ce of mind, the crew were saved from
the flames. At his suggestion, the powder was instantly ordered to be
thrown overboard; a measure to which all the other ships in the harbour,
and even the town itself, probably owed their preservation. The
inhabitants, indeed, were thrown into great confusion on the occasion:
for the ship's broadside lay towards the town, and all the guns were
loaded; so that they went off as the fire approached them, and damaged
several houses, but happily did no other execution. The only life lost,
by this dreadful accident, was that of the master; who had been snatched
out of the flames, miserably scorched, and died next morning on board
the Badger. From the smallness of this vessel, it had no place to
shelter such a number of men; and the constant rains experienced while
sailing for Port Royal, greatly affected the health of the ship's
company, who fell sick very fast: but, at length all the sufferers were
landed in safety.

The judgment and humanity manifested on this trying occasion, exhibited
the heroic commander of this little brig in a new and amiable light.
They obtained him the gratitude of every one belonging to the
unfortunate ship, and the praise and admiration of all to whom the
affair was related.

In the mean time, his friend, Captain Locker, of the Lowestoffe, who had
been suffering ill health, from the climate, almost ever since his
arrival, found it necessary, for the preservation of his existence, to
quit that ship, arid return to England, about the middle of the year
1779. It was soon after this period, that Sir Peter Parker, who was in
February advanced to be Vice-Admiral of the Blue, detached a small
squadron, among which was the Lowestoffe, then commanded by Captain
Charles Parker, for the purpose of intercepting some Spanish
register-ships, in the Bay of Dulce. The British squadron, under the
Honourable Captain John Luttrell, found that these register-ships had
taken shelter under the strong fortress of St. Fernando de Omoa, which
is situated on the south side of the Bay of Honduras, and on the Gulph
of Dulce: but, fortunately falling in with the Porcupine sloop, Captain
Pakenham, which had a short time before been sent to co-operate with a
small detachment of troops under the command of Captain Dalrymple,
dispatched by the Governor of Jamaica, to drive away the Spaniards from
infesting the baymen on the Musquito and Bay of Honduras shores, which
service they had complete