On the 25th of March, Lord Nelson says, in a letter to Captain Ball, dated at Palermo—­“Now, my dear friend, Captain Nisbet is appointed to the Thalia, a very fine frigate, and I wish he may do credit to himself, and in her.  Will you do me the favour of keeping her, and sending me La Minerve; for I want Cockburne, for service of head.  As soon as Captain Barker’s surveys, &c. are over, make one of the small craft bring him here.  I have sent Vanguard to Tripoli, to scold the bashaw.  Tunis behaves well.  As Corfu has surrendered, I hope Malta will follow the example very soon.  I am not well; but keep rubbing on, from day to day.  God bless you; finish the business as soon as you can.”

Captain Dunn, in the Thalia, for Captain Nisbet, was the bearer of the above letter with other dispatches to Captain Ball; and Captain Maling took his passage in the Thalia, to supercede Captain Nisbet in La Bonne Citoyenne.  Captain Dunn went to supercede Captain Barker in the Incendiary; on his appointment to the Barfleur; and he was required to join Lord Nelson by the very first opportunity, being wanted to go down the Mediterranean.

This day, too, his lordship wrote congratulatory letters to the Russian and Turkish admirals, on the surrender of Corfu; and invited them, respectively, to co-operate with him in placing the good King and Queen of Naples again on their throne in the capital of that kingdom.  To Speridion Foresti, Esq. the consul at Corfu, Lord Nelson wrote, also, the following very flattering encomiums, in a letter which contains some additional reasons for his lordship’s complaint with regard to Sir Sidney Smith.

     “Palermo, 26th March 1799.

     “SIR,

“I feel myself very much obliged by your interesting and important letters, which I have sent to the Earl of St. Vincent.  Give me leave to say that, throughout my command in the Levant seas, you have done yourself the highest honour; and rendered, as far as was possible, the greatest services to your country.  This public testimony, from a stranger to every thing except your good conduct, will, I trust, be not unacceptable.  I observe what you tell me of Lord Grenville’s orders to obey Sir William Sidney Smith.  You will, of course, follow Lord Grenville’s orders, as Sir William Sidney Smith is considered as a minister at Constantinople.  I, also, know him in that capacity, jointly with his worthy brother; but, Captain of the Tigre, and in all matters relative to naval operations, he is under my orders:  and this I would have you perfectly understand; and explain, when it may be necessary.  For an idea seems gone abroad, very injurious to my credit in the world; that, although I was entrusted with the command of the detached squadron, even into the Black Sea, should the French have got there—­that, although I had the happiness of commanding the squadron who obtained the glorious victory off the Nile—­Captain Sir William