Unpleasant as a state of inactivity and delay for many weeks appeared
to us, it was not without its advantages; for by means of it we were
enabled to establish necessary regulations among the convicts, and to
adopt such a system of defence, as left us little to Apprehend for our
own security, in case a spirit of madness and desperation had hurried
them on to attempt our destruction.
Among many other troublesome parts of duty which the service we were
engaged on required, the inspection of all letters brought to, or sent
from the ships, was not one of the least tiresome and disagreeable. The
number and contents of those in the vessel I was embarked in, frequently
surprised me very much; they varied according to the dispositions of
the writers: but their constant language was, an apprehension of the
impracticability of returning home, the dread of a sickly passage,
and the fearful prospect of a distant and barbarous country. But this
apparent despondency proceeded in few instances from sentiment. With too
many it was, doubtless, an artifice to awaken compassion, and call forth
relief; the correspondence invariably ending in a petition for money
and tobacco.
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