In a letter written to the Earl of St. Vincent on the following day, June 5, his lordship says, after noticing the conduct of the Bey of Tunis, “I hope to bring this gentleman to reason.”  He adds—­“My time has been so taken up, that I have not been able to pay that attention to the Barbary States I could have wished, but I know these people must be talked to with honesty and firmness.”

His lordship had, indeed, just received, from Tripoli, a tolerable good proof of the efficacy of his mode of dealing with the Barbary States, in the success of Commodore Campbell, of which his lordship thus writes to the earl—­“We are better friends with the Bashaw of Tripoli than ever.  Commodore Campbell, whom I selected for that purpose, in the first place, because he was fit for the business; and, secondly, to mark that, although I could censure when wrong, yet that I have no resentment for the past; having done, on that occasion, what I thought right.  The commodore has, on this occasion, conducted himself with proper spirit and judgment; and he has, by it, made a very advantageous peace for Portugal.”

So completely did Commodore Campbell act up to the spirit of Lord Nelson’s orders, that the bashaw actually delivered to him all the French who were at Tripoli, nearly forty in number.  These, his lordship sent in the Susannah cartel, carrying French prisoners to Genoa, which sailed on the 6th of June; honourably stating, that they were not to be considered as prisoners of war, having been sent from Tripoli, in Barbary, for political reasons.

On the 7th of June, in consequence of his lordship’s recent information of being promoted to be Rear-Admiral of the Red, he quitted the Vanguard; and, on the 8th, hoisted it on board the Foudroyant.

While Lord Nelson was engaged in provisioning his squadron, without losing sight of the blockade of Naples; and anxiously expecting to hear that the Earl of St. Vincent had fallen in with the French fleet, and obtained another brilliant victory; he had the mortification to be again suddenly impeded in the prosecution of his plan for replacing their Sicilian Majesties on the throne of their Neapolitan dominions, by a letter from Lord Keith, dated the 6th of June, who appears to have been alarmed for the supposed fate of Minorca.

At the receipt of this letter, the 13th of June, Lord Nelson was actually on his way to Naples, with troops, &c. in order to finish matters in that kingdom:  but, considering the force of the French fleet on the coast of Italy, then said to be twenty-two sail of the line, four of them first-rates; and that, probably, the ships at Toulon would have joined them by the time he was reading the letter; the force with his lordship being only sixteen sail of the line, not one of which was of three decks; three being Portuguese, and one of the English a sixty-four very short of men; his lordship considered himself as having had no choice left, but to return to Palermo, and land the troops, ammunition, &c. which he accordingly did.  He then proceeded off Maritimo, hoping to be joined by such reinforcements from Captain Ball, &c, as might enable him to seek the enemy’s fleet; when, his lordship said, there should not be a moment lost in bringing them to battle: