Having remained off Alexandria for a few weeks, Lord Keith detached us in search of our old friend Ganteaume, but first of all taking away one of our best ships, the _Hector_ (74), and giving us in lieu the _Stately_ (64), _en flute_, a Turkish 64, and a corvette. During our stay the captain pacha, and other Turkish admirals, came on board on a visit of condolence to our admiral. I recollect he was a very fine-looking man, with a long black beard, and brought his pipe and coffee-cup bearers with him. The mouth of the pipe was set with diamonds, and so were his coffee-cups. Old Tombrook, the captain of the Turkish 64, that sailed with us, was introduced to the admiral, and the captain pacha said that if he did not behave well, Sir John had only to write a note to him, and his head should be taken off immediately on his return to the Turkish fleet; or if the admiral preferred it, he would send an executioner on purpose to decapitate Captain Tombrook, and lay his head at Sir John B. Warren’s feet. We left Alexandria the beginning of May, and sailed for Coron, in the Morea, to procure wood, water, and fresh provisions, of which we stood very much in need, the scurvy having begun to make its appearance from our long continuance at sea upon bad salt and other food of the worst quality. The bread was full of maggots and weevils, the flour musty, and swarming with insects, the water so putrid, thick and stinking, that often have I held my nose with my hand while I drank it strained through my pocket handkerchief; and we were so short of this necessary article, that our consumption was limited to two pints a day for all purposes. Provisions, at the time I am speaking of, were not like those supplied now-a-days from Her Majesty’s stores; everything then was done by an infamous job contract; government paid through thick and thin for everything, and we poor devils had to suffer in consequence of the neglect of those persons under government winking at the nefarious jobs of contractors, and no doubt they had weighty reasons for so doing. I recollect, in a mid’s berth, we used to ask what such-and-such a county was famous for. Suffolk, in our black book, was put down as famous for supplying the navy with rotten and bad cheese. Burgoo was served out with treacle for breakfast, instead of nice wholesome cocoa and sugar; and will it be believed, that until the peace of 1802, French merchants had a contract for supplying the British Navy with French brandy, while our West Indian merchants knew not what to do with their rum and cocoa! At last John Bull awoke from his dream, and it struck him that soldiers and sailors liked rum just as well as brandy, and that by giving them cocoa for breakfast it would not only assist the West Indian merchants, but give general satisfaction throughout the fleet.