was full of vacant restlessness; and as he stared at you through his glasses, with his silvery gray hair hanging about his ears and neck in shaggy points, rolling a large quid of tobacco in his mouth, and dangling a little whip in his right hand, you saw the index to his office.  As he raised his voice—­ which he did by twisting his mouth on one side, and working his chin to adjust his enormous quid—­the drawling tone in which he spoke gave a picture not easily forgotten.

“You must pay more attention to the arrivals,” said he in a commanding tone.  “The loss of one of these fellers is a serious drawback to my pocket; and that British consul’s using the infernalest means to destroy our business, that ever was.  He’s worse than the vilest abolitionist, because he thinks he’s protected by that flag of their’n.  If he don’t take care, we’ll tar-and-feather him; and if his government says much about it, she’ll larn what and who South Carolina is.  We can turn out a dozen Palmetto regiments that’d lick any thing John Bull could send here, and a troop o’ them d—­d Yankee abolitionists besides.  South Carolina’s got to show her hand yet against these fellers, afore they’ll respect the honor and standing of her institutions.  They can’t send their navy to hurt us.  And it shows that I always predicts right; for while these commercial fellers about the wharves are telling about digging out the channel, I’ve al’ays said they didn’t think how much injury they were doing; for it was our very best protection in war-time.  South Carolina can lick John Bull, single-fisted, any time; but if that pack of inconsiderate traders on the wharves get their own way, away goes our protection, and John Bull would bring his big ships in and blow us up.  And these fellows that own ships are getting so bold, that a great many are beginning to side with Mathew, the consul.  Yes, they even swear that ’tis the officials that stick to the law for the sake of the fees.  Now, if I only knew that the consul was the means of that Nassau nigger getting away, I’d raise a mob, and teach him a lesson that South Carolinians ought to have teached him before.  It took about seventeen dollars out of my pocket, and if I was to sue him for it, I could get no recompense.  The next time you allow one to escape, I must place some other officer over the port,” said our man whom, we shall continue to call Mr. Grimshaw.

“Sure I heard the same consul, when spakin to a gintleman, say that the law was only an abuse of power, to put money into the pockets of yourself and a few like ye.  And whin meself and Flin put the irons on a big nigger that the captain was endeavoring to skulk by keeping him in the forecastle of the ship, he interfered between me and me duty, and began talking his balderdash about the law.  Sure, with his own way, he’d have every nigger in the city an abolitionist in three weeks.  And sure, Mr. Sheriff, and ye’d think they were babies, if ye’d see himself talk to them at the jail, and send them up things, as if they were better than the other criminals, and couldn’t live on the jail fare,” said officer Dunn, who continued to pledge himself to the sheriff that the wharves should not be neglected, nor a hopeful English darky escape his vigilant eye.