him and the venerable spinster. I
thought that he would not do anything really to annoy her.

Our captain came on board the next morning in high spirits. He had got
leave to go to Teneriffe, in company with his Majesty's sloop-of-war
_Talbot_, to cut out the two West Indiamen taken by the French
privateer. No sooner, however, did we get out of the Channel than we
met with strong westerly winds, which nearly blew us back into its chops
again. However, not to be daunted, we kept hammering away at it, and
though we in the frigate made tolerably fine weather, those on board the
sloop had wet jackets for many a day. We had been out about ten days
when two sails hove in sight, running with canvas set before the wind.
One we made out to be a large brigantine, the other was a ship,
evidently an English merchantman. The ship stood on, and when we fired
a gun to make her heave-to, let all fly, while the brigantine hauled her
wind and tried to make off. We sent a boat aboard the ship, and found
that she was an English merchantman belonging to Bristol, which had been
captured by the brigantine. The privateer herself belonged to Saint
Malo, and was the very vessel which had taken the two West Indiamen we
were going to cut out. The Frenchmen taken in the prize gave us some
useful information as to where the two West Indiamen were lying.

The _Talbot_ meantime was proceeding in chase of the privateer, and very
soon coming within shot, knocked away the head of her mainmast and
brought her to. She was an important capture, for she had committed a
great deal of mischief, and, to our no small satisfaction, she had a
considerable sum of money on board her, which she had taken from various
captured vessels. Prize crews being put on board the two vessels, we
proceeded on our course, thrashing away in the teeth of the
south-westerly gale. However, at last, in about three weeks, we sighted
the island of Teneriffe, and hove-to that we might make arrangements for
the attack. This was on the 8th of December. At about four o'clock in
the afternoon, all the boats assembled round the frigate under the
command of our first lieutenant. We had four boats, and there were
three belonging to the corvette. I was in the boat with the first
lieutenant. She was a very fine, fast boat, pulling six oars. Merton,
who had volunteered, was in one of the other boats, under the command of
one of the master's mates of the frigate, and Charley Iffley