astonished to find that you can imagine I have so little command of
myself that I cannot keep from what you term "low company." This is a
thing which since I have been at sea I have never kept, and especially
at a time when I had charge of a vessel and the safety of men's lives. I
am happy to say I took care of myself and of the vessel, and pleased the
Admiral as much as I could wish. I have not got the large tender, as I
expected, on account of a prior application having been made, which I am
now glad of, as you disapprove of the sort of thing, and it certainly
will deter me from accepting any offer of the kind made to me, though at
the same time I consider myself perfectly capable in every sense of the
word.

'I am very glad to hear Grantham has so well got over the measles.

'We have had a very pleasant trip along shore to Shelburne, Liverpool
and Mirligash(?), all of which ports you knew well in their former
state. Shelburne now is miserably fallen off, not above 200 inhabitants
in that once populous town, and more than half the houses falling to the
ground, having no owners. I asked the price of a good house and about 40
acres of land, and they said the most they could ask for it would be
L30, a cheap place to settle, for provisions also are cheaper than
anywhere I have been. Liverpool is a very flourishing little town, and
on the contrary with Shelburne, a rising place with a vast deal of
commerce and trade which keep the place quite alive. At these two places
I had capital fishing both salmon and trout. I caught one day at
Liverpool three very fine salmon and two or three dozen trout. In this
country they take most with the fly, and it does not matter of what
description. I am now become a very expert fly fisherman, make my own
flies, &c. Pray next season send me out a good assortment of fly gear
which is rather difficult to get here and not good.