I found myself
nearly in the same situation as I began, except the present of my
friendly Americans, which I turned into money and remitted to England. I
therefore now began to feel my military enthusiasm abated, and, having
permission to leave the service, I embraced that opportunity of
returning to my country, fully determined to spend the remainder of my
life amid my family and friends. I found my father and mother still
living, who received me in the fondest manner. I then employed the
little fund I had acquired to stock a farm, which I hired in the
neighbourhood, and where I imagined my care and industry would be
sufficient to insure us all a comfortable subsistence. Some little time
after, I married a virtuous and industrious young woman, the mother of
the unfortunate children who are so much indebted to your bounty. For
some time I made a shift to succeed tolerably well, but at length, the
distresses of my country increasing, I found myself involved in the
deepest poverty. Several years of uncommon severity destroyed my cattle
(which is the chief support of the Highlanders), and rotted away the
scanty crops, which were to supply us with food, upon the ground. I
cannot accuse myself of either voluntary unthriftiness or neglect of my
business, but there are some situations in which it seems impossible for
human exertion to stem the torrent of misfortune. But wherefore should I
give pain to such kind and worthy benefactors, by a detail of all the
miseries which I and many of my poor countrymen have endured? I will
therefore only mention that, after having suffered, I think, every
distress which human nature is equal to support--after having seen my
tender parents, and last, my dear unfortunate wife, perish by the
hardships of our situation--I took the resolution of abandoning for ever
a country which seemed incapable of supporting its inhabitants. I
thought that the milder climate and more fertile soil of America might,
perhaps, enable a wretched wanderer, who asked no more than food for his
starving children, to drag on, a little longer, a miserable life. With
this idea I sold the remainder of my stock, and, after having paid my
landlord, I found I had just enough to transport myself and family into
eternal banishment. I reached a seaport town, and embarked with my
children on board a ship that was setting sail for Philadelphia. But the
same ill-fortune seemed still to accompany my steps; for a dreadful
storm arose,