74 HONG-KONG. [1845. 



Nothing worthy of notice occurring, we reached 

 Hong-Kong on the 14th, where we found the ' Castor ', 

 ' Vixen' ,' Driver ', and 'Espiegle'. Capt. Graham, of 

 the 'Castor', still Senior Officer. On the 15th, the 

 Admiral made his appearance in the 'Agincourt', ac- 

 companied by the 'Vestal', Capt. Talbot, 'Daedalus', 

 Capt. M'c Quhaee, and Wolverine, last from Manila, 

 but previously from the expedition to Maludu Bay, where 

 the stronghold of Seriff Hoosman, before alluded to in 

 this work, was destroyed by the boats of the Squadron, 

 under the command of Capt. Talbot of the ' Vestal ', 

 and Capt. Lyster, of the ' Agincourt '. Our refit having 

 been completed, we quitted Hong-Kong on the 1st of 

 November, accompanied by the ' Royalist ', our first ren- 

 dezvous being San Domingo, Batan. On the evening of 

 the 3rd, when near the Pratas Shoals, a sharp gale set 

 in from the N.E., which continued to increase, parting 

 us from the ' Royalist ' ; this prevailed until the 9th, 

 and on the 19th, we anchored at Batan ; as the ' Royalist ' 

 was not there, and did not arrive during our stay, I 

 began to feel rather anxious about her. Before com- 

 municating with the shore, the authorities sent off, 

 apprizing me that the Bremen brig, 'Express', from 

 Mazatlan, bound to China, had been wrecked in the Bay 

 of Manan'ioy, on the eastern side of Batan, but that the 

 crew and property were safe. I had already sent to offer 

 assistance, and the conveyance of her crew to Manila, 

 when her supercargo, Mr. Vischer, came to pay his 

 respects, and to request that I would receive his cargo, 

 consisting of specie to the amount of 85,000 dollars, 

 which had been saved. To our mutual surprise and 



