Symzonia: Voyage of Discovery

At this period of pecuniary distress, Will Mackerel accidentally heard of the misfortunes of his old commander, and hastened to see me. He could not comprehend why my being possessed of the Liberties should prevent me from going to sea, to acquire the means of subsistence for my family. The worthy fellow was wholly incompetent to understand the policy of depriving a man of liberty, preventing him from supplying the wants of those dependant on him, and compelling him to cast them as paupers upon the community, because he had, through misfortune, lost all his property. Will had spent most of the money obtained by his voyage with me; but after hearing my story, and an account of the embarrassments under which I laboured, he threw every dollar that remained to him upon the table, and declared he would never touch a shilling of it whilst his old commander was in distress, but would go to sea to render me further aid. I accepted this generous bounty with the frankness with which it was offered, and recorded Will in my heart as a true-hearted sailor. It was but little that he had left to bestow upon me, but it preserved me from the extremity of want for some time. I was cheering myself with the prospect of obtaining my real liberty, and of persuading some man of capital to equip a suitable vessel for a second voyage to Seaborn's land, on terms which would give me a fair share of the advantages of the undertaking, when I was informed that Mr. Slippery had neither paid nor provided for the duties on the Explorer's cargo; that the bonds which he had given, owing to the long credits on China goods, were not yet due; and that, as I was the importer, I was responsible for the whole amount, and should be required to pay the uttermost farthing, or lie in jail during the pleasure of government, no insolvent act being considered of sufficient force to impair that prerogative of government, by which citizens were deprived of their liberty when misfortune had deprived them of every thing else.