If a thing is not urgent, then balance the
probable consequences against the value of the desired result. That has
been my way through life, gentlemen. I have never undertaken anything
unless I wished to succeed and had secured the necessary means; and then
I have guarded as best I could against unforeseen circumstances."

This was the sort of way the old gentleman talked. He told the
gentlemen one day that he was not born when the earthquake occurred
during which Port-Royal was swallowed up; but that he had often heard
people speak of it who had witnessed it. It began about noon on the 7th
of June 1692. Nine-tenths of the city and all the wharves sunk at once;
and in two minutes from the commencement of the earthquake several
fathoms of water lay over the spot where the streets had just stood.
Two thousand persons perished. Some, it was said, who were swallowed up
in one place, rose again in another still alive; but that I do not think
possible. Very likely they were washed from one place to another,
clinging to beams or rafters; and not knowing, in their horror and
confusion, where they had been, were picked up and saved. A mountain
toppled over into a river, and, by blocking up the course, a vast number
of fish were taken, which afforded food to many of the nearly starving
inhabitants. Nearly all the vessels in the harbour were lost; but one
ship of war, the _Swan_ frigate, was driven over the tops of the houses
without capsizing. She received but slight damage, and was the means of
saving many lives. Scarcely had the earthquake ceased than a fever
broke out, which carried off numbers of people. What with hurricanes,
plagues, insurrections of the blacks, and attacks from foreign foes,
Jamaica had an uneasy time of it; and it proves her unbounded resources
that, in spite of all drawbacks, she has continued wealthy and
flourishing.

The old gentleman said a great deal more about Jamaica, but this was the
substance, I know, of his remarks. That there was something mysterious
about the old man was very evident. The captain, I thought, stood
somewhat in awe of him, and in his absence never even alluded to him.
The rest of the passengers, however, indulged in all sorts of suspicions
about him, though they never expressed them, except among themselves.
They spoke freely enough before me, for they fancied, I believe, that I
did not understand them. I was one day beginning to tell Peter what I
had been hearin