took advantage of, and quitted St. He len's on the morning of the 26th; but on the evening of the next day, the wind again veering to the weftward, and blowing hard, obliged us to run through the Needles, and take shelter in Yarmouth Roads. The following morn ing, with a strong breeze from the northward, we again put to sea, and cleared the Channel on the 29th. This part of a foreign voyage, though a mere point as to distance, is reckoned by sailors the most material and difficult; for the English Channel is so situated, that the prevailing westerly winds make the egress from it extremely precarious, particularly in winter. In bidding farewel to England, it may naturally be supposed, that the feelings of our motley crew would be as various various as their situations, their pro spects, or their characters; yet the general sentiment seemed to be that of entire indifference: a few women alone, whose birth and education had promised them a far different fate, were affected by this heart-rending, though voluntary, exile from their native country; and «Shudd'ring still, to face the distant deep, Among the convicts on board, were some who, by prodigality, and its attendant vices, had degraded themselves from a respectable rank in society, and were indebted to the lenity of their prosecutors alone for an escape from the last sentence of the law. Some of these men were accompanied by their wives, who had married them in the sunshine of prosperity, when the world smiled deceit deceitfully, and their path of life appeared strewed with unfading flowers; in the season of adversity, they would not be separated, but reposed their heads upon the same thorny pillow; and as they had shared with them the cup of joy, they refused not that of sorrow. Those alone who know the miserable and degraded situation of a transported felon, can appretiate the degree of connubial love, that could induce these women to accompany their guilty husbands in their exile. The laws can only make distinction in crimes, while the criminals, whatever may have been their former situation in life, must suffer alike for crimes of the same nature: it therefore entirely depended on us to ameliorate their condition, and grant such indulgences, as the nature and degree of the the crime, and the otherwise general character and conduct of the prisoner seemed to deserve. To these helpless females, all the attentions that humanity dictated, and that the nature of our service would admit, were extended, but still it was impossible to separate their situations entirely from their guilty husbands, they were consequently far, very far, from being comfortable; and one of them, borne down by the first hardships of the voyage, which she felt with redoubled force from being far advanced in her preguancy, fell a victim to her misplaced affection before our arrival at Teneriffe. The ships anchored before Santa Cruz on the 17th of May, and having completed their water, and procured a sup ply ply of wine, sailed again on the 21st. While laying at Santa Cruz, fresh beef was served throughout the ship, and as a slight indication of scurvy was observed in some of the prisoners, a large quantity of vegetables and lemons was laid in for sea-store. The free use of fresh water was also permitted to wash the convict's clothes; an indulgence, the beneficial effects of which cannot be too highly valued. In voyages of this nature, where a great number of people are crowded together, to whom it is not always possible to permit such exercise as is necessary to health, cleanliness is the only preventative of disease; and, independent of any other necessity, it will always be eligible to put into any convenient port for that purpose alone. It |