JOURNAL OF JOHN FONTAINE.
The Journal[1] commences on the 16th September, 1710, when he obtained an ensign's commission in Lord Shaw's regiment of foot. He was rather young to enter the service, only seventeen years old.
On the 1st February, 1710-11, the troops embarked at Cork, and put to sea immediately. The weather was very stormy, and one of the transports foundered at sea, having on board three companies under Colonel Chester. That on board of which John Fontaine was a passenger, arrived in safety at Plymouth on the 11th February. On the 26th March, the troops sailed for Spain, and encountered bad weather again, which caused them to put into Torbay. They anchored off Lisbon on the 22d April, and reached Barcelona on the last of May. There the troops were thinned by disease and violence. John observes: "There may be good laws in this coun-
- ↑ In the preceding narrative, there is mention made of a Journal kept by John Fontaine. This has been sent to me, with great kindness, by his descendants, who are now living in the neighborhood of London. I cannot refrain from expressing my admiration of the piety and excellence of my kinswomen, at the same time that I make my acknowledgments for their contribution towards the completion of our family annals. Their lives are in all respects such as one might hope and expect to find in those descended from a long line of pious ancestry.
