"are permitted to attack our ships from "the Spanish shore. Your excellency may "assure the Spanish government, that in "whatever place the Spaniards allow the "French to attack us, in that place I shall order the French to be attacked."

During this state of things, to which the weakness of Spain, and not her will, consented, the enemy's fleet did not venture to put to sea. Nelson watched it with unremitting and almost unexampled perseverance. The station off Toulon he called his home. “We are in the right fighting "trim," said he: "let them come as soon 66 as they please. I never saw a fleet, al"together, so well officered and manned: "would to God the ships were half as "good!-The finest ones in the service "would soon be destroyed by such terrible "weather. I know well enough, that if "I were to go into Malta I should save "the ships during this bad season: but, if "am to watch the French, I must be at sea; and, if at sea, must have bad wea"ther and if the ships are not fit to stand

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"bad weather, they are useless." Then only he was satisfied, and at ease, when he had the enemy in view. Mr. Elliot, our minister at Naples, seems, at this time, to have proposed to send a confidential Frenchman to him with information. "I should "be very happy," he replied, " to receive "authentic intelligence of the destination "of the French squadron, their route, and "time of sailing.-Any thing short of this " is useless; and I assure your excellency, "that I would not, upon any considera❝tion, have a Frenchman in the fleet, ex"cept as a prisoner. I put no confidence in "them. You think yours good; the queen "thinks the same: I believe they are all "alike. Whatever information you can "get me, I shall be very thankful for; "but not a Frenchman comes here. For"give me, but my mother hated the "French."

M. Latouche Treville, who had commanded at Buologne, commanded now at Toulon." He was sent for on purpose,' said Nelson," as he beat me at Boulogne,

"to beat me again: but he seems very "loath to try." One day, while the main body of our fleet was out of sight of land, Rear-Admiral Campbell, reconnoitring with the Canopus, Donnegal, and Amazon, stood in close to the port; and M. Latouche, taking advantage of a breeze which sprung up, pushed out, with four ships of the line and three heavy frigates, and chased him about four leagues. The Frenchman, delighted at having found himself in so novel a situation, published a boastful account; affirming, that he had given chase to the whole British fleet, and that Nelson had fled before him! Nelson thought it due to the admiralty to send home a copy of the Victory's log upon this occasion. "As for himself," he said, "if his character was not esta

blished by that time for not being apt "to run away, it was not worth his while "to put the world right."—" If this fleet "gets fairly up with M. Latouche," said he to one of his correspondents, "his letter, "with all his ingenuity, must be different

from his last. We had fancied that we

"chased him into Toulon; for, blind as I 66 am, I could see his water line, when he "clued his topsails up, shutting in Sepet. "But, from the time of his meeting Capt. "Hawker, in the Isis, I never heard of his

acting otherwise than as a poltroon and "a liar. Contempt is the best mode of 66 treating such a miscreant." In spite, however, of contempt, the impudence of this Frenchman half angered him. He said to his brother: "You will have seen La"touche's letter; how he chaced me, and "how I ran. I keep it: and if I take him, "by God he shall eat it."

Nelson, who used to say, that in sea affairs nothing is impossible, and nothing improbable, feared the more that this Frenchman might get out and elude his vigilance; because he was so especially desirous of catching him, and administering to him his own lying letter in a sandwich. M. Latouche, however, escaped him in another way. He died, according to the French papers, in consequence of walking so often up to the signal post upon Sepet, to watch

the British fleet. "I always pronounced "that would be his death," said Nelson. "If he had come out and fought me, it "would, at least, have added ten years to

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my life." The patience with which he had watched Toulon, he spoke of, truly, as a perseverance at sea which had never been surpassed. From May, 1803, to August, 1805, he himself went out of his ship but three times; each of those times was upon the king's service, and neither time of absence exceeded an hour. The weather had been so unusually severe, that he said, the Mediterranean seemed altered. It was his rule never to contend with the gales; but either run to the southward, to escape their violence, or furl all the sails, and make the ships as easy as possible. The men, though he said flesh and blood could hardly stand it, continued in excellent health, which he ascribed in great measure, to a plentiful supply of lemons and onions. For himself, he thought he could only last till the battle was over. One battle more it was his hope that he