Ths journal fiom winch, the following narrative is taken was put into my bands nearly twenty years ago by a well-known naval officer, now himself an admiral (the grandson of the author) with full permission to publish it in any way I judged best. The gallant writer of this journal rose to be an admiral, and was well known for his social qualities and for the humour with which he used to narrate the stirringjincidents of his naval career, several of which I had the advantage of hearing in addition to the perusal of that voluminous log which he preserved through many a shipwreck and numberless other accidents of his adventurous life on the ocean. As the journal itself would not, I conceived, have proved interesting to those for whom I have been accustomed to write, had I published it in its crude state, I took advantage of the permission I had received to make such emendations and additions as I thought were calculated to render it acceptable to them.
