At this period, it appears, the unfavourable news from the royal army, and the manifest cowardice, treason, and treachery, every where seeming to pervade the unhappy and devoted kingdom of Naples, plunged the excellent queen into an agony of grief which admitted not of consolation. "None, from this house," says Lord Nelson, writing on the 11th of December to Earl Spencer, "have seen her majesty these three days; but, her letters to Lady Hamilton paint the anguish of her soul. However," adds his lordship, "on enquiry, matters are not so bad as I expected. The Neapolitan officers have not lost much honour; for, God knows, they had not much 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 those scoundrels, and placed them on good serjeants. I will, as briefly as I can, state the position of the army, and it's lost honour; for, defeat they have had none. The right wing of nineteen thousand men under General St. Philip, and Micheux (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 serjeant 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 among them; Micheux ran away, as did all the infantry; and, had it not been for the good conduct of two regiments of cavalry, they would have been destroyed. So great was this panic, that cannon, tents, baggage, military chest, all were left to the French. Could you credit--but, it is true--that this loss has been sustained with the death of only forty men! The French lost many men by the cavalry; and, having got the good things, did not run after an army three times their number. Some ran thirty miles, to Pesara. The peasantry took up arms, even the women, to defend their country. However, the runaways are not only collected, but advanced to Arcoti; which they took from the French, cutting open the gates with hatchets. It is said, they have got a good general; Cetto, a Neapolitan prince; and, I hope, will be ashamed of their former conduct. General Micheux is bringing a prisoner to Naples. This failure has thrown Mack backward. It is the intention of that general to surround Civita Castellana. Chevalier Saxe advanced th Viterbi; General Metch to Fermi; and Mack, with the main body, finding his communication not open with Fermi, retreated towards Castellana. In his route, he was attacked from an entrenchment of the enemy, which it was necessary to carry.