Ned Myers, or, a Life Before the MastCooper, James Fenimore
History
Ned Myers, or, a Life Before the Mast
Cooper, James Fenimore
Myers, Ned, approximately 1793-1849; Seafaring life
I say I got myself into disgrace in the hospital of Pensacola, in
consequence of my habit of drinking. The facts were as follows, for I have
no desire to conceal, or to parade before the world, my own delinquencies;
but, I confess them with the hope that the pictures they present, may have
some salutary influence on the conduct of others. The doctor, who was
steadily my friend, and often gave me excellent advice, went north, in
order to bring his wife to Pensacola. I was considered entitled to a
pension for the hurt which had brought me into the hospital, and the
doctor had promised to see something about it, while at Washington. This
was not done, in consequence of his not passing through Washington, as had
been expected. Now, nature has so formed me, that any disgust, or
disappointment, makes me reckless, and awakens a desire to revenge myself,
on myself, as I may say. It was this feeling which first carried me from
Halifax; it was this feeling that made me run from the Sterling; and which
has often changed and sometimes marred my prospects, as I have passed
through life. As soon as I learned that nothing had been said about my
pension, this same feeling came over me, and I became reckless. I had not
drawn my grog for months, and, indeed, had left off drinking entirely; but
I now determined to have my fill, at the first good opportunity. I meant
to make the officers sorry, by doing something that was very wrong, and
for which I should be sorry myself.
I kept the keys of the liquor of the hospital. The first thing was to find
a confederate, which I did in the person of a Baltimore chap, who entered
into my plan from pure love of liquor. I then got a stock of the wine, and
we went to work on it, in my room. The liquor was sherry, and it took nine
bottles of it to lay us both up. Even this did not make me beastly drunk,
but it made me desperate and impudent. I abused the doctor, and came very
near putting my foot into it, with Captain Latimer, who is an officer that
it will not do, always, to trifle with. Still, these gentlemen, with
Captain Bolton, had more consideration for me, than I had for myself, and
I escaped with only a good reprimand. It was owing to this frolic,
however, that I was invalided home--as they call it out there, no one
seeming to consider Pensacola as being in the United States.
When landed from the Levant, I was sent to the Navy Yard Hospital,
Brooklyn. After staying two or three days here, I determined to go to the
seat of government, and take a look at the great guns stationed there,
Uncle Sam and all. I was paid off from the Levant, accordingly, and
leaving the balance with the purser of the yard, I set off on my journey,
with fifty dollars in my pockets, which they tell me is about a member of
Congress' mileage, for the distance I had to go. Of course this was
enough, as a member of Congress would naturally take care and give himself
as much as he wanted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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