them to stay below was impossible, as we had almost as
many soldiers on board as our ship's company, and to keep their children
quiet was equally difficult. To effect this they frequently gave them
strong rum and water, which threw them into a state of stupor--poor,
miserable little beings! After having these suffering people on board for
five days we at length, to their relief and our great joy, arrived amongst
our drawling--no, creole friends, and the following morning all the
redcoats were disembarked. On the second day after our anchoring the
expected fleet made its appearance. It consisted of the _Boyne_,
Vice-Admiral Sir J. Jervis, one 70 and two 64-gun ships, several frigates,
sloops of war, bomb-ships, and transports with troops. We saluted the
admiral, which he returned. All now was life and bustle, and in a short
time the gun-boats were ready; each man-of-war received two flat boats to
tow astern. In the latter end of February, 1794, we finally bid an
affecting adieu to our yellow and black legged female friends at Bridge
Town, who remained on the shore waving handkerchiefs much whiter than
themselves until the fleet cleared the harbour. On making sail, Needham's
Fort, which commands the harbour, saluted the admiral, which he returned.
The fleet and transports soon cleared the bay, when each ship took her
station. It was a majestic sight to see so many vessels with all their
canvas spread and swelling to a strong sea-breeze.

The second day we reached Fort Royale Bay, Martinique, in admirable order,
and took French leave to let go our anchors out of range of the enemy's
shells. The nearest vessels of the fleet had been warmly saluted by Pigeon
Island, as they were going in, which, however, we treated with contempt.
On the third day after our arrival a frigate with a bomb-ship and three
gun-boats engaged it, and three hours afterwards it capitulated. One of
the sixty-four-gun ships, some frigates, and a bomb with transports, had
gone round to subdue the northern part of the island. We were now all
actively employed getting ready the gun and flat-bottomed boats for
landing the troops, who were commanded by Lieut.-Gen. Sir C. Gray. The
Duke of Kent shortly after arrived with some troops from Halifax. As it
was thought advisable to reduce some of the smaller towns before the
attack on Fort Royale, we were ordered with one of the sixty-fours, two
frigates, the bomb-ship and some gun-boats to assault the town of St.