HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
moment when sir Sidney came in 
sight of Naples, that city was illu- 
minated on account of Joseph Bo- 
naparte, beng proclaimed king of 
the twe Sicilics. It was in the 
power of the English admiral to 
have disturbed their festivity ; but, 
as the sufferers from his interference 
must have been the inhabitants of 
Naples, and not the French troops, 
or the new king, he wisely and hu- 
manely forbore, and made for the 
isle of Capri; of which he took pos- 
session, after a slight resistance, and 
placed in it an English garrison.-— 
He then proceeded southward along 
the coast, giving the greatest an- 
noyance every where to the enemy, 
obstructing by land, and intercept- 
ing entirely by sea their cpmmuni- 
cation along the shore, so as to re- 
tard their operations against Gaeta, 
which was the chief purpose for un- 
dertaking this expedition. On the 
_return of sir Sidney to Palermo, af- 
ter the conclusion of this service, he 
was led,’ from the active turn and 
Sanguine temper of his mind, to en- 
ter with eagerness into the projects 
of the court, and to second its views 
on Calabria, to the utmost of his 
power. Finding him favorably in- 
clined to their schemes, and anxious 
to distinguish himself by some great 
exploit, their Sicilian majesties in. 
vested the British admiral with the 
the most ample authority in Cala- 
bria, and even constituted him their 
viceroy in that province. But, 
though active and indefatigable in 
the duties of his new department, 
and successful in distributing money, 
‘arms, and ammunition among the Ca- 
labrians, he soon found, that, unless 
an English army made its appear- 
ance in the country, there was no 
chance of his producing an insur- 
rection against the French, It be- 
14} 
came, therefore, necessary for the 
court of Palermo, either to abandon 
the fruit of all its intrigues and ma- 
chinations, or to prevail on the 
commander of the English forces in 
Sicily to invade Calabria with part 
of his army. 
After the evacuation of Naples, 
sir James Craig had retired with the 
English army to Sicily, and esta- 
blished his head quarters at Messina, 
as the station best adapted for pro- 
tecting the island from invasion.— gg» 
There he remained till April, when 
bad health compelled him to resign 
his command to sir John Stuart, 
who was soon after entrusted by his 
Sicilian majesty with the defence of 
the east coast of Sicily from Melazzo 
to Cape Passaro, and with the come 
mand of the Sicilian troops in that 
district. ‘The army continued in its 
position at Messina till the end of 
June, without attempting offensive 
operations against the enemy. It 
was of the utmost importance to 
England, that Sicily should not fall 
under the dominion of France; and, 
therefore, sir John Stuart, when so- 
licited by the court of Palermo, to 
assist in its schemes onCalabria, hesi- | 
tated long, and deliberated maturely 
before he complied. He considered, 
that an expedition to Calabria, how. 
ever it might gratify their Sicilian 
‘majesties, could not, on the most 
favourable supposition, lead to their 
re-establishment at Naples, nor evens 
secure to them the possession of any 
part of their contwental dominions ; - 
whereas if it failed, it must weaken 
the defence and endanger the safety 
of Sicily. He was, therefore averse 
to such an expedition, and refused to 
engage in it when first proposed to 
him. But, overcome by the ur- 
gent and repeated instances of the 
Sicilian government, encouraged by 
flattering 
