The captain is a person of an excellent disposition. He is remarkable on the ship for his gentleness and the mildness of his discipline. This circumstance, added to his well-known integrity and fearless courage, made me very desirous to engage him.
A youth passed in solitude, my best years spent under your gentle and feminine care, has so refined the foundation of my character that I cannot overcome an intense distaste for the usual brutality exercised on board ship. I have never believed it to be necessary. When I heard of a sailor equally noted for his kindness of heart and the respect and obedience paid to him by his crew, I felt myself particularly fortunate in being able to secure his services.
I heard of him first in rather a romantic manner, from a lady who owes to him the happiness of her life. This, briefly, is his story.
Some years ago, he loved a young Russian lady of moderate fortune. Having amassed a considerable sum in prize money, the girl's father consented to the match. He saw his beloved once before the destined ceremony; but she was bathed in tears. Throwing herself at his feet, she entreated him to spare her, confessing at the same time that she loved another. But he was poor, and her father would never consent to their union.
My generous friend reassured the supplicant. Upon being informed of the name of her lover, he instantly abandoned his pursuit. He had already bought a farm with his money, on which he had planned to spend the remainder of his life. But he bestowed the whole on his rival, together with the rest of his prize money to purchase stock. Then he himself solicited the young woman's father to consent to her marriage with her lover.
But the old man decidedly refused, thinking himself bound in honour to my friend. When he found the father inexorable, he left his country. Nor did he return until he heard that his former beloved was married according to her inclinations.
"What a noble fellow!" you will exclaim. He is so; but then he is wholly uneducated. He is as silent as a Turk, and a kind of ignorant carelessness attends him. While it renders his conduct the more astonishing, it detracts from the interest and sympathy which otherwise he would command.
Mary Shelley