I then made a short prayer for his protection, and jumped over

board.

The water at this time was up to the Grating on The Poop, whence I leaped the first thing I grasped was a Capstan-Bar; from which, in company with seven more, I got to the DAvır • :—but, in less than an hour, I had the melancholy sight to behold them all washed away, and myself remaining alone upon it, almost spent. I had now been about two hours in the water; when, to my unspeakable Joy, I saw a large Raft with many men driving towards me: when it came near, I quitted the Davit, and with much difficulty, swam to it by the assistance of one of our quarter-gunners, I got upon it. The Raft proved to be The Namur's Booms; as soon as we were able we lashed The Booms closer together, and fastened a plank across, and by this means made a good CATAMARAN t. It was by this time one o'clock in the morning: soon afterwards The Seas were so mountainous, as to turn our machine upside down; but providentially with the loss of only one man. About four o'clock A. M. we struck ground with The Booms; and, in a short time, all that survived reached the shore.

After having returned God thanks for his almost miraculous goodness towards us, we took each other by the hand, for it was not yet day and trusting still in The Divine Providence for protection, we walked forwards to find some place to shelter us from the inclemency of the weather: the spot, where we landed, afforded nothing but sand. When we had wandered about for an whole hour, but to no manner of purpose, we returned back to the place where we had left the Catamaran, and to our no small uneasiness perceived it gone. Day-light appeared soon afterwards; when we found ourselves on a sandy bank a little to the southward of PORTO NOVO ‡; and as there was a river running between us, and the Dutch Settlement, we were under the necessity of fording it after which, we soon arrived at Porto Novo, where we were received with much hospitality.--From our first landing to our arrival at Porto Novo, we lost four of our companions; two at the place where we drove ashore, and two in crossing the river.

* A long Beam of timber, used as a crane, whereby the flukes of The Anchor are hoisted to the top of The Bow, without injuring The Ship's sides as it

ascends.

+ French-Catimaron, a sort of raft, or float.

Porto Novo, is on the western shore of the Bay of Bengal; and is about seven, or eight leagues to the northward of Tranquebar, where The Dutch have a factory. The KOLEROON SHOAL, which lies to the S. E. from it, shelters it from the great swell that is found on every other part of the

Coast.

After we had sufficiently refreshed ourselves at Porto Novo, the Chief there was so obliging as to accommodate me with cloaths, an horse, and a guide to carry me to Fort St. David *, where I arrived about noon the day following, and immediately waited upon the Admiral, who received me very kindly indeed: but so excessive was the concern of that great, and good man, for the loss of so many poor souls, that he could not find utterance for those questions, he appeared desirous of asking me, concerning the particulars of our disaster.

Till I reached Porto Novo you beheld me shipwrecked, and naked: I must again repeat it that The Dutch received, refreshed, and kindly conveyed me to my truly Honourable Patron-through whose kindness, and humanity, I am not only well cloathed, and comforted; but am also made Lieutenant of the Syren, from which Ship I date this Jetter,

I am, &c,

JAMES ALMS.

P. S. There were only twenty-three of us saved from the wreck; twenty of whom came ashore on the Booms,

Edward Ives, Esq.

In the year (1752) Lieutenant Alms returned to England in the Syren frigate, and being paid off, retired to enjoy that short interval of repose which the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle + afforded.

His enterprising spirit however could not long endure the indolence of peace; having obtained leave from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, Lieutenant Alms, accepted of the command of The Hardwick, an East Indiaman, and sailed on the 29th of April (1754),-During his continuance in the Indian Seas, the Hardwick was employed, in either trading from Bombay to Limpo in China, or as a store Ship to his Majesty's Squadron; in which latter capacity she was present at the attack of Geriah, under the

* Fort St. David, on the west side of the Bay of Bengal, is near thirty leagues south from Madras. It is six leagues to the north half east from Porto Novo. It belongs to the English East-India Company; was taken and destroyed by the French in 1758, and we believe has not been since rebuilt. Fort St. David is eighty miles south of Fort St. George.

+ Concluded in the month of October, 1748. Wol. II,

4 E

command of Rear-Admirals Watson, and Pocock.-War having been declared by Great Britain against France, Lieutenant Alms in the month of February, (1758) quitted the Hardwick to return to his duty in the Royal Navy, and came to Europe overland, by way of Bassora, in company with Messrs. Doidge, Ives, Pye, and others. He arrived in England at the beginning of the year (1759), and in the month of March was appointed first Lieutenant of his Majesty's Ship Mars, 74 guns, then commanded by Captain James Young*, afterwards Admiral of the White.

The Mars, being attached to The Western Squadron, under the command of Sir Edward Hawke, Sir Charles Hardy, and Rear-Admiral Geary; with the rest of the Fleet, was blown off the station early in November, during a violent gale of wind, when watching the French Fleet in Brest Harbour. Sir Edward, thus obliged to return to Torbay, eagerly seized the earliest opportunity to resume his station; and, on the 14th of November, the Fleets of Great Britain, and France t, both put to sea.

On the 20th, about half past two, P. M. this gallant engagement begin off Belle-Isle to the southward; Sir Edward having, to use his own words, spread abroad the Signal to chase, and form in a line of battle, as the Ships should come up. All the evening they had fresh gales at N. W. and W. N. W. with heavy squalls. The night proved extremely dark, and boisterous; and the scene which presented itself in the morning of the 21st, was most dreadful. On the 22d, the weather became more moderate. It was on this memorable occasion, that the Master of the Royal George remonstrating with Sir Edward on the imminent

Captain James Young had the command of the Intrepid under Admiral Byng in 1775.-At the commencement of the American War he had the command at Antigua, with his flag on board The Portland. He died in London, at an advanced age, January 24, 1789.

+ M. de Conflans, in the Soleil Royal, 80 guns, 1200 men; Vice-Admiral Beaufremont, in the Tonnant, 80 guns, 1000 men; Rear-Admiral de Verger, in the Formidable, 80 guns, 1000 men; had the command :-In this Fleet, consisting of eighteen sail of the line, and three frigates, was L'Orient, so guns,

1000 men.

danger of bringing his Ship alongside the French Admiral, received for answer-" You have now done your duty in apprising me of the danger, let us next see how well you can comply with my orders-I say! lay me alongside the French Admiral."-A general idea of this action*, as connected with the subject of our present memoir, is best given in Sir Edward's own words:

"In attacking a flying enemy, it was impossible, in the space of a short winter's day, that all our Ships should be able to get into action, or all those of the enemy brought to it. The commanders and companies of such, as did come up with the rear of the French on the 20th, behaved with the greatest intrepidity, and gave the strongest proofs of a true British spirit. In the same manner, I am satisfied, would those have acquitted themselves, whose bad going Ships, or the distance they were at in the morning, prevented from getting up.Had we had two hours more day-light, the whole had been totally destroyed or taken, for we were almost up with their van, when night overtook us."

The Mars, Hero, and several other Ships, were crowding to the Admiral's assistance, but the obscurity of the evening put an end to the engagement. Lieutenant Alms served in the Mars until June (1761), when he was advanced by Lord Anson, then at the head of the Admiralty Board, Commander of the Flamborough's Prize. In the month of October following, he was appointed acting Captain of the Alarm frigate, 32 guns, which had just come out of dock at Woolwich, and, as already mentioned in the former part of this work, was the first King's Ship that had been ever coppered.

• The French lost five Ships.-The Superbe, 74 guns, which bravely stood. in between the English and French Admiral, to protect the latter, sunk with 800 men, from one broadside of Sir Edward's. The Thesée, 74 guns, sunk. The Soleil Royal, 80 guns, drove ashore to the westward of Crozie, and was burnt by her own crew. The Heros, 74 guns, stranded on the same sand-bank, was burnt by the English sailors; and the Juste, 74, was lost in the mouth of the Loire. Of the seven, or eight ships, which escaped into the River Villaine, the destruction of which Sir Edward found impracticable, only three could be brought out the others, from frequently taking the ground, became unservices able, and were broke up.

In (1762) Captain Alms, in the Alarm, was under the command of Sir George Brydges Rodney in the West Indies; -Sir George Pocock arrived in the Namur, 90 guns, withr his Squadron, destined for the attack of the Havanna. Captain Alms, on the 6th of May, proceeded with the latter Admiral to Cape Nicholas, the place of rendezvous for the British Fleet; and continued there until all the Squadron from Jamaica, under Sir James Douglas, had joined. The whole Fleetthen stood through the Old Straits of Bahama ‡, on the 27th of May, led by the Richmond frigate, Captain Elphinstone, who had joined them, on the starboard, and the Alarm frigate on the larboard bow; in her passage from Martinico, to Cape François, she had taken two Curaçoa armed sloops--one of 18, the other of 12 guns.

They passed the narrowest part in the night, between Cape Lobos, and Cayo Comfito, keeping good fire-lights on each for their directions. On the 2d of June, in the morning, the Alarm, and Echo, 28 guns, Captain John Lendrick, were

On the 25th of December, 1761, Captain Alms sailed in The Alarm, from Spithead, with a convoy of merchant ships for Cork.-In February, 1762, he left Cork,, with a convoy of one hundred sail, for the West Indies; and arrived safe with them at Barbadoes, after a favourable passage; from this island he sailed for Martinico, with some of his late convoy; and was then taken under the command of Sir G. B. Rodney.

+ Consisting of nineteen ships of the line; eighteen frigates; and a fleet of transports containing 10,000 soldiers. In this fleet, Captain Chaloner Ogle was in the Dover, 40 guns.

Sir George Pocock took the shortest, although the most hazardous of the two routes, as so much depended on dispatch: the easier route was to have sailed along the south side of the island of Cuba into the track of the galleons, to come round the west end of the island, and to have beat down to the Havanna. The intricate and dangerous passage, on the north-east coast of the island of Cuba, and the grand Bahama bank, known by the name of The Old Straits of Bahama, is a very narrow navigation, near six hundred miles long. The fair way of the Strait is about eight leagues broad. Sir George, in his public letter, mentions his having found Lord Anson's Spanish Chart of the Old Straits, a very good one.

Captain John Lendrick died about the year 1779. He was made Lieutenant on the 4th of June, 1746, and after ten years service, was advanced to the rank of Commander. In 1757 he commanded the Swallow Sloop. In 1758 was advanced to the Blandford, and soon afterwards to the Brilliant, 36 guns > during his first cruise he captured two French merchant ships, each upwards of 800 tons burthen.