- 
~ 665 |“ Huyter’s Report upon the Herculaneum Manuscripts. 
scripts, hoth originals, and copies. The, 
want of instruction from government for 
that purpose, I was told, still prevented 
his official interposition ; at the same time 
his majesty’s minister directed me to go 
m his name to the Chevalier Seratti, 
with a representation of the necessity 
there was to remove these objects. This 
secretary of state, instead of entering im. 
mediately into the subject of my visit, 
éhose, with great violence, and with 
foaming mouth, and in the most unjus- 
tifiable terms, to heap upon me, whose 
mission was certainly not at all political, 
the most heavy invectives against his 
majesty’s forces, which had been landed 
at Naples. At last, having, in the course 
of an half hour, most amply vented his 
rage, he returned, in a softened tone, to 
the cause of my visit: he assured me, 
that removal would injure the original 
 Papiri,” and was besides not necéssary ; 
** we shall soon be at Naples again.” 
After the departure of the king, the 
hereditary prince was regent of the king- 
dom. For the same reason, and in the 
same manner, as his majesty’s minister 
had not yet received instructions, [ was 
directed to wait upon his royal highness, 
who informed me, that the king, at the 
time of his departuie, in which he was 
accompanied by the Chevalier Seratti, 
had given strict orders for not removing 
the manuscripts. From these orders the 
regent could not deviate. It must be 
confessed, the political character of 
Chevalier Seratti was generally regarded 
asnot favourable to the interests of Great 
Britain, but strongly inclining te the 
French party. Whatever may be the 
truth, I must have some right to question 
his good faith, at least, when 
Nee cineri servata Fides. 
. The Chevalier dé Medici succeeded 
the Chevalier Seratti in office. The 
Monday before our flight from Naples, 
in February, 1806, I was again directed, 
ppon’ my -application to his majesty’s 
minister, who had not yet received his 
instructions, to go to the new secretary 
of state. The Chevalier, who was not 
then, it should seem, in the secret, de- 
sired I would, in his name, order Pirro 
Paderni, who bad succeeded La Vega, as 
keeper of the Royal Museum, immedi- 
ately to prepare all the “ Papiri” for re- 
moval. This I did about noon that very 
day. Pirro Paderni expressed much 
alacrity in his apparent readiness to ex- 
ecute this order; but he told me, that he 
would go that very afternoon to the secre- 
5 3 
tary of state, from whom, for his own-ses 
curity, after the orders of the king, he 
must in person receive a written com- 
mand for the purpose. The whole scene 
was then shifted. The next morning I 
was informed, the orders of the king, 
with regard to these manuscripts, were 
in revived force. What else could be 
expected? Your royal highness may be 
pleased to consider, that the Chevalier 
Seratti, and others still higher, who were 
never suspected of too, much anglicism, 
would, in. the instance of these manu- 
scripts, avail, themselves of) every cirs 
cumstance that seemed to justly a non 
compliance with the demands of your 
royal highness’s superintendent. “Vhe 
circumstance that his majesty’s sinister 
would not officially, mach less urgently, 
insist upon the removal of the manus 
scripts, gave the. party, who opposed 
that removal, a fair pretext for that ope 
position. This party said, and J heard 
it repeated, that this removal could not 
have been wished by government, others 
wise his majesty’s minister would have 
interposed, So far this party may be 
thought to be supposted by some justi- 
ficauon, provided your royal highness 
could, for a moment, be reconciled to 
the measure of abandoning to the come 
mon enemy those objects. For the ace 
quisition of them a person had been sent 
to Naples, under your own royal com- 
mission, and received in that character 
by the Neapolitan court, 
sition of them, that person had several 
years employed the most continual and 
the most embarrassing study and fatigue, 
and atthe expence of his majesty’s ga: 
vernment, and under the sanction of an 
act of parliament, in the kingdom of a 
é 
In the acquis ‘ 
sovereiyn, who is under the most essene : 
tial obligations to Great Britain. With 
the before-mentioned pretext, however, 
not only all the original manuseripts, 
which would be injured, it was said, by 
removal, but even the engraved fuc sumile 
copies of some books of Epicurus, un- 
folded during my superintendency, (and 
surely these could not be injured by re- 
moval) were abandoned to the common 
enemy. 
two different parties to secure the attains 
ment of their wishes, directed as they 
were, upon different motives, to the 
same end. The one branch consisted in 
those men, who would not follow the 
court to Sicily. These men must have 
been eager to retain at Naples all the 
royal property, whicli would gratify their 
new masters, and secure for theniselves, 
t@ 
Besides, this pretext enabled: 
