that period, that it was told us, that peace between
America and England was concluded; and that one of its conditions was
_giving up the fisheries on the banks of Newfoundland_. This alarmed
the Marblehead men more than the report of burning their town; they
raved and swore like mad men. "If that be the case," said they, "_I am
damned_--Marblehead is forever _damned_--and _we are all damned_; and
_damnation_ seize the peace-makers, who have consented to this
condition." On this subject they worked themselves into a fever; and
were very unhappy all the time the story was believed. Such like
stories were told to as, oft times, so circumstantially, that we all
believed them. When discovered to be false, they were called _galley
news_, or galley _packets_. These mischievous characters are
continually sporting with our feelings; and secretly laughing at the
uneasiness they occasion. There is one man who has got the name of
_lying BOB_; who is remarkable for the fertility of his invention;
there is so much apparent correctness in all he advances, that we too
often believe his sly quizzing rodomontades. He mentions and describes
the man who informed him, states little particulars, and relates
circumstances, so closely connected with acknowledged facets, that the
most cautious and incredulous are often taken in by him. He is a
constitutional liar; and the fellow has such a plausible mode of
lying, and wears throughout such a fixed and solemn phiz, that his
news has been circulated by us all, with all our wise reasons, and
explanations, and conjectures, that although we are sometimes angry
enough to knock his brains out, we cannot help laughing at the _hoax_.
To the name of lying Bob, we have added that of "_Printer to Prince
Belzebub's Royal Gazette._"

This little community of ours, crowded within the planks of a single
ship, is but the prototype of the great communities on the land. Here
we see working, all those passions, hopes, fears, emulations, envies,
and even contentions for distinction, which, like the winds and tides
of the ocean, keep the human mind healthy, vigorous, and progressing
to general benefit. Amidst it all, we could discover "_the ruling
passion_," the love of country, and a firm belief that our countrymen
understood rational liberty better, and could defend it longer, than
any nation now in existence.

Many people are beguiled with an idea, that sailors have no serious
thoughts of religion; because the