and had as many more whose recovery was despaired of. She had lain
here a fortnight, and was now about to proceed to Cracatoa, having just
received final orders by the packet.

At seven in the morning of the 9th we weighed, and stood on through the
Strait to the S.W., keeping pretty close in with the islands on the Sumatra
shore, in order to avoid a rock near Mid-channel Island, which lay on our
left. At half after ten, I received orders from Captain Gore to make sail
toward a Dutch ship, which now hove in sight to the southward, and which we
supposed to be from Europe; and, according to the nature of the
intelligence we could procure from her, either to join him at Cracatoa,
where he intended to stop, for the purpose of supplying the ships with
arrack, or to proceed to the S.E. end of Prince's Island, and there take in
our water and wait for him.

I accordingly bore down toward the Dutch ship, which, soon after, came to
an anchor to the eastward; when the wind slackening, and the current still
setting very strong through the Strait to the S.W., we found it impossible
to fetch her, and having therefore got as near her as the tide would
permit, we also dropt anchor. I immediately dispatched Mr Williamson in the
cutter with orders to get on board her, if possible; but as she lay near a
mile off, and, the tide ran with great rapidity, we soon perceived that the
boat was dropping fast astern. We therefore made the signal to return, and
immediately began to veer away the cable, and sent out a buoy astern, in
order to assist him in getting on board again. Our poverty, in the article
of cordage, was here very conspicuous; for we had not a single coil of rope
in the store-room to fix the buoy, but were obliged to set about unreeving
the studding-sail geer, the topsail-halliards and tackle-falls for that
purpose; and the boat was at this time driving to the southward so fast,
that it was not before we had veered away two cables, and almost all our
running-rigging, that she could fetch the buoy.

I was under the necessity of waiting till the strength of the tide should
abate, which did not happen till the next morning, when Mr Williamson got
on board the ship, and learnt that she had been seven months from Europe,
and three from the Cape of Good Hope; that before she sailed, France and
Spain had declared war against Great Britain; and that she left Sir Edward
Hughes, with a squadron of men of war, and a fleet of East India ships,