His services here, during. General Dafling's expedition to Fort San Juan, in the isthmus of Pa9ama, wcrc such n.s to attract universal attention ; but th climate, which had ruined the whole undertaking, well nigh proved fatal to him likewise ; so that his appointment to the Janus of 44 guns, turned out a fruitless remuneration ; :Ind, to save his life, Nelson tvas obliged once more to return to England without delay.
Nelson's promotion, though hitherto comparatively speaking rapid, was rat. from keeping pace with the ardour of his character. Succeeding events were little calculated to sooth that impatience. His appointment to eommand the Albemarle, 23, in thc North Seas, im mediately after partial recovery from a tropical disease, accorded with his wants rather than his wishes; and when the ship was paid off, soon after the conclusion of the American \val., he had still to seek consolation in the hope that " true honour predominated in his mind far above riches." A short visit to France quickly tired him of idleness ; and (March, 1799,) he was glad to ac cept the Boreas, 28, ordered to the Leeward Islands as a cruizer on the peace establishment. His conduct on this station exhibited the same firmness and activity which had nlways distinguished him. By repressing the abuses and evasions of law, prevalent among the traders of that quarter, he acquired the esteem of all such as were fitted to appreciate the strong rectitude and bold decision of his character ; but he acquired also the persevering hatred of numerous individuals whose peculations Ile had detected and exposed. Government thanked the commander-in-chief for what Nelson had done in direct opposition to his orders ; the calumnies of his enemies preceded his return to England; and the Boreas, on arriving, was kept four months at the Nore, serving as a slop-ship. Nelson never stirred from on board; he performed the duty with strict and sullen faithfulness ; and, on the 30th of November, 1787, when orders were received to pay off the ship, hc said it was a joyful order, because it would release him for ever from an ungrateful service, with which he was unaltera bly determined never to engage any more. He would resign his commission instantly on reaching London.
The friend, to whom he spoke, wrote privately to Lord Home of the Admiralty, and prevented this pas sionate resolution from coming to effect. Nelson con tinued in the navy ; and during the period of inactivity endeavoured to occupy his mind with rural pursuits at his father's parsonage of Burnam Thorpe. A few
months before lie had married Mrs. Nisbet, a young lady, the widow of Dr. Nisbet, and niece of the Presi dent of Nevis, which latter had stood his warm friend in his disputes with the planters of the Leeward Islands. This connexion, long a source of deep enjoyment to him, helped to dispel the tedium of seclusion ; the father was satisfied with the preferment, and delighted with the presence of his son; but the restless inquietude of Nelson's mind could not !nook continued indolence, and this impatience was aggravated by the inattention of Government to his demands, and by menaced prose cutions on the part of his enemies in the West Indies, i.vhich on one occasion nearly induced him to forsake his country for ever.
After many fruitless, though earnest applications, lie was at length gratified by an appointment to command the Agamemnon of 64 guns. This appointment, which .00k place immediately after the commencement of our late war with France, was procured by the interest of Lord Hood and the Duke of Clarence. The latter had known him and admired his talents, for a number of years; the former, whom he accompanied to the blockade .ot Toulon, had an early opportunity of esti mating his worth, with which hc was yet only ac quainted by hearsay. The occupation of Toulon was soon discontinued; but in the reduction of Corsica, Nelson obtained, what lie so greatly longed for, an oc casion ot showing his powers. Ile partly comtnancled the seamen employed in taking Bastia and Calvi, at the latter of which he lost his right eye; and, during the whole of those operations, his ardour and skill ex cited universal attention. His subsequent proceedings on the coast of Genoa were not less creditable to him ; and the Austrian general, with whom he was appointed to co-operate, vainly attempted to impute, in the re motest degree, the results of his own misconduct, to misconduct on the part of his allies. Nelson was made a Commodore; obtained the entire confidence of Sir John Jervis, the new admiral ; and contributed essen tially to the great victory, which that officer gained over the Spaniards at Cape St. Vincent, on the 14th February, 1787. Naval men unanimouly assert, that a manceuvre which the Commodore executed at his own risk, with eminent peril and dexterity, was the main cause of our success on that occasion. Before the news reached England, he had been advanced to the rank of rear admiral ; and his gallant conduct in the engagement was farther rewarded by the Order of the Bath.