e been given, by the Jacobin government, for the
batteries not to fire on the English ships. In short, the communication
with Naples is so open, that a general took a boat from the city, and
came on board Troubridge, to consult about surprising St. Elmo. The
civic guards have individually declared, that they assembled to keep
peace in the city, and not to fight. Many of the principal Jacobins have
fled, and Carraccioli has resigned his situation as head of the marine.
This man was fool enough to quit his master, when he thought his case
desperate; yet, in his heart, I believe, he is no Jacobin. The
fishermen, a few days ago, told him, publicly--"We believe you are
loyal, and sent by the king; but, much as we love you, if we find you
disloyal, you shall be among the first to fall. I am not, in person, in
these busy scenes; more calculated for me, than remaining here, giving
advice. But their majesties think the advice of my incompetent judgment
valuable, at this moment; therefore, I submit: and can only say, that I
give it as an honest man, one without hopes or fears; therefore, they
get at the truth, which their majesties have seldom heard."

The French, in evacuating Naples, in their retreat to Caserta and Capua,
robbed all the shops as they passed along: the Neapolitan republic,
however, continued organizing their troops, as yet disinclined to give
in; and the royalists remained inactive, probably waiting for the
departure of the French out of the kingdom before they ventured to
commence their operations. The band of brothers, in the mean time, who
had so nobly fought off the Nile, were fast gathering fresh laurels on
the Neapolitan coast; and inspiring, by their example, other naval
heroes of merited celebrity. To these brave men, Lord Nelson paid the
just and honoured tribute of applause which their conduct merited, in
the following very flattering epistle to Captain Troubridge.

Vanguard, Palermo,
8th May 1799.

"MY DEAR TROUBRIDGE,

I desire you will express, to Captain Hood, the true sense I have
of his conduct, not only at Salerno, but on all other occasions;
and, that I never expect any but the most useful services, where he
commands: and I beg you will say the same for me, to Captains
Louis, Hallowell, Foote, and Oswald; not forgetting Captain
Harward, and Commodore Mitchell, as far as they have been
concerned. As to yourself, your conduct is so all of a