unavailing – the love of country was never yet cherished by a sordid courtier. Writing to Earl St. Vincent, the hero expressed himself as follows:– “This day brought me letters from dear Troubridge. He has been obliged to give all his flour to keep the inhabitants of the islands from starving. I have eternally been pressing for supplies, and have represented that 100,000l. given away just now in provisions might purchase a kingdom.”
Troubridge was in reality what he described a certain foreign Governor to be, whom he met with in the course of service; but whose name does not appear in the correspondence we are now making so free with:– “an honest man, who studied his Sovereign’s interest in every thing; without the little dirty policy of making money himself.” Not so the Sicilian grandee, whom we have just seen him charge with deception. That Strabia also deserved to be stigmatised as a peculator of the basest description, is very evident, at least to us; and the Rev. Cooper Willyams must have entertained a similar opinion, for at p. 184 of his publication respecting the battle of the Nile, &c.[1], we find a passage to this effect:–
“The people at Procida being now in the utmost distress for bread, some provisions were sent to them from the British squadron. On the 13th, however, several vessels arrived from Sicily with corn for the islands of Procida and Ischia; but instead of a free competition to supply them with it, a particular grant was issued from the Crown for Prince Strabia to issue it solely: the consequence was, that it came in too small quantities to be of essential service, and the Prince was so exorbitant in his demands, that the poor were literally starving.”
Whilst Captain Troubridge was thus venting his just complaints against a corrupt administration, the ships under his orders were employed paving the way for a counter-revolution at Naples, by maintaining a close blockade, and thereby preventing corn or any other supplies from reaching that city by sea. The towns of Castel-à-mare and Salerno were occupied by detachments landed from the Minotaur, Swiftsure, and Zealous, but found untenable, on account of the enemy’s superior numbers. In retiring from the latter place, the British had several men killed, wounded, and taken prisoners.
