e name of a Frenchman"! But except that we
were at war with the French, were they in any degree such "damned
villains" as the Neapolitans and the whole crew of Court knaves, with
whom he was so blindly enamoured, who were, in reality, ready to sell
their own country and his to the French whenever they saw it was to
their material advantage to do so?

Captain Ball did not waste time in the use of adjectives about the
French and the daily "anxieties" that bore so heavily on himself and
others, "breaking his heart." He gave peremptory orders to his first
lieutenant to proceed off Messina and seize the ships that were lying
there loaded with corn, and bring them to Malta. He defied the
abominable Court of Sicily and their edicts prohibiting exportation,
and his instructions were carried out. He awaited the consequences to
himself with a manly consciousness that humanity must take precedence
of orders dictated by a sentimental fear lest the feelings of a set of
cowardly despots should be hurt. This single act of real courage and
decision saved the lives of thousands of starving people, and
prevented the siege from being removed. The Court of Naples dared not
utter a word of condemnation against Captain Ball, but the Governor of
Malta became the object of their nervous enmity, which they dare not
put into practice.

Lord Minto, many years after the events of which I am writing, said
of Nelson, for whom he had an affectionate regard, that "he was in
many points a really great man, but in others he was a baby." No one
who has studied his career will ever doubt his greatness, but his
peevish childishness, even when he was responsible for the carrying
out of great deeds that did not come so quickly as his eager spirit
craved, ofttimes tried the patience of those who set high value on his
matchless talents and his otherwise lovable disposition. He was never
known to take credit to himself that was due to others, but, like most
great men, he took for granted that all those above or below him in
rank and station should be subordinate to his whims and actions. He
could only accommodate himself to being subordinate to his King, the
King and Queen of Naples, and to the exhilarating influence of Lady
Hamilton. Almost immediately after the seizure of the grain-laden
ships, Nelson sailed for Malta, and had the good fortune to sight a
French squadron, the _Genereux_, three frigates, and a corvette; after
an exciting and hard chase, he ca