This is far from all, however; the possession of means
would awaken the desire of advancement in the calling, and thousands, who
now remain before the mast, would long since have been officers, could
they have commanded the self-respect that property is apt to create.
On the subject of liquor, I can say nothing that has not often been said
by others, in language far better than I can use. I do not think I was as
bad, in this respect, as perhaps a majority of my associates; yet, this
narrative will show how often the habit of drinking to excess impeded my
advance. It was fast converting me into a being inferior to a man, and,
but for God's mercy, might have rendered me the perpetrator of crimes that
it would shock me to think of, in my sober and sane moments.
The past, I have related as faithfully as I have been able so to do. The
future is with God; to whom belongeth power, and glory, for ever and ever!
The End.
Footnotes
[1]: The writer left a blank for this regiment, and now inserts it from
memory. It is probable he is wrong.
[2]: Edward, Duke of Kent, was born November 2, 1767, and made a peer April
23, 1799; when he was a little turned of one-and-thirty. It is probable
that this creation took place on his return to England; after passing some
six or eight years in America and the West Indies. He served in the West
Indies with great personal distinction, during his stay in this
hemisphere.
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