line.
When I go on board the admiral, I will report her." The ships again fell
into their stations, and the captain took his in his cot. It was now the
depth of winter, and the weather very severe. I had caught cold which
confined me to my cot, and when we arrived at Plymouth I had a violent
rheumatic fever. I was carried on shore to sick quarters in blankets, and
before I was sufficiently recovered the ship sailed.

When I was strong enough I requested permission from the admiral to go to
London, which was granted. I had a run in the country for a few months,
for I soon got tired of noisy, smoky London. Soon after this I was
informed by the Admiralty that I was superseded in the last ship, and
ordered to Portsmouth to join the _Tonnant_, an eighty-four. A few days
after receiving my commission, I joined this glorious ship of ships. When
I took a perspective view of her gun-decks, I thought her an equal match
for any ship afloat, and so she certainly was, and nobly proved it
afterwards. Her gallant commander, Captain Troubridge, was from the
Emerald Isle; had a slight touch of the brogue, and was replete with
anecdote; he was good-humoured and a gentleman, and he never punished a
man unless he richly deserved it. My messmates were all young men, and
generally speaking well informed, with the exception of the master, who
was a countryman of mine, and desperately fond of doggerel verse as well
as cray-fish and conger eels.

We were again destined to make one of the Channel fleet, when to our great
joy, after tacking and half-tacking for six weeks, we were ordered with
some more ships of the line under Admiral Collingwood to proceed off Cadiz
to watch the motions of the Spanish and French fleets, after the scratch
they had with our fleet under Sir R. F. Calder. We occasionally ran into
Gibraltar for refreshments and stores. On one of these occasions the
Port-Admiral took it into his head to hoist his flag on board of one of
the active ships, and ordered us with two others to make sail out of the
harbour. As we were not acquainted with his object, we presumed he wanted
to purify his constitution by a strong sea-breeze; if so, he was
disappointed, as it fell calm two hours after we cleared Europa Point, and
during the night we were under the shells and shot of Ceuta, which
fortunately fell harmless. The day after we reached our former anchorage
at Gibraltar, where we found Sir Richard Bickerton, who took us under his
orders