the seven years that I was bound for; so
my new master got me bound apprentice to
him for three years. I sailed in the "Hope"
of Bridgewater till the year 1798—chiefly in
the coasting trade—and I was very well
contented, for our master was a very good man,
and the owners had promised me a mate's
situation as soon as I got out of my time.
And in April in 1798, we were bound from
London to Bridgewater, and getting down
Channel as far as the Lizard, and we being
bound off the Bristol Channel, the wind
being at that time about north-east, and
blowing a strong gale, and our ship being
rather light, we got blown off the land; and
the gale continuing for eight or ten days,
we got drifted a long ways off; and our
master not being a navigator, though he
was a very good coaster, so that when the
gale was over, and we got fine weather,
we did not know where we were, but we
knew well enough that we had been drifted
to the westward. We had to run back to the
eastward, and the second day after we had
fine weather. We fell in with a Mount's Bay
boat, who, like ourselves, had been blown off
the land, who was very short of provisions
and water, of which, thanks be to God, we
had plenty; and we gave them some, and they
gave us some brandy and tobacco—for they
were smugglers—for the provisions which we
gave them; and they directed us what course
to steer in for the land, and we parted
company. And the next day morning we fell in
with the "Brilliant" frigate, who made us
heave to, and she sent a boat on board of us
to go a-pressing; and our master being half
drunk, and the rest of the crew being no
better, we got a-quarrelling, when the
lieutenant of the frigate came on board, and
through our master being drunk I got
pressed; for I being out of my time two days
before this happened, and the master told the
lieutenant so when we were mustered; so I
was sent on board of the frigate; and a fine
large ship I thought she was when I first got
on board of her, and I was put in the main-
top; but I soon found my mistake out, for
the very first night, at reefing topsail, I saw
seven men flogged for not being smart enough;
and me never seeing a man flogged before, I
wished myself back again in my little brig.
So here I could see the fruits of drunkenness;
for if all hands had been sober a-board of the
"Hope" when we fell in with the frigate, I should
have been stowed away; but it was my lot,
and I was obliged to content myself where I
was, for our usage on board of the "Brilliant"
was very cruel; for we had nine men doing
duty as boatswain's mates on board of her,
and there was starting and flogging all day
long, and the usage was very little fit to
reconcile me to a man-of-war; but being
young, and finding it was no use to fret, I made
the best I could of it. And our ship being
only just come out of Plymouth, and being
bound on a six months' cruise in the Bay of
Biscay, we went away to the westward on a
cruise; and on the 20th of October we fell in
with part of a West India convoy, homeward
bound, who had been separated in a gale of
wind on the banks of Newfoundland, and had
lost their commander; and there being no
man-of-war along with them, our captain found
himself in duty bound to see them safe into
port; and away we went along with them for
Old England, and in five days we arrived safe
in Plymouth Sound, having a strong westerly
wind all the way. And one of the masters of
one of the ships told our captain, that about a
week before they fell in with our ship they
had been chased by a French privateer, and
that the privateer had taken two ships belonging
to London, deeply laden, and he believed
that the privateer had taken them into Santa
Cruz, a town in the Island of Teneriffe, one of
the Canary Islands. Our captain acquainting
the admiral that was in Plymouth with it, he
gave him permission to go to Teneriffe and
try to cut them out; and he sent the
"Talbot," a sloop of war, along with us; and
we sailed from Plymouth in the middle of
November, and having nothing but strong
westerly winds against us, we were nearly
three weeks before we got to Teneriffe; and in
our passage we had the good fortune of taking
two prizes—the one the very privateer that
had taken the two ships that we were going
to cut out. She was a fine brigantine belonging
to St. Maloes, and the other a ship
belonging to Bristol, that had been taken by the
privateer, homeward bound, only two days
before we took them again.

And now having arrived off the island,
we arranged everything to go in with the
boats to cut the two ships out, and on the
4th day of December we left the ships, about
four o'clock in the afternoon. There were
seven boats of us altogether—four from our
ship, and three from the "Talbot." The
boat that I was in was a five-oared boat,
half gig and half cutter; she was a very fine
boat, and the commanding officer was in her,
which was the first lieutenant of our frigate,
who pulled backwards and forwards to the
rest of the boats, to encourage the men and to
give his orders. We got into Santa Cruz
harbour about ten o'clock in the evening, and
we were lucky enough to board one of the
ships, and get possession of her without
getting any one hurt; but not so with the other
ship, for the noise we made in boarding the
first ship put them on their guard, and she
being a ship which mounted ten guns, opened
her fire on our boats, which were three boats
which had to board her; and I belonging to
the commanding officer's boat, who was on
board of the first ship that had been taken,
and who was under-way by this time, and was
going out of the harbour with a light breeze
of wind off the land, and our officer seeing
how the other boats were likely to be handled,
ordered the pinnace and his own boat to go to
the assistance of their shipmates; and just as