if I felt
disposed to leave the matter in his, the agent's, hands, he would do his
best for me. I thought I understood pretty well what this meant. The
system of impressment had done more than anything else to render our
navy unpopular, and men were constantly deserting whenever and wherever
they found a chance. And when they had once succeeded in making good
their escape from the ship on board which they had been compelled to
serve, their best chance of safety from recapture lay in getting to sea
as quickly as possible, until which they were perforce obliged to lie in
close hiding. This state of affairs soon produced a set of men known as
"crimps", who kept boarding-houses for the especial accommodation and
concealment of seamen who either had deserted from their ships, or who,
having been paid off, were anxious to find other employment without the
risk of impressment while openly looking for it. These crimps were to
be found in every British seaport, abroad as well as at home, and a very
good thing they made of it, what with their exorbitant charges for board
and lodging on the one hand, and, on the other, the premiums or head-
money that they received from ship-masters for the supply of men. It
was, of course, to their interest to be loyal to the men, and hence they
hedged themselves and their houses about with so many safeguards against
undesirable intrusion that it became a matter of almost impossibility to
approach them except through certain channels. I suspected that my
agent was in touch with one or more of these men, and although I
thoroughly hated the system, which was nothing short of the most
audacious robbery, both of the unfortunate men whom it professed to
befriend, and of the ship-masters who were compelled to avail themselves
of it, my prospects of procuring a crew by any other means were so
remote that I unwillingly assented to my agent's suggestion, stipulating
only that I should see the men and have the option of refusing such as I
deemed unsuitable. And with this understanding the agent undertook to
do his best to find me at least forty thoroughly good men.

This important matter put in train, I hastened back on board the
schooner, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing Renouf and his
scoundrel crew passed over the side into the boats that were to convey
them to the prison-hulk. I had the still greater satisfaction of
learning, not very long afterwards, that Renouf, his brother, and half