He would scatter a profusion of curses about in relation to the treatment of the Admiralty towards himself, or at his disappointment in not getting to grips with the French fleet, and then proceed to ask Lady Hamilton if they had a nice church at Merton, so that they may set an example of goodness to the under-parishioners, and “admire the pigs and poultry,” etc.  He finds on several occasions that a picture of Emma is much admired by the French Consul at Barcelona, and feels sure it would be admired by Bonaparte, and then he continues, “I love you most dearly, and hate the French most damnably.”  Sometimes he said he hated the French as the devil hated holy water, which at that time was considered to be the orthodoxy of a true Briton.  It was quite a pro-British attitude to patronize the maker of kings who had kept the world in awe for nearly a quarter of a century, by expecting him to admire a portrait of a loose woman to whom he referred in the most scathing manner while at St. Helena.  Her reputation and Nelson’s connection with her seems to have been known to him, as was also her connection with the Neapolitan Court.  His indictment was terrible.

Nelson had a weary, anxious time on the Toulon station.  He called it his home, and said they were in fine fighting trim and wished to God the ships were the same, but they were in a very dilapidated condition, not fit to stand the bad weather they were sure to encounter.  The British Minister at Naples wished to send a Frenchman who could be relied on with information as to the whereabouts of the French fleet.  Nelson replied that he would not on any account have a Frenchman in the British fleet except as a prisoner.  He would be grateful to him for any information he could give, but not a Frenchman would be allowed to come to him, and adds that “his mother hated the French.”  He was enraged at the report spread by a fussy French Admiral named M. la Touche-Treville, who was in command at Toulon.  It was said that he was sent to beat Nelson as he had done at Boulogne.  But he was shy about coming out and trying a tussle.  Nelson said he was a miscreant, a poltroon, and a liar.  The Frenchman had boasted in a publication that he had put the British fleet to flight.  The British Admiral took the charge so seriously to heart that he sent a copy of the Victory’s log to the Admiralty to disprove the statement of the lying Admiral la Touche, and in a letter to his brother Nelson says, “You will have seen La Touche’s letter of how he chased me, and how I ran.  I keep it; and by God if I take him, he shall eat it.”  La Touche cheated Nelson of a sweet revenge by dying like a good Christian before the outraged British Admiral could get hold of him.  The newspapers of France said he died of fatigue caused by walking so often to the signal post at Sepet, to watch the British fleet; and Nelson stated “that he was always sure that would be the death of him, and that if he had come out to fight him it would have added