ed great indignation against the enemy among our people. Job
Samson, our old boatswain, volunteered to head the expedition. He had
an idea that what others failed to do he could always find out some mode
of accomplishing, and, to do him justice, he was ever ready to attempt
to carry out his plans in spite of every risk, though he did not
invariably succeed. He soon had his expedition ready. We heartily
wished him success as he pulled in towards the shore. The Amazon had in
the meantime come up, and as she was in-shore of us and drew less water,
she was ordered to stand in and cover the attack. We eagerly, with our
glasses, watched the proceedings. We could see the enemy, in great
numbers, mustering on shore. Probably they did not expect that the
Amazon's guns were going to take part in the fray. She stood in as
close as she could venture, and then opened her fire: but the enemy,
nothing daunted, returned it manfully from an earth battery, which had
been thrown up near the brig. In the meantime, in the face of this
fire, old Samson advanced boldly to the attack; but round-shot and
musket-balls are stubborn things to contend against, and the boatswain
seeing, however easy it might be theoretically to capture the brig, that
practically, if he attempted it, he should lose the boat with himself
and every man in her, very wisely resolved to return on board, and wait
for another opportunity of signalising himself. We afterwards found
that, in this instance, the grapes really were sour, as the sloop and
schooner had taken in the most valuable part of the brig's cargo, and
that she had remaining on board only ninety tons of salt. We made
several attempts during the afternoon to cut out these vessels, but so
well guarded were they from the shore by riflemen and flying artillery,
that after all our exertions we were compelled to abandon the attempt.
Happily, however, no one was hit except those who had been wounded in my
boat. In the evening, before turning in, I went round to see how the
poor fellows were getting on. They all received me cheerfully.

"We're better off, sir, than if we had been boxed up in a Yankee prison,
even though as how we've got some eyelet holes through us, d'ye see?"
said Bob Nodder, who was the most severely wounded of any of the party.
He observed that I was grieved to see the sufferings they were enduring.

"It could not be helped, Mr Hurry. You did your best for us, and if
you had not ke