and these peculiarities seemed at last to deepen whenever the political
horizon darkened. At such times he became silent, and yet more keen than
usual to detect and denounce anything in our home life which was not to his
liking.

The affairs of a young fellow between the ages of childhood and younger
manhood can have but meagre interest. Our school life went on, and while we
worked or played, our elders saw the ever-increasing differences between
king and colonies becoming year by year more difficult of adjustment.
Except when some noisy crisis arose, they had for us lads but little
interest.

Most people used the city landings, or lightered their goods from ships in
the stream. We, however, had a great dock built out near to the mouth of
Dock Creek, and a warehouse. Hither came sloops from my father's plantation
of tobacco, near Annapolis, and others from the "permitted islands," the
Cape de Verde and the Madeiras. Staves for barrels, tobacco, and salt fish
were the exports, and in return came Eastern goods brought to these
islands, and huge tuns of Madeira wine. Rum, too, arrived from New England,
and salted mackerel. What else my father imported, of French goods or tea,
reached us from England, for we were not allowed to trade with the
continent of Europe nor directly with India.

Once my father took me with him to Lewes, near Cape Hinlopen, on one of his
ships, and to my joy we were met there by Tom, our black slave, with
horses, and rode back during two days by Newcastle and Chester. As I rode
ill, of course, and was sore for a week, my father thought it well that I
should learn to ride, and this exercise I took to easily. Just before I was
sixteen my aunt gave me a horse, and after we had separated abruptly a few
times, and no harm to any, I became the master, and soon an expert rider,