Leghorn, to endeavour to do good; and Louis will act, I am sure, for the
best, as circumstances arise." This very letter, sent by Captain Hope,
he thus concludes--"I must refer you, my dear lord, to Hope, who is
very zealous and active." So warmly affectionate was the heart of this
great and good man to all his worthy officers; and, indeed, to every
deserving person under his authority.

On this day, Lord Nelson wrote no less than five public letters: that
already noticed, to the Earl of St. Vincent; another, to Earl Spencer;
two to Constantinople, one of them for Spencer Smith, Esq. and the other
for Francis Wherry, Esq. a fourth to Commodore Duckworth; and the fifth,
to the Honourable Lieutenant-General Stuart.

Besides what has been extracted from the letter to the Earl of St.
Vincent, it contains the following intelligence relative to the then
state of Naples--"On the 4th, the French were not at Naples; but were
only sixteen miles distant, negociating with the _nobles_ of Naples, for
the exclusion of the king. The French long to give them the fraternal
squeeze. Another party is for making the Duke of Parma's son, married to
the king of Spain's daughter, now at Madrid, king under French
protection. The lower class are the only loyal people; and they, we
know, may any moment take a wrong turn. Mack is at Capua; but, it was
determined, should retreat towards Salerno. On the 3d, at night, the
French attempted to force the lines of Capua. They did not succeed. What
occasioned their retreat, is difficult to guess; although the Neapolitan
army is twenty-five thousand, and the French not eight thousand. _Is
not this a dream! Can it be real_?"

The letter to Earl Spencer is as follows.