The captain of the port ordered the guns to be unloaded, and our powder landed. To this, Capt. Downes positively objected. He consented to unload the guns, considering this requirement no more than a proper precaution against fire. The authorities finally withdrew the order to land the powder, this being the first American man-of-war that ever entered the mole*. They were not posted up with regard to the way of getting along with Yankee Captains. They sent on board a "savage " looking Frenchman as a Custom house officer to remain on board while we were in quarantine. The first lieutenant ordered the purser's steward to serve this fellow his ration for the day, which was, 1-4 lb. of salt beef, 14 oz. bread, and 1-2 pint of whiskey.
The Frenchman, when he understood that he must take his food with the men, became quite indignant, threw the beef and bread down, swearing horribly in French, his hands agoing like the paddle of a steamboat, saying, he "always had lived in the cabin with the Captain." It was some time before the fellow could be 'made to understand what kind of a ship he was on board of, and finally made an arrangement with some one on shore, to send him off some grass and a beef bone, with which he made himself a pot of soup, and became quite contented. Marseilles had not yet recovered from the downfall of Bonaparte. They had always been bitterly opposed to him, and only three months previous to our arrival, there had been a massacre of three hundred men, women and children, for proclaiming their adhesion to him; and there was also a ship in the mole, and lying near us, with twenty -six French officers, adherents of Bonaparte, who were under sentence of death.
We remained here three weeks, and then sailed for Malaga. We had scarcely let our anchor go in Malaga roads, when we discovered the U. S. Frigate in the offing, bound in. She reached her anchorage about 4 o'clock in the morning. At noon, a gale from the S. E. commenced, which increased so rapidly, lhat we found it necessary to send down our top-gallant yards, house top-gallant masts, and lower the fore and main yards down to the rail. The gale increasing, Captain Downes made a signal for a pilot to take us inside the mole * Marseilles is now, 1856, quite another place to what it was in 1816. Then, there was no harbor to the left of the tower; all that portion has been added, with many other improvements. as there was danger where we lay, of foundering at our anchors; the sea making a clean sweep fore and aft the decks.
The frigate could render us no assistance, and as no pilot came off, we accordingly made preparations for slipping our cables, and make an attempt to enter the mole. Our anchors and cables were buoyed, a spare anchor and cable got in readiness, when we watched our chance, let fall, and sheeted home, a close-reefed maintop-sail, slipped the chains at the same time, and put the helm up. She did not pay off as was expected, neither did she gather headway soon enough to round the molehead, but drifted on to the rocks. We let go the spare anchor just in the right time, and fortunately, it held on firmly, our stern only striking the ground. We hung now in a perilous position; should our cable part, or our anchor come home, we must inevitably have swung round square upon the rocks, which would have made an end of the Ontario.
While we lay in this critical position, a well-manned boat came from the frigate with a large hawser and anchor. They made one end of the hawser fast to the mole, and brought the other end on board, which we took to the capstan, and hove it taut, A large well-manned boat also came to our assistance from the captain of the port. All along the shore, the Spaniards had collected to see us go to pieces on the rocks, and were doubtless much surprised at seeing us use any exertion to extricate ourselves from our dangerous position. For had they been in our place, there would have been nothing done but praying to some saint for assistance, and making large promises to the Church.
We succeeded in heaving the ship off into deep water, and then considered ourselves out of danger. The gale continued through the night; the frigate slipped her cables, and went to sea, but returned in two days. When the gale had abated, we ran up into fhe mole and anchored in a good berth, I had a good cruise on shore, and in company with another officer visited the Cathedral, and while looking about and walking round the gallery, we came across a very large book, the letters of which were two inches long. I observed to the gentleman with me, that these letters were large enough to be felt. Directly we heard a voice from the other side speaking to us in English, and in a gruff voice, " A still tongue makes a wise head." We looked round, but saw nobody, when directly an old fellow raised his head and commenced scolding us for talking loud in church.