have shook the throne of her father and mother, I shall remain here, ready to save the sacred persons of the king and queen, and of her brothers and sisters; and, that I have also left ships at Leghorn, to save the lives of the Great Duke and her imperial majesty’s sister:  for all must be a republic, if the emperor does not act with expedition and vigour.  “Down, down with the French!” ought to be placed in the council-room of every country in the world:  and, may Almighty God give right thoughts to every sovereign! is the constant prayer of your excellency’s most obliged and obedient servant,

     “Nelson.”

     “Whenever the emperor acts with vigour, your excellency may say
     that a proper naval force shall attend to the safety of the
     Adriatic, as far as in my power.”

At this period, it appears, the unfavourable news from the royal army, and the manifest cowardice, treason, and treachery, every where seeming to pervade the unhappy and devoted kingdom of Naples, plunged the excellent queen into an agony of grief which admitted not of consolation.  “None, from this house,” says Lord Nelson, writing on the 11th of December to Earl Spencer, “have seen her majesty these three days; but, her letters to Lady Hamilton paint the anguish of her soul.  However,” adds his lordship, “on enquiry, matters are not so bad as I expected.  The Neapolitan officers have not lost much honour; for, God knows, they had not much to lose:  but, they lost all they had.  Mack has supplicated the king to sabre every man who ran from Civita Castellana to Rome.  He has, we hear, torn off the epaulets of some of those scoundrels, and placed them on good serjeants.  I will, as briefly as I can, state the position of the army, and it’s lost honour; for, defeat they have had none.  The right wing of nineteen thousand men under General St. Philip, and Micheux (who ran away at Toulon) were to take post between Ancona and Rome, to cut off all supplies and communication.  Near Fermi, they fell in with the enemy, about three thousand.  After a little distant firing, St. Philip advanced to the French general; and, returning to his men, said—­I no longer command you!" and was going off to the enemy.  A serjeant said—­“You are a traitor; what have you been talking to the enemy?” St. Philip replied I no longer command you!"—­“Then you are an enemy!” and, levelling his musket, shot St. Philip through the right arm.  However, the enemy advanced; he was among them; Micheux ran away, as did all the infantry; and, had it not been for the good conduct of two regiments of cavalry, they would have been destroyed.  So great was this panic, that cannon, tents, baggage, military chest, all were left to the French.  Could you credit—­but, it is true—­that this loss has been sustained with the death of only forty men!  The French lost many men by the cavalry; and, having got the good things, did not run after an army three times their