taken their places in boats in readiness to tow the ship, for the
wind was, as yet, so light that it was like she would scarce have
steerage way, and there were many sharp angles in the course down the
river to be rounded, and shallows to be avoided. A few minutes later
the moorings were cast off, the sails sheeted home, and the crew gave
a great cheer, which was answered from the dockyard, and from boats
alongside, full of the relations and friends of the sailors, who
stood up and waved their hats and shouted good bye.

The sails still hung idly, but the tide swept the ship along, and the
men in the boats ahead simply lay on their oars until the time should
come to pull her head round in one direction or another. They had not
long to wait, for, as they reached the sharp corner at the end of the
reach, orders were shouted, the men bent to their oars, and the
vessel was taken round the curve until her head pointed east.
Scarcely had they got under way when they heard the cheer from the
ship astern of them, and by the time they had reached the next curve,
off the village of Gillingham, the other four ships had rounded the
point behind them, and were following at a distance of about a
hundred yards apart. Soon afterwards the wind sprang up and the sails
bellied out, and the men in the boats had to row briskly to keep
ahead of the ship. The breeze continued until they passed Sheerness,
and presently they dropped anchor inside the Nore sands. There they
remained until the tide turned, and then sailed up the Thames to the
Hope, where some forty men-of-war were already at anchor.

The next morning some barges arrived from Tilbury, laden with
soldiers, of whom a hundred and fifty came on board, their quarters
being on the main deck on the other side of the canvas division. A
cutter also brought down a number of impressed men, twenty of whom