MR. BARRAUD.  “The glory of one of our celebrated navigators is tarnished, by not merely a participation in, but by being actually the originator of, the slave-trade in the English dominions.  Sir John Hawkins was the first Englishman who engaged in the slave-trade; and he acquired such reputation for his skill and success on a voyage to Guinea made in 1564, that, on his return home, Queen Elizabeth granted him by patent, for his crest, a demi-moor, in his proper color, bound with a cord.  It was in those days considered an honorable employment, and was common in most other civilized countries of the world:  it was the vice of the age:  therefore we must not condemn Sir John Hawkins individually, for it is probable that he merely regarded it as a lucrative branch of trade, and, like the rest of the world at that period, did no consider it as in the slightest degree repugnant to justice or Christianity.  I presume our next halting-place will be Portsmouth?”

DORA.  “Yes, sir; we are to anchor in Portsmouth harbor, because Charles has an excellent account of the wreck of the ‘Royal George,’ which, being so immediately connected with this naval town, will be more appropriate here than elsewhere.  Will you read it, Charles?”

CHARLES.  “Willingly.  The narrative is written by one of the survivors, a Mr. Ingram, who lived many years after, at Wood ford, near Bristol.

#The Wreck of the Royal George.#

“’The “Royal George” was a ship of one hundred guns.  In August, 1782, she came to Spithead in a very complete state, so that there was no occasion for the pumps to be touched oftener than once in every three or four days.  By the 29th of August she had got six months’ provisions on board and also many tons of shot.  The ship had her top gallant-yards up, the blue flag of Admiral Kempenfeldt was flying at the mizen, and the ensign was hoisted on the ensign-staff,—­and she was to have sailed in about two days, to join the grand fleet in the Mediterranean.  It was ascertained that the water-cock must be taken out, and a new one put in.  The water-cock is something like a tap of a barrel; it is in the hold of a ship on the starboard side, and at that part of the ship called the well.  By turning a handle which is inside the ship, the sea-water is let into a cistern in the hold, and it is from that pumped up to wash the decks.  In some ships, the water is drawn up the side in buckets, and there is no water-cock.  To get out the old water-cock, it was necessary to make the ship heel so much on her larboard side as to raise the outside of this apparatus above water.  This was done at about eight o’clock, on the morning of the 27th August.  To do it, the whole of the guns on the larboard side were run out as far as they would go, quite to the breasts of the guns, and the starboard guns drawn in amidships and secured by tackles, two to every gun, one on each side.  This brought the water-nearly on a level with the port-holes of the larboard side of the lower gun-deck.  The men were working at the water-cock on the outside of the ship for near an hour, the ship remaining all on one side, as I have stated.