flavour, and that if once brought into fashion,
it would be reckoned a great delicacy.
2d. — This day another brig hove in sight
of the island. “ All hands” were again employed
in making fires ; and, its being a remarkably
fine and calm day, I entertained the
most sanguine hope that we should have been
able to board h e r; but notwithstanding all
our endeavours, she kept at so great a distance
from the land as made it totally impracticable
to reach h e r! I begin, with reluctance, to
alter my long-cherished opinion of the seafaring
part of my species, and to think they
are not much incommoded with humanity;
for three vessels have passed in sight of our
signal-fires, and their commanders must have
known full well there were some poor creatures
in distress on this desolate spot, and by
our efforts, might judge of our anxiety to be
relieved; but two out of the three would not
put themselves the least out of the way to
enquire into the nature of our misfortunes.
They knew not but there might be several
persons perishing of want, when they might
have brought relief and comfort by altering
their course a very little, and easily have bore
down abreast of our settlement, without incurring
the smallest risk!
The precarious tenure of a seaman’s life,
and his liability to encounter similar accidents,
would, one might naturally imagine, make him
most anxious to relieve every one placed in
my present situation ; but, no: for here, in
one of the most remote parts of the globe,
separated from the rest of the world by thousands
of miles, they see signals of distress j
they know on that spot there is some '"poor
creature in want of their assistance ; that
assistance and relief they have it in their
power to bestow, by merely giving themselves
some little labour j and yet two ships have
now passed during fine weather, and their
captains have not put themselves in the smallest
degree out of their course, even to enquire
into the nature of our distress! This does
not correspond with the exalted character
given of the British sailors in both song and
story; nor with the generally-received opinion
of their humanity and valour. I would have
ventured a considerable wager that the first
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