A SUPERINTENDENT OF THE OLDEN DAYS, 
he was pursuing, would eventually ruin both his 
character and position in life, as also his health ; he 
urged him to turn over a new leaf,” if it was only 
for a time, on trial. Mr. Kenneth listened attentively, 
and seemed struck and impressed with the disinterested 
advice he had received. Well, says he, “I know it is 
nothing to you, and you mean it all for my own good, so 
here’s my hand ; I have no grog in the house now, 
and I will send for no more for a month; only, in 
moderation you know, I will take a drop when I visit 
a neighbour, if it is going, but I will visit as little as 
possible, and take as little as possible.” “ Well, well,” says 
the neighbour, ‘ ‘ stick to that, and you are all right.” A 
fortnight or three weeks had passed away, during which 
period the neighbour occasionally visited him and found 
him always out at his work, fast getting well and 
strong ; the works were getting on well and fast, and 
everything was completely changed for the better, 
But the canganies and coolies found they had not 
such an easy time of it ; in fact the former were 
getting into bad repute and had many a good wigging, 
for Kenneth was an active fellow, and understood his 
work. One Sunday, the canganies, either the result 
of a laid plan, or it might be only chance, brought 
master a present, in order to propitiate him, which 
present consisted of the usual small bunch of skinny 
plantains, four small oranges, and — one bottle of brandy 
and two of arrack. Mr. Kenneth manfully resisted the 
present, said he did not take liquor, &c., but the 
canganies were firm : “Did master mean to insult them ; 
a present was a present, and they could not take it 
back ;” and they got hold of the boy, delivered the 
bottles OA^er to him, and departed ; the boy, as in duty 
bound, brought in the bottles, and placed them on the 
sideboard, where they stood looking reproachfully at 
Mr. Kenneth, as much as to say, “ Drink us up and 
put us away to rest amongst our empty fellows.” Mr. 
Kenneth looked wistfully at them, and regretted his 
promise, and began to reason with himself. Now, 
when one begins to reason with himself, and wishes 
a favorable conclusion to his reasoning on any given 
point, he is sure not to be long of finding one, and 
the conclusion he came to was this : “I have not 
broken my promise, this is no doing of mine, I did 
not bring or put that stuff on the sideboard, yet 
there it is, and 1 may conscientiously drink it up, 
without any scruples in fact— indeed it would be the 
very best course to adopt, to drink it off as fast as 
possible, put it out of sight, have done with it at 
once, and caution the canganies to bring no more!” 
Mr. Kenneth at once proceeded to act upon this 
conclusion, but there was no corkscrew; the neigh- 
bour had taken it away. But let an old sailor alone 
