watch off Toulon.

Short as the time was, Nelson had already experienced the
inconvenience of a senior admiral, lying, like an enemy, on the flank
of his communications with Great Britain, and dealing as he pleased
with his vessels. One frigate at least had been sent already to
England, without his knowledge and consent. "I have in a former
letter," he tells the First Lord, "stated my opinion freely upon the
stations of Gibraltar and Cadiz being given to the same officer; for
without that is done, our convoys can never be considered safe. There
is also another consideration, why the Officer at Gibraltar should be
under the orders of the Admiral commanding the Mediterranean
fleet--which is, that any admiral independent of that station, takes
all the stores he chooses, or fancies he wants, for the service of his
fleet; thereby placing the fleet in the Gulf of Lyons in great
distress for many articles."

Off Toulon, having a large official mail to make up in reply to that
brought by the "Swiftsure," he thought it both quicker and safer,
under all the conditions of the time, to send it to Lisbon. He
therefore called on board the "Victory" a smart young frigate-captain,
William Parker, a nephew of Lord St. Vincent, gave him orders to take
the despatches to Lisbon, and added, "Sir John Orde takes my frigates
from me, and sends them away in some other direction from what I wish.
I cannot even get my despatches home. You must contrive to get to the
westward and go into Lisbon, and avoid his ships. I have not signed
your orders," alluding to memorandum instructions separate from the
formal orders, "because Sir John Orde is my senior officer; but, if it
should come to a Court Martial, Hardy can swear to my handwriting, and
you shall not be broke. Take your orders, and good bye; and remember,
Parker, if you cannot weather _that fellow_, I shall think you have
not a drop of your old uncle's blood in your veins." The memorandum
directed him to pass Cape Spartel in the night, steering to the
southward and westward to avoid Orde, and ended thus: "Bring-to [stop]
for nothing, if you can help it. Hoist the signal for quarantine, and
that you are charged with dispatches. If you are forced to speak by a
superior officer, show him only my order for not interfering with you;
and unless he is an admiral, superior to me, you will obey my orders
instead of any pretended ones from him, from my superior officer."

Parker executed his commissi