"
I lodged a careful report of the voyage with the governor and explained
to his Excellency the whereabouts of the "Island of Rio," as his grace
persistently called Rio de Janeiro, whence dated my papers.
Conversing on the subject of islands, which was all the world to him,
the governor viewed with suspicion the absence of a word in my
documents, referring even to an islet; this, in his mind, was a
reprehensible omission; for surely New York, to which the papers
referred, was built on an island. Upon this I offered to swear to the
truth of my clearance, "as far as known to me," after the manner of
cheap custom-house swearing with which shipmasters, in some parts of the
world, are made familiar. "Not on the island!" quickly exclaimed the
governor, "'for thou shalt not disglorify God's name,' is written in the
Bible."
I assured the governor of my appreciation of his pious sentiment of not
over-swearing,--a laudable plan that even the Chinese adopt as a policy,
and one that I would speak of on my return home, to the end that we all
emulate the laws of the island; whereupon the governor, greatly pleased,
urged me to take some more water, minding me again that it was free.
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