in the
morning, and, by two o'clock, rounded Europa Point. I had ordered the
men to bend the cable, and, like many other young officers, fancied it
was done because they said it was, and because I had ordered it. It
never occurred to me to go and see if my orders had been executed;
indeed, to say the truth, I had quite as much as I could turn my hand
to: I was at the helm from twelve o'clock at night till six in the
morning, looking out for the land; and when I ordered one of the men to
relieve me, I directed him how to steer, and fell into a profound sleep,
which lasted till ten o'clock; after which I was forced to exert the
whole of my ingenuity in order to fetch into the Bay, and prevent being
blown through the Gut; so that the bending of the cable escaped my
memory until the moment I required the use of the anchor.

As I passed under the stern of one of the ships of war in the Bay, with
my prize colours flying, the officer on deck hailed me, and said I "had
better shorten sail." I thought so too, but how was this to be done?
My whole ship's company were too drunk to do it, and though I begged for
some assistance from his Majesty's ship, it blew so fresh, and we passed
so quickly, that they could not hear me, or were not inclined.
Necessity has no law. I saw among the other ships in the bay a great
lump of a transport, and I thought she was much better able to bear the
concussion I intended for her than any other vessel; because I had heard
then, and have been made sure of it since, that her owners (like all
other owners) were cheating the government out of thousands of pounds a
year. She was lying exactly in the part of the Bay assigned for the
prizes; and as I saw no other possible mode of "bringing the ship to
anchor," I steered for "the lobster smack," and ran slap on board of
her, to the great astonishment of the master, mate, and crew.

The usual expletives, a volley of oaths and curses on our lubberly
heads, followed the shock. This I expected, and was as fully prepared
for as I was for the fall of my foremast, which, taking the foreyard of
the transport, fell over the starboard quarter and greatly relieved me
on the subject of shortening sail. Thus, my pretty brig was first
reduced to a sloop and then to a hulk; fortunately her bottom was sound.
I was soon cut clear of the transport, and called out in a manly voice,
"Let go the anchor."

This order was obeyed with promptitude: away it went sure enoug