Xll 



PREFACE. 



transaction the Reviewer speaks in the following 

 manner : — 



" On approaching the small island of Fernando de No- 

 ronha, Captain Porter ' disguises' the Essex as a mer- 

 chantman, hoists Enghsh colours, and sends his first 

 lieutenant on shore, in plain clothes, to inform the go- 

 vernor that the ship was the ' Fanny, Captain Johnson, 

 from London, bound to Rio de Janeiro ; — short of water; — 

 crew sick of the scurvy ; — in want of refreshments ; — and 

 unable to anchor, all the anchors being lost, and the ca- 

 bles bad.' This ' lie circumstantial' procured him 

 intelligence of two English frigates having been there the 

 week before, and that the governor had a letter addressed 

 to Sir James Yeo, of the Southampton, which had been 

 left with him to send to England. In consequence of the 

 latter part of this information, the lieutenant was a second 

 time despatched with a 'lie direct,' — 'that there was a 

 gentleman on board who was intimately acquainted with 

 Sir James Yeo, and was going from Brazils direct to Eng- 

 land, who would take charge of the letter and deliver it 

 to Sir James.' The unsuspecting governor delivered the 

 letter, which David Porter, Esquire, made no scruple to 

 break open ; but the information it contained was rather 

 alarming to the nerves of the fictitious Enghshman, (and 

 never was the name so disgraced before,) who immedi- 

 ately shifted his ground to avoid falling in with a British 

 frigate. The sum of the information, therefore, concern- 

 ing this island, is — that there are no females on Fernando 

 Noronha — for no other motive that our author can con- 

 ceive unless it be ' to render this place of exile more hor- 

 rible.' " 



Now as it respects this nefarious transaction, the 

 conduct of the author was perfectly justifiable. 

 This Island was the place of rendezvous appointed 

 by Commodore Bainbridge, who had been there, 

 and left the letter addressed to Sir James Yeo, 

 knowing, that from the circumstances within the 

 knowledge of both, the author would possess him- 

 self of this letter. He had used the name of the 



