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MEXICO IN 1827.

solitary cases of Vomito have occurred, it has not spread on board, unless where several of the men have been exposed to the action of similar exciting causes, in which case the vessel itself at last becomes a foyer, or receptacle, of those miasmata, by which the disorder is supposed to be propagated. The whole crew is then exposed to the utmost danger; but such instances are exceedingly rare, and with the attention that is now paid to cleanliness and ventilation, they may be expected rather to diminish, than to increase. The Thetis buried only one man during the seven weeks which she passed at the anchorage of Sacrificios, and he died of a disease in the heart.

On the 5th of February, 1824, I returned on board, and we sailed for England the same morning. In crossing the Gulph we met with a severe Norther, which, however, was much more disagreeable in its effects, than while it actually lasted, as it threw the whole volume of water into such a commotion that we had not a quiet moment afterwards for several days. I still recollect with pleasure the relief which we experienced, after passing five whole days with our quarter-boats alternately under water, as we glided past the Morro, and entered the magnificent harbour of the Havana, where there was neither a ripple to be seen on the surface, nor the slightest motion to be felt in the ship. The transition to such a perfectly quiescent state, to a young sailor