recommendation of the court, who, notwithstanding the vindictive evidence against him, were perfectly convinced of his innocence. His subsequent honourable career proved him fully deserving the favourable opinion of his judges, as well as of the promotion he obtained. Nearly twenty years elapsed after the period of the above occurrences, and all recollection of the _Bounty_ and her wretched crew had passed away, when an accidental discovery, as interesting as unexpected, once more recalled public attention to that event. The captain of an American schooner having in 1808 accidentally touched at an island, up to that time supposed to be uninhabited, called Pitcairn's Island, found a community, speaking English, who represented themselves as the descendants of the mutineers of the _Bounty_, of whom there was still one man, of the name of Alexander Smith, alive amongst them. Intelligence of this singular circumstance was sent by the American captain (Folger) to Sir Sydney Smith at Valparaiso, and by him transmitted to the Lords of the Admiralty. But the government was at that time perhaps too much engaged in the events of the continental war to attend to the information, nor was anything further heard of this interesting little society until 1814. In that year two British men-of-war cruising in the Pacific, made an island, which they could not at first believe to be Pitcairn's Island, as it was more than three degrees out of the longitude assigned it by Captain Carteret, who first discovered it in 1797. They were confirmed in this opinion by observing symptoms of cultivation, and, on nearing the shore, saw plantations regularly and orderly laid out. Soon afterwards they observed a few natives coming down a steep descent with their canoes on their shoulders, and in a few minutes perceived one of these little vessels darting through a heavy surf, and paddling off towards the ships. But their astonishment may be imagined, when, on coming along side, they were hailed in good English with--"Won't you heave us a rope now?" This being done, a young man sprang up the side with extraordinary activity, and stood on the deck before them. In answer to the question, "Who are you?" he replied that his name was Thursday October Christian, son of the late Fletcher Christian by an Otaheitan mother; that he was the first born on the island, and was so named because he was born on a Thursday in October. All this sounded singular and miraculous in the ears of the British captains, Sir Thomas Staines and Mr. Pipon, but they were soon satisfied of its truth. Young Christian was at this time about twenty-four years old, a tall, handsome youth fully six feet high, with black hair, and an open, interesting English countenance. As he wore no clothes except a piece of cloth round his loins, and a straw hat ornamented with black cock's feathers, his fine figure and well-shaped muscular limbs were displayed to great advantage, and attracted general admiration.