an offing, the wind blew so heavy, with such short sail, we shaped our course for Ostend (a neutral port), bearing from us E.N.E., distance about three hours; but it was not without the greatest difficulty that we got over the bar at the pier head on account of the tide not being up.

The next day Captain Anthon had one of our merchants come on by land and join us, and on the 25th a boat from Dunkirk brought us our cables and anchors which we had left at Dunkirk Roads, and the same day we were ready for sea again; but we were obliged to lie here a few days longer because of contrary winds. Ostend is a very considerable seaport town, lying lat. 51.20. long. 2.50. East, subject to the emperor of Germany; situated in the Austrian Netherlands, and is one of the strongest towns in these parts, and its being at this time a neutral port, so that almost all nations carry on a regular trade with the inhabitants of this wealthy and populous town; and I am told that it grew immensely rich during the last war between the French and the English. The town at this time was so overstocked with inhabitants, and thronged with strangers from different nations, that it was almost impossible to procure a meal of victuals at any of the public houses in the place (or to buy anything to drink either); provisions of all kinds being exceeding scarce and dear. I paid here for merely an ordinary re-. past one and a half crowns. While we lay here we lost about half of our crew, who deserted from us.

On the 1st of December, in the morning, an English cutter, mounting fourteen guns, belonging to the king of England, arrived here, and as soon as she knew who we were, the captain of her sent his boat on board of us, with a challenge to Captain Anthon to meet them without the bar on the following day. She then sailed and stretched out to the place appointed, a considerable distance beyond the pier-head, hauled up the jack at her mainsail, and her

jibsheets to windward, and lay to wait for us, as we supposed, after what had passed between the two captains; ours having sent an answer to the challenge, that he would meet the English cutter as soon after she had gone out as permission was granted.* She lay in this position, which we could plainly discern from the fort at Ostend, until the night came on, and we then lost sight of her. On the morning of the 2d, as soon as the tide would serve, we got under way and stood off about six leagues from the pier-head, but could discover nothing of the swaggering John Englishman. No doubt but the English cutter skulked away in the night, being afraid to meet us; this certainly shewed a great deal of wisdom in the English, for they must have known that we were an overmatch for them. In fact, they did know it, for her first lieutenant, when both cutters lay in the bason at Ostend, came on board of us by my invitation (the captain being absent) and we drank a glass or two of wine together. He then had an opportunity of seeing the number of guns which our cutter carried, and the size; and he also had information as to the number of men which we then had. Besides, we had some chat together, and he at first declared that they thought themselves abundantly able to take us. I told him if we did engage that we should then shew them Yankee play for it. He asked me what I meant by that. I replied, that we should board them instantly after exchanging broadsides. To which he answered, that in that way, he thought the chance in our favor of capturing them, as we had the most men, which were nearly all Yankees. I found by discoursing with this English officer, that his captain had no serious intentions of giving us battle. At 11 A.M. we boarded a neutral packet boat bound from Dover to Ostend. We enquired of the people on board of her if they had seen anything of our intended an

*It being war time, no vessel was allowed to depart from the port until twenty-four hours after the one which had last sailed had expired, if they belonged to different nations who were at war with each other, and were armed.

tagonist. They replied, that they had not. We then shaped our course for Dunkirk Roads, where we arrived at 4 P.M. and moored ship. The next day having got a fresh supply of seamen, we set sail on a six weeks' cruise, against the enemies of France and America. On the 10th we captured two vessels under English colours, one of which we ransomed for four hundred and seventy guineas, the other we manned and sent her to France. The next day we fell in with a large English ship, a letter of marque, mounting eighteen carriage guns, and carrying forty-five officers and seamen, besides thirteen passengers, men and women; and after a bloody action, which lasted three-quarters of an hour, she struck to us. We had just got possession of her, when the weather, which had been thick for some time, lighted up, and behold! an English frigate was then nearly within gun shot of us. She had, no doubt, been directed that way by the noise of the cannon in the action. We were therefore, without losing a moment's time, forced to abandon our prize, and take to our heels, which at the time were pretty clean, and we crowded all sail from the frigate. In about one hour thereafter we found we out-sailed her considerable; and she, after chasing us four hours, and finding she fell astern of us fast, abandoned the chase and hauled upon the wind, after taking in her light sails. After this we steered for the Land's End, where we arrived on the 15th of December, and the same day we took two sloops, which we ransomed. Also captured a large English brigantine, on board of which we put a prize master and men, and ordered her for France. She was richly laden with dry goods and other articles. The next day at meridian the weather cleared off, and we saw a ship close aboard of us, and soon after discovered her to be a frigate. Made sail from her and she gave chase to us, and continued it until about 4 P.M. when she gave us a bow chase, the shot of which carried away our topmast just above the upper with. She was now chasing us before the wind;

and after this accident the ship gained upon us fast. Night now came on apace, and being close to the English shore, we at once took in our light sails, and hauled close upon the wind. The ship did the same; but we now found we could out-sail her, and at nine at night we lost sight of her, and the next day we put into Cherbourg, hauled into the bason, and gave our privateer a clean bottom.

The port of Cherbourg is upon the English channel, in the province of Normandy, in the French dominions. It is a very excellent harbour for men of war, except when the wind blows from the northward. It lies in lat. 50.00 N. and long. 25 minutes W. It is a pretty large town, the buildings which appear to have been once very elegant, and the architecture good, but they appear now to be going to decay. The bason is a spacious one, and at high tides it will contain twenty men of war, and in which at that time of tide there is about twenty-four feet of water. Vessels which warp into the bason in order to clean or grave their bottoms, may lie with safety at the head of the bason, where they are nearly dry at low water. We hauled our privateer in at the head of the bason, where she lay upon her keel on a kind of sandy bottom, was shored up, and we graved both sides of her with tallow in one tide, or while it was low water and at the full tide we warped her out into the Roads.

The dry dock here, which has cost government a large sum of money, is nearly finished. It has been constructed on purpose for the conveniency of ships of war only. The Roads off Cherbourg are bleak and open, and much exposed to gales of wind from the northward, as I have already noticed; however, it is more than probable that the French will make an excellent harbour here in time of the Roads, as there now are, and have been for some years past, several thousand people employed by government, together with great numbers of flat bottomed boats, wagons, carts &c., &c.,

in order to effect this grand object. They have already by a mole, formed a kind of half moon, extending from the western shore out into the Roads, where there is about seven fathoms of water, the bottom of which is excellent for anchorage; so that several ships of war may ride with safety under this new made land in almost any wind that blows.

Should they once complete what they now have in view, and which I have but little doubt of, so that a fleet of their ships of the line might anchor and lie here with perfect security in any weather, they will in that case annoy the English amazingly in time of war.

There is a strong fortress at about two leagues from the entrance of the bason, founded upon an island (almost a solid bed of rock). This commands the roads completely; besides, the fortifications upon the island, when the harbour is finished, will be directly at the entrance, so that the French here will be under no apprehension of the English making a descent or attacking the town as they have frequently done in years past. The English have no safe seaport along (upon the Channel) eastward of Portsmouth for a fleet of their ships of war. It is true, they often anchor in the Downs, but it is a bleak dangerous place to lie, and where they are exposed to almost every wind that blows. Whereas Cherbourg harbour lies upon the channel, about midway between Portsmouth and the Downs. This will give the French, when their harbour in question is completed, a very superior advantage over their enemies, when war happens between these two great maritime powers.

I had the pleasure to see in this place the celebrated Captain Manly (who was well known in the United States, the first part of our Revolutionary war, as a sea captain, from several very important captures which he made of English vessels, loaded with such kind of articles as was at the time much wanted in the American army). He had just arrived in Cherbourg, with several other