These good people
assisted him by every means in their power, as if he were their own
son. They took off his clothes, giving him another suit until they had
baked all his garments in the oven to destroy the vermin which
tormented him day and night. They insisted upon his occupying a clean
bed. That night he slept sweetly, rid of the intolerable torture of
being eaten up alive. He managed to reach Sag Harbor, where he found
two other escaped prisoners. Soon he was smuggled to Connecticut in a
whale-boat, and restored to his mother. It was late in October when he
reached home. He was very ill and delirious for a long time, but
finally recovered, taught school for some time, and finally became a
minister of the gospel.
CHAPTER XXXIV
THE NARRATIVE OF CAPTAIN DRING
By far the most complete account of life on board the Old Jersey is
contained in Captain Dring's Recollections. His nature was hopeful,
and his constitution strong and enduring. He attempted to make the
best of his situation, and succeeded in leading as nearly a tolerable
life on board the prison-ship as was possible. His book is too long
for insertion in these pages, but we will endeavor to give the reader
an abstract of it.
This book was published in 1865, having been prepared for the press
and annotated by Mr. Albert G. Greene, who speaks of Captain Dring as
"a frank, outspoken, and honest seaman.
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