attached to it, but all the boats were employed in laying out an
anchor and warps elsewhere. The captain called to the men on the
forecastle, and desired 'some active fellow to go down by the
hawser, and cast it off,' at the same time saying that a boat would
soon be there to bring him on board again. The smartest seaman in
the ship declined the attempt. In an instant the captain was seen
clinging to the hawser, and proceeding to the rock; the hawser was
cast off, and to the astonishment of every one, he swang himself
to the side of the ship by the same means, mounted the ship's side,
and was again directing the duty going on. After nine hours
laborious and incessant exertion, the ship was anchored near the
_Commodore_ in St. John's harbour, before daylight; and as a salute
had been prepared in the hope of seeing the _Commodore's_ pennant
before sunset on the evening before, the captain remained on deck
with the gunner only to assist him. The rest of the officers and
men, being excessively fatigued, had been sent below to rest; and I
was not singular in being unconscious of the firing, although my
hammock hung close to the open hatchway, and immediately under the
deck that the guns were fired from.

"The strong mind and fertile genius of our commander kept the young
mids., in particular, in constant employment. Besides that some of
the number were stationed on every yard in the ship, the mizen-mast
from the deck to the truck was entirely managed in the sails and
rigging by the midshipmen, who were not such dandies as to despise
the tar-bucket, or even volunteering the laborious task of working
the oars of one of the boats in harbour. They were all emulous to
leave nothing undone to make themselves practical seamen, and they
all found the advantage of such examples as they had then before
them, many years afterwards, at the breaking out of the