Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 1.djvu/622

498 ARTHUR PHILLIP. board the BwifUmre. The Com modore Here, at Plymouth, Phillip commanded the Swiftsure, ofseventjr- four guns, lying in Causand Bay, and he invited my father and myself to go on board, taking with us Mrs. Phillip, a lady he had recently married. On arriving at Mutton Cove, where the boat was waiting to carry us off, the wind was so strong from south- west, directly contrary, that no boat could have performed the voyage ; we therefore pulled away to a very small King's lugger, I believe, called the Bull Dog, held always in readiness to com- municate with ships-of-war in Causand Bay; for there was no breakwater in those days. We were under sail in a few minutes. Tt took us some time to beat out so as to clear St. Nicolas' Island, during which time the spray was continually flying over our masts. On entering the open Sound our progress was exceedingly slo^ for although we were running perhaps six knots per hour, yet we gained but little to windward ; the sails were all close reefed, yet the lee gunwale was ever under water. I had never before been at sea, and although the waves were exceedingly high and every- one washing over us, I was not sick, nor was either my father or Mrs. Phillip ; but the Commodore, who had doubled every cape, had navigated every sea, had been tossed by the severest hurri- canes, and, in short, had been longer on the seas than on the land, suffered in this way severely. Well I remember his little figure smothered up in his brown camlet cloak lined with green baize, his face shrivelled, and thin aquiline nose, under a large cocked hat, gathered up in a heap, his chin between his knees, sitting under the lee of the main- mast, his sharp and powerful voice exclaiming, **I cannot bear this, I am as sick as a dog ! At length we arrived under the stem of the Swiftsure, when it was evident we should have experienced considerable difficulty had we attempted to go on board, so that Phillip having given some oixiers to the first lieutenant, who was at the gangway, we ran into Causand Bay, and there landed in a heavy surf. Here we dined at a miserable public-house ; but we had brought with us the best excuse for very bad fare — a good appetite, caused by beating to windward against a south-west gale with drizzling rain for four hours. At an early hour we departed on foot, and walked over Maker Heights, by the side of Mount Edgecomb, towards the harbour, and on our way met an immense number of thin women proceeding with the utmost expedition, whilst all those we over- took, about equal in number, were large stout females, evidently waddling along with difficulty. On seeing these, Phillip explained SmugKiors. that the latter were all wadded with bladders filled with Hollands gin, which they manage to smuggle under these dresses, whilst the others were thin and light, having delivered their cargoes at the water- side. It is surprising how such wholesale contraband should have been permitted, for everybody knew the trade they were engaged in. A dinner party on shore. Digitized by Google