The 14th, the carpenter return’d from the Gloucester, it being the only day this fortnight a boat could live in the sea.  As soon as the carpenter came on board, he waited on the captain, who order’d him to look on the chain-plates and chains, and give his opinion of the mast’s going away.  The carpenter look’d as order’d, and gave Captain C——­p for answer, that the chain-plates were all broke.  The captain shook his head, and said, Carpenter, that is not the reason of the mast’s going away.  The carpenter, not willing, as the mast was gone, to lay it to any one’s mismanagement, or to occasion any uneasiness about what was now past prevention, fitted a cap on the stump of the mizen-mast, got up a lower studding-sail boom of 40 feet, and hoisted a sail to keep the ship to.

To-day, being the 19th, and the finest day we had in these seas, we were employ’d in repairing the rigging; we bent a new main-sail and reeft him, as did the Anne pink, the Gloucester at the same time fix’d her main-yard, the commodore and Tryal keeping a-head, and at a considerable distance; between four and six at night saw the commodore’s light.  At six, being relieved by the master, he could not see the commodore’s light, though it was visible to every one else on the quarter-deck:  The master still persisted he could not see it, on which I went and acquainted the captain, who came upon deck, and seeing the light, ask’d the master where his eyes were?  This was the last time I ever saw the commodore.  The lieutenant having the first watch lost sight of him at nine o’clock, and at ten was obliged to hand the foresail, in doing of which we lost a seaman over-board.  We saw the Gloucester and Anne pink a-stern in the morning, but they were soon gone ahead, and out of sight.

The 21st, as I was in the steward’s room, Joseph King, seaman, came for a pound of bread.  I heard him ask the steward, if he thought they would be serv’d with the same quantity of water as before?  Without waiting for an answer, No G—­d d—­n ’em, as the commodore was parted, they should find the difference.  Not knowing the conseqence of this, or by whom the fellow might be spirited up, I acquainted the captain with the affair, who order’d me to deliver a brace of pistols charg’d with a brace of balls to every officer in the ship who wanted ’em, and to take no farther notice of the matter.

May the 1st.  This day the officers were call’d, and their opinions ask’d concerning the best bower-anchor, resolved to cut the anchor away, for fear of endangering the ship, there being no possibility of securing it without putting our fore-mast in extreme danger, the shrouds and chain-plates being all broke.