God grant that we may live to see
Once more our native place,
For to enjoy our liberty,
Before we’ve run our race.
27. Last night the Boyne came up to her mooring, having sprung a leak and carried away her fore-topmast. She is the second, out of the three which sailed on the 15th inst., that has returned in distress. This ship’s guns and carriages were brought alongside, and there were not men enough to hoist them in; so the captain sent his compliments to us, to see if we would assist in getting them on board, which we willingly did, because he appears to be the best friend to us that we have met with since we have been taken.
28. We had a paper wherein is an account of the march and defeat of the King’s troops towards Philadelphia, with the loss of fourteen or fifteen hundred men.
March 1. Myself and one of my shipmates have again been upon deck to work. We made a chest for the master-at-arms, for which he gave us some biscuit. We mended, also, a table for the ship’s cook, for which he gave us a supper and some spare bread and meat. It is in the paper that the ship which brought Dr. Franklin from Philadelphia to France, as she was returning, took a brig laden with fish, three days out of port, belonging to the same gentleman that bought the Dolton.
2. Prayers were read on board this ship to-day, and we were allowed to go on deck to hear them. A frigate arrived, after a six months’ cruise, as we know by her firing a salute—which they are not allowed to do unless they have been six months absent. Myself and another have the liberty from the carpenter of the ship to work every day when we can get work to do.
26. It is four months since we sailed from Portsmouth, having been in that time twenty-eight days on board the Dolton, twenty-seven days on board the Reasonable, nineteen on board the Bellisle, six on board the Tarbay, and forty-one on board the Burford, which is our present place of abode.
27. We are told that we are to go on shore to-morrow to prison. Our company, one after another, are daily dropping sick, and about forty of us have the itch; but our sick have as good care taken of them on board this ship as we could expect, and we are visited morning and evening by the doctor.