“‘Why, I don’t know,’ said he; ’you are rather old to be sure, but yet the money may do much.’

“I put the money in his hand, and coming back to my children, ‘Jack,’ said I, ’you are free; live to give your wife and these little ones bread; I will go, my child, in your stead; I have but little life to lose, and if I staid, I should add one to the wretches you left behind.’

“‘No,’ replied my son, ’I am not that coward you imagine me; heaven forbid that my father’s grey hairs should be so exposed, while I sat idle at home; I am young and able to endure much, and God will take care of you and my family.’

“‘Jack,’ said I, ’I will put an end to this matter, you have never hitherto disobeyed me; I will not be contradicted in this; stay at home, I charge you, and, for my sake, be kind to my children.’

“Our parting, Mr. Harley, I cannot describe to you; it was the first time we ever had parted:  the very press-gang could scarce keep from tears; but the serjeant, who had seemed the softest before, was now the least moved of them all.  He conducted me to a party of new-raised recruits, who lay at a village in the neighbourhood; and we soon after joined the regiment.  I had not been long with it when we were ordered to the East Indies, where I was soon made a serjeant, and might have picked up some money, if my heart had been as hard as some others were; but my nature was never of that kind, that could think of getting rich at the expense of my conscience.

“Amongst our prisoners was an old Indian, whom some of our officers supposed to have a treasure hidden somewhere; which is no uncommon practice in that country.  They pressed him to discover it.  He declared he had none, but that would not satisfy them, so they ordered him to be tied to a stake, and suffer fifty lashes every morning till he should learn to speak out, as they said.  Oh!  Mr. Harley, had you seen him, as I did, with his hands bound behind him, suffering in silence, while the big drops trickled down his shrivelled cheeks and wet his grey beard, which some of the inhuman soldiers plucked in scorn!  I could not bear it, I could not for my soul, and one morning, when the rest of the guard were out of the way, I found means to let him escape.  I was tried by a court-martial for negligence of my post, and ordered, in compassion of my age, and having got this wound in my arm and that in my leg in the service, only to suffer three hundred lashes and be turned out of the regiment; but my sentence was mitigated as to the lashes, and I had only two hundred.  When I had suffered these I was turned out of the camp, and had betwixt three and four hundred miles to travel before I could reach a sea-port, without guide to conduct me, or money to buy me provisions by the way.  I set out, however, resolved to walk as far as I could, and then to lay myself down and die.  But I had scarce gone a mile when I was met by the Indian whom I had delivered.