"_Naples, 11th December._--Not a line from England since the 1st of October. Lord St. Vincent is in no hurry to oblige me now; in short, I am the envied man, but better that than to be the pitied one. Never mind; it is my present intention to leave this country in May. The poor Queen has again made me promise not to quit her or her family until brighter prospects appear than do at present. The King is with the Army, and she is sole Regent; she is, in fact, a great King. "Lady Hamilton's goodness forces me out at noon for an hour. What can I say of hers and Sir William's attention to me? They are, in fact, with the exception of my wife and my good father, the dearest friends I have in this world. I live as Sir William's son in the house, and my glory is as dear to them as their own; in short, I am under such obligations as I can never repay but with my eternal gratitude. The improvement made in Josiah by Lady Hamilton is wonderful; _Lady Nelson's obligations and mine are infinite on that score; not but Josiah's heart is as good and humane as ever was covered by a human breast. God bless him!--I love him dearly with all his roughness._ "The Queen has again made me promise not to quit her and her family till brighter prospects open upon her. She is miserable, we know. None from this house have seen her these three days, but her letters to Emma paint the anguish of her soul. However, on inquiry, matters are not so bad as I expected. _The Neapolitan officers have not lost much honour, for God knows they had but little to lose_; but they lost all they had. Mack has supplicated the King to sabre every man who ran from Civita Castellana to Rome. He has, we hear, torn off the epaulets of some of these scoundrels, and placed them on good sergeants. I will, as briefly as I can, state the position of the Army, and its lost honour, _for defeat they have had none_. The right wing, of nineteen thousand men, under General St. Philip and Michaux (who ran away at Toulon), were to take post between Ancona and Rome, to cut off all supplies and communication. Near Fermi they fell in with the enemy, about three thousand. After a little distant firing, St. Philip advanced to the French General, and returning to his men said, 'I no longer command you,' and was going off to the Enemy. A sergeant said, 'You are a traitor: what! have you been talking to the Enemy?' St. Philip replied, 'I no longer command you.' 'Then you are an enemy!' and, levelling his musket, shot St. Philip through the right arm. However, the Enemy advanced; he was amongst them. Michaux ran away, as did all the Infantry, and had it not been for the good conduct of two regiments of Cavalry, would have been destroyed. So great was their panic, that cannon, tents, baggage and military chest--all were left to the French. Could one credit, but it is true, that this loss has been sustained with the death of only forty men? The French lost many