526 British Poisons : [^Nov. 



have profited by defrauding the revenue ; and how, after they have, by a 

 compromise, escaped pubUc exposure ? 



With regard to any concern the disti-essed and ill-used West Indians 

 may have in the discussion of this question, — we fear their interests 

 will, as usual, be treated as mere dust in the balance. A committee 

 has, indeed, been appointed to examine into the causes of the distress, 

 with a view to a remedy ; but, as already stated, we fear that as long 

 as there is no master mind in the cabinet, capable of understanding and 

 adjusting these important matters, so as to have justice done to all 

 parties, — the West Indians must continue to regard a total separation 

 from the mother country as the only means of preserving their lives, 

 and the residue of their once extensive and valuable property. A 

 reprieve is of no use after execution has taken place ; and if these 

 colonies once escape our grasp, it will be too late to recover them or to 

 repair the injustice with which they are now treated : their loss to the 

 mother country will be irreparable ! 



THE MAN OF LETTERS. 



If there is one thing in the world that I love more than another it is 

 quiet. IMy father, never once thinking of consulting my disposition, put 

 me at thirteen years old into the Honourable East India Company's ser- 

 vice as a middy. The very first night that I spent on board I nearly 

 died of the noise ; and though I afterwards " followed the sea," as the 

 saying is, for more than twenty years, I never was able to reconcile my- 

 self to the intolerable clatter that seemed to me to be the eternal destiny 

 of a seaman's life. After I had duly waded through all the various 

 subaltern ranks, I at length arrived at that of captain ; but even that 

 scarcely afforded any better refuge from noise and flurry. It was true 

 that I could keep the men at a distance from my cabin, and that under 

 one excuse or another I could pretty well avoid giving audiences to the 

 officers; but still there was the general turmoil of the ship for ever 

 howling in my ears : — the rude dashing of the waves against the side of 

 the vessel, and the loud sulky whisthng of the wind, with its orchestral 

 accompaniment of creaking timbers, whizzing cordage, and quivering 

 sails, were endless to my unfortunate aural nervousness, and as intoler- 

 able as endless. 



Just as I was about to commence my second voyage as captain, my 

 father died, and as I was his only son, I found myself placed by that 

 circumstance in a situation of considerable affluence. My resolution was 

 soon taken : I sent in ray resignation to the Company, and determined 

 that nothing should ever again inflict on me the unbearable hubbub of a 

 life upon the sea. The only portion of this transaction that gave me any 

 pain was the taking leave of my officers and crew : I believe I may say, 

 without vanity, that I had always been a prodigious favourite with aU, 

 whether as their messmate or their superior ; and for such a quiet man 

 as myself, it required no little struggle to muster sufficient resolution to 

 bid them an eternal farewell. But if this was my feeling in general, it 

 was still more strongly particularized in the instance of my old shipmate. 

 Jack Howden. Jack and I had begun our seafaring life together, within 

 half-a-dozen days of each other, and though I had reached the rank of 

 captain while he was only second mate, I sincerely felt that it was no 



