his
story.

"Now, my little listeners," spoke the Captain, "you must know that what
I am going to tell you occurred to me at a very early period of my life,
when I was a mere boy; in fact, the adventures which I shall now relate
to you were the first I ever had.

"To begin, then, at the very beginning, I must tell you that I was born
quite near Rockdale. So you see I have good reason for always liking to
come back here. It is like coming home, you know. The place of my birth
is only eleven miles from Rockdale by the public road, which runs off
there in a west-nor'westerly direction.

"My mother died when I was six years old, but I remember her as a good
and gentle woman. She was taken away, however, too early to have left
any distinct impression upon my mind or character. I was thus left to
grow up with three brothers and two sisters, all but one of whom were
older than myself, without a mother's kindly care and instruction; and I
must here own, that I grew to be a self-willed and obstinate boy; and
this disposition led me into a course of disobedience which, but for the
protecting care of a merciful Providence, would have brought my life to
a speedy end.

"My father being poor, neither myself nor my brothers and sisters
received any other education than what was afforded by the common
country school. It was, indeed, as much as my father could do at any
time to support so large a family, and, at the end of the year, make
both ends meet.

"As for myself, I was altogether a very ungrateful fellow, and
appreciated neither the goodness of my father nor any of the other
blessings which I had. Of the advantages of a moderate education which
were offered to me I did not avail myself,--preferring mischief and
idleness to my studies; and I manifested so little desire to learn, and
was so troublesome to the master, that I was at length sent home, and
forbidden to come back any more; whereupon my father, very naturally,
grew angry with me, and no doubt thinking it hopeless to try further to
make anything of me, he regularly bound me over, or hired me out, for a
period of years, to a neighboring farmer, who compelled me to work very
hard; so I thought myself ill used, whereas, in truth, I did not receive
half my deserts.

"With this farmer I lived three years and a half before he made the
discovery that I was wholly useless to him, and that I did not do work
enough to pay for the food I ate; so the farmer complained to my f