_Saracen’s_ Commander, Hill, is an active fellow, but his vessel is a brute, and nothing could make her sail or look decent. Some changes took place in the distribution of the squadron. We took _Columbine’s_ station, to windward of the Bight of Benin, and had the mortification of seeing her depart for old England before us, although a shorter time in commission. _Forester_ lost six of her crew on her way down from Sierra Leone. Of the prize crew sent up by _Fair Rosamond_ with her Scotch prize, all had died except the officer. Of two prize crews from _Bonetta_, only four men returned alive. _Curlew_ lost three men of her crew: last year she had been nearly unmanned from deaths. The _Raven_ cutter, surveying, was lying at Accra, so disabled from loss of men and officers as to be unable to go to sea. Popham decided to go to them at once. [Sidenote: Jan. 7.] Having obtained provisions from _Bonetta_, and put letters for England on board _Columbine_, we parted for our station--latitude 4° north to the land and the meridian of Greenwich. The weather was thick and hazy; a Hamattan had just commenced. [Sidenote: Jan. 11.] Not having been able to get a correct observation, we were steering for the land with leads both going, when I discovered through the fog a vessel at anchor. Boats were hoisted out, manned, armed, and away in a few minutes--in fact they were alongside the vessel before she had seen us. In hoisting my gig from off the booms, the foreyard tackle got choked, but cleared with a jerk, pitched Lathom across the gunwale and broke his arm. We were obliged to invalid him home. He was a steady, good man, and a born artist. The vessel proved to be the _Camoëns_, a lovely brig of 180 tons under Portuguese colours. She carried one long gun, and was nearly ready for taking a cargo of slaves. She was painted with a white ribbon--the first slaver we had seen so painted. Her commander called himself Feliz Cosme Mendil.