Agreed! This is a lively read by an Irish surgeon in Nelson's navy 1797-1804, full of fascinating details of his service. I have never heard any mention before, for example, of the deliberate 'prank' by Carraciolo's friends that caused Carraciolo's body to appear with the aim of terrifying the king. Lowry mentions that the King had 'ordered....him hanged'. Since the memoir was a private one, not intended for publication, his aim was not to exonerate Nelson; he merely records the event and this detail in passing, to explain why it was done.
He also writes of the actions he was engaged in; includes 'rough sketches' of exotic animals he encountered, and vivid descriptions of the beautiful ladies he met in the brothels of Naples. He is a strange mixture of the lascivious and priggish - he intersperses his comments on the ladies' charms with earnest Biblical quotations and mournful regrets that they have come to this - without, apparently, any sense of irony, considering his own presence there!
The book is by Chatham and is available on Amazon - very cheaply if you're happy with a used copy.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fiddlers-Whores ... 891&sr=8-1