pposed. With these words, I produced the following
letter, which Jack Rattlin brought to me the very day after Thompson
disappeared; and told me it was committed to his care by the deceased,
who made him promise not to deliver it sooner. The clerk, taking it out
of my hand, read aloud the contents, which were these;

'Dear Friend,--I am so much oppressed with the fatigue
I daily and nightly undergo, and the barbarous usage
of Doctor Mackshane, who is bent on your destruction
as well as mine, that I am resolved to free myself from
this miserable life, and, before you receive this, shall
be no more. I could have wished to die in your good
opinion, which I am afraid I shall forfeit by the last
act of my life; but, if you cannot acquit me, I know you
will at least preserve some regard for the memory of an
unfortunate young man who loved you. I recommend it to
you, to beware of Mackshane, whose revenge is implacable.
I wish all prosperity to you and Mr. Morgan, to whom
pray offer my last respects, and beg to be remembered
as your unhappy friend and countryman,
'William Thompson.'

This letter was no sooner read, than Mackshane, in a transport of
rage, snatched it out of the clerk's hands, and tore it into a thousand
pieces, saying, it was a villainous forgery, contrived and executed by
myself. The captain and clerk declared themselves of the same opinion,
although I insisted of having the remains of it compared with other
writings of Thompson, which they had in their possession; and I was
ordered to answer the last article of my accusation, namely, the book of
ciphers found among my papers. "That is easily done," said I. "What you
are pleased to all ciphers, are no other than the Greek characters, in
which, for my amusement, I keep a diary of everything remarkable that
has occurred to my observation since the beginning of the voyage, till
the day in which I was put in irons; and the same method was practised
by Mr. Thompson, who copied mine." "A very likely story," cried
Mackshane; "what occasion was there for using Greek characters, if you
were not afraid of discovering what you had wrote? But what d'ye talk of
Greek characters? D'ye think I am so ignorant of the Greek language, as
not to distinguish its letters from these, which are no more Greek than
Chinese? No, no, I will not give up my knowledge of the Greek for
you, nor none that