A good day. At about 11 o clock we saw a Sail and at one o clock we saw a nother one of which prov'd to be a Dutchman which came in to this port, and the other a French man and went to Ferrol. This Afternoon Flamand, Sammy Cooper, and I went 17agunning again, we got Nothing because Flamand's Gun would not go off. Sammy Cooper and I fir'd at a Mark twice and hit both times. At about 5 o clock We arrived at our lodgings. The 2 frigates which we saw enter yesterday are both French and one of them is the famous Belle poule the fregate which fir'd the first gun against the English this war.1 The Captain of the Belle Poule invited my Pappa to dine with him to morrow.

This morning a Spanish 80 Gun Ship went out of this harbour. At about 10 o clock the Consul came to our lodgings and brought us the French paper call'd the Courier de L'europe in which was the following news that a part of the Count d'Estaing's1 fleet had arrived at L'orient which was seperated in the Storm and that it brought news that the Count was repulsed at Savannah with the loss of six hundred men, part of the fleet is also arrived at Cadiz who had a 60 days passage, that there is an American Vessel Arrived at La Rochelle which sail'd with the Confederacy the 16th of October Last and had left her the Same day and arrived at La Rochelle the 8th of December which was the Same day that we arrived at Ferrol. The part of the Counts fleet which arrived at L'Orient brought also an account that the Count was wounded twice in the battle, once in the arm slightly and once in the leg dangerously but was in a fair way of recovery. To day Pappa went with the Consul on board the Belle Poule, and at about 5 o clock he came back again with the Consul. In about a Quarter of an hour the Consul went away.

This is a great day with the Roman Catholics. “Fete de Nouailles” Christmas. However I find they dont mind it much. 18They dress up and go to mass but after that's over all is. So if they call this religion I wonder what is not it; after Mass, almost all the Shops in town are open'd. But stop. I must not say any thing against their religion while I am in their country but must change the subject. This forenoon Madame Lagoanere sent us some sweetmeats: for my part I was much obliged to her for them, but I shall diminish them but little. We expect to go for Madrid to morrow. The Muletiers came to look and see how many mules it would take to carry our Baggage, however I am afraid that it will be a bad day as it is cloudy and has been rainy all day with intermissions. I thought that Marti Augusto Sacrum was the whole of the inscription upon the tour de fer, but the Consul came here this Evening and gave us the inscription after this manner. “Inscription gravée Sur un Roche au pied de la Tour d'hercule. Marti Aug. Sacr. G Serius Lupus Lusitanus Ar. Flaviensis Architectus. ex Voto.” Inscription in Graved upon a Rock at the foot of the Tour of hercules. Dedicated to Mars and Augustus. Gaius Serius Lupus Lusitanus Architect of Flaviensis. From desire. It was a Monk who took this inscription from the rock some years agone. Perhaps the translation may not appear very Elegant but the Characters being effaced a great deal, the Monk could not take down the whole of the inscription: but I have translated it as well as I can, and therefore it must go as it is. Flaviensis the Consul informs me is a city in Portugal; he says also that G S L L. is a Portugues.