Whether I Shall Ever Meet Him Again, Or Whether
His Manuscript Narrative Of His Adventures In The Pelew Islands,
Which Would Be Creditable To Him And Interesting To The World,
Will Ever See The Light, I Cannot Tell.
His is one of those cases
which are more numerous than those suppose, who have never lived
anywhere but in their own homes, and never walked but in one line
from their cradles to their graves.
We must come down from our
heights, and leave our straight paths, for the byways and low
places of life, if we would learn truths by strong contrasts;
and in hovels, in forecastles, and among our own outcasts in
foreign lands, see what has been wrought upon our fellow-creatures
by accident, hardship, or vice.
Two days brought us to San Pedro, and two days more (to our
no small joy) gave us our last view of that place, which was
universally called the hell of California, and seemed designed,
in every way, for the wear and tear of sailors. Not even the last
view could bring out one feeling of regret. No thanks, thought I,
as we left the sandy shores in the distance, for the hours I have
walked over your stones, barefooted, with hides on my head; - for
the burdens I have carried up your steep, muddy hill; for the
duckings in your surf; and for the long days and longer nights
passed on your desolate hill, watching piles of hides, hearing
the sharp bark of your eternal coati, and the dismal hooting of
your owls.
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