16 THE AFRICAN TRADER.

hand to allow me any hopes of obtaining a situa-
tion in a counting-house ; and though I would have
gone out as an errand boy or page rather than be
a burden to my sisters, I was sure they would not
permit this, and, besides, I felt that by my taking
an inferior position they would be lowered in the
cold eyes of the world. I had ardently wished to
go to sea, and I thought that the captain who had
promised to take me as a midshipman would still
receive me could I reach Portsmouth. I did not
calculate the expense of an outfit, nor did I think
of the allowance young gentlemen are expected to
receive on board a man-of-war.

I had wandered one day down to the docks to
indulge myself in the sight of the shipping, con-
templating the possibility of obtaining a berth on
board one of the fine vessels I saw fitting’ out, and
had been standing for some time on the quay, when
I observed a tall good-looking man, in the dress of
a merchantman’s captain, step out of a boat which
had apparently come from a black rakish looking
brigantine lying a short distance out in the stream.
T looked at him hard, for suddenly it occurred to
me that I remembered his features. Yes, I was
certain. He had been junior mate of the <¢ Fair