three cheers;
upon which he sent his boy for two large case-bottles of brandy: having
treated every man with a dram, they repaired to their quarters, and
waited impatiently for the word of command. I must do my uncle the
justice to say, that in the whole of his disposition, he behaved with
the utmost intrepidity, conduct, and deliberation. The enemy being very
near, he ordered me to my station, and was just going to give the word
for hoisting the colours, and firing, when the supposed Frenchman hauled
down his white pennant, jack, and ensign, hoisted English ones, and
fired a gun a-head of us. This was a joyful event to Captain Bowling,
who immediately showed his colours, and fired a gun to leeward; upon
which the other ship ran alongside of us, hailed him, and, giving him
to know that she was an English man-of-war of forty guns, ordered him
to hoist out his boat and come on board. This command he obeyed with the
more alacrity, because, upon inquiry, he found that she was commanded
by an old messmate of his, who was overjoyed to see him, detained him to
dinner, and sent his barge for the supercargo and me, who were very much
caressed on his account. As this commander was destined to cruise upon
the French in the latitude of Martinico, his stem and quarters were
adorned with white fleurs-de-lis, and the whole shell of the ship so
much disguised for a decoy to the enemy, that it was no wonder my uncle
did not know her, although he had sailed on board of her many years.
We kept company with her four days, during which time the captains were
never asunder, and then parted, our course lying different from hers.

In less than fortnight after our separation, we made the land of Guinea,
near the mouth of the River Gambia; and trading along the coast as far
to the southward of the Line as Angola and Bengula, in less than six
months disposed of the greatest part of our cargo, and purchased four
hundred negroes, my adventure having been laid out in gold dust.

Our complement being made up, we took our departure from Cape Negroe,
and arrived in the Rio de la Plata in six weeks, having met with nothing
remarkable in our voyage, except an epidemic fever, not unlike the jail
distemper, which broke out among our slaves and carried off a good many
of the ship's company; among whom I lost one of my mates, and poor Strap
had well nigh given up the ghost. Having produced our passport to the
Spanish governor, we were received with great co