Letter from John Cleland to his sister and cousins. He tells his sister and cousins off for how bad their spelling is and their leaving words out of letters so much so that he struggles to read them. John says he sailed from Carlscrona in the HMS St George alongside the HMS Defence, Princess Caroline and Standout with a convoy of 150 sail of merchant ships. John says he much prefers the St George to the other [the Gorgon?] as she is always an Admiral's ship, she mounts 108 guns but is only rated a 98. He marvels at her size - 187ft long. Says there is a Carson aboard and they have church every Sunday. He says that sailors are often despised as degenerates but John has found it to be the opposite - 'many are the hardships which the suffer, living on salt beef and biscuit...' Mentions how his shirts were washed by the hospital staff on board the Gorgon, but on the St George there are no women and so the officer bring as many shirts as they will need for six months as there is no chance of getting them washed on board. John therefore must get four dozen shirts before he goes out to sea again. Sent from the HMS St George at Portsmouth to Downpatrick.
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