"Twice did I read that short, heartless letter, before I fully comprehended its meaning; and when I realized that I was discarded, believed guilty, I sat down, and bowed my head upon my breast, and shed tears of agony. I cared no longer to live, and almost wished that forgery was, as formerly, punished with death.
"During my grief, I was summoned to the court, placed in the prisoners' dock, and heard, for the first time, that. I was charged with forging Mr. B——'s name to a draft for a thousand pounds, and that I had confessed the crime, and made restitution of most of the money which I had obtained, and that on that account I was entitled to mercy, and that the liberal, patriotic banker would have spared me, if he had thought I would have sinned no more.
"I was like one in a dream all the time that I was in the court room. I was asked by the judge, in a severe tone of voice, if I wished counsel, and mechanically I answered in the affirmative; and after I had consulted a moment with him, I recollected no more, until I was led from the room, and told that I was transported, for ten years.
"The next day I was sent to Liverpool, in company with house-breakers, thieves, and men accused of all crimes, and from thence I was taken on board of a ship loaded with felons, and bound for Australia. Even after I was safely chained between the decks of the vessel, I did not escape the vengeance of the man whose daughter I had dared to love. A newspaper was thrust into my hand by some person, who directed me to read, and then disappeared. My worst fears were realized—Julia had become the wife of the earl's son on the same day that I was condemned.
"I tore the paper into ten thousand pieces, and then vowed, that as I was with criminals, and classed as such, I would show a felon's spirit. I no longer was meek and dejected. I became a leader, and planned for the capture of the ship, and should have succeeded, had not a treacherous hound betrayed us to punishment.
"But I was not discouraged by my failure, and when I was beaten for my rebellious spirit, I had satisfaction, for one dark night I drove a knife to the captain's heart, and laughed to think I remained undetected.
"You shudder," the robber said, when he saw that I shrank from his side at this avowal. "I grant that the deed was wicked and cruel; but I had been trampled upon as a man, betrayed and condemned, and my feelings underwent such a change that I was no longer human.
"After a long and dreary passage, the ship arrived at Hobson's Bay, and we were landed. My reputation was too bad to be allowed to serve outside of the hulks, and accordingly, day after day, I dragged my chain and ball, attached to my right foot, after me, and performed labor that caused many of my fellow-prisoners to sink by my side and expire, while others would fall to the ground, and be lashed by the whips of our taskmasters into renewed activity.
"One hope alone kept me alive—the expectation of an escape. I planned, and sought to carry them out, but the vigilance of my keepers frustrated my intentions, and it was not until the gold mines were discovered that I found an opportunity. Many of our overseers then left the employ of government, and flocked to the mines. Of course, more men were engaged, but they were too green in the service to understand all of the tricks which prisoners resorted to to blind their eyes.