met with. They are void, however, of one virtue of our rattlesnakes;
they will stab a man to the heart without giving him any warning. I
have charitably supposed that when in a violent passion, they are
bereft of reason, and become entirely insane. My observations,
however, like my remarks on Frenchmen are confined to the narrow
space of this floating prison. We should be very cautious in making
general or national censures. I have suspected whether among the Roman
Catholics, the practice of confession and absolution had not opened a
door for some horrid crimes, such as murder. It may be too, that they
look upon us, Protestants, as the Mahomedans do the Christians, a sort
of outcasts, the killing of whom amounts not to the horrid sin of
murder. It is certain that some of these people have been known to
plunge a knife into a man with no more compunction than an Englishman
or an American would use his fist.

CHAPTER VII.

_April 30th, 1814._--The good effects of the abolition of all the
apparatus of gambling were more and more apparent. Those who were
heretofore employed merely in rattling of the dice and shuffling of
cards, were now occupied in matters more becoming a rational and
accountable being. They are now busily employed in reading, writing,
drawing, and in studying arithmetic and navigation. Our ship begins to
wear the appearance of a seminary of learning; for we have established
numerous schools in various parts of the ship; and there appears a
strong desire for improvement among the younger class of the
prisoners. Every one is now convinced of the pernicious effects of
gambling. In order to improve this praiseworthy disposition, the
committee, which is in fact a board of selectmen, applied to the
agent, Mr. Beasly, for stationery; he accordingly sent us a ream of
writing paper, a few slates, and a few copies of a small treatise on
arithmetic. His supply was by no means equal to our needs. Four times
the number would have been in constant use; for it checked the
emulation of some when they could not obtain what they wished.

It was pleasing to see a number of quite young men preferring
education to gaming, noise and uproar; not but what we had among us a
set of noisy, thoughtless, giggling idle fellows, mere drums, that
sounded loud by reason of their emptiness. I never was so thoroughly
convinced of the great importance of a good education, grounded on
sound and serious principles, as since I have fo