He said it was true. An attorney[A] in London had then taken up
his cause, in consequence of which the captain had been prevented from
sailing, till he could find persons who would be answerable for the damages
which might be awarded against him in a court of law. Mr. Teast further
said, that, not knowing, at that time, the cruelty of the transaction to
its full extent, he himself had been one of the securities for the captain
at the request of the purser[B] of the ship. Finding, however, afterwards,
that it was as the public had stated, he was sorry that he had ever
interfered in such a barbarous case.
[Footnote A: I afterwards found out this attorney. He described the
transaction to me, as, by report, it had taken place, and informed me that
he had made the captain of the Brothers pay for his barbarity.]
[Footnote B: The purser of a ship, at Bristol, is the person who manages
the out-fit, as well as the trade, and who is often in part owner of her.]
This transaction, which I now believed to be true, had the effect of
preparing me for crediting whatever I might hear concerning the barbarities
said to be practised in this trade.
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