in readiness to run into Liverpool by a particular day that had been named
in the law opening the trade, and great had been the destruction among
them. I do not remember the number of the ships we saw, but there must
have been more than a hundred. It was afterwards reported, that near fifty
vessels were wrecked on the Irish coast. Almost every craft we fell in
with was more or less dismasted, and one vessel, a ship called the
Liberty, was reported to have gone down, with every soul on board her.

The weather becoming moderate, all hands of us went into Liverpool, the
best way we could. The Sterling had good luck in getting up, though we lay
some time in the river before we were able to get into dock. When we got
out the cargo, we found it much damaged, particularly the wheat. The last
was so hot that we could not bear our feet among it. We got it all out in
a few days, when we went into a dry dock, and repaired.

This visit to Liverpool scattered our crew as if it had been so much dust
in a squall. Most of our men were pressed, and those that were not, ran.
But one man, us boys excepted, stuck by the ship. The chief mate--a
foreigner, though of what country I never could discover--lived at a house
kept by a handsome landlady. To oblige this lady, he ordered William Swett
and myself to carry a bucket-full of salt, each, up to her house. The salt
came out of the harness-cask, and we took it ashore openly, but we were
stopped on the quay by a custom-house officer, who threatened to seize the
ship. Such was the penalty for landing two buckets of Liverpool salt at
Liverpool!

Captain Johnston had the matter explained, and he discharged the mate.
Next day, the discharged man and the second mate were pressed. We got the
last, who was a Swede, clear; and the chief mate, in the end, made his
escape, and found his way back to New York. Among those impressed, was