Abbott, First Lieutenant, promoted. Glad as I was at the promotion of my friend Abbott, it was a sad loss to _Dido_. Applied for Tottenham. Had no time left to select a proper man, which gave me more work than I anticipated. [Sidenote: Nov. 25.] Board of Admiralty arrived: Sir George Seymour, Mr. Corry, Captain Brandreth, and Mr. Giffard, Secretary. Good fellows. Met them at the Admiral’s table. They inspected dockyard, and admired _Dido_ much. Luncheon with Sir John Hill. Fitting rapidly, good seamen having joined. [Sidenote: Dec. 1.] Hauled out of basin; took in moorings. [Sidenote: Dec. 7.] Saluted my kind Chief on leaving the harbour. [Sidenote: Dec. 8.] Ran through the Downs following day. Wind headed and freshened into a gale; took shelter with some 300 merchant vessels under Dungeness. Light bore west-south-west. No means of communication with the shore. [Sidenote: Dec. 14.] Weather more moderate; wind veered to north-west. The whole fleet of merchant vessels got under way. Having secured a snug in-shore berth, we could not manage to be the first to get away. Weighed, and started under topsails, jib, and spanker, although the crowd caused much difficulty in keeping clear. In addition to large trading-ships, there were fast clipper fruit vessels, the skippers amusing themselves by taking the wind out of other vessels’ sails. When outside, we were a mass of canvas about three miles long by one in breadth. I imagined the beautiful appearance of my _Dido_ was the cause of so many vessels keeping near. On the weather bow was a decrepit collier, a fruit-clipper having taken the wind out of her headsails. She was taken aback and got stern-way. We had no room to bear up, but squared the main yard to caution those astern. When I rushed forward, our bompkin was hanging by its rigging, and all the collier’s crew, with the exception of the man at the helm, who had only one leg, clambering on to our forecastle. The brig had paid off; we, or, rather, she, had cut her own stern off, leaving a full view of her captain’s cabin. On the foremost bulkhead was suspended a pewter pot, a clay pipe, and a shore-going hat. The table was still standing with pewter No. 2 on it. A freshening breeze enabled the ships to open out. We sent a cutter with the necessary hands to repair damages. The difficulty was to catch the vessel. The one-legged helmsman had no control; up in the wind for a minute, she would pay off and run before it. When our carpenter’s crew got to work, they found the woodwork of her stern so rotten that she could not hold the nails which were driven in. We had to secure the tarpaulin over the remains of the stern. Her cargo of coal was exposed. It was sunset before we got her into Folkestone. Luckily, with wind off shore, the sea went down. [Sidenote: Dec. 18] Ran into Spithead in a thick fog. Saluted as soon as it was clear enough to see the flag. [Sidenote: Dec. 23.]