. Michael's on the
11th of June. It had been my intention to sail into the latitude of
the Azores, and then to return to Rio de Janeiro. But, strong gales
coming on, we made the unpleasant discovery that the frigate's
main-topmast was sprung, and, when putting her about, the main and
main-topsail yards were discovered to be unserviceable. For the
condition of the ship's spars I had depended on others, not deeming
it necessary to take upon myself such investigation. It was, however,
possible that we might have patched these up, had not the running
rigging been as rotten as the masts, and we had no spare cordage on
board. A still worse disaster was that the salt provisions shipped at
Maranham were reported bad, mercantile ingenuity having resorted to
the device of placing good meat at the top and bottom of the barrels,
whilst the middle, being composed of unsound articles, had tainted
the whole, thereby rendering it not only unpalatable but positively
dangerous to health. The good provisions on board being little more
than sufficient for a week's subsistence, a direct return to Rio de
Janeiro was out of the question."

It was therefore absolutely necessary to seek some nearer harbour; but
Lord Cochrane was considerably embarrassed in his choice of a
port. Portugal was an enemy's country, and Spain, by reason of his
achievements in Chili and Peru, was no less hostile to him. France had
not yet recognised the independence of Brazil, and therefore a stay on
any part of its coast might lead to difficulties. England afforded the
only safe halting-place, though there Lord Cochrane was uncertain as
to the way in which, in consequence of the Foreign Enlistment Act,
he might be received. To England, however, he resolved to go; and,
sighting its coast on the 25th of June, he anchored at Spithead on
the following day. Salutes were exchanged with a British ship lying
in harbour, and in the afternoon he landed at Portsmouth, to be
enthusiastically welcomed by nearly all classes of his countrymen,
whose admiration for his personal character and his excellence as a
naval officer was heightened by the renown of his exploits in South
America during an absence of six years and a half.

His subsequent relations with Brazil can be briefly told. His
unavoidable return to England afforded just the excuse which his
enemies in Brazil had been seeking for ousting him from his command.
They and the Chevalier Manoel Rodriguez Gameiro Pessoa, the