y for roasting. The sailors laughed and stood outside, leaving the
officers to settle the business how they could. At last, the landlady
called out to her husband, "Be they all out, Jem?"

"Yes," replied the husband, "they be all safe gone."

"Well, then," replied she, "I'll soon have all these gone too;" and with
these words she made such rush forward upon us with her spit, that had
we not fallen back, and tumbled one over another, she certainly would
have run it through the second lieutenant, who commanded the party. The
passage was cleared in an instant, and as soon as we were all in the
street she bolted us out; so there we were, three officers and fifteen
armed men, fairly beat off by a fat old woman; the sailors who had been
drinking in the house having made their escape to some other place.

We then called at other houses, where we picked up one or two men, but
most of them escaped by getting out at the windows or the back doors, as
we entered the front. Now there was a grog-shop which was a very
favourite rendezvous of the seamen belonging to the merchant vessels,
and to which they were accustomed to retreat when they heard that the
press-gangs were out. Our officers were aware of this, and were
therefore indifferent as to the escape of the men, as they knew that
they would all go to that place, and confide in their numbers for
beating us off. As it was then one o'clock, they thought it time to go
there; we proceeded without any noise, but they had people on the
look-out, and as soon as we turned the corner of the lane the alarm was
given. I was afraid that they would all run away, and we should lose
them; but, on the contrary, they mustered very strong on that night, and
had resolved to "give fight." The men remained in the house, but an
advanced guard of about thirty of their wives, saluted us with a shower
of stones and mud. Some of our sailors were hurt, but they did not
appear to mind what the women did. They rushed on, and then they were
attacked by the women with their fists and nails. Notwithstanding this,
the sailors only laughed, pushing the women on one side, and saying, "Be
quiet, Poll;"--"Don't be foolish, Molly;"--"Out of the way, Sukey: we
a'n't come to take away your fancy man;" with expressions of that sort,
although the blood trickled down many of their faces, from the way in
which they had been clawed. We at length got into the house. The
seamen of the merchant ships had armed th