ong to their service. There were, however, some instances of
noble and generous conduct; which came up to the idea we, once,
entertained of English honor, before the solid bullion of the English
naval character was beaten into such thin, such very thin gold leaf,
as to gild so many thousands of their epauletted seamen. The officers
of the _Poictiers_ were spoken of with respect; and, by what I could
learn, the smaller the vessel, the worse treatment was experienced by
our prisoners, and impressed seamen; your little-big-men being always
the greatest tyrants. Among these small fry of the mistress of the
ocean, "_you damned Yankee rascal_," was a common epithet. Our own
land officers had often to remark, when they came in contact with the
British, especially in the night, as at Bridgewater, and at the
repulse at Fort Erie, that the British colonels and other officers,
were heard repeatedly to use expressions of this sort--"No quarter to
the _damned yankees_!" "Form! Form! for the _damned yankees_ are close
upon us!" Colonel _Drummond's_ last words, when he surmounted the
rampart at Fort Erie, was in the like style of language. How many
lives have these expressions of contempt cost the British!

Many of the impressed seamen now here, have told me, that they have
been lashed to the gang-way, and most severely whipped, even to the
extent of three dozen, for refusing to do, what the captain of a
British man of war called "THEIR DUTY!" Some of these men have
replied, "it is _my duty_ to serve _my own_ country; and fight against
its enemies;" and for saying so, have been farther abused. Have ever
the French, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Germans, Dutch, Danes,
Swedes, Russians, Prussians, Turks, or _Algerines_ treated American
citizens in this way? And yet our federalists can never bear to hear
us speak, in terms of resentment, against "the bulwark of our
religion." O, Caleb! Caleb! Thou hast a head and so has a beetle.[S]

We had all more or less money from the American government; and some
of the impressed men brought money with them. This attracted the
avaricious spirit of our neighbors; so that our market was filled, not
only with vegetables, but animal food. There were also seen in our
market, piles of broad cloth, boxes of hats, boots, shoes, and many
other articles. The greatest pick-pockets of all were the Jews, with
their watches, seals and trinkets, and _bad books_. A moral commander
would have swept the prison ya