some oak planking, which caused the brig to lie deeper in the water, so
that Grant writes "there were then only 2 feet 9 inches clear abreast the
gangway." He believed, however, that the consumption of coal and
provisions would soon bring her to a proper degree of buoyancy.

During her stay at Portsmouth the Lady Nelson lost two men, one through
illness, the other by desertion. On March 15th, when she was quite ready
for sea, Captain Schanck and Mr. Bayley* (* W. Bayley, formerly
astronomer on board the Adventure.) paid her a visit. Orders had been
given for her to leave port in company with H.M.S. Anson, Captain Durham,
who (as the Powers were at war) was to convoy a fleet of East Indiamen,
then on point of sailing, and with whom was H.M.S. Porpoise, bound to New
South Wales. The wind being fair, on the night of March 16th, 1800, the
signal for sailing was given by the Commodore. While all hands were
busily engaged getting up the kedge, the carpenter made his escape in the
darkness. Anxious to avoid further delay, and somewhat consoled by the
thought that the vessel was new and that he had already tested and found
out her good qualities, Lieutenant Grant decided to put up with the loss
of the man's services.

At 6 P.M. on the 18th the ship finally bade adieu to England. At first
she was scarcely able to keep pace with the big ships which bore her
company, and very soon the Commodore despatched an officer to her
commander to suggest that he should go into Falmouth and await there the
departure of the West India Fleet. But, as the final decision was left
with Lieutenant Grant, he preferred to go on, believing that he could
keep pace with the convoy. During the afternoon of the 19th a namesake of
his, Captain James Grant of the Brunswick, East Indiaman, hailed him and
informed him that he had orders to take the Lady Nelson in tow. The
commander of the brig did not at all relish this news, but dreading