e days' provisions on
board. We encountered a heavy gale; but, fortunately, it was in our
favour. On the 9th a junk was reported in sight; and in the course of an
hour we were sufficiently near to perceive that the people on board of
her were making signals of distress, and cutting away her masts. We hove
to as near to her as we could venture, for the sea ran high, and lowered
a boat, which reached the junk in safety. They found her to be in a
sinking state: a hawser was made fast to her, with the intention of
towing her into Hong Kong, then not fifty miles distant. We again made
sail, towing the junk at a rapid rate; but the strain caused her planks
to sever, and consequently increased the rush of water in her hold. The
Chinese hailed the ship, and entreated to be rescued from their perilous
condition. She was immediately hauled alongside, and twelve of her crew
succeeded in getting on board of us; but the hawser gave way, and the
junk drifted astern, with five men still remaining on board. Sail was
immediately made, and in a short time we ran alongside of her, staving
in her bulwarks, for both vessels were rolling heavily. Fortunately her
mainmast had gone by the board; had it been still standing, and had
become locked in our rigging, we should have been in great peril
ourselves. The remaining five men and a dog gained the ship, and the
junk again went astern, and in three minutes afterwards went to the
bottom. When they saw her sink, the Chinese raised up a cry at their
miraculous escape. One poor fellow had his hand shockingly mutilated, it
having been crushed between the sides of the two vessels.

The wind had now much subsided, and we made sail for Hong Kong, where we
arrived on the following day. There we found the Agincourt, Sir Thomas
Cochrane, who was now commander-in-chief, Sir William Parker having
sailed for England. The cutter and two of the Company's steamers were
also here; and the Minden hospital ship, as usual, crowded with the
sick and dying. Our first lieutenant, Mr. Wade, took this opportunity of
leaving the ship, and Mr. Heard succeeded him.

On the 6th we sailed for Macao, which is too well known to require any
description here. On the 10th we sailed for Manilla, an account of which
I shall reserve for our future visit. On the 1st of April we again
sailed, on a surveying cruise, to the southward. After fixing the
positions of several small islands in the Mendoro Sea, we steered for
Samboangan, a