I could not quit the island honorably or openly without paying my debts; and I could not for a moment entertain the idea of sneaking out of it in a clandestine manner.

I was the only citizen of the United States in the island, and I persuaded myself that the honor and reputation of my country were identified, to a certain extent, with my conduct while exercising a humble employment in that secluded portion of the globe.

It would be well if others, exercising duties of a more important nature, would recollect this fact; and when their consciences or sense of propriety are not sufficient to restrain them from unworthy acts, let them summon patriotism to their aid, and remember that the disgrace is not confined to themselves, but is shared by the land which gave them birth.

By acting on this principle, our country would be more honored abroad than it now is.
After I left the Pearl estate I enjoyed excellent health, with the exception of an occasional attack of intermittent fever, a malady which, although distressing and debilitating, is seldom regarded as alarming.
Those only, who were liberally dosed some forty years ago with the powder of Peruvian bark, the sovereign remedy for fever and ague, can duly estimate the value of the services rendered to suffering humanity by the discovery of a mode of administering it in a concentrated form, that of QUININE.
Although some estates were regarded as healthy while others were notoriously the reverse, on no part of the island could persons be secure from those fatal diseases, most dreaded in a tropical climate, such as dysentery, and malignant or yellow fever.

It was really startling to notice the sudden deaths which sometimes took place even among those who considered themselves acclimated, and were habitually in the enjoyment of excellent health.