"I am miserably ill; we have none of us been well since we came here. Perhaps the drainage washes back to the Marina, for Palermo has a good repute. It would do me good if I could see my ship from this window. I could see it from the de Gregorio Palace, which I have taken and use for a fleet office; but I am so lonely there--two miles from my good friends. However, I think I must go there in times like these. I am miserable without I see my ship. * * * * * "I broke off because I felt a hand upon my shoulder, the hand that sends new blood through my wasted body, which puts new heart into me; and, as I felt it, the very Bay took on a new spirit. It was no longer a waste, but had collected within its arms the deep peace of the Southern night; and the moon shining down on Pellegrino changed it till it looked like a crown, the crown on whose summit the father of Hannibal defied the might of Rome those three long years. "'What, Nelson,' said that clear voice, 'are you too going to leave me? It is I who shall be lonely, for there is word from Sir William that he must be at the Palace to tell Acton nothing. The great Queen will not herself see Acton, or suffer me to see him: he is all for the King.' "With that she began to weep very quietly--so quietly that I did not know till a tear dropped on my hand. I sought to comfort her, and we stood there I do not know how long. "'I would to God,' I cried, 'that the French would come upon us: none of my ships would surrender, and if they destroyed us all with their three to one, we should so wing them that St. Vincent would catch them and finish them, and then it would be all over for me, this worry.' "Her arms wound round me; I could feel her soothing lips; but she said nothing. "'The Admiralty do not trust me. They send this coxcomb Smith to show that they do not think I have done my best in the matter of destroying those transports at Alexandria. The nation will do nothing for me--£100,000 means so little for England, and £100,000 worth of foodstuffs would save a kingdom here. I have to bear the brunt of it all.' "Still she said nothing, but drew me closer to her, and let me feel how her generous heart was beating for my troubles. "'And now my own captains think I might do more. Troubridge, who is hipped, does not hesitate to tell me so, as if I or any other man could do more anywhere. They say you----' "Then she cried out, 'This moon blinds me: let us move a little further into the room, and rest our eyes with darkness.' "And then, I know not how long afterwards, I was overcome by the magic of soft lips and the fragrance of a woman's throat, and she had given me her whole heart. "I was a villain. * * * * *