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Saturday Augt 28th 1779.
I think I have heard you say that when you find it necessary you could at any time set your stomach Hottentot
fashion. I now find it necessary to set all my senses Hottentot fashion: but thank my Stars I have been able
to do it tollerably well. I caught such a cold in my neck the night before last as made it all day yesterday
so stiff as not only to give me very great pain when I moved the neck itself but even my back or
arms. I never had any thing like it before. I was then perfectly indifferent about getting on in
my voyage; but however I have almost got rid of it today. Conceive how happy I must be unable
to sit up, and affraid to come on deck for fear of increasing my cold. We had a little
fair wind for a few hours this morning which encouraged our Captain to leave the River:
now the wind is again turned against us, but nevertheless I hope we may reach Margate
this evening. I have no expectations of reaching Helvootslys in less than a week from the
time of our sailing. I sent a letter with the boat ashore yesterday at a little village
just below Lee in Essex. It was a great mortification that I could not go with it myself
and stretch my legs a little, especially as I was a little inclined to be sea sick at that time
My companion the hair Merchant & I mess together socially enough. I set him to exercise his
old profession to day in combing out my hair in which he was well paid for his pains by
the pleasure of admiring the quantity of my hair it. The German & Dutch Grammars
are my standing amusements but they were not to be born yesterday. I have also partly
from my own observation and partly by means of Queries put to the Captain informed myself
of such particulars relating to our Vessel as I thought worth attending to. If my fellow
Passengers are a little blackguard or so, they are tollerably quiet and intelligent enough in their way.
One who is a Je farmer and a bit of a Chemist upon learning that I had a stiff neck set about mixing up some
volatile salt spirit & oil of almonds for my me to bathe my neck with: by this he got a Shilling
though I could not apply it myself nor liked to could I set any body else about it who I liked to
come so near me. Another of our company is a German Taylor. 2 others Dutch seamen who
have been in our service. An old cast off servant and lastly a young fellow who has travelled
a great deal is very well informed, but very shabby & vulgar in his appearance and such a one as
I should very ill like to meet with on the road unless I was well guarded. This strange
mixture all together make a very tractable civil company. I am in such good spirits
to day with having got so nearly rid of my stiff neck that I seem disposed to bear very
patiently the unexpected length of our voyage. My only fear at present is how you will have contrived
to have given some account of me to my father, without making necessary that he should
know of my having left England till I am actually safe landed in Holland.
I will have a letter ready written to dispatch the instant I land in case of a Vessel
being to sail from thence at that time. There might be a possibility of my meeting
with Charles but I have no direction where to enquire for him.
Sunday Evening. The Stinks were very bad last night so that even though I held my nose to as well
as I could it was scarcely supportable. The honours however which I am near admitted to fund me in employment
the greatest part of the night. Yesterday evening upon observing an occasion on which the Captain would
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Identifier: | JB/538/361/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 538.
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1779-08-28 |
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538 |
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361 |
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001 |
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Correspondence |
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Samuel Bentham |
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