July.] 



LEAVE MANILLA. 



417 



closely pursued by the demons of blood, who overtook and butchered 

 two upon the spot. The third, it was believed, had outstripped his 

 pursuers, and entered the woods with his axe in his hand. The bare 

 possibility of this man being still living, was sufficient inducement for 

 me to persevere in the design I had formed. For this purpose I had 

 exerted every nerve in making the necessary preparations ; having, by 

 permission of the Luconian government, shipped the requisite number 

 of hands, and obtained an adequate supply of provisions, water, and 

 naval stores ; so that in twenty-two days from the time I arrived at 

 Manilla, the Antarctic was again ready for sea. 



July \8tL — On the evening of Sunday, the 18th of July, several 

 merchants and ship-masters, of different nations, called on me, and 

 endeavoured to dissuade me from my hazardous enterprise. The chief 

 weight of their arguments, however, was based on the fact of my hav- 

 ing so great a proportion of Manilla-men in my crew ; there being sixty- 

 six of the former, and only nineteen Americans. They predicted that 

 I would not live to return again to Manilla, but be cut off by my new 

 recruits, who would forcibly take possession of the Antarctic, and 

 murder all the Americans who refused to take part in the conspiracy. 

 To enforce their arguments, they repeated a great number of legendary 

 tales of fine ships that had been cut off by these men, in some instances 

 even when there were only two or three of them on board. 



In reply, I gratefully thanked them for their friendly counsel ; and 

 assured them, that while in the conscientious discharge of my duty, 

 death had no terrors for me, come in what shape he would ; that the 

 same gracious Being who had preserved me from the cannibals would 

 protect me from assassins of every description ; and that, at all events, 

 I could never again enjoy life, until my mind was relieved from its 

 present horrid suspense. Should one of my crew be still living, a 

 captive to those ruthless, remorseless cannibals, what must have been 

 his agonizing distraction of mind to see the Antarctic depart for ever 

 from his view ; what must be his hopeless despondency during her 

 lengthened absence ; what would be his ecstasy of delight to see her 

 return. As respected the danger, I heeded it not ; for I could say with 

 Caesar— 



" Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, 

 It seems to me most strange that men should fear ; 

 Seeing that death, a necessary end, 

 Will come when it will come." 



My wife was prepared to accompany me, as neither of us was will- 

 ing to endure the anxieties and apprehensions of another separation, 

 in a distant region of the globe, not less than fifteen thousand miles 

 from her native home. We therefore took an affectionate leave of all 

 our friends at Manilla, and soon found ourselves on board the fast-sailing 

 Antarctic, whose white canvass was unfurled and her anchor apeak. 



July 19th. — On Monday the 19th, at eleven, P. M., (nautical time), 

 we got under way, with a light breeze from the east-north-east, attended 

 with fair weather ; at three, A. M., we passed the Corregidor, and 

 steered for the Strait of Manilla, or St. Barnardino, which we entered 

 at one, P. M. 



Dd 



