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Untitled Article
¦ ¦¦ .. ' ¦ ¦¦ . i . ' ¦ /; ' ¦/(» sent their discordanat ani horrible clang and el&radtt * along- iHtfe the cannon ' s thunder * < I &m of © pinion , that notivithetahdm ^ bar loyalty of dislike , call it patriotic hatred if you will , of the Preitoh ' at that time , not one was on board that did not feel admirationbf
their courage in contending * against such an immense disparity cff force , and compassion for their hopeless position . They were moored in the inner harbour ; the Spanish fleet blockading the entrance between Matagorda and St . Laurent ; the heavy batteries all ready to pour down their strength upon them should they move ; and the English fleet ready for them if they did attempt , as a last
effort , to run this tremendous gauntlet . Their situation wa £ indeed desperate , and desperately they fought ; perhaps I ought to say foolishly , for it was a vain and stubborn waste ofliveg , without the remotest chance of escape , to lie there as if only to bfe cut to ribbons or battered to chips , with a certainty that captured they must be at last . The combat continued without pause ' fill sunset , add then ceased , as if by mutual consent , or as though both parties stopped only because they were toil-worn . Perhaps
there was some attempt at negotiation , for they remained quiet till next morning , then recommenced and continued through the day till evening ; pausing at intervals , perhaps for takin g food and refreshment . Surely the guns of the batteries were badly directed : one would think that by this time they ought to have blown the French ships out of the water . Sunday followed , and there wa& a cessation of hostilities ; not in reverence of the day , for our m 6 st rigid enforcers of Sabbath observance never saw any harm in mur ^ f
dering by thousands on a Sunday ; then it was the better the day , the better the deed ; ' and when we won the victory , it was with the blessing of Almighty God / &c . Selling or buying a penny * worth of lolly-pop , or a pot of beer , is a heinous profanation of the Lord ' s day ; and a walk in the fields to look at ' God ' s floWCTy
treasures and beauty is a headlong gallop to the naughty place-. It is verv religiously virtuous to kill our enemies at all timely Sunday or Monday . Perhaps on this especial Sunday , I believe it was so , though I have only conjectures and signs for authority , the interference of Admiral Purvis was sought by the Freiich axi- * niiral ; if it were , the terms were not satisfactory ; yet the battle was not resumed that day . In the afternoon , novelty and
excitement came on board the A , with the shapes of two richly-bedi- zened coat and Lundy-Foot-complexioned Spanish authorities , and one olive-coloured pilot- —their purpose to conduct us intio Cadiz ! Why , it surely was a dream 1 but it was a glorious dream \ and enjoyed in all the freshuess and sunniness of broad-awake sense ; To enter that port—to be there in that roi » ance-painted , time-eon * - secrated scene ! ThkrEj towards which I had looked so * often without hope * that the v * ry wish to be there wks withered 4 nd dead ^ to db therte , whe ? ej a few day&a £ o , we only froth fedisUtftoe
Untitled Article
¦ Autobipgraphy qfPelp Verjuice . , 4 £ &
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 2, 1835, page 425, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2646/page/61/
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