The Keith Papers

1. Keith to St. Vincent

(Harley Street)
4 o'clock, March 11, 1803

My dear Lord, I am now quite ready to set out the moment I am authorised, and shall use every exertion to fit out such ships as in the mean time I may be ordered to do for immediate service; but if the present armament shall end in war, I must beg your Lordship to keep me in view for foreign service. Admiral Cornwallis has naturally formed a pretension for the Channel Fleet, and my long service in the Mediterranean may not have rendered me improper for that station which, if your Lordship considers me in so favourable a light as to entrust it to my hands, I shall consider it as a material favour conferred on, my Lord, your Lordship's most obedient servant

KEITH