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short time before resigned the office of steward in the South-Sea whaler, and who had originally projeeted this mad-like scheme. They had only one eourse to follow; for tho trade wind whieh blows for a considerable part of the year eonstantly from the south, earried them briskly up the wide eoast of Peru. On their voyage, which was extended to a cousiderable distanee beyond Lima, they had not the good fortune to fall in with a single legitimate prize; but running short of provisions, they were soon foreed to put under contribution such trading vessels and boats as they happened to fall in with.
Supporting themselves entirely by compulsory levies, it was not long before they lost all proper senee of a distinction between plundering and privateering; but the plea of neeessity was always at hand to satisfy their not over-serupulous eonsciences, that in employing such means to supply their wants, they did nothing morally wrong—or at least that, eireumstaneed as they were, their doings amounted, at the utmost, to justifiable marauding. Their aets of depredation beeome so frequent, however, and in some instanees of so aggravated a eharacter, that they soon exeited alarm throughout the whole coast. Even at Lima they were heard of. At one period, indeed, it was seriously intended by the authorities there, to dispatch a small force to consign the drugger and her pilfering erew to the bottom of the ocean; but they were saved the trouble of carrying their threat into exeeution. The offenders soon brought on their own apparent ruin; for, dreaded by friends no less than by foes, they were in a few weeks shunned and run from by every bark that hovo in sight. Smugglers, as well as people of their own calling, refused not only to relieve their wants, but to hold any
