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    him td be so , it was not less criminal ; the rule was to ' start * the last ; his being last was a sufficient warrant for punishing him ; nothing else was inquired into , or thought of . It was on one occasion of these beloved and beprized amusements of the boatswain ' s-mates , that I , as with the rushing herd I mounted

    the deck , received one of the blows across my shoulders , which sent the blood at once whizzing and boiling back upon my heart ; for the blow seemed to fall through my bones , into my breast , so ponderous was the stroke . I reeled , and became sick and faint ; this gave him opportunity for repeating the blow , and it was too delicious a pleasure to be lost ; my limbs bowed under me as if

    they were rushes , and I sank down on the deck , senseless ; and I felt , then , nothing of the kick with which he sent my body out of the way of those who were following , and I know not who , or how many , trampled on me . But I do remember , that an hour after I recovered , there was a dismal drumming in my ears , my brain seemed compressed within hard bandages , and a hoop of

    iron was welded round my brow , and I stood in stupor gazing down towards the deck , trying to look at something which was not there . ThankGod ! thank Goa ! I have exclaimed in thought a hundred times since , that there was no knife within my reach , or I am quite sure I should have driven it , blade , handle and all , into his heart ! I was too valuable a subject to be forgotten by him , —that

    boatswain ' s-mate . I subdued my bitterness by reflecting , that in a day or two , I should be out of his reach at least ; and I went industriously to work , at platting sinnet . This was new to me , something to be learnt , and it was easy employment . Here the fellow singled me out next day , and , without the least cause or provocation , for mere sport , he struck me another , though not so heavy a blow as the former , while my back was turned to him , and I

    unaware of his approach ; I sprung round in the biting suddenness of my anguish , and there he stood , with his hand and rope elevated , in terrorem . I spat out the word ' devil ! ' r Ha ! devil , atn I ? ' said he ; I'll show you a bit of my devil . ' His face had on it the cold , calm , dead grin of the concentrated essence of spite , gratifying itself with a luxury ; while the cable veins of his thick bull neck were strained almost to bursting . ' I'll not hurt

    you , as you are so delicate ; I'll lay it on ladylike , to accommodate you , ' and he repeated the blows , till I fell down as yesterday . Of all the faces 1 have ever looked on , none dwelt so long , and so distinctly in my memory as his . I can safely assert , that I never remembered any man with feelings of hate , or a desire for

    revenge , for the duration of a month , save and except that fiend of a man ; and , for years afterwards , in reflecting on my life on board that ship , I have snatched up a knife , if it were near me , tnid driven it with all my force into the table or board before me . They would have hanged me for murder if I had remained a week longer on board the Salvador del Mundo . Now , how

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    Autobiography of Pel . Verjuice . 829

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    3 N 2

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1833, page 823, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2628/page/19/