marez in the Orion have been wonderful: if the Vanguard had been in
England, months would have been taken to send her to sea; here my
operations will not be delayed four days, and I shall rejoin the rest
of my fleet on the rendezvous."[12] Accordingly, on the 27th, while
the Orion was taking possession of a Spanish brig, the Vanguard and
Alexander joined her off the port; but the frigates which had parted
never afterwards joined.

[12] See Clarke and M'Arthur's Life of Lord Nelson.

The following journal, written in the shape of a letter by Sir James
to his family, detailing the proceedings of the squadron, and the
events previous to the memorable 1st of August, will be read with much
interest.

"Orion, St. Peter's Port,
"Island of Sardinia, 24th May 1798.

"If the letter I sent you the 18th instant arrives safely, it will
apprise you of our being in the neighbourhood of Toulon, with every
prospect of a propitious cruise. The squadron experienced blowing
weather till the Sunday following, when it became more moderate; and
in the afternoon a valuable vessel was captured, from Smyrna, laden
with cotton. This little success appeared the forerunner of our
future good fortune; and we began to make exulting reflections on the
advantages of our situation. A few hours, however, convinced us of the
futility of all our views, and the instability of human projects: at
ten o'clock the wind began to increase with such rapidity as scarcely
to give us time to take in our sails, and prepare to encounter the
gale: at midnight we were reduced to a close-reefed main-topsail; a
tremendous sea, and vivid flashes of lightning, convinced us that the
storm was not at its height: at three o'clock our main-top-sail was
shattered to ribands, and blew overboard.

"The dawn of day presented to us a sad spectacle: the Vanguard without
a fore-mast, and her main and mizen-top-mast gone; the rest of the
squadron much dispersed, and the prize captured the evening before not
in sight.

"Providentially the Vanguard was enabled to _wear_ on the other
_tack_, as the sea was setting her fast towards Corsica, from which
island we were not many leagues distant. The gale continued with
unabated violence until the afternoon, when it became rather more
moderate, but still there was a very great sea. This ship, with the
Alexander and Emerald, kept company with the Admiral, and the latter
parted in the night.

"The next morning the gale had consid