Prince William Henry, whose rule it was never to visit in any private house, made an exception on this occasion, having exacted from Nelson a promise that the wedding should wait until he could be present; and he gave away the bride.

Three months later, on the 7th of June, the "Boreas" sailed for England, and on the 4th of July anchored at Spithead.

Whether Mrs.Nelson accompanied him in the ship does not appear certainly; but from several expressions in his letters it seems most probable that she did.

Five days after his arrival he sent a message from her to Locker, in terms which indicate that she was with him.
A newly married man, who had just concluded a full cruise of such arduous and unremitting exertions, might reasonably have wished and expected a period of relaxation; but the return of the "Boreas" coincided with a very disturbed state of European politics.

In the neighboring republic of Holland two parties were striving for the mastery; one of which was closely attached to France, the other, that of the Stadtholder, to Great Britain.