HORATIO NELSON DUKE OF BRONTE (1758-1805) Signed autograph letter «Nelson & Bronte» to Alleyne Fitzherbert St. George off Bornholm, May 22, 1801.

1 pp. bi-folio in-4. In English. Very rare letter from Admiral Nelson to the diplomat Fitzherbert Baron St-Helens, British Ambassador to the Imperial Court of Russia in St. Petersburg, concerning the negotiations about the island of St Helena. This correspondence takes place one month after the battle of Copenhagen at a time when England was negotiating with Russia for the presence of its fleet in the Baltic Sea and the return of the merchant ships confiscated in Russian and Danish ports. The death of Tsar Paul I in March facilitated negotiations with the new emperor and a shift in alliances that ended the Northern League. Nelson, who had never complained about the favourable winds, observed that this time it was different, as they were taking him away from his addressee, who had taken the opposite direction. He sends his letter through Captain Merigar, a former captain in the Russian navy, which he had to leave following the death of Tsar Paul I. Awaiting the outcome of the maritime treaty negotiations with the new Emperor Alexander I, Nelson said he was in a ‘state of constant anxiety’; he said he would keep his ships ‘assembled ready to advance’ if the Russian fleet made any moves and showed its intention to go to sea. He asks the diplomat to allow Captain Sotheron to advise him, hoping for success in the negotiations [he will hold the fleet «collected ready for a push. Should the Russian fleet make any movements indicating an intention of going to Sea I trust Your Excellency allowing Captain Sotheron to give me notice of it»].