Besides the L1,800 annually paid to Lady Nelson, he gave Lady Hamilton L1,200 a year, exclusive of what was spent on the house and grounds at Merton; and it may be inferred from Dr.Gillespie that the cost of the cabin mess, beyond the table money allowed by the Government, was assumed by him.

He himself said, early in the cruise, "Unless we have a Spanish war, I shall live here at a great expense, although Mr.Chevalier [his steward] takes every care." "God knows, in my own person, I spend as little money as any man; but you[76] know I love to give away." That he was thus sore was most natural; but it was also natural that the Government should expect, in view of his strong representations about his health, that the three weeks between the issuing his leave and Orde's orders would have insured his being on his way home, before the latter reached his station.

Had things fallen out so, it would not have been Nelson, the exceptional hero of exceptional services, but Bickerton, a man with no peculiar claims as yet, who would have lost the prize-money; for Nelson himself had just won a suit against St.
Vincent, which established that the moment a commander-in-chief left his station, his right lapsed, and that of the next flag-officer commenced.

Nor was the division of the station an unprecedented measure.

It had been extended from the Straits to Cape Finisterre at the time St.Vincent withdrew from the Mediterranean, in 1796; and in 1802, when Lord Keith asked for additional aids, on account of the enormous administrative work, the Admiralty made of the request a pretext for restricting his field to the Mediterranean, a step which Keith successfully resisted.
Before Nelson received his leave he had begun to change his mind about going home.