Naples or Sicily in the short days.
Nothing but gratitude to those good Sovereigns could have induced me
to stay one moment after Sir John Orde's extraordinary command, for
his general conduct towards me is not such as I had a right to
expect."

During this last month of monotonous routine, while off Toulon and at
Madalena, he had occasion to express opinions on current general
topics, which found little room in his mind after the French fleet
began to move. There was then a report of a large expedition for
foreign service forming in England, and rumor, as usual, had a
thousand tongues as to its destination. "A blow struck in Europe,"
Nelson wrote to Lord Moira, "would do more towards making us
respected, and of course facilitate a peace, than the possession of
Mexico or Peru,"--a direction towards which the commercial ambitions
of Great Britain had a traditional inclination, fostered by some
military men and statesmen, who foresaw the break-up of the Spanish
colonial system. "Above all, I hope we shall have no buccaneering
expeditions. Such services fritter away our troops and ships, when
they are so much wanted for more important occasions, and are of no
use beyond enriching a few individuals. I know not, if these
sentiments coincide with yours; but as glory, and not money, has
through life been your pursuit, I should rather think that you will
agree with me, that in Europe, and not abroad, is the place for us to
strike a blow." "I like the idea of English troops getting into the
Kingdom of Naples," he tells Elliot at this same time; whence it may
be inferred that that was the quarter he would now, as upon his first
arrival, choose for British effort. "If they are well commanded, I am
sure they will do well. They will have more wants than us sailors."
The expedition, which sailed the following spring, was destined for
the Mediterranean, and reinforced the garrisons of Gibraltar and Malta
to an extent that made the latter a factor to be considered in the
strategy of the inland sea; but when it arrived, Nelson had left the
Mediterranean, not to return.

As regards general politics, Nelson, writing to the Queen of Naples,
took a gloomy view of the future. The Prime Minister of the Two
Sicilies, Sir John Acton, had some time before been forced out of
office and had retired to Palermo, an event produced by the pressure
of French influence, which Nelson regarded now as absolutely dominant
in that kingdom, and menacing t