to
St. Vincent to take such measures as he deemed necessary to thwart the
projects of the Toulon squadron. It was left to his judgment whether
to go in person with his whole fleet, or to send a detachment of not
less than nine or ten ships-of-the-line under a competent
flag-officer. If possible, the government wished him to maintain the
blockade of Cadiz as it had been established since the Battle of St.
Vincent; but everything was to yield to the necessity of checking the
sailing of the Toulon expedition, or of defeating it, if it had
already started. A speedy reinforcement was promised, to supply the
places of the ships that might be detached.

Accompanying the public letter was a private one from the First Lord
of the Admiralty, reflecting the views and anxieties of the
Government. "The circumstances in which we now find ourselves oblige
us to take a measure of a more decided and hazardous complexion than
we should otherwise have thought ourselves justified in taking; but
when you are apprized that the appearance of a British squadron in the
Mediterranean is a condition on which the fate of Europe may at this
moment be stated to depend, you will not be surprised that we are
disposed to strain every nerve, and incur considerable hazard in
effecting it." This impressive, almost solemn, statement, of the
weighty and anxious character of the intended step, emphasizes the
significance of the choice, which the First Lord indicates as that of
the Government, of the officer upon whom such a charge is to devolve.
"If you determine to send a detachment into the Mediterranean [instead
of going in person with the fleet], I think it almost unnecessary to
suggest to you the propriety of putting it under the command of Sir H.
Nelson, whose acquaintance with that part of the world, as well as his
activity and disposition, seem to qualify him in a peculiar manner for
that service."

In concluding his letter, Earl Spencer summed up the reasons of the
Government, and his own sense of the great risk attending the
undertaking, for the conduct of which he designated Nelson. "I am as
strongly impressed, as I have no doubt your Lordship will be, with the
hazardous nature of the measure which we now have in contemplation;
but I cannot at the same time help feeling how much depends upon its
success, and how absolutely necessary it is at this time to run some
risk, in order, if possible, to bring about a new system of affairs in
Europe, wh