She was a noble ship, well found and furnished in every respect, and, setting aside the uncertain temper and eccentricities of the chief mate, well officered and manned.
When we passed Boston light house with a fresh northerly breeze, one clear and cold morning towards the close of November, in the year 1811, bound on a voyage of several years' duration, I experienced no regret at leaving my home and native land, and had no misgiving in regard to the future.

My spirits rose as the majestic dome of the State House diminished in the distance; my heart bounded with hope as we entered the waters of Massachusetts Bay.

I felt that the path I was destined to travel, although perhaps a rugged one, would be a straight and successful one, and if not entirely free from thorns, would be liberally sprinkled with flowers.
It is wisely ordered by a benignant Providence that man, notwithstanding his eager desire to know the secrets of futurity, can never penetrate those mysteries.

In some cases, could he know the changes which would take place in his condition, the misfortunes he would experience, the miseries he would undergo, in the lapse of only a few short years, or perhaps months, he would shrink like a coward from the conflict, and yield himself up to despair.
I could not long indulge in vagaries of the imagination.

In a few hours the wind hauled into the north-east, and a short head sea rendered the ship exceedingly uneasy.