The chattels of the dead man were contained in two trunks, a chest, a
sail-cloth bag, and a barrel, and consisted of clothing, suggesting a
thickset, middle-sized man; papers relative to ships and business, a
spyglass, a loaded iron pistol, some books of navigation, some charts,
several great pieces of tobacco, and a few cigars; some little plaster
images, that he had probably bought for his children, a cotton umbrella,
and other trumpery of no great value. In one of the trunks we found
about twenty pounds' worth of English and American gold and silver, and
some notes of hand, due in America. Of all these things the clerk made
an inventory; after which we took possession of the money and affixed the
consular seal to the trunks, bag, and chest.
While this was going on, we heard a great noise of men quarrelling in an
adjoining court; and, altogether, it seemed a squalid and ugly place to
live in, and a most undesirable one to die in. At the conclusion of our
labors, the young woman asked us if we would not go into another chamber,
and look at the corpse, and appeared to think that we should be rather
glad than otherwise of the privilege. But, never having seen the man
during his lifetime, I declined to commence his acquaintance now.
His bills for board and nursing amount to about the sum which we found in
his trunk; his funeral expenses will be ten pounds more; the surgeon has
sent in a bill of eight pounds, odd shillings; and the account of another
medical man is still to be rendered.
Pages:
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34