"I was one day overhauling some rubbish, that had been thrown into a gutter, when a man ran against me; and his feet becoming entangled in the rags that composed my costume, he was tripped up, and fell into the mud. "He immediately got to his feet again; and shook me, until he was so exhausted and agitated, that he could do so no longer. "While he was doing so, I was not idle. With my nails, teeth, and feet, I scratched, bit, and kicked him--with all the energy passion could produce. "My desperate resistance, instead of further provoking, seemed to make a favourable impression on the mind of the man: for, as soon as he had ceased shaking me, he declared that I was `a noble little wretch,' a `courageous little vagrant,' and many other pet expressions equally conflicting. "Then taking me by the hand, he led me along by his side, at the same time questioning me about my home and parents. "Having satisfied himself, that he had as good a right to me as anybody--and perhaps a better by my being in his possession--he continued to drag me onward, all the while muttering to himself, `Dirty little vagabond! give him in charge to the police. Spirited boy! give him in charge of my steward.' "Favourably impressed with the general expression of his features, I offered no resistance to his taking me where he liked. The fact is, I did not care what became of me, for I was independent of either fortune or circumstances. "I was finally carried on board of a ship; and handed over to the care of her steward, where, for the first time in three years, I had my body covered with a complete suit of clothes. "The man who had thus taken possession of me, was a good-natured, eccentric old bachelor, about fifty years of age; and was master and owner of the ship, that traded between Liverpool and Kingston, Jamaica. "I remained with this man seven years; and under his tuition, I obtained something of an education. Had I been his own son, he could not have shown more zeal, or taken greater pains to teach me. "During all that time, his ship was my only home; and I had nothing to tempt me away from it. It was all the world to me; and of that world I was not long in acquiring a knowledge. "I was about twenty-one years of age, when I was made first officer of the ship. My father--for as such I had got to esteem the man who raised me from rags, and out of mud, to something like a human existence--was going to make one more voyage with me, and then lie by for the rest of his life--leaving me master of the ship.