Matilda Montgomerie; Or, The Prophecy FulfilledRichardson, Major (John)
History
Matilda Montgomerie; Or, The Prophecy Fulfilled
Richardson, Major (John)
United States -- History -- War of 1812 -- Fiction
to meet the difficulties so guilty a waste was certain eventually to
entail. At length the effect began to make itself apparent, and it was
shortly after the first appearance of the American fleet that the
scarcity of food began to be so severely felt as to compel the English
squadron, at all hazards, to leave the port in search of supplies.
At this period, the vessel described in the commencement of our story,
as having engaged so much of the interest and attention of all parties,
had just been launched and rigged. Properly armed she was not, for there
were no guns of the description used on ship-board wherewith to arm her;
but now that the occasion became imperative, all nicety was disregarded
in the equipment; and guns that lately bristled from the ramparts of the
fort were soon to be seen protruding their long and unequal necks from
the ports. She was a gallant ship, notwithstanding the incongruity of
her armament, and had her brave crew possessed but the experience of
those who are nursed on the salt waves of ocean, might have fought a
more fortunate fight (a better or a braver was impossible) than she did.
But in the whole of the English fleet there could not be counted
three-score able or experienced seamen; the remainder were children of
the Canadian Lakes, warm with the desire to distinguish themselves in
the eyes of their more veteran European companions, but without the
knowledge to make their enthusiasm sufficiently available. The
Americans, on the contrary, were all sons of the ocean and equally
brave.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account