The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1809-07-21
THE ENQUIRER.
RICHMOND, JULY 81, 1909.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE ENQUIRER.

~ j nj EDITOR OF THE ENQUIRER.
SIR-I shall not fatigue you bv a long
account OF the pains, which | suffered after
my impressmeut. The story OF every thing
would be disgusting. Hard fare, hard watch
ing, hard treatment, and much pun sin u,ent
are traits in the life of an impressed sea-
man. which are familiar to every one
The strict discipline, which prevails on
board of British ship of war, is almost
too great for description No one has "a lust
idea of 1t, except those who have seen it,
1t is not the least of IFS aggravauons, that
You are obliged to pay respect and obedience
to men, whom you may believe to be the
weakest & most worthless of the whole crew
Oa land, you may to certain extent escape
from this degradation. You may fee from
the society of the proud and t,ominecring--
you may IN some sort shun the impurity of
the atmosphere which they breathe-even
amidst the 6ustle of a camp, the chain
which confines you to your tent, il of larger
dimension than that which almost eternally
suoJecs you to the arrogant gaze of the off :
GERS OF your ship. Every petty dignitary of
snip moving in his own little sphere, com
peliS the reverential observance OF those
who are below him. 1t is not enough, that YOU
lmpiicitcly obey every order which is issued
Tor the management of the vessel-it is not
enough that you hand every rope. and exc
Cision--but you must be equally studious to
pay, in the tninutest article, the tribute of
servie conpia,sance % the most distant re
preventative of Majesty In such cases
serviity IS az essential to subordnation as
obedience itself.
Whole weeks elapsed before could &C
quire even knoqbiedge of these essential
forms of etiquette. My apprenticeship was
OF the severest sort Nothing but hard
knocks and corporal punishment could have
atlast reconcled me to the necessity Of stu
dying the sort and quantity of respect which
was due to my superiors. ] had passed
from merchant vessel of my country,
where every thing had been conducted on q
system of comparative equality. My Cap
tam and mate had not thought it beneath
their dignity occasionally to crack their
Jokes with the crew. / had traversed the
same deck with them, without being oppres-
siveiy conscious of the weight of their pre-
aence. had whistled-I had sung. Nv
young spirits, yet volatile and elastic, had
generally displayed themselves in all the en-
ergies OF wild and unconscious hilarity |
had not yet ielt the force of that beautiful
maxim of the Poet; that I" The day zphich
"iaSeS man q SLAVE, takes hay his sOorth
away"
How very different was the scene, to which
i was now transported / was shifted from
stat ~, where almost every thing wore the
ar OF Republic, to scene where all things
pore the aspect of an absolute monarchy.-
Our captain was the Sublime PORE of this
f'nplre--his officers were so many Pachas
ana Agas, not less anXious to maintain their
own FTovfHce of power and respect, than
me dignity and force of the whole empire.
Every petty n.idshipman bethonght himself
a little God. He was as proud Of MS miser-
able. epaulete--of his small bunch of gold
thread perched upon his left shou.der-as it
he wore the Lama of Thibet or the sacred
cali OF the Egyptians. ] burst never pass
one OF these fellows on the deck, without duo
ing OIL my hat as token of my reverence
Let me have been ever so much engaged in
the affairs Of the ship, the bow was lust as
indispensable as the duty. Although had a
rope IN ono hand, l was obliged, as pass
ca the person of his excellency, 10 lift the o.
therto my hat. Such acts of serviie complai-
sance were as customarily performed, rs is
negroes doiHng his hat when in the com.
pany OF white men. ii he should unfortu-
Dately fail IN this act of alteration, woe be to
the bearer OF the hat A blow from the back
OF cutlasS would soon remind him OF his i'm
piety.
Among those rites, which were most rigo-
rously exaeted from the crew, was a respect
ipr the privacy of the Ca6in.-No one dared
10 approach or enter this sacred temple, with
out calling down the'Tergeance Of the Offer