"We were to be married on my return, after a voyage to North America.
But I returned to find her married to a young officer who had sailed
companion with me on board man-a-war, and who had professed great
friendship for me only to deceive me. He had professed to be my friend
and confident; and it was this that carried the knife of disappointment
to my very heart. I was denied an interview with the woman I had loved,
even worshipped. The man who had professed to be my friend now turned
his back on me, and denied me even an explanation." All the fire there
was left in the old man now seemed to kindle into a blaze, and the
fiercer elements of his nature took possession of him.
"To make the matter worse," he continued, "our good, kind, and brave
captain was relieved, transferred back to the navy, and this man, who
had outraged my confidence and made my life wretched, appointed to fill
his place. I resolved to be revenged. But how could it be got? How could
I punish the man who had so wronged me without rebelling against my
country, against God's laws, and against society? The devil told me it
could be done.
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