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WHILST I am detained here to perform quarantine, which

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is necessary in consequence of the vessel in which I am arrived having been in the Mediterranean, I will narrate to you the last occurrences before I left Cadiz, and the few particulars of my voyage. day we sailed, a fleet of transports arrived in the bay of Cadiz, having on board between three and four thousand British and Portuguese troops, who were received by the inhabitants with the loudest acclamations, and the most lively expressions of joy.

The French had previously shewn themselves at all the different points which there was a possibility of attacking; but it was either with a view to reconnoitre, or to distract the attention of the besieged. Some apprehensions were entertained, that a serious attack would be made near the mouth of the river Santi Petri, in which if the enemy succeed, they will be able to reach Torre Gorda on the isthmus, and separate the troops in the Isle of Leon from those in the city of

Cadiz. To oppose such an attempt, Colonel Mazaredo's regiment, which had at length been furnished with muskets, was marched to that point, which was further strengthened by gun-boats placed in the mouth of the river; these, with the fort there, are deemed sufficient securities; and now there is a British garrison, the inhabitants will consider themselves in a state of safety, and probably soon sink into their accustomed apathy, unless the more formidable approaches of the enemy shall again rouse them to exertion.

According to the opinions of military men, there are two points of attack, at which the enemy, if in great force, may possibly succeed in their attempt on Cadiz; one is at Santi Petri, should they be enabled to pass the river; the other is from the Canal of Trocadero, near Matagorda, where a flotilla may remain in security, and from whence a favourable wind might bring them in ten minutes to Puntales, within the new battery on which so much dependance is placed, the guns of which would then be turned by the enemy against the land gate of Cadiz. This would be a most hazardous plan, and, if unsuccessful, would bring inevitable ruin on the attacking force.

I have now done with Cadiz and with Spain, and shall only inform you of the occurrences of the passage home, which, from the politeness of Captain Colquit, has been as pleasant as the accommodations of a small vessel would allow. After leaving Cadiz, we had light and unfavourable winds for two days, in which time we had not reached Cape St. Vincent; when near that cape, a storm commenced, which continued two days, and drove us in the direction exactly opposite to that which we wished to take. When the storm had abated, the wind continued adverse, and after having been seven days

at sea, we were farther from England than when we left Cadiz. The Captain, however, continued standing on one tack, being persuaded that by running to the westward, we should catch a wind from that quarter which would carry us to England with a rapidity that would more than compensate for the time we had lost; and in this persuasion the event fully justified him, for when we were in latitude 36 and longitude 14 20, after a day of calm, we caught the westerly wind, at first gentle, but afterwards gradually increasing till it became a fresh breeze, which carried us for four days at the rate of one hundred and eighty miles in the twenty-four hours, and brought us gladly within sight of the Scilly light-house,

On our passage, we chased and spoke several vessels, mostly Americans, and one Spaniard; as we hoisted French colours, their alarm was succeeded by no slight expressions of joy, when they found we were friends, and not the nation whose colours we bore. In coming up the British Channel last night, an enemy's privateer, a large lugger, mistaking us for a merchant vessel, approached, with an evident design to board, and was within musket shot before she was discovered; when she found her mistake, by the discharges of musketry and of cannon, as soon as they could be brought to bear, she lowered all her sails, and we, imagining she had struck, ceased firing, and attempted to tack in order to take possession; but the Persian not answering her helm, the Frenchman, with great alertness, again hoisted his sails, determining to have a fair chace. As soon as we had the vessel about, by wearing, we pursued, and she, being te windward, and lying nearer the wind, gained slightly on us. The chace continued four hours, with constant firing of round and grape

shot, but I believe with little effect; till at midnight, being 'near Guernsey, and fearing to run on the Caskets, we relinquished the pursuit, and retired to rest.

This morning, when I rose, we were at the back of the Isle of Wight, just below Steephill, the elevation of which appeared tame after the mountains of Marvella, Granada, and Ronda, which I have so lately viewed. At noon we reached this anchorage, where we must wait with patience till orders arrive from London for our liberation from quarantine.

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A YEAR has elapsed since I left Spain, and, during that period, the peninsula has continued to exhibit the singular spectacle of two nations, small in point of population, weak in resources, and destitute of that warlike reputation which distinguished the monarchies of Austria and Prussia, opposing the progress of France, checking the conqueror in the midst of his boasted triumphs, and keeping in suspence his mighty project of universal dominion. Their armies have been dispersed, their chiefs deposed, their generals dismissed, and their fortresses taken: yet the resistance of the people is not lessened, their detestation of their enemies is not changed into servile fear, nor their lamentations for the fate of their country into apprehensions of subjugation, or a disposition to yield obedience to the oppressor. The situation of Spain, so different from that which has been seen in the powerful kingdoms of the North, where dependance was placed on well appointed battalions, and not on the love of the people for their country, or the hatred and animosity they bore to its enemies, is one of the clearest demonstrations, that popular energy and popular

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