Laurence Sterne England and France were still adversaries in the Seven Years' War. Sterne was gratified by his reception in France, where reports of the genius of "Tristram Shandy" had made him a celebrity. Aspects of this trip to France were incorporated into Sterne's second novel, "A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy". Early in 1767 Sterne met Eliza Draper, the wife of an official of the East India Company, then staying on her own in London. He was quickly captivated by Eliza’s charm, vivacity and intelligence, and she did little to discourage the attentions of such a celebrated man. They met
USS Tristram Shandy (1864) 1865, she captured blockade runner "Blenheim". The runner's captain and crew had not received the news of the fall of Fort Fisher and anchored off Mound Battery. He thus fell prey to Union sailors from the gunboat, who boarded "Blenheim", and captured her easily. On 31 January, "Tristram Shandy" joined the East Gulf Blockading Squadron and remained with that group into the spring. Returning north, she served as a dispatch vessel with Union forces operating in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Admiral Porter embarked in "Tristram Shandy" on 14 April, after the admiral had previously escorted President Abraham Lincoln on a tour