passage.

The Island of Bombay is situated on the west coast of the ocean, and one of the three Presidencies belonging to the Honourable East India Company, and is in Lat. 18° 55' N. and Lon. 72° 54' E. of Greenwich. As soon as we had discharged all our cargo, and the ship was docked, the ship's company and officers were sent to Butcher's Island.

Butcher's Island is a small island situated about four miles and a half to the westward of Bombay, and is in circumference about one mile and a half, and has been a very formidable garrison. In the centre is a small fort and two barracks, the latter we took possession of for the ship's company. Soon after our landing on the island, a party of us went over to the Island of Elephanta.

The Island of Elephanta is about one mile and a half to the west of Butcher's Island, and is inhabited by 100 poor Indian families. It contains one of the most stupendous antiquities in the world: the figure of an elephant of the natural size, cut coarsely in black stone, appears in an open plain, near the landing place, from which an easy slope leads to an immense subterraneous cavern, hewn out of the solid rock, eighty or ninety feet long and forty broad, the roof of which is cut flat, and supported by regular rows of pillars, about ten feet high, with capitals resembling round cushions, and at the farther end of it are three gigantic figures, mutilated by the bigoted zeal of the Portuguese, when this island was in their possession. After spending the day very pleasantly we returned.

The Sergeant (an old invalid) who had charge of the fort, had a beautiful little garden; thither in the morning I frequently resorted, to enjoy one of the most charming pieces of morning scenery that I had ever witnessed.

Milton's Paradise Lost.

How delightful this fragrance. It is distributed in the nicest proportion; neither so strong as to depress the organs, nor so faint as to elude them. We are soon cloyed at a sumptuous banquet, but this pleasure never loses its poignancy, never palls the appetite; here luxury itself is innocent; or rather, in this case, indulgence is not capable of excess. Our amusements for the forenoon were our nautical studies, and in the afternoon officers and men joined in cricket. In the evening, after my duty of the day was dispatched, and the sultry heats were abated, I enjoyed the recreation of a walk in one of the finest recesses of the Island, and in one of the pleasantest evenings which the season produced.

The trees uniting their branches over my head, formed a verdant canopy, and cast a most refreshing shade; under my feet lay a carpet of Nature's velvet; grass intermingled with moss, and embroidered with the evening dew; jessamines, united with woodbines, twined around the trees, displaying their artless beauties to the eye, and diffusing their delicious sweets through the air. On either side, the boughs rounding into a set of regular arches, opened a view into the distant seas, and presented a prospect of the convex heavens. The little birds all joyous and grateful for the favours of the light, were paying their acknowledgments in a tribute of harmony, and soothing themselves to rest with songs. All these beauties of Nature were for a while withdrawn. The stars served to alleviate the frown of night, rather than to recover the objects from their obscurity. A faint ray scarcely reflected, and only gave the straining eye a very imperfect glimpse.

The day following that the ship came out of dock we joined her. Our labours were now unremitted, to get her in readiness for sea. Amidst all our exertions it was impossible to give any satisfaction; our chief mate was very arbitrary, and vented his spleen upon the defenceless midshipmen, besides making the backs of the poor seamen sore with starting. Starting is a term used for rope's-ending a man, or otherwise laying a Point severely across their shoulders till they have not the strength to wield it any longer; a point is a flat platted rope, made for the purpose of taking in reefs, or otherwise to fasten the sail upon the yards.

At length my life became so truly miserable, that I was determined in my own mind not to endure it, if there was any possibility of avoiding it. For that purpose I wrote on board his Majesty's frigate, Revolutionnaire, for a situation, when Captain Wolcombe generously offered me one, provided I could get permission of Captain Craig to leave my present ship. I was at length forced to leave Bombay, through this and other circumstances.

On our arrival at Madras every preparation was made for receiving our cargo on board, which was speedily done, and in a short time was ready for sea.

SECTION III.

THE AUTHOR'S DEPARTURE FROM MADRAS, DESCRIPTION OF A WATER-SPOUT—HIS ARRIVAL AT ST. HELENA AND DEPARTURE THEREFROM, ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND—JOINS HIS MAJESTY'S TRANSPORT SHIP, TOTTENHAM, BOUND FOR NEW SOUTH WALES—HER RUNNING ON SHORE IN THE RIVER AND PUTTING BACK TO DOCK—HE AFTERWARDS JOINS HIS MAJESTY'S TRANSPORT SHIP, LADY CASTLEREAGH. HIS DEPARTURE FROM DEPTFORD AND ARRIVAL AT PORTSMOUTH—HIS DEPARTURE THEREFROM AND ARRIVAL AT NEW SOUTH WALES.

As soon as our dispatches were in readiness, we proceeded on our passage for England; the morning was beautiful, and as the men were heaving up the anchor, my heart felt an inward sensation of joy and gratitude to our Creator, that he had been pleased to bring us so far safe on our voyage; we made sail with a steady breeze, and soon lost sight of land. After we had been at sea about two days, close on our weather-bow we observed a water-spout; when we first saw it, it was whole and entire, and was in shape like a speaking trumpet, the small end downwards, and reaching to the sea, and the large end terminating in a black thick cloud: the spout itself was very black, and the more so the higher up; it seemed to be exactly perpendicular to the horizon, and its sides perfectly smooth, without the least ruggedness where it fell. The spray of the sea rose to a considerable height, which had somewhat the appearance of smoke; from the first time we saw it, it continued whole about a minute, and till it was quite dissipated three minutes; it began to waste from below, and gradually up, while the upper part remained entire, without any visible alteration, till at last it ended in black clouds, upon which a heavy rain fell in the neighbourhood. There was but little wind, and the sky was otherwise serene.

On our rounding the Cape we experienced a very heavy gale, which continued for the space of ten days. We arrived at St. Helena in about ten days after clearing the Cape of Good Hope.

The approach to this Island is tremendous, it being an immense large rock in the midst of the sea, on which there is not the least appearance of verdure, houses, or indeed any sign of inhabitants, till you arrive at the anchorage, which is to leeward of the Island; and in turning round the corner of the rock is a fort, close to the water's edge, from whence they make all ship's heave to, till they have sent a boat on board from the Admiral; and in case no attention is paid to their signal, they fire a shot. After proceeding a little way, the town is discovered in the midst of a valley, and has a very picturesque appearance.

The produce of