There is little of cordiality generally between a soldier and a sailor. The wife of the soldier under the stimulus of drink, is in the way of the sailor’s ready joke; willing or unwilling to understand or seem to hear it, the pride of this Lucretia takes fire, easily no doubt when in that situation; she announces herself the wife of a soldier, and a man—one who is able to take her part, and knows how to defend his wife:—with such sentiments and expressions, the husband becomes infuriated against the sailor, and quarrels are every now and then produced. I wish I could stop here to avoid exposing the shameless want of reserve with these women towards the sailors. Those occurrences almost entirely are to be attributed to that unwise use of spirits. From this erroneous indulgence I am perfectly convinced that all the evils alluded to arise: the consequences, if placed fully before the authority that permits the custom, must excite those conclusions which will ensure its recall. I am unwilling to acknowledge it, but must however declare, that on every occasion wherein a misunderstanding has occurred on board the Neptune, during this voyage, its origin could be instantly traced to the mischief or jealous disposition of those troublesome, drunken frail ones. A record or two from my journal will serve to elucidate this assertion and maintain its accuracy, and exhibit the singular ingenuity with which the principal movers of the scene generally contrived to keep themselves screened from personal recognition.