STORY FABRICATED BY DESERTERS. 229 



pumped once a week, and then but for a few mi- 

 nutes. The carpenter is an imaginary personage — 

 we never having possessed one : one was shipped iu 

 New Bedford, but ran away before we sailed. The 

 person, who, under the name of Theodore Jerome, 

 made tlie deposition before the magistrate at Colling- 

 wood, is supposed to have been in reality John Ro- 

 berts, a London cockney, who had been transported 

 to Australia. He had been in the Henry H. Crapo 

 for twelve months, but left her in Vasse, and en- 

 gaged with us ; thus escaping the fate of the crew 

 of that vessel, to live and play a rascal's part in an- 

 other clime. The true Theodore Jerome is still on 

 board our ship, and justly indignant at the liberties 

 taken with his name. The fact of their assuming it 

 is attributable to their having in their possession an 

 American protection, bearing the name of Theodore 

 Jerome. Roberts is the only one of the party whose 

 description corresponds with that contained in it; 

 and hence we suppose him to be the person who 

 made the affidavit. He is weak-minded, with little 

 intelligence, and totally incapable of giving such an 

 account; except at the instigation of a person like 

 Riley, and afterwards being well drilled, until he 

 was perfected in his part. The other names were 

 real ; or, rather, a part were those of our crew, whilst 

 the rest, Owen, Anderson, and Ling, were the names 

 of the deserters from the barque Lady Emma, of 

 Hobartown, whom our fellows took aboard their boat 

 at Open Bay. From their own account, they hud 

 pretty rough travelling; but the descriptive part, like 

 the substance of their narrative, may be more ro- 

 mance than realit}'. But, apart from this, let us 

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