by which he kindly intimated that any one who had
letters to send might send them.

At length, about 3:30 in the afternoon, the captain's gig was seen
approaching the ship, the side was manned, and in a few minutes more
Captain Hood stood upon his own quarter-deck.

"You may--ah--run my gig up to the davits, if you please, Mr Annesley,"
said he, "and then we will--aw--weigh at once if--ah--you have
everything ready."

"Quite ready, sir," replied the first luff, turning away to give the
necessary orders. The gig was hoisted up and secured, the hands were
sent aloft to loose the canvas, the topsails were sheeted home and mast-
headed, the jib run up, and, simultaneously with this, the capstan-bars
were shipped, one of the ship's boys mounted the capstan-head violin in
hand, and to a merry air upon that instrument out stepped the men, the
anchor was quickly run up to the bows, and with the last drain of the
flood-tide the "Juno," under topsails and jib, with a light north-
easterly air of wind, glided with a slow and stately movement out of the
harbour, squaring away directly down through the Solent as soon as we
had cleared the anchorage at Spithead, instead of going out round the
island to the eastward, as was at that time usual with men-o'-war. This
circumstance, trifling as it was, had a very exhilarating effect upon
all hands, as it seemed to foreshadow that our skipper, notwithstanding
his somewhat affected manner, had a habit of taking the shortest and
most direct road when he had an object to achieve.

There were several ships lying at Spithead as we passed through, and it
was observed that one of them--the "Boston," a frigate of about our own
size--was just getting under way, her destination being the east coast
of North America. Her skipper, Captain Courtenay, and ours were, it
appeared, old friends, and having met that day at the Admirals' office,
there had been a little good-natured banter between them as to the
comparative sailing powers of the two ships, each being of course of
opinion that his own ship could beat the other; and it had been finally
arranged that, as both frigates were to sail that day, there should be a
friendly race down Channel, the stake being the time-honoured one--a new
hat. Accordingly, as soon as we had room, the "Juno" was rounded-to
with the main-topsail to the mast, to wait until the other ship should
join us.

We were not detained very long. Hardly were we hove-to when th