"I must, however, assert that this court has been unjust and tyrannical both to my father and myself."
"That is your business, not mine."
"I was in hopes that you would feel differently. My father has often helped you out of tight places. I thought at this time you would remember that. There was that cargo at Perth Amboy, but for my father, it had gone badly with you!"
"Yes, yes! I give good for good, but not to my own cost. People who go against the government and are in trouble are not my friends. I do not meddle with affairs that are against the government. It is dangerous, and I am a husband and a father, not a fool."
"To assist my father for a few days, till I can turn property into money, is not going against the government."
"You will not turn property into money these days; it is too late. I, who am noted for my prudence, got rid of all my property at the beginning of the war; you and your father bought other people's houses, while I sold mine. So! I was right, as I always am."
"Then you had no faith in the King's cause, even at the beginning; and I have heard it said you are not unfriendly now to the rebels."
"Ja! I give the Americans a little, quietly. One must sail as the wind serves; and who can tell which way it will blow to-morrow? I am a good sailor; never shall I row against wind and tide. Who am I, Batavius DeVries, to oppose the government? It is one of my most sacred principles to obey the government."
"Then if the Americans succeed, you will obey their government? Your principles are changeable, Captain."
"It is a bad principle not to be able to change your principles. The world is always changing. I change with it. That is prudent, for I will not stand alone, or be left behind. That is my way; your ways do not suit me."