Had it not been for that kind-hearted young man, my condition on board the ship must have been wretched.

I have often witnessed the disgraceful fact, that when a man is DOWN every one seems determined TO KEEP HIM DOWN! If a poor fellow received a kick from fortune, every man he meets with will give him another kick for that very reason! Captain Swain never deigned to notice me in any way, and the chief mate followed his example so far as was practicable.

The second mate's name was Cathcart.

He was man of inferior capacity, ignorant, and coarse.

As I was looked upon as a sort of "black sheep" in the flock, and was in the second mate's watch, that officer imagined he could, with impunity, make me a target for his vulgar jokes, and practised on me a line of conduct which he dared not practice on others.