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
him from London. He could, indeed, scarcely decline, nor was he at all
the man to turn his back on a friend in difficulty; but, in his fight
against corruption, the matter could scarcely fail to be represented
by his opponents under the worst light to the King, to whom corruption
was less odious than insubordination. If, in conversation, Nelson
uttered such expressions as he wrote to his friend Locker, he had only
himself to blame for the disfavor which followed; for, to a naval
officer, the prince's conduct should have appeared absolutely
indefensible. In the course of the same year the King became insane,
and the famous struggle about the Regency took place. The prince had
meantime returned to America, in accordance with his orders, and by
the time he again reached England the King had recovered. He could,
therefore, have refrained from any indication of his own sympathies;
but instead of this he openly associated himself with the party of the
Prince of Wales, whose course throughout, when it became known to his
father, had bitterly displeased the latter, and accentuated the breach
between them. At a banquet given by the Spanish ambassador in
celebration of the King's recovery, the three princes sat at a table
separate from the rest of the royal fa