only, that the ship ever reached its destination, for we had
scarcely a seaman fit for duty to work her. Never shall I forget the
morning I saw the land. In the moment of joy I forgot all my miseries,
and cast them into the deep, in the hope of future happiness. This is
mortal man's career. Past scenes are drowned and forgotten, in the
anticipation of happier events to come; and, by a cherished delusion,
we allow ourselves to be transported into the fairy land of imagination,
in quest of future joys--never, perhaps, to be realized, but the
contemplation of which, in the distance, serves at least to soothe us
under present suffering.

When the view of land first blessed our sight, the morning was foggy and
dreary. We were close under the land, and were in the very act of
standing from it, when the fog dispersed, the wind shifted fair, and we
ran in close to the mouth of Simon's Bay. The now agreeable breeze
ravished our sickened souls, and the surrounding view delighted our dim
and desponding eyes. Every one who could crawl was upon deck, to welcome
the sight of land, and inhale the salubrious air. Every soul on board
seemed elated with joy; and, when the anchor was let go, it was indeed
an anchor to the broken hearts of poor creatures then stretched on the
bed of sickness, who had not, during the whole voyage, seen the bright
sun rising and setting--sights at sea that beggar the power of
description. For myself, I jumped and danced about like a merry-andrew,
and I found, or fancied I found, myself already a convalescent.

The anchor had not been down long, when a boat came off from shore, on
board of which were several medical gentlemen, who questioned us as to
whence we came, whither we were bound, the state of the ship, the nature
of the disease, and the number of men that had died during the passage.
The number of men was a finishing blow to our present hopes, and we were
ordered to ride at quarantine; but every comfort that humanity or
liberality could dictate was immediately sent on board: fresh meats,
bread, tea, sugar, coffee, and fruits of all kinds; and, in a few days,
our legs began to re-assume their original shapes, and the disease died
away. The quarantine was very soon taken off, and the troops landed, and
were marched, or rather carried, to the barracks that stand on the brow
of the hill, at the back of Simon's Town. Here our treatment was that of
children of distress; every comfort was afforded us, and e