There we rode, with three anchors a--head, in safety through the night; and
next day, availing of a temporary lull, we ran up, and anchored off the
Tanks. Three days after this, the American frigate President was brought
in by the Endymion, and the rest of the squadron.
I went on board, in common with every officer in the fleet, and certainly I
never saw a more superb vessel; her scantling was that of a seventy--four,
and she appeared to have been fitted with great cares. I got a week's
leave at this time, and, as I had letters to several families, I contrived
to spend my time pleasantly enough.
Bermuda, as all the world knows, is a cluster of islands in the middle of
the Atlantic. There are Lord knows how many of them, but the beauty of the
little straits and creeks which divide them, no man can describe who has
not seen them. The town of Saint George's, for instance, looks as if the
houses were cut out of chalk; and one evening the family where I was on a
visit proceeded to the main island, Hamilton, to attend a ball there. We
had to cross three ferries, although the distance was not above nine miles,
if so far. The Mudian women are unquestionably beautiful--so thought T
homas Moore, a tolerable judge, before me. By the by, touching this Mudian
ball, it was a very gay affair--the women pleasant and beautiful; but all
the men, when they speak, or are spoken to, shut one eye and spit;--a lucid
and succinct description of a community.
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