if, however, there is a war, he must be in'cluded soon, and the disappointment he

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' lately met with will, I hope, strengthen his ' claims. Remember me very kindly to him. when you write.

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If

I forgive my father for not writing; he is 'better employed; but these times are so interesting, I hope, from some one of the family, I may hear a little oftener. philosophic James could give himself the trouble, he is a most satisfactory correspondent. Make allowances, my dear Mother, for the difference of situations. Yours at the fountain head-mine where 'one day is exactly the counterpart of the ' other. There is nothing here for the

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memory to rest upon; and it is remarked, 'that time appears to pass very quickly at • Gibraltar.

'Remember me to my father, &c., and be'lieve me, my dear Mother, yours most affec'tionately,

'J. M.'

* Gibraltar, 22nd June, 1793.

‹ My dear Mother,—I received your letter ' and James's, of the 30th March, a few days ago, by a young lad who came here recom'mended to me by Peter Murdoch. I have 'heard so seldom from home of late, that I suppose you do not know that, since the 'communication through France was stopped, 'the mails come to us by Lisbon, though arrangements are not yet made to take our letters from hence. We do, however, con'trive occasionally to get them sent.

'I had hopes of an expedition against Tou'lon, with troops from England, from this garrison, and joined, if necessary, by Austrians ' and Sardinians; but Lord Hood is arrived ⚫ without a soldier. As I had the forming of the expedition myself, you may believe I gave 'myself a tolerable command in it; but now my castle is destroyed, and I am at times 'as melancholy as a cat, at the thoughts of remaining here unemployed the whole war.

'But who would have imagined such a fleet 'would have been sent to the Mediterranean,

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for

merely to convoy the trade up and down; nobody doubts that the French will stay in their harbours as long as our fleet continues in this neighbourhood. Therefore, in my

opinion, to burn the shipping and destroy the arsenal of Toulon would have been a 'great coup; a little impracticable, perhaps,

or so, but that does not signify; the attempt 'would have been great, and would have 'kept some of my friends and me from fret

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ting, as we shall do, the whole summer. Had our Major come out, I believe I should have endeavoured to get home, to try if upon the spot I could not negociate an 'exchange. Lord Hood and the fleet, twenty 'sail of the line, are to sail in a day or two. They begin, it is said, by cruizing off Toulon. I have met with several of Graham's friends, who have seen him lately. I fear • his situation is not more flattering than my

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own. They tell me he has taken no prizes, ' and they do not seem to think he has much 'chance of immediate promotion. I hope,

however, to hear from you, that in this they

' are mistaken. How pleasant it would have 'been to us both had he come out with Lord "Hood!

I long to see my father's book; I ex'pected it by the fleet.

'Sir James Murray's letter is much criti'cised by General O'Hara, and some others here it strikes me as a plain narrative, and tolerably distinct.

'I thank Jane for her letter: as long as her travels are confined to England, I can con'ceive her liking them; but I can assure her, 'that one day's journey through the country ' of Don Quixote would prevent her from having the least desire to undertake a 'second.

I am quite happy to hear such good accounts of Charles,-remember me to him and James. If the Duke or Duchess of Hamilton are in town, you may tell them 'that young Bennet, who was wounded in the 'action with the French frigate, continues ' to recover fast.

When my father gets his book off his

hands, he will, I hope, write to me. Be-` lieve me, my dear Mother,

• Yours most affectionately,

'JOHN MOORE.'

'Gibraltar, 30th Sept., 1793.

My dear Father,-It is impossible to be more obliged to you than I am for your endeavour to get me actively employed; I hope you will succeed. I wait, with the ' utmost impatience, to hear from you after your interview with Sir Charles Grey. To go with the regiment upon service is the ' object next my heart. I have got the ma'chine into as good order as I can, and I wish to have it used. When the intelligence of the business at Toulon first reached this, General O'Hara endeavoured to persuade 'the Governor to send a strong detachment ' under him to Toulon, and he proposed the 51st as one of the regiments; but the old gentleman was timid, and said he would not 'take such a step without orders. It would

' have been fortunate if he had, as Lord Hood