own ship, more than by the common rules of service, it is as much as to say that he must sleep locked up, and when awake, be girded with pistols.

'Desertions have happened, more or less, from most of the ships that have been at the Society Islands; but it has always been in the commander's power to make the chiefs return their people; the knowledge, therefore, that it was unsafe to desert, perhaps first led mine to consider with what ease so small a ship might be surprized, and that so favourable an opportunity would never offer to them again.

'The secrecy of this mutiny is beyond all conception. Thirteen of the party, who were with me, had always lived forward among the seamen; yet neither they, nor the messmates of Christian, Stewart, Heywood and Young, had ever observed any circumstance that made them in the least suspect what was going on. To such a closeplanned act of villainy, my mind being entirely free from any suspicion, it is not wonderful that I fell a sacrifice. Perhaps, if there had been marines on board, a sentinel at my cabin-door might have prevented it; for I slept with the door always open, that the officer of the watch might have access to me on all occasions, the possibility of such a conspiracy being ever the farthest from my thoughts. Had their mutiny been occasioned by any grievances, either real or imaginary, I must have discovered symptoms of their discontent, which would have put me on my guard: but the case was far otherwise. Christian, in particular, I was on the most friendly terms with:

that very day he was engaged to have dined with me; and the preceding night he excused himself from supping with me, on pretence of being unwell; for which I felt concerned, having no suspicions of his integrity and honour.'

Such is the story published by Lieutenant Bligh immediately on his return to England, after one of the most distressing and perilous passages over nearly four thousand miles of the wide ocean, with eighteen persons, in an open boat. The story obtained implicit credit; and though Lieutenant Bligh's character never stood high in the navy for suavity of manners or mildness of temper, he was always considered as an excellent seamen, and his veracity stood unimpeached. But in this age of refined liberality, when the most atrocious criminals find their apologists, it is not surprising it should now be discovered, when all are dead that could either prove or disprove it, that it was the tyranny of the commander alone, and not the wickedness of the ringleader of the mutineers of the Bounty, that caused that event. We all know,' it is said, that mutiny can arise but from one of these two sources, excessive folly or excessive tyranny; therefore' the logic is admirable as it is admitted that Bligh was no idiot, the inference is obvious*' If this be so, it may be asked to which of the two causes must be ascribed the mutiny at the Nore, &c.? The true answer will be, to neither. 'Not only,' continues the writer,' was the narrative which he published proved to be false in many material bearings, by evidence * United Service Journal for April, 1831.

before a court martial, but every act of his public life after this event, from his successive command of the Director, the Glatton, and the Warrior, to his disgraceful expulsion from New South Wales,was stamped with an insolence, an inhumanity, and coarseness, which fully developed his character.'

There is no intention, in narrating this eventful history, to accuse or defend either the character or the conduct of the late Admiral Bligh; it is well known his temper was irritable in the extreme; but the circumstance of his having been the friend of Captain Cook, with whom he sailed as his master,-of his ever afterwards being patronized by Sir Joseph Banks-of the Admiralty promoting him to the rank of commander, appointing him immediately to the Providence, to proceed on the same expedition to Otaheite,-and of his returning in a very short time to England with complete success, and recommending all his officers for promotion on account of their exemplary conduct;-of his holding several subsequent employments in the service of his having commanded ships of the line in the battles of Copenhagen and Camperdown, -and risen to the rank of a flag-officer,—these may perhaps be considered to speak something in his favour, and be allowed to stand as some proof that, with all his failings, he had his merits. That he was a man of coarse habits, and entertained very mistaken notions with regard to discipline, is quite true: yet he had many redeeming qualities. The accusation, by the writer in question, of Bligh having falsified his narrative,' is a very heavy charge, and, it is to be feared, is not

wholly without foundation; though it would perhaps be more correct to say, that in the printed narrative of his voyage, and the narrative on which the mutineers were tried, there are many important omissions from his original manuscript journal, some of which it will be necessary to notice presently.

The same writer further says, We know that the officers fared in every way worse than the men, and that even young Heywood was kept at the mast head no less than eight hours at one spell, in the worst weather which they encountered off Cape Horn.'

Perhaps Heywood may himself be brought forward as authority, if not to disprove, at least to render highly improbable, his experiencing any such treatment on the part of his captain. This young officer, in his defence, says, Captain Bligh, in his narrative, acknowledges that he had left some friends on board the Bounty, and no part of my conduct could have induced him to believe that I ought not to be reckoned of the number. Indeed, from his attention to, and very kind treatment of me personally, I should have been a monster of depravity to have betrayed him. The idea alone is sufficient to disturb a mind, where humanity and gratitude have, I hope, ever been noticed as its characteristic features.' Bligh, too, has declared in a letter to Heywood's uncle, Holwell, after accusing him of ingratitude, that he never once had an angry word from me during the whole course of the voyage, as his conduct always gave me much pleasure and satisfaction.'

In looking over a manuscript journal, kept by

Morrison, the boatswain's mate, who was tried and convicted as one of the mutineers, but received the king's pardon, the conduct of Bligh appears in a very unfavourable point of view. This Morrison was a person, from talent and education, far above the situation he held in the Bounty; he had previously served in the navy as midshipman, and, after his pardon, was appointed gunner of the Blenheim, in which he perished with Sir Thomas Troubridge. In comparing this journal with other documents, the dates and transactions appear to be correctly stated, though the latter may occasionally be somewhat too highly coloured. How he contrived to preserve this journal, in the wreck of the Pandora, does not appear; but there can be no doubt of its authen ticity, having been kept among the late Captain Heywood's papers; various passages in it have been corrected either by this officer or some other person, but without altering their sense.

It would appear from this important document that the seeds of discord, in the unfortunate ship Bounty, were sown at a very early period of the voyage. It happened, as was the case in all small vessels, that the duties of commander and purser were united in the person of Lieutenant Bligh; and it would seem that this proved the cause of very serious discontent among the officers and crew; of the mischief arising out of this union, the following statement of Mr. Morrison may serve as a specimen. At Teneriffe, Lieutenant Bligh ordered the cheese to be hoisted up and exposed to the air; which was no sooner done, than he pretended to miss a certain quantity, and