among the powder in
the magazine! A tremendous explosion followed, which blew the privateer
to fragments, scattering the timbers and planks, and the legs, arms, and
bodies of the crew, in every direction! The shrieks of the wounded, the
struggles of the dying, and the spectacle of horrors which those men
witnessed, made a lasting impression on their minds.

After having been on the water a few minutes, almost stunned by the
explosion, the boatswain and some of his companions succeeded in
constructing a raft from the floating planks; and after days of
suffering and exposure, without food, and almost without clothing, the
survivors were driven ashore on the island of Antigua, where they were
kindly treated, and subsequently sent to St. Bartholomew, with the
expectation that they would there find a chance to get to the United
States.

Strictland and myself led the vagabond kind of life I have described for
a couple of weeks. My purse was gradually growing lighter, and it became
evident that we must soon find employment or starve. We formed various
plans for improving our condition, neither of which proved practicable
when put to the test. One of these was to proceed to Tortola, and join
a band of strolling players that were perambulating the islands, and
attracting admiration, if not money, by the excellence of their dramatic
representations. Strictland, it seemed, besides having been a hanger-on
at the "Fives Court," had served occasionally as a supernumerary at
Covent Garden Theatre. He could sing almost any one of Dibdin's songs
in imitation of Incledon, in a manner to astonish an audience; and he
flattered my vanity by assuring me that I should make a decided hit
before an intelligent audience as "Young Norval." But this project
failed for want of means to carry us to the theatre of action.

One morning, while looking about the wharves, we learned that the brig
Gustavus, a vessel under Swedish colors, supposed to belong to St.
Bartholomew, was making preparations for a voyage to the United States.
We lost no time in finding the captain of the brig, a chuckle-headed,
crafty-looking native of Sweden, who had been long a resident of the
West Indies. I represented our case in the most forcible language I
could command; and already aware that some men will be more likely to
do a kind act from motives of self-interest than the promptings of a
benevolent heart, I told him we were anxious to proceed to the United
states, an