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else to sweeten their Tea or Coffee with: but the Captain when we mess together makes use of some
of our Sugar. Their dinner has been of cold boiled beef or salt fish and a great mess of potatoes
which they dip in rank oily butter. They eat very little and contrary to the proverb very
fast too. They dont sit a minute after but either lay down to sleep or get to work. They are
very temperate in their drink using only water except a dram of a morning. The Captain
has almost always a pipe in his mouth and but the men usually chew tobacco instead.
Here is uninteresting kind of stuff for you but as I have nothing better to do I spare no time but
with every thing. I think I hear something about seeing land and as we have been
impatiently wishing for it all this morning I must go and talk about it a little.
Monday evenin afternoon.
It was a false report this morning nothing like land was to be seen then: but
a little after 6 this afternoon we discovered land just before us. They say it is the Island of
Shoen Zeeland I think. I heartily rejoice that we once more know where we are which is what
nobody aboard has done for days. What with contrary wind miserable steering
neither the Captain nor his men could tell what land we should first see. One good
effect our bad Steerage has had is to inspire me to write half a sheet of iInserenda
upon the causes of it, and I believe the ps will be good for something. I flatter
myself that I made a better Steerage myself than either Captain or his Crew. But I
shall one day or other have some better Compasses to steer by. Czernichef or the duke
may have the first of them. I wish you would look in my letter case which
I purposely hind and see if there are any papers left in it. Lor
may as to Petersburgh.
This d
We came to anchor about 6 miles from short of Hellvootsluys at about 7 o Clock this
morning but here we must remain till 2 o Clock as the tide& wind is against us so that it will
be ha 5 o Clock perhaps before I go ashore. However I hug myself that I am out of
the reach of the french Privateers. Nothing of the country is to be seen from the water
there are a few hillocks about 6 feet high on a flat sand few houses and 2 or
3 Steeples and sea marks are all the objects.
Last time we came to anchor was in the open sea entirely out of sight of land or any
other Vessel. You may as well send this and any other to QSP by the penny post that it may
go to Imley Park with the next frank.
Nothing could be so lucky I had got into a small boat to get to shore at Hellvootsluys
before our Vessel could get there and who should come up in another boat from the
Packet but Strachan & Decourt. we have been dining together, and are going together
with some others of the packet company to Rotterdam in Port Waggons & Phaeton. Helvoot
pleases me exceedingly. I attempted with Decourt to see the Dock yard we went in but were turned
back again. I have just received & been casting an eye over you letter. Somehow or other
The Sword hook is left behind. Can you send it me if it is worth while? I can say no more
to you as we set off directly. Nothing came from Plymouth, Woolwich or Portsmouth? I wish you happ
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Identifier: | JB/538/362/001 "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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362 |
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001 |
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Correspondence |
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Samuel Bentham |
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