and a schooner laden with flour. The latter was condemned, half-barrels of
gunpowder being found in the under flour casks. The former was let go,
although we thought she ought to have been condemned, as her register was
defective. We understood that the judge's wife, of the Vice-Admiralty
Court, who was notorious for accepting presents, had received a purse from
some of the masters of the American vessels detained by the cruisers to
let them escape trial. How true this may be must be left to time and the
curious to decide.

On overhauling the fore-shrouds and mainstay, we found them too much worn
to be trustworthy. As we could not be refitted with lower rigging from the
naval stores at this place, the senior officer gave us an order to proceed
to Jamaica. We took leave of all the "Ballaker ladies," as the mids chose
to call them. Know, reader, that the fish called by that name is a most
destructive and voracious one, and as I presume they thought the ladies
were of that character, some of them had too much reason to call them so.
We reached Port Royal on the afternoon of the following day, but remarked
we were not received with that welcome as before; no boats filled with
yellow-legged females came off with banjos. Why? Because we brought in no
prize with us. And when we went on shore some of these delicate dames
exclaimed when we accosted them: "Eh, massa, you hab know me before? I no
recollect you. What ship you belong to?" And we were seldom asked to the
dignity balls. We were all now in tolerable health, when the packet from
England arrived, bringing letters for the squadron, one of which I
received, acquainting me that my sister's husband was appointed to command
the A. frigate fitting for the Mediterranean, and that my youngest
brother, in the India marine, had died in Bengal. He was a fine, spirited
youth, nineteen years of age; we had not met since we were at school. Some
of our seamen also received letters by the same opportunity, acquainting
them with the mutiny at the Nore, and a few days afterwards a disaffected
spirit broke out in the squadron, which we had some trouble in subduing.
However, by reasoning with the petty officers and the best seamen, it
terminated without open mutiny or bloodshed, although the crews of some of
the ships had been mistaken enough to have delegates for their
proceedings. To finally root out the trouble the admiral ordered the five
line of battle ships fitting out at Port Royal to