“Where do you belong?” “To Liverpool.” “What is your cargo?” “Red-wood, palm oil and ivory.” “Where are you bound to?” “To St. Thomas.” Just at that moment our English flag was hauled down, and, to the inexpressible annoyance of the officers of the _Barton_, the stars and stripes supplied its place. “Haul down your colors!” continued Captain Nicholson. The old captain, who, up to this moment, had been enjoying a comfortable nap in his very comfortable cabin, now came upon deck in his shirt sleeves, rubbing his eyes, and looking so exquisitely ridiculous, it was scarcely possible to avoid laughing. So surprised was he at the unexpected termination of his dreams, he could not command skill enough to strike his colors; which was accordingly done by the mate. As they had two or three guns aboard, and as some of the men looked as if they would like to fight, our captain told us, if they fired to not “leave enough of her to boil a tin pot with.” After this expressive and _classical_ threat, we lowered our boats and took possession of this our first prize. After taking out as much of her cargo as we desired, just at night we set her on fire. It was an imposing sight, to behold the antics of the flames, leaping from rope to rope, and from spar to spar, until she looked like a fiery cloud resting on the dark surface of the water. Presently, her spars began to fall, her masts went by the board, her loaded guns went off, the hull was burned to the water’s edge, and what, a few hours before, was a fine, trim ship, looking like a winged creature of the deep, lay a shapeless, charred mass, whose blackened outline, shadowed in the clear, still waves, looked like the grim spirit of war lurking for its prey. This wanton destruction of property was in accordance with our instructions, “to _sink_, _burn_ and _destroy_” whatever we took from the enemy. Such is the war-spirit! SINK, BURN and DESTROY! how it sounds! Yet such are the instructions given by Christian (?) nations to their agents in time of war. What Christian will not pray for the destruction of such a spirit? The crew of the _Barton_ we carried into St. Thomas, and placed them on board the _Jane_, excepting a Portuguese and two colored men, who shipped among our crew. We also took with us a fine black spaniel dog, whom the men called by the name of Paddy. This done, we proceeded to watch for fresh victims, on which to wreak the vengeance of the war-spirit. The next sail we met, was an English brig, called the _Adventure_; which had a whole menagerie of monkeys on board. We captured and burned her, just as we did the _Barton_. Her crew were also disposed of in the same manner. One of them, an African prince, who had acquired a tolerable education in England, and who was remarkably polite and sensible, shipped in the _Siren_. His name was Samuel Quaqua.