A SUPERINTENDENT OP THE OLDEN DAYS, 
ship, an agreeable captain, and such an excellent atten- 
tive steward. What more could be desired, the ship 
was perfect, and it was, Kenneth was a good favorite 
of the Captain, and when the latter left his ship, 
with intention of turning a Ceylon coffee planter, 
he took Kenneth with him, to act as his steward 
in a different capacity on shore, in fact, to act as his 
superintendent. 
The Captain, like many, or rather most others at 
that period, made a wrong selection of land in the 
low country, and some years afterwards, seeing his 
error, he resolved to rectify it, and purchased another 
block of land in the high country — and his 
plan was, he was going to stick to the old estate, where 
he had built a very large and expensive house and all 
other buildings in the same style, and Mr Kenneth 
was sent up to open out, and do all the rough work on the 
new estate. Mr Kenneth had a failing, who has not ? 
In his capacity of ship-steward of course he had numerous 
facilities for ‘‘liquoring up ’’ at all times of the day 
and night, so that after a course of time, impercepti- 
bly almost to himself he had lapsed into the habit of not 
being able to restrain, or do without it. While on board 
ship, subordinate to his superiors, and where this habit 
would speedily be observed, to his detriment, he exer- 
cised great caution, so much so, that he was never 
even suspected by his Captain, so much so, that it was 
considered useless making any complaints or reports 
on this point as they never were believed, and 
were just . attributed to jealousy, dislike, and 
a desire to injure a faithful servant in the 
estimation of his master, why, if he was “three 
sheets in the wind” at rare intervals, most sailors 
were the same, perhaps even the captain himself, but 
neither owners, the ship nor any one else was the 
worse of that, and as for himself, why he was consider- 
ably the better of “a small breeze,” at times, no, 
no, he would not take in any evil malicious reports of 
his worthy steward. Now, so long as the captain 
and his steward, as proprietor and superintendent, 
lived on the same estate, matters were just some- 
what on the board of ship style, the superintendent took 
care that his failings did not proceed too far, or so far 
as to require notice, when the latter went to Kandy on 
estate business, he generally had “a buster,” and if 
this was reported to the captain by any of his friends 
it was just laughed at, what about it, didn’t every one 
just do the same,” why fix upon his man so very 
pointedly and especially, all or most fellows were the 
same, when they met in with friends at the hotels. 
After Mr Kenneth was settled on the new clearing 
he exerted himself to the utmost, a portion of 
ground having, been felled, and burnt off, he was 
