ut it was in vain, as most of them were
depressed below the elasticity of their brave souls; yet amidst their
distress, not a man of them would listen to proposals to enter the
British service. Every one preferred death, and even wished for it.
The Americans are a clean people in their persons, as well as in their
houses. None of them are so poor as to live in cabins, like the Irish;
or in cottages, like the Scotch; but they are brought up in houses
having chimnies, glass windows, separate and convenient rooms, and
good bedding; and to all these comfortable things we must add that the
poorest of our countrymen eat meat once every day, and most of them
twice. To young men so brought up and nourished, a British captivity
on board their horrid transports, and even on board their
prison-ships, is worse than death. If we, Americans, treat British
prisoners as they treat ours, let it be sounded through the world to
our disgrace. Should the war continue many years, I predict that few
Americans will be taken alive by the English.

After these poor fellows had received money and clothing from our
government, they became cheerful, clean, and many of them neat, and
were no bad specimens of American soldiery. We are sorry to again
remark, that there was observed something repulsive between the
soldier and the sailor. The soldier thought himself better than the
Jack tar, while the sailor, felt himself, on board ship, a better
fellow than the soldier; one was a fish in the water; the other a
lobster out of the water. The sailors always took the lead, because
they were at home; while the dispirited landsman felt himself a
stranger in an enemy's land, even among his countrymen. It would be
well if all our sea and land commanders would exert themselves to
break down the partition wall that is growing up between our sailors
and soldiers; they should be constantly reminded that they are all
_children_ of _one_ and the _same great family_, whereof the
_President of the United States_ is _Father_; that they have all been
taught to read the same bible, and to obey the same great moral law of
loving one another. I observed, with pain, that nothing vexed a sailor
more, than to be called by a brother tar, a soldier-looking son of a
----. This term of contempt commonly led to blows. This mutual dislike
bred difficulties in the government of ourselves, and sometimes
defeated our best regulations; for it split us into parties; and then
we behaved