masts. The captain ordered our helm hard up, and yelled for Cooper to
bring up the cabin lantern. The youngster made one leap down the ladder,
just scraping the steps with his heels, and was in the mizzen rigging with
the light, in half a minute. That saved us. So near was the stranger, that
we plainly heard the officer of the deck call out to his own
quarter-master to "port, hard a-port--_hard_ a-port, and be d----d to
you!" Hard a-port it was, and a two-decker came brushing along on our
weather beam--so near, that, when she lifted on the seas, it seemed as if
the muzzles of her guns would smash our rails. The Sterling did not behave
well on this occasion, for, getting a yaw to windward, she seemed disposed
to go right into the Englishman, before she would mind her helm. After the
man-of-war hailed, and got our answer, her officer quaintly remarked that
we were "close on board him." It blew too fresh for boats, and we were
suffered to pass without being boarded.

The ship proceeded up to Carthagena, and went in. Here we were put in
quarantine for several days. The port was full of heavy ships of war,
several of which were three-deckers; and an arrival direct from London
made quite a sensation among them. We had divers visits from the officers,
though I do not know what it all amounted to. From Carthagena we were
sent down the coast to a little place called Aguilas, where we began to
take in a cargo of barilla. At night we would discharge our shingle
ballast into the water, contrary to law; and, in the day, we took in
cargo. So clear was the water, that our night's work might easily be seen
next morning, lying beneath the ship. As we lay in a roadstead, it
mattered little, few vessels touching at the port. While at this place,
there was an alarm of an attack from an English man-of-war that was seen
in the offing, and priests enough turned out to defend an ordinary town.

We got about half our freight at this little village, and then came down