en and myself, I must be sure to command the good-will and
favour of the ladies, who always admired discretion in so young and so
handsome a man. But I was not to be seduced by this flattery, for
somehow or another I had ever before me the French lady, and her conduct
to me; and I had almost a dislike, or I should rather say I had imbibed
an indifference, for the sex.

This admission into good society did, however, have one effect upon me;
it made me more particular in my dress, and all my wages were employed
in the decoration of my person. At that time you may recollect, Madam,
there were but two styles of dress among the seamen; one was that worn
by those who sailed in the northern seas, and the other by those who
navigated in the tropical countries, both suitable to the climates. The
first was the jacket, woollen frock, breeches, and petticoat of canvass
over all, with worsted stockings, shoes, and buckles, and usually a cap
of skin upon the head; the other a light short jacket, with hanging
buttons, red sash, trowsers, and neat shoes and buckles, with a small
embroidered cap with falling crown, or a hat and feather. It was this
last which I had always worn, having been continually in warm climates,
and my hair was dressed in its natural ringlets instead of a wig, which
I was never partial to, although very common among seamen; my ears were
pierced, and I wore long gold earrings, as well as gilt buckles in my
shoes; and, by degrees, I not only improved my dress so as to make it
very handsome in materials, but my manners were also very much altered
for the better.

I had been at Liverpool about two months, waiting for the ship to unload
and take in cargo for another voyage, when a privateer belonging to the
same owner came into port with four prizes of considerable value; and
the day afterwards I was invited by the owner to meet the captain who
commanded the privateer.

He was a very different looking person from Captain Weatherall, who was
a stout, strong-limbed man, with a weather-beaten countenance. He, on
the contrary, was a young man of about twenty-six, very slight in
person, with a dark complexion, hair and eyes jet black. I should have
called him a very handsome Jew--for he bore that cast of countenance,
and I afterwards discovered that he was of that origin, although I
cannot say that he ever followed the observances of that remarkable
people. He was handsomely dressed, wearing his hair slightly powd