“Lindholm ought to have omitted the guns of the Russell, Bellona, Agamemnon, Amazon, Alcmene, Blanche, Dart, and Arrow; as the two first were aground; and, although within random shot, yet unable to do that service expected from seventy-four gun ships.  The Agamemnon was not within three miles; the others, frigates and sloops, were exposed to a part of the Crown Battery and the ships in the other channel, but not fired upon by the eighteen sail drawn up to the southward of the Crown Islands.  Therefore, sixty-six guns are to be taken from the British, and a hundred and sixty-six guns added to the Danes:  viz. sixty-six, Crown Batteries—­(I think, there were eighty-eight)—­and a hundred for the batteries on Amack; besides random shot from the ships in the other channel, citadel, &c.  Therefore, the account ought to stand thus—­

Guns, by Lindholm’s account 1058
Deduct, as above 366
——­
British force in action 692
——­

Danish force, by Lindholm’s account     634
Add, I say, at least                166

Danish force                          800
British force                         692

Superiority of the Danes 108”

Though Lord Nelson could not have rested without satisfying himself of the precise fact, he saw no necessity for entering into any altercation, on so trivial a topic, with General-Adjutant Lindholm.  He contented himself, therefore, with immediately closing the subject, by the following very liberal reply.

     St. George, May 3d, 1801.

     “MY DEAR LORD,

“I was yesterday evening favoured with your reply to my letter of the 22d of April; and I have no scruple in assuring you, that if Commodore Fischer’s letter had been couched in the same manly and honourable manner, I should have been the last man to have noticed any little inaccuracies which might get into a commander in chief’s public letter; and if the commodore had not called upon his royal highness for the truth of his assertions, I never should have noticed his letter.  You have stated, truly, the force which would have been brought into action, but for the accidents of their getting aground; and, except the Desiree frigate, no other frigate or sloop fired a gun to the southward of the Crown Islands.  I have done ample justice to the bravery of nearly all your officers and men; and, as it is not my intention to hurt your feelings, or those of his royal highness—­but, on the contrary, to try and merit your esteem—­I will only say, that I am confident you would not have wrote such a letter.  Nothing, I flatter myself, in my conduct, ought to have drawn ridicule on my character from the commodore’s pen; and you have borne the handsomest testimony of it, in contradiction to his.  I thought then, as I did before the action, and do now, that it is not the interest of our countries to injure each other.  I am sorry