re generally vehicles
of misinformation. The faction may impede, and embarrass for a time;
but they never can long confine the nervous arm of the American
Hercules.

Candor influences me to confess, that there were more attempts than
one, to rise and take these men of war transports. I find that several
experiments were made, but that they were always betrayed, by some
Englishman, or Irishman, that had crept into American citizenship. I
hope the time is not far off, when we shall reject from our service
every man not known absolutely to have been born in the United States.
Whenever these foreigners get drunk, they betray their partiality to
their own country, and their dislike of ours. I hope our navy never
will be disgraced or endangered by these renegadoes. Every man is more
or less a villain, who fights against his own country. The Irish are
so ill treated at home, that it is no wonder that they quit their
native soil, for a land of more liberty and, plenty; and they are
often faithful to the country that adopts them; but never trust an
Englishman, and above all a _Scotchman_. It is a happy circumstance
that America wants neither. She had rather have one English
manufacturer than an hundred English sailors. We labor under the
inconvenience of speaking the same language with the enemies of our
rising greatness. I know by my own personal experience, that English
books, published since our revolutionary war, have a pernicious
tendency in anglifying the American character. I have been amused in
listening to the wrangling conversation of an English, Irish and
American sailor, when all three were half drunk; and this was very
often the case during this month of January, as many of our men who
had been in the British naval service, received payment from
government; and this filled our abode with noise, riot, confusion,
and sometimes fighting. The day was spent in gambling, and the night
in drunkenness; for now all would attempt to forget their misery, and
steep their senses in forgetfulness. The French officers among us,
seldom indulged in drinking to excess. Our men said they kept sober in
order to strip the boozy sailor of his money, by gambling.

While the Frenchmen keep sober, the American and English sailor would
indulge in their favorite grog. In this respect, I see no difference
between English and American. Over the can of grog, the English tar
forgets all his hardships and his slavery--yes, _slavery_; for where