Nelson interesting letter from William Adams in Edinburgh to his father dated August 24th 1801 ma

Nelson interesting letter from William Adams in Edinburgh to his father dated August 24th 1801 making reference to the recent Battle of the Nile :’...the harvest is very promising here & everyone is in high spirits at the prospect of plenty & peace which seems to be more likely at present than for some time since the defeat of the French army in Egypt; because I think it will be difficult to find another bone of contention – Lord Nelson seems to be enamoured with the inimitable feats of the Knight of the Rueful countenance but time will determine it...’together with an earlier letter from Adams dated 1799 : ‘...the secret expedition as it is called seems to be tardy in its motions and am fearful it will be unsuccessful as all the expeditions hitherto planned against the enemy’s coasts have been. If it is intended to act against Holland the phlegmatic natives of that country will never heartily cooperate with it, they will probably stand and look on as uninterested spectators. If it intended to act against France it will have every difficulty to overcome which an enemy in possession of a country can oppose...’