northerly winds along the Portuguese coast, which prevented him from
joining the Channel Fleet off Ushant until August 16th, and as no news
had been received of the French being in the Bay of Biscay or off the
Irish coast, he was ordered by Cornwallis to Portsmouth, and anchored
at Spithead on the 18th August. His reception from every quarter was
most cordial, as well it might be! But the thought of how much greater
it would have been if he had not been misguided and thereby deprived
of coming to grips with the foe that was still at large and outwitting
every device of bringing them to close quarters, had eaten like a
canker into his troubled mind. In his letters to friends (Davison and
others) his postscripts were for ever being embellished with reference
to it and the darting of an incidental "damn" to General Brereton,
who, it is contended, was himself deceived. But Nelson, generous as,
he always was to people who were encompassed by misfortune, never
would allow that Brereton had any right to allow himself to be misled.
One wonders how the immortal General Brereton worked it out. In any
case, the great Admiral has given him a place in history by his side.

Nelson first heard of Sir Robert Calder's scrap from the Ushant
squadron, and was strong in sympathy and defence against the unworthy
public attacks made on the Admiral for not succeeding as he would. In
writing to Fremantle about Calder, he says, amongst other things: "I
should have fought the enemy, so did my friend Calder; I only wish to
stand upon my own merits, and not by comparison, one way or the other
upon the conduct of a brother officer," etc. This rebuke to a public
who were treating his brother officer ungenerously may be summarized
thus: "I want none of your praises at the expense of this gallant
officer, who is serving his country surrounded with complex dangers
that you are ignorant of, and therefore it is indecent of you to judge
by comparing him with me or any one else. I want none of your praises