not be a cypher, therefore many of the rising people must submit to
act subordinate to him, which is not so palatable; and I think a Lord
of the Admiralty is hurt to see him so able, after what he has said
about him. He has certainly not taken a leaf out of his book, for he
is steady in his command and not violent." Upon this follows, "He has
wrote Lord Hood what I cannot but approve,"--a sentence unquestionably
vague, but which sounds combative. Nelson had already felt it
necessary to caution the prince to be careful in the choice of those
to whom he told his mind.

In fact, at the time when the letter just quoted was written, the
conduct of the prince had been such as necessarily, and not wholly
unjustly, to prejudice an officer who displayed marked partisanship
for him, such as certainly was indicated by Nelson's expressions. He
had brought his ship from Newfoundland to Ireland in flat
disobedience of orders, issued by the commander of the station, to go
to Quebec. When this action became known to the Admiralty by his
arrival at Cork, in December, 1787, it was at once reported to the
King, who himself directed that the prince should proceed to Plymouth
with his ship, should remain within the limits of the port for as many
months as he had been absent from his station, and should then be sent
back to Halifax. The Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV., who was
already at variance with the King, took advantage of this flagrant
breach of discipline to flaunt his opposition before the world. In
company with his second brother, the Duke of York, he went down to
Plymouth, and paid a ceremonious visit to Prince William on board his
ship. The round of festivities necessitated by their presence
emphasized the disagreement between the sovereign and the heir to the
throne, and drew to it public attention. Immediately after this, in
January, 1788, Nelson also visited the prince, having been summoned by