they would not hesitate a moment, but would get away, and leave the captain to work the ship by himself.  I could not take part with the captain, because I saw too much of his tyranny to entertain a particle of respect for him, and I confess I was not in the least surprised at the language of the ill-used sailors.  He had no good feature in his character that I could discover; for he was mean, vulgar, discontented, and brutal.  He never encouraged the men in the performance of their duty, by kind expressions; on the contrary, he never addressed them on the most simple matter without oaths and imprecations, and oftentimes enforced his commands with a rope’s end or his fist.

“We had yet other causes of discomfort besides these continual uproars.  Contrary winds, constant gales, and violent storms, made our hearts fail from fear.  We knew the captain could not expect His blessing, whose laws he openly set at defiance; indeed, by his life and conversation, he proved that he ’cared for none of these things.’

“I believe he was a clever seaman:  he had certainly had much experience, having been upwards of fifty times across the Atlantic:  so that we felt at ease with regard to the management of the ship.  But we did not put our trust in the skill of the captain alone; for of what avail would that be if the Lord withheld his hand, and left us to perish?  No! my dears, we saw that the captain never prayed, and we felt there was a greater necessity for us to be diligent in the duty; and daily, nay hourly, we entreated the forbearance and assistance of Almighty God to conduct us in safety to land.

“After a time, the men became very unmanageable; for they hated the captain:  he treated them like slaves, and imposed upon them on every occasion; so that at length, goaded to desperation by his cruelty, they positively refused to handle a rope until he agreed to the terms they intended to propose.

“The captain, fierce as he was, felt it would be useless to contend with twenty angry men, and he knew the passengers would not befriend him:  he therefore deemed it expedient to endeavor to conciliate them by promises he never intended to perform, and, after a few hours’ confusion, all was again comparatively quiet.

“I could tell you much more about the quarrels and disturbances of which we unfortunate passengers had to be the passive witnesses, and which, accustomed as we were to them in the day-time, filled me with greater horror than I can describe, breaking upon the stillness of the night, when all was quiet but the troubled ocean, whose murmurs, instead of arousing, served to lull us into a deeper repose.  Yes, often, when no other sound but the low splashing of the waves against the side of the ship was to be heard, and we were all either sleeping quietly, or thinking deeply of home and friends, loud cries and shouts would reach us, and, in an instant, we would all be gathered together to inquire into the cause of the disturbance.  It was always the captain and some of the men fighting; and on one occasion, the battle was so close to us, actually in the cabin, between the captain and the steward, that I screamed aloud, and do not remember ever to have been so much alarmed.