I blush for this?  Or can I have a wish to conceal sentiments of such a nature for an object who I am so certain merits all my regard, and in whom the admiration of surrounding friends convinces me I am not mistaken.  No, surely; ’tis my pride, my chiefest glory, to love you; and when you think me worthy of commendation, that praise, and that only, can make me vain.  I shall not therefore write to you, my dearest brother, in a private manner, for it is unnecessary, and I abhor all deceit; in which I know you agree with me.’

To her sister Mary in the Isle of Man she says, ’With respect to that little wretch Hallet, his intrepidity in court was astonishing; and after every evidence had spoken highly in Peter’s favour, and given testimony of his innocence, so strong that not a doubt was entertained of his acquittal, he declared, unasked, that while Bligh was upon deck, he (Hallet) saw him look at and speak to Peter.  What he said to him Hallet could not hear, (being at the distance of twenty feet from Bligh, and Peter was twenty feet farther off, consequently a distance of forty feet separated Mr. Bligh and my brother); but he added that Peter, on hearing what Mr. Bligh said to him, laughed and turned contemptuously away.  No other witness saw Peter laugh but Hallet; on the contrary, all agreed he wore a countenance on that day remarkably sorrowful; yet the effect of this cruel evidence was wonderful upon the minds of the Court, and they concluded by pronouncing the dreadful sentence, though at the same time accompanied by the strongest recommendation to mercy.  Assure yourselves (I have it from Mr. Graham’s own mouth), that Peter’s honour is and will be as secure as his own; that every professional man, as well as every man of sense, of whatever denomination, does and will esteem him highly; that my dear uncle Pasley (who was in town the night before my arrival) is delighted with his worth; and that, in short, we shall at length be happy.’

From this time a daily correspondence passed between Peter Heywood and his sister Nessy, the latter indulging hope, even to a certainty, that she will not be deceived,—­the other preaching up patience and resignation, with a full reliance on his innocence and integrity.  ’Cheer up then,’ says he, ’my dear Nessy; cherish your hope, and I will exercise my patience.’  Indeed so perfectly calm was this young man under his dreadful calamity, that in a very few days after condemnation his brother says, ’While I write this, Peter is sitting by me making an Otaheitan vocabulary, and so happy and intent upon it, that I have scarcely an opportunity of saying a word to him; he is in excellent spirits, and I am convinced they are better and better every day.’

This vocabulary is a very extraordinary performance; it consists of one hundred full-written folio pages, the words alphabetically arranged, and all the syllables accented.  It appears, from a passage in the Voyage of the Duff, that a copy of this vocabulary was of great use to the missionaries who were first sent to Otaheite in this ship.