With regard to the St. Antoine, allow me to bring to your recollection under what circumstances she was commissioned. At that time I was ignorant of any part of our force having been withdrawn from the Baltic, or that any ships could be spared from the North Sea or the Channel fleet, and consequently could not expect but that a very small, if any, reinforcement could be ordered to join me; and to have left an efficient ship, which, with the Hannibal's ship's company, could be brought forward for service in so short a time, I should have deemed myself very reprehensible, All the appointments were made in the most fair and impartial manner; and I solemnly declare that the sole view to the good of his Majesty's service was what actuated the whole of my proceedings, which I am certain Hood will also declare. I am truly grieved at the manner the warrant-officers I appointed to that ship are ordered to be superseded, and I shall feel it as long as I live. Believe me, my good friend, my heart is incapable of harbouring so heinous a vice as ingratitude, and I shudder at the thought of being taxed with it: but when I consider the treatment I have received on this occasion, I feel it difficult to support myself; and what adds to my distress is, to find by your private note of the 19th that I am likely to remain longer in this country. Let me assure you that I shall ever retain a grateful sense of the many and uniform proofs of your friendship for me, which I can truly say are not misplaced; there being no one among your numerous friends who can have a more true regard and sincere esteem for you than myself. J.S. Sir James continued with the squadron under Sir Charles Pole, employed on the blockade of Cadiz, until the 14th November 1801, when he went in the Caesar, in company with several other ships to Gibraltar. The following letter from General O'Hara gave Sir James the first news of the capitulation of Cairo, and the death of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, on the 21st of August Gibraltar, 30th August 1801. If you have seen either the Hebe or Mendovia, you are acquainted with the success in Egypt; and, if you have not, the enclosed Gibraltar Chronicle will inform you of all those particulars: and when we consider the great disparity of numbers between English and French, particularly detailed in the Chronicle, we must conclude ourselves greatly indebted to good fortune for having got well through that very arduous enterprise.