apparel, that it were perhaps difficult, in any other part of England, to find a correct resemblance of" sweet Poll of Portsmouth."

To form to yourself an idea of these tender languishing nymphs--these lovely sighing ornaments of the fair-sex, imagine a something of more than Amazonian stature, having a crimson countenance, emblazoned with all the effrontery of Cyprian confidence, and Bacchanalian folly: give to her bold countenance the warlike features of two wounded cheeks, a tumid nose, scarred and battered brows, and a pair of blackened eyes, with balls of red; then add to her sides a pair of brawny arms, fit to encounter a Colossus, and set her upon two ancles like the fixed supporters of a gate. Afterwards, by way of apparel, put upon her a loose flying cap, a man's black hat, a torn neckerchief, stone rings on her fingers, and a dirty white, or tawdry flowered gown, with short apron, and a pink petticoat; and thus, will you have something very like the figure of a "Portsmouth Poll."

'Callous to every sense of shame, these daring objects reel about the streets, lie in wait at the corners, or, like the devouring kite, hover over every landing-place, eager to pounce upon their prey; and each unhappy tar, who has the misfortune to fall under their talons, has no hope of escape till plucked of every feather. The instant he sets foot on dry land he is embraced by the neck, hugged round the waist, or hooked in the arm by one or more of these tender Dulcineas; and, thus, poor Jack with pockets full of prize-money, or rich with a long and dangerous cruize, is, instantly, dragged (though, it must be confessed, not always against his consent) to a bagnio, or some filthy pot-house, where he is kept drinking, smoking, singing, dancing, swearing, and rioting, amidst one continued scene of debauchery, all day and night, and all night and all day, until his every farthing is gone. He is, then, left to sleep till he is sober, and awakes to return, pennyless, to his ship-with much cause to think himself fortunate, if an empty purse be the worse consequence of his, long wished for, ramble ashore.

'Portsmouth, October 28.

• STILL at Portsmouth, and the Ulysses not yet come round from the Thames! Henderson and myself have received orders not to wait longer, but to repair, immediately, on board the Bridgewater transport, and proceed to Cork. Of this vessel we do not hear the most happy report. She is very old, and we cannot fancy her so safe as the Ulysses. We likewise hear that she is already much crowded with passengers, and that we have no prospect of obtaining even a tolerable birth on board. But as I before remarked to you, I am prepared for all I may have to encounter, and resolved to meet whatever happens sans me plaindre.

• Master has not received instructions to accompany us, and we lament the prospect of being so soon deprived of his society. But we have some hope that he may again join us at Cork. Possibly he may follow us in the Ulysses, and have the satisfaction of not being separated from his baggage.

Some troops were embarked yesterday, from this place. The weather was rough and unfavourable. Such indeed has it constantly been since our arrival at Portsmouth,----always stormy, and at times, tempestuous. From this state of the weather we have had the opportunity of seeing this great maritime port to much advantage; a degree of grandeur being added to the scenery, which, in a more tranquil season, had not existed. The general movement and activity have been necessarily increased. We have heard the deep roaring of the billows, and have listened to the howling of the wind, and the beating of the storm among the shipping; the troubled waves have dashed in heavy seas upon the land, or broke with violence against the rampart-walls; boats and ships have been set adrift, others have been driven from their anchors and cast on shore; and that degree of the terrific, necessary to the sublime, has prevailed. But sublime and grand as it may have appeared, you will believe that, as we are soon to be placed at the mercy of the restless and turbulent waters, the ideas excited, by this scenery, have not been of the most happy

nature.

A sort of relief to the dull round of Portsmouth has lately

presented itself, in a company of equestrians, who have opened a circus, or theatre for horsemanship, in the hope of amusing the public, at more of profit than the bare support of the riders and their horses. But in this expectation it seems probable they may be disappointed, especially if their visit should be at all protracted.

'To have disregarded this only amusement of the place had been a great neglect: but a single visit has exhausted all our curiosity. Of the spectators, no small proportion consisted of sailors (drunk or sober), and the lovely Cyprians I have before described to you. The low buffoonery of the clown, you may believe, was suited to his audience, and certainly it was coarse and vulgar as even Portsmouth might desire.

Perhaps I might say that the greatest part of the entertainment proceeded from a jolly tar, in a fit of mirth, letting himself down from the gallery, to snatch off the fool's cap,which he put upon his own head, and usurping the place and character of the clown, desired him to "budge," for he was "too great a fool to keep the deck." This introduced a very ludicrous scene between Jack and the clown. The clown met the adventure as mere sailor's fun, bore it patiently, and, in his own way endeavoured to turn it to the amusement of the audience; while Jack made many hits of humour and drollery, and seemed not, altogether, unworthy of the cap. For some time they maintained a very ridiculous and sportive contest, who should wear it, Jack repelling the rough wit and sarcasm of the clown with considerable effect. But, at length, the latter observing that "two fools" were "too much for so genteel an audience," abruptly seized the cap from the head of the merry tar, and poor Jack, thus deprived of necromantic influence, reeled off the stage, a mere drunken sailor, stammering, by way of apology, D..d.. dammee, ladies and g... gentleman, I'm o..b..b..liged to strike, for t'other's the b...b... biggest fool."

Portsmouth, October 31.

"You no doubt expected that my next letter would be addressed from Cork, and will be surprized to find that I am

still at Portsmouth:---but this is among the numberless uncertainties of my present calling.

Upon receiving our instructions to repair on board the Bridgewater, Dr. Henderson and myself took a boat and went off to Spithead, with the intention of joining her, but after sailing and rowing amidst the fleets there, and at St. Helen's, throughout nearly the whole of the day, we at last returned without being able to find our ship.

• Previous to going into the boat we had been informed at the Transport-Office, that the vessel we inquired for, had received instructions to sail without delay: it is therefore probable, that she might be getting under weigh at the very moment we went off in search of her. The following morning we learned that she had actually sailed for Cork.

The weather continues to be very unsettled. It has been stormy and tempestuous beyond all that is usual, even at the the roughest season of the year. Between 10 and 11 o'clock, on the morning of the 29th, a tremendous gale began to blow. The sky blackened. The tumid clouds rolled in heavy masses, darting forth quick lightning, followed by loud bursts of thunder. The tearing gusts of wind brought with them violent showers of hail, and deluging torrents of rain. The whole elements seemed to be moved in one convulsive effort. The vivid lightning traced its path in broad and fiery flashes, and the terrific thunder instantly followed, as if raging to overtake them. At one instant it rolled in oppressed and convulsive sound, seeming to struggle against some great impediment that confined it to the clouds, and at the next it burst forth in full explosion, as though a match had suddenly fired the whole ordnance of heaven. Hailstones of uncommon magnitude beat down with a force and rapidity, as if contending which should first reach the earth: and scarcely had they fallen, before the sweeping violence of the wind forced them into heaps like deep-drifted snow; in which state they remained for hours after the storm; notwithstanding the heavy torrents of rain which followed them.

The hollow sound of the wind, and the heavy beatings of the hail and rain, through the thick forest of shipping lying VOL. I.

3 E

in the harbour, together with the tremendous dashings of the sea, and the troubled motion of the vessels, upon its restless surface, all combined to render the scene greatly awful; but too high a degree of the terrific was intermixed with it, for the spectator to regard its grandeur and sublimity in quiet contemplation.To convey any just idea of it would require the pen of a Milton, or a Shakespeare.

The injuries done were less than might have been expected. Some of the ships and boats necessarily suffered; a few houses were unroofed; and, amidst the devastation, the windmill at Gosport was blown to the ground. It was at first said that many lives were lost,-but happily we do not find this report confirmed.

'The repeated delays to which we have been subjected have proved the means of completing our party, by converting our harmonious trio into a still more social quartette: a circumstance which has happened from our being joined by Dr. Cleghorn, who is now arrived, at this place, on his way to join the St. Domingo hospital staff. He is a pleasant, well-informed man, and of good professional abilities; is brother to the professor of anatomy at the university of Dublin, and nephew to the celebrated author on the diseases of Minorca. His society is a great acquisition to us, and we are much gratified in having such an agreeable addition to our party. We now look, more anxiously than ever, to the arrival of the Ulysses, in the hope of being allowed to establish a pleasant mess for the voyage.

Spithead, November 12. GREETINGS from the Ulysses! Our suspense is at length relieved. A few days after I last wrote to you, our long looked for Ulysses arrived, with a fleet from the Downs, and yesterday, Henderson, Master, Cleghorn, and myself, took our births on board, finding Master's and my baggage stowed in great safety.

"We left Portsmouth in a grand scene of hurry and confusion, in consequence of it being reported, on the arrival of the fleet from the Downs, that every ship' belonging to the expe