"Ruffo hadn't the power," said the Admiral; "it was expressly reserved from him. I shall see to this; but I suppose it's only another of their d--d scheming tricks. Foote will have something to say to it. Troubridge has wrote that the Governor of Procida is an honest man, etc. I hope he may be. If he is, he is the only one in the two kingdoms. Trinder, ask the captain to crowd on all sail, and tell Mr. Vassall to signal it on to the fleet." Presently we swept once more between the Islands into that glorious Bay which we had left under such inauspicious circumstances. What a difference now! Then we were, with a few Portugals and transports, helping the hapless Court to fly for their lives; now we were eighteen of the line, standing proudly in, the tack as we passed the Islands giving us the favour of the breeze. Soon we were near enough to hear from Captain Foote, who, on His Majesty's frigate the _Sea-Horse_, had been commanding the gallant little squadron of bombs and small craft which had been maintaining the blockade since Captain Troubridge joined us off Maritimo, to give us every available ship against the overpowering force of the French. Captain Foote confirmed the Cardinal, and added that though the evacuation had not yet begun he had vessels nearly sufficient to take the evacuating force to Toulon. "Evacuating force!" shouted the Admiral. "By G--d, they shall never evacuate, except as the unconditional prisoners of His Sicilian Majesty!" And Captain Troubridge, who had come on board, and never concealed his opinion for any man--indeed, we had seen but lately how he had upbraided the Admiral himself--was quite agreed. "Trinder," said the Admiral, "tell Mr. Vassall to signal that the truce is at an end, and no one will be allowed to leave the castles." "Begging your pardon, my Lord, the Cardinal considers it a treaty, not a truce." "The Cardinal may consider it what he chooses. Neither he nor any man here had the power to make a treaty; and the armistice, I take for granted, is, that if the French and rebels are not relieved by their friends in twenty-one days from the signing of the armistice, they shall evacuate Naples, in this manner infamous to His Sicilian Majesty and triumphant to them, as stated in the Article." "Those in the castles, my Lord, are preparing to evacuate in a day or two at the latest. They look upon it as a treaty, not as an armistice."