During this state of suspense, our people were, as usual, exercised at
the guns, the boats hoisted out, and prepared for service by signal, and
at noon we were ready for action.
The ship's company were piped to dinner, and at one o'clock the captain
and officers sat down to theirs in the gun-room, the principal dish of
which was a substantial sea pie; wine was pledged in a bumper to a
successful attack, and a general expression of hope for an unsuccessful
negotiation. At this time, the officer of the watch reported to the
captain, that the admiral had made the general telegraph "Are you ready?"
Chetham immediately directed that our answer "ready" should be shown, and
at the same moment the like signal was flying at the mastheads of the
entire squadron. The mess now broke up, each individual of it quietly
making arrangements with the other in the event of accident, and we had
scarcely reached the deck, when the signal "to bear up" was out, the
commander in-chief leading the way, with a fine, steady breeze blowing on
the land.
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