f as on board the Phoenix. Every circumstance is detailed with
feeling, and powerful appeals are continually made to the heart. It
must likewise afford considerable pleasure to observe the devout
spirit of a seaman frequently bursting forth, and imparting sublimity
to the relation.

At Sea, June 30, 1781.

MY DEAR MOTHER,

I am now going to give you an account of our last cruise in the
Phoenix; and must premise, that should any one see it besides
yourself, they must put this construction on it--that it was
originally intended for the eyes of a mother, and a mother only--as,
upon that supposition, my feelings may be tolerated. You will also
meet with a number of sea-terms, which, if you don't understand, why,
I cannot help you, as I am unable to give a sea description in any
other words.

To begin then:--On the 2d of August, 1780, we weighed and sailed for
Port Royal, bound for Pensacola, having two store-ships under convoy,
and to see safe in; then cruise off the Havana, and in the gulf of
Mexico, for six weeks. In a few days we made the two sandy islands,
that look as if they had just risen out of the sea, or fallen from the
sky; inhabited, nevertheless, by upwards of three hundred English, who
get their bread by catching turtle and parrots, and raising
vegetables, which they exchange with ships that pass, for clothing and
a few of the luxuries of life, as rum, &c.

About the 12th we arrived at Pensacola, without any thing remarkable
happening except our catching a vast quantity of fish, sharks,
dolphins, and bonettos. On the 13th sailed singly, and on the 14th had
a very heavy gale of wind at north, right off the land, so that we
soon left the sweet place, Pensacola, at a distance astern. We then
looked into the Havana, saw a number of ships there, and knowing that
some of them were bound round the bay, we cruised in the track: a
fortnight, however, passed, and not a single ship hove in sight to
cheer our spirits. We then took a turn or two round the gulf, but not
near enough to be seen from the shore. Vera Cruz we expected would
have made us happy, but the same luck still continued; day followed
day, and no sail. The dollar bag began to grow a little bulky, for
every one had lost two or three times, and no one had won: this was a
small gambling party entered into by Sir Hyde and ourselves; every one
put a dollar into a bag, and fixed on a day when we should see a
sail, b