admiral Cornwallis's Squadron off Ushant with that Ship (which was only given to NELSON after some remonstrances on his part, and he had said, with wounded pride, "I trust I can take a French Admiral as well as any of them") exposed him to the annoyance of removing at sea into the Amphion frigate, which conveyed him to Malta, and thence, on the 8th of July, to his Squadron off Toulon.

His public correspondence in the Mediterranean, was chiefly with Sir John Acton and Mr. Hugh Elliot (British Minister at Naples, and a brother of Lord Minto, who had sailed from England with Lord Nelson) on the state of Naples and Sicily, and particularly as to the safety of the Royal Family, an object always uppermost in his thoughts; with the Turkish Government, the Barbary Powers, the British Ambassador at Constantinople, and with our Minister at the Court of the King of Sardinia; with the Secretary for the War Department, on the affairs of the various States in

the Mediterranean; with the Admiralty, on matters connected with his Squadron; with the Officers of the Dockyards at Malta and Gibraltar, the Storekeepers at those places, and the Vice-consuls at Barcelona and Rosas, about matériel and provisions for the Fleet, especially with the view of promoting the health and comfort of the Crews; and with various Officers, for the protection of our Trade, in appointing the necessary Convoys, &c.

It would be difficult to select any of these Letters as more interesting or more important than the rest; since they all bear in a greater or less degree upon each other, and must be read in connexion, to be properly understood and appreciated. The paper which he sent to Mr. Addington in June, 1803, containing his views respecting Gibraltar, Algiers, Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, Rome, Tuscany, Genoa, and the Morea, was so able as to obtain the marked approbation of the Government, accompanied by a request that he would in future direct his observations on Political subjects at once to the Secretary of State for the War Department.

In LORD NELSON's opinion, it was of the utmost importance that Great Britain should obtain a cession of Sardinia; and the soundness of that opinion, which he repeated over and over again to every person of the least Political influence, is not likely to be disputed by any one who remembers the central position of that Island, its admirable harbours, and the necessity of watching the Enemy's Squadron at Toulon.

His Letters to the Dey of Algiers, and his instructions

to Captain Keats when that Officer was sent to demand satisfaction for the Dey's treatment of the British Consul, and for other insults to this Country, as well as the prudence with which he proposed to defer retaliating, until he could strike an effective blow, are very characteristic.

LORD NELSON's private Letters are mostly to the Duke of Clarence, the Earl of St. Vincent, Mr. Addington, Lord Minto, Admiral Lord Radstock, Mr. Hugh Elliot, Mr. Rose, Sir Alexander Ball, General Villettes, Mr. Davison, his brother Dr. Nelson, Lady Hamilton, and his daughter, now Mrs. Horatia Nelson Ward. No part of the Editor's task was so difficult as to decide upon the course which he ought to follow with respect to the Letters to Lady Hamilton. It was his original intention to omit those Letters altogether; but this was found inexpedient, because, after the separation from Lady Nelson, they describe NELSON's private feelings more fully and more naturally than any of his other Letters. It was, however, impossible to reprint those Letters exactly as they occur, on account of some personal and other objectionable allusions in them; and still more, because it would not have been proper, under any circumstances, to republish coarse and offensive expressions, without being sure that they exist in the originals. He has, therefore, printed every part of the Letters in question except paragraphs, or entire Letters of that description, and except those terms of endearment and affection, which that person ought not to have called forth.

It may be right to anticipate the objection that many of the Letters in this Volume are on small details, while some are little more than acknowledgments of Orders from the Admiralty. These Letters have been selected from numerous others of a similar kind; and the reason for printing them, is that the one class exhibits NELSON'S extraordinary attention to everything connected with his Squadron, and affords to unprofessional readers an idea, not only of his zeal, but of the manner in which Ships of War are governed and regulated; while the other class shows the duties he was directed to perform, and explains many of his subsequent Letters and proceedings.

The "Orders" to his Captains, which often exhibit the sagacity and vigour of his mind, are, it is submitted, necessary for the comprehension of his plans, as manifested in the disposition of his Squadron. The "OrderBook" of the Duke of Wellington has properly been published; and if selections from the "Orders" of NELSON had not been inserted, this collection would have been imperfect.

Two more Volumes will complete the Work, which has unavoidably been extended beyond the original design, in consequence of the unexpected accession of materials.

1st December, 1845.