assured me that
she was a good one to go; and, besides, that he had provided every
thing that was elegant for our entertainment. The latter piece of
information I did not think of questioning until too late to profit by
it, for I had the mortification to discover, the first day, that his
whole stock consisted in a quarter of lamb, in addition to the ship's
own, with a few cabbages, and five gallons of whiskey.

After having been ten days at sea, I was awoke, one morning before
daylight, with the ship's grinding over a sand-bank, on the coast of
Holland; fortunately, it did not blow hard, and a pilot soon after
came alongside, who, after exacting a reward suitable to the
occasion, at length, consented to come on board, and extricated us
from our perilous situation, carrying the vessel into the entrance of
one of the small branches of the river leading up to Rotterdam, where
we came to anchor. The captain was very desirous of appealing to a
magistrate for a reduction in the exorbitant demand of the pilot; and
I accompanied him on shore for that purpose. An Englishman made up to
us at the landing-place, and said that his name was C----, that he had
made his fortune by smuggling, and, though he was not permitted to
spend it in his native country, that he had the greatest pleasure in
being of service to his countrymen. As this was exactly the sort of
person we were in search of, the Captain explained his grievance; and
the other said that he would conduct him to a gentleman who would soon
put that to rights. We, accordingly, walked to the adjoining village,
in one of the houses of which he introduced us, formally, to a tall
Dutchman, with a pipe in his mouth and a pen behind his ear, who,
after hearing the story, proceeded to commit it, in large characters,
to a quire of foolscap.

The cautious nature of the Scotchman did not altogether like the
appearance of the man of business, and demanding, through the
interpreter, whether there would be any thing to pay for his
proceedings? he was told that it would cost five guineas. "Five
devils," said Saunders; "What is it for?" "For a protest," said the
other. "D--n the protest," said the captain; "I came here to save five
guineas, and not to pay five more." I could stand the scene no longer,
and rushed out of the house, under the pretence of seeing the village;
and on my return to the ship, half an hour afterwards, I found the
captain fast asleep. I know not whether he swallowed