| Citation |
RAG.782.018
9 Jul 1782:24 (8/493)
St. John's, Antigua, May 18. The following are extracts
from letters found on board a schooner called the Betsey,
taken on the 14th inst. in her passage from Martinico to St.
Eustatius, by the Tartar, Captain Renwick, and brought into
this port.
Extract (dated 10th May). . . [12 lines]
I must inform you that they tell us of our having been
beaten--and that with a vengeance (on qui s'appelle de main
de maitre for it seems our fleet has been dispersed like a
flock of partridges pursued by a bird of prey. . . [5 lines
about the defeat of the French ships]
Everybody here is in the utmost consternation. The affair
of the 12th of April is not likely to produce a peace. The
English will no doubt be very insolent, and our navy, if
they have any sense of shame, ought to be extremely humbled:
but nothing affects them. The same frigate brought a letter
from M. de Glandevez, written to the President, which only
informs him that the writer is well. . . [6 lines]
The band of music is probably gone to the devil. It is
the first instance ever known of having such people on
board. I think the concert must have been rather an
unharmonious one.
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