o the seamen employed in this trade, but it
was soon brought to me. If there was anything amiss, I had so arranged
matters that I was sure to hear of it. He sent for me one day to inform
me that several of the seamen, who had been sent out of Marsh Street
into the Prince, which was then at Kingroad, and on the point of sailing
to Africa for slaves, had, through fear of ill usage on the voyage,
taken the boat and put themselves on shore. He informed me, at the same
time, that the seamen of the Africa, which was lying there also, and
ready to sail on a like voyage, were not satisfied, for that they had
been made to sign their articles of agreement without being permitted to
see them. To this he added, that Mr. Sheriff, one of the mates of the
latter vessel, was unhappy, also, on this account. Sheriff had been a
mate in the West India trade, and was a respectable man in his line. He
had been enticed by the captain of the Africa, under the promise of
peculiar advantages, to change his voyage. Having a wife and family at
Bristol, he was willing to make a sacrifice on their account: but when
he himself was not permitted to read the articles, he began to suspect
bad work, and that there would be nothing but misery in the approaching
voyage. Thompson entreated me to extricate him if I could. He was sure,
he said, if he went to the coast with that man, meaning the captain,
that he would never return alive.

I was very unwilling to refuse anything to Thompson. I was deeply bound
to him in gratitude for the many services he had rendered me, but I
scarcely saw how I could serve him on this occasion. I promised,
however, to speak to him in an hour's time. I consulted my friend Truman
Harford in the interim; and the result was, that he and I should proceed
to Kingroad in a boat, go on board the Africa, and charge the captain in
person with what he had done, and desire him to discharge Sheriff, as no
agreement, where fraud or force was used in the signatures, could be
deemed valid. If we were not able to extricate Sheriff by these means,
we thought that at least we should know, by inquiring of those whom we
should see on board, whether the measure of hindering the men from
seeing their articles on signing them had been adopted. It would be
useful to ascertain this because such a measure had been long reported
to be usual in this, but was said to be unknown in any other trade.

Having passed the river's mouth, and rowed towards the sea