us to avail themselves of the protection of convoy;
when, therefore, on the ninth day the weather cleared and the wind
hauled round from the south-east, the merchant fleet of which we were to
take care during their passage across the Atlantic numbered in all
exactly one hundred and fifty-four sail.

The change of weather occurred shortly after midnight, with a steadily
rising barometer; at daylight, therefore, the commodore fired a gun and
hoisted the signal to weigh, and by eight o'clock the leading ships in
the fleet were under way and beating out to sea, led by the _Colossus_,
their departure being hastened by much firing of guns and continuous
displays of signal flags. The two gun-brigs went out with the first of
the fleet, their duty being to marshal the merchantmen into something
like order when they got outside; but the _Astarte_ and ourselves
remained at anchor to quicken up the movements of the laggards and
expedite matters generally; and a hard time we had of it, for so
short-handed were some of the vessels that we were obliged to send
working-parties on board them to assist in making sail and breaking
their anchors out of the ground. But by noon the last of them were
fairly under way, and as soon as they had passed outside of us we too
weighed and stood out after them, flitting hither and thither, hailing
first this ship and then that, with imperative orders for them to crowd
sail. But oh, what weary, heart-breaking work was this business of
whipping-in; for so sluggish were some of the craft that it seemed as
though they would never be able to make their way out to the main fleet,
which was by this time hove-to in the offing. However, by eight bells
in the afternoon watch we had contrived to hustle the last one out to
windward of the Eddystone, when the commodore made the signal to fill
away; and off we all went, with the wind a couple of points free, the
weather braces checked, and the slower coaches among the merchantmen
with all their larboard studdingsails set. Then came a signal from the
commodore to regulate rate of sailing by that of the slowest craft in
the fleet and to keep as close together as prudence would permit; and,
finally, a signal to the men-of-war to take the stations assigned to
them and to keep a sharp lookout for marauders. This last signal was
made purely as a matter of form and duty, and not because it was
actually necessary; for although none of us had sighted any
suspicious-lo