tly fixed upon the ledger or
day-book, absorbed in calculation. You may inquire how I liked the
change. At first, I must confess, not over much, and, notwithstanding
my dislike to the life of a privateer's-man, I often sighed heavily,
and wished that I were an officer in the king's service. The change
from a life of activity to one of sedentary habits was too sudden, and
I often found myself, with my eyes still fixed upon the figures
before me, absorbed in a sort of castle-building reverie, in which I
was boarding or chasing the enemy, handling my cutlass, and sometimes
so moved by my imagination as to brandish my arm over my head, when an
exclamation of surprise from one of the clerks would remind me of my
folly, and, angry with myself, I would once more resume my pen. But
after a time I had more command over myself, and could sit steadily at
my work. Mr. Trevannion had often observed how absent I was, and it
was a source of amusement to him; when we met at dinner, his daughter
would say: "So, I hear you had another sea-fight this morning, Mr.
Elrington;" and her father would laugh heartily as he gave a
description of my ridiculous conduct.

I very soon, with the kind assistance of Mr. Trevannion, became master
of my work, and gave him satisfaction. My chief employment consisted
in writing the letters to correspondents. At first I only copied Mr.
Trevannion's letters in his private letter-book; but as I became aware
of the nature of the correspondence, and what was necessary to be
detailed, I then made a rough copy of the letters, and submitted them
to Mr. Trevannion for his approval. At first there were a few
alterations made, afterwards I wrote them fairly out, and almost
invariably they gave satisfaction, or if any thing was added, it was
in a postscript. Mr. Trevannion's affairs, I found, were much more
extensive than I had imagined. He had the two privateers, two vessels
on the coast of Africa trading for ivory and gold-dust and other
articles, two or three vessels employed in trading to Virginia for
tobacco and other produce, and some smaller vessels engaged in the
Newfoundland fisheries, which, when they had taken in their cargo, ran
to the Mediterranean to dispose of it, and returned with Mediterranean
produce to Liverpool. That he was a very wealthy man, independent of
his large stakes upon the seas, was certain. He had lent much money to
the guild of Liverpool, and had some tenanted properties in the
county;