In the same letter he mentions that since the 23d of April--five months--the ship had been at anchor only twenty days.
The unwavering resolution and prompt decision of his character thus crop out at every step.

In Leghorn he found a large French frigate, which had been on the point of sailing when his ship came in sight.

"I am obliged to keep close watch to take care he does not give me the slip, which he is inclined to do.

I shall pursue him, and leave the two Courts [Great Britain and Tuscany] to settle the propriety of the measure, which I think will not be strictly regular.

Have been up all night watching him--ready to cut the moment he did." The enemy, however, made no movement, and Nelson was not prepared to violate flagrantly the neutrality of the port.