_Wednesday, December 25th_.--Christmas-day! Bringing with it, away here in mid-ocean, all the kindly recollections of the season and home, and church and friends. Alas! how great the contrast between these things and our present condition. A leaky ship filled with prisoners of war, striving to make a port through the almost constantly recurring gales of the North Atlantic in mid-winter! Sick list--ten of the crew, and four prisoners. Wind fresh from the N.W. We are making a good run these twenty-four hours. Lat. 36'08 N., Long. 28-42 W. Weather cloudy, and looking squally and ugly, with a falling barometer, it being at noon 29.70; 29.80 is the highest it has been since the last gale. A series of gales commenced on the 19th inst. Altered our course from S.E. by E. to S.E. to avoid the St. Mary's bank; a Captain Livingstone having reported, about forty years ago, that he saw white waters hereabouts, and no nation having thought it worth while to verify the report. Thermometer 63°. Heavy rain-squalls. The weather during the night was dirty and squally, with lightning all around the horizon by turns, and heavy rain.. Spliced the main-brace.
The 26th December brought the Sumter off Cape Flyaway, and once more she was rapidly approaching the ordinary track of commerce.
_Monday, December 30th_.--Sail, ho! at daylight, and Sail, ho! in succession during the whole day, until as many as thirty-five were reported. There were as many as nine or ten in sight at one time, all standing on the same course for the tide and wind. Got up steam and began chasing at 8 A.M., and chased until 4 P.M. The first vessel we overhauled was a Dutch barque, clipper-looking, on board which we sent a boat; and we afterwards overhauled, and caused to show their papers, fifteen others of the fleet, every one of which was European!--Viz. Dutch (ships), 4; English (2 barques and 5 brigs), 7; French (1 ship and 1 brig), 2; Swedish (brig), 1; Prussian (barque), 1; Hamburg (brig), 1. One of the results of the war is, that in this whole fleet, as far as we could ascertain, there was not a single Yankee! So many ships at the same time so far out at sea, is a sight not often seen. The weather was very thick and rainy, and from the S. to E., a real dirty day; and in such a state of weather, with so many ships running down our track, we had serious apprehensions of collisions as the night set in. To guard against which we set out masthead as well as side lights. At 4.30 P.M., let the steam go down and made sail. No observations. Lat. 35° 39'; Long. 17° 33' D.R.