CRUISE WITH THE EXPERIMENTAL SQUADRON. 345 



" I shall be most anxious to hear from you, and of you all, imme- 

 diately. You are all at leisure, and must get up a long joint letter, 

 telling me of every thing. Get a long sheet from Ebony, and cross 

 it all over. Enclose it (directed to inu in H. M. S. ' Vernon') to Mr. 

 Barrow, Admiralty, and he will transmit it duly. Do not lose time. 

 God bless you all, one and all, and believe me, my dearest Jane, ever 

 yours affectionately, John Wilson." 



" , 1832. 



" My dearest Jane : — I wrote to you a few days ago from 

 Sheerness, and now seize another hour to inform of our motions 

 since I wrote from London. I found my lodgings at Greemvich 

 very comfortable, but experienced almost as many interruptions 

 there as in town. I dined with Charles Burney one day, and found 

 the family the kindest of the kind, and pleasant. I forget if I told 

 you that the Literary Union gave me a dinner, with T. Campbell in 

 the chair. At last, after many a weary delay, the ' Vernon' left 

 Woolwich on Sunday, 29th July, in tow of two steamboats, which 

 took her to the Nore. On Monday, 30th, she was taken into dock 

 at Sheerness, and then, after some repairs in her copper, anchored 

 within cable-length of the 'Ocean,' of 100 guns. Some of us 

 amused ourselves with walking about the place ; but it is somewhat 

 dullish, though the docks, etc., are splendid. On Tuesday, 31st, we 

 took our guns on board, fifty 32-pounders, the method of doing 

 which was interesting to me, who had never seen it before ; and 

 then lunched with the officers of the ' Ocean,' and inspected that 

 magnificent ship ' The Flag Ship' — Admiral Sir J. Beresford. I 

 dined with the Admiral in his house on shore, and met a pleasant 

 party of males and females. We had music and dancing, and the 

 family proved agreeable and amiable. At midnight we reached the 

 ' Vernon,' all tolerably steady, that is to say, Mr. Massey, the first 

 lieutenant, the captain, and myself. 



" On Wednesday, 1st of August, I breakfasted with the officers 

 of the ' Ocean,' and Lieutenant Carey (brother of Lord Falkland) 

 took me in his cutter to Chatham, during which sail we saw about 

 a hundred ships of war, of the line and frigates, all moored like 

 models along both shores. The chaplain (Falls) and I then in- 

 spected Chatham and Rochester, and walked to Maidstone, where 

 were the assizes ; so we proceeded to a village wayside inn, where 



