ABSTRACT
CAPTAIN SIMPSON sailed the Don Pedro on the Saigon trade with considerable success, and made the ship pay very nicely; but the poor fellow caught a fever and died of it. By rights the command of the Don Pedro ought to have gone to Mr. Jenkins; but when it was offered to him, Jenkins preferred to remain as chief officer of the Samson. Northwood was then got at by a certain Captain Blewitt, who had lost his ship near the Natunas, and had not since been able to get another command. There seemed to be nothing discreditable about the loss of Blewitt’s ship. Misfortunes will happen to master mariners—though it may be noted that, throughout his long career as a seaman, Northwood himself never lost a ship. North-wood, however, had an expensive taste for helping lame dogs over all sorts of stiles, and as Blewitt was out of a job he gave him the command of the Don Pedro.
