Escapes from Cayenne

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make my fortune." I think it would be more proper to say : " I starved many men in making my fortune, The mate is fishing ; he catches two enormous fishes. " A l l right," says the Portuguese. " we will cook one for our dinner and I will salt the other for to morrow " Y o u can dispose of one. answers the mate but I have dis­ posed of the other ; it belongs to the Frenchmen who have nothing else to eat," Immediately Bivors takes one fish and he chooses the biggest; the Portuguese looks piteously, but he dares not say a word W e have a dead calm for six days, during which the two Portuguese play cards. They play a curious game : the winner drinks ale or brandy and the other nothing, but hepaythe value of the liquors. The sailors send towards the players angry looks and say : " it is bad to play cards on board a ship; we shall have no wind for a long while." In the Gulf of Florida we have a violent storm ; the wind is so furious and the sea so rough that we must clue up all I, except the mizzen and the fore. A l l hands are required this manoeuvre—crew and passengers. The two Portuguse are pulling the ropes with m e : — w e have two feet of water on the deck. The passenger asks me if I ever saw such bad weather in my life. " Y e s , sir," I answer gravely; " I have seen two storms like this, bus every time we threw the cargo into the sea and I think it would be prudent to do the same, n o w " " I n d e e d ! " says the owner, " but my cat go is not insured if I lose it I am quite ruined ; my cargo is as precious - my life." " More precious, perhaps, but our lives are more precious than your salt." The two Portuguese g o to the cabin and cry like children ; ene is fearing for his salt, the other for his money, and both for their lives. During three whole days and three whole nights we have dreadful weather, and, afterwards, a calm again. Having nothing else t o do, I play cards with Paon. The second mate tells us it is a shame to play cards on Sundays and par­ ticularly on board of ships. Paon raises his head, looks at him and sees his own knife in his hands. " M r . Preacher," says Paon, " I think it is w o r s e to steal knives than to play cards; this knife is mine and I take it back." W e have a fair breeze and we think to be in Boston in two days. The Portuguese sends us the captain to take our names and to get six dollars for the head-tax imposed upon passengers coming to the United States. I have but English money and I pay the captain with that ; but he soon comes back again and


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