We embarked, therefore, towards three o’clock in the afternoon, in a canoe; and, although the ship was not much more than three leagues distant (the captain having now caused it to enter the river), we nevertheless only reached it in about eight hours, in consequence of the remissness of the rowers, who were constantly drinking. When at a great distance I saw the hull of the vessel by the light of the moon, it seemed to me to be entirely out of the water. It had, indeed, run aground on the shore, and had only a depth of three feet of water. This was the occasion of great alarm to me; for I imagined that this might be the fault of my negro, whom they had selected as one of the pilots, and I thought that the captain had sent to seek me to make me bear the penalty which my slave merited, or at least that I should perish with the others in case the ship should be wrecked. What confirmed me for some time in this sad supposition was the little degree of welcome I received; but I have since been informed that there was no design in this, and that the cold reception which alarmed me was caused by the fact that they were all busy in working the vessel, to relieve themselves as soon as possible from the uncomfortable position in which they were. As soon as our canoe had reached the ship, I saw descending and coming to me a young man, who murdered the French language in some little attempt to speak it, and who took my hand, kissed it, and informed me that he was an Irishman and a Roman Catholic. He even made the sign of the Cross, which he did indifferently well; and he added that, in right of his office as second gunner, he had a berth which he wished to give me, and that, if any one should take it into his head to show me the least disrespect, he well knew how to avenge it. This introduction, though shared in by a man who seemed to be very drunk, did not fail to tranquillize me somewhat. He gave me his hand, to aid me in climbing up to the deck by means of the ropes. Scarcely had I mounted thither when I encountered my negro. I asked him at once why he caused the ship to run aground, and was reassured when he told me that it was the fault of the captain, who was obstinate in holding his course in the middle of the river, although he had repeatedly told him that the channel ran near the shore. At the same time the captain appeared on the quarter-deck, and told me, with great coldness, to go down into the cabin, after which he continued to devote himself to working the vessel.