"In his voyage, etc., which he has lately published at Cadiz, we
are candidly told by this enterprising mutineer that the revolt
which he headed on board His Majesty's ship _Bounty_ was not
ascribable to dislike of their commander, Captain Bligh, but to
the unconquerable passion which he and the major part of the
ship's crew entertained for the enjoyments which Otaheite still
held out to their voluptuous imaginations. 'It is but justice,'
says he, 'that I should acquit Captain Bligh, in the most
unequivocal manner, of having contributed in the smallest degree
to the promotion of our conspiracy by any harsh or ungentlemanlike
conduct on his part; so far from it, that few officers in the
service, I am persuaded, can in this respect be found superior to
him, or produce stronger claims upon the gratitude and attachment
of the men whom they are appointed to command. Our mutiny is
wholly to be ascribed to the strong predilection we had contracted
for living at Otaheite, where, exclusive of the happy disposition
of the inhabitants, the mildness of the climate, and the fertility
of the soil, we had formed certain connexions which banished the
remembrance of old England entirely from our breasts.'"
After describing the seizure and securing of Captain Bligh's person in his
cabin, Christian is made to thus conclude his account of the revolt:--
"During the whole of this transaction Captain Bligh exerted
himself to the utmost to reduce the people to a sense of their
duty by haranguing and expostulating with them, which caused me to
assume a degree of ferocity quite repugnant to my feelings, as I
dreaded the effect which his remonstrances might produce.
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