urnalists talked of naval mismanagement; and worn out captains who
were hanging about the Admiralty asking for employment marvelled at the
rashness of Lord St. Vincent in sending so young a commander upon so
great an enterprise.

The Neapolitan Ministry, dreading to offend the French Directory,
refused Nelson the supplies of provision and water which he required
before he again started in pursuit of the fleet which "Caesar and his
fortune bare at once." Sir William Hamilton was our minister at Naples;
his wife was the favorite of the Queen of Naples, and one of the most
attractive of the ladies of that luxurious court. Nelson had a slight
acquaintance with Lady Hamilton; and upon his representations of the
urgent necessity for victualling his fleet, secret instructions were
given that he should be supplied with all he required. In 1805 Nelson
requested Mr. Rose to urge upon Mr. Pitt the claims of Lady Hamilton
upon the national gratitude, because "it was through her interposition,
exclusively, he obtained provisions and water for the English ships at
Syracuse, in the summer of 1798; by which he was enabled to return to
Egypt in quest of the enemy's fleet; to which, therefore, the success of
his brilliant action of the Nile was owing, as he must otherwise have
gone down to Gibraltar to refit, and the enemy would have escaped."

On July 25th Nelson sailed from Syracuse. It was three days before he
gained any intelligence of the French fleet, and he then learned that
they had been seen about four weeks before, steering to the southeast
from Candia. He was again convinced that their destination was Egypt;
and he made all sail for Alexandria. On August 1st he beheld the
tricolored flag flying upon its walls. His anxiety was at an end. For a
week he had scarcely taken food or slept. The signal was made for the
enemy's fleet; and he now ordered dinner to be served, and when his
officers rose to prepare for battle he exclaimed that before the morrow
his fate would be a peerage or Westminster Abbey.

The fleet of Admiral Brueys was at anchor in the bay Abukir. The
transports and other small vessels were within the harbor. Bonaparte
told O'Meara that he had sent an officer from Cairo with peremptory
orders that Brueys should enter the harbor, but that the officer was
killed by the Arabs on the way. Brueys had taken measures to ascertain
the practicability of entering the harbor with his larger ships, and had
found that the dept