emy. First we looked for them
about Sicily; then after them we ran towards Egypt, and then back to
Malta, where we heard that they had put into Toulon. Now, we kept
stricter watch than ever, without a bulkhead up, and all ready for
battle.

"It was on the 4th of April, that the `Phoebe' brought us news that
Admiral Villeneuve, with his squadron, had again slipped out of Toulon,
and was steering for the coast of Africa. Frigates were sent out in
every direction, to make sure that he had not gone eastward; and then
after him we stood, towards the Straits of Gibraltar, but the wind was
dead against us, and we had hard work to get there. I had never seen
the admiral in such a taking before. We beat backwards and forwards
against the head-wind, but all to no purpose--out of the Gut we could
not get without a leading-wind, and so we had to anchor off the Barbary
coast; there we got supplies.

"At last, on the 5th of May, an easterly breeze sprung up, and away we
went, with a flowing sheet, through the Straits. We called off Cadiz,
and the coast of Portugal, and then bore away for the West Indies, where
we heard the French had gone. We sighted Madeira, and made Barbadoes,
then sailed for Tobago; and next we were off for the Gulf of Paria, all
cleared for action, making sure that we should find the enemy there. We
thought it would have killed the admiral when he found that he had been
deceived. Back we sailed, and heard that the French had captured the
Diamond Rock. You've heard about it. It's a curious place, and was
commissioned like a man-of-war. If it hadn't been for false
information, and if Lord Nelson had stuck to his own intentions, we
should have caught the French up off Port Royal, and thrashed them just
at the spot Lord Rodney thrashed Admiral de Grasse--so I've heard say.
Well, at last, we found that the French had left the West Indies for
Europe, so back across the Atlantic we steered, but though we knew we
were close astern of them, they kept ahead of us, and at last we sighted
Cape Spartel, and anchored the next day at Gibraltar.

"I know it for a fact, that it only wanted ten days of two years since
Lord Nelson himself had last set his foot on shore. It was much longer
than that since I and most on board had trod dry ground. That was
serving our country, you'll allow--most of the time, too, under weigh,
battling with tempests, and broiling under the sun of the tropics.

"We victualled and water