FISHES AND FISHING. 1B3 



the arrival of a neutral vessel, which was expected to 

 convey a number of females, children, and English- 

 men, who passed as subjects of neutral states, and had 

 corresponding passports. Curiously, whilst we were 

 dealing for the trunk that I bought, we were shown 

 one in which some person, for whose capture a great 

 price had been offered, escaped from England. In 

 about a week or ten days, the Danish brig the St. 

 Anna, Hans Hussen, master, arrived, in ballast, and 

 was to sail for Dover on the 10th of July, 1803. I 

 therefore threw a few things into the trunk, together 

 with a large bag, passed the trunk at the Custom 

 House, and, dressed as a sailor, I placed it very care- 

 fully, along with other luggage, in the cabin. My 

 friend went on board, and just before the mustering 

 of the crew by the Deputy Commissary of Police, 

 attended by a guard and the Town Sergeants ; the 

 minute examination by the Custom House officers 

 having taken place, my friend, after I had tumbled 

 everything into the bag, and stripped off my jacket, 

 locked me up in the trunk. I had not calculated the 

 expansion of the human body by heat, and he was 

 obliged to place his whole weight on the lid to force 

 it down ; he gave the key to an Englishman who had 

 a neutral passport, another brother Mason. There 

 being but very little wind, and the tide running to 

 the eastward three hours after high water, the skipper 



