At that time the trip across the Atlantic could not be made as quickly
as now. There were no steamships, and the sailing vessels had, of
course, to depend upon the wind to carry them to their destination. It
was several months before the _Friendship_ anchored at the mouth of the
Rappahannock River.
Farther inland, on this river, was the town of Fredericksburg. John
Paul's eldest brother, William, lived there. He had left his Scottish
home many years before, and had come with his wife to Virginia. Here he
was now living on his own plantation, where he raised tobacco for the
English market.
While the _Friendship_ was in port being loaded for its return voyage,
John Paul went to Fredericksburg to stay with his brother. While there
he spent the most of his time in hard study. Although he was still
young, he had found that he could not succeed as he wished with so
little education.
It was during these months in America that he formed the habit of
study. All through the remainder of his life his leisure time was given
to the reading of books.
After he returned to Scotland he spent six years in the employ of Mr.
Younger. During that time he learned a great deal about good seamanship.
When John Paul was nineteen years of age, the loss of money compelled
Mr. Younger to give up his business.
John Paul was soon afterward made mate on a slaver called the _Two
Friends_. This was a vessel whose sole business was the carrying of
slaves from Africa to America and other countries.
People at that time did not think there was any wrong in slave-trading.
It was a very profitable business. Even the sailors made more money than
did those on vessels engaged in any other business.
The _Two Friends_ carried a cargo of slaves to Jamaica, an English
possession in the West Indies. As soon as port was reached, John Paul
left the vessel. He said that he would never again sail on a
slave-trading voyage. He could not endure to see men and women treated
so cruelly, and bought and sold like cattle.
He sailed for home as a passenger on board a small trading vessel. On
the voyage both the captain and the mate died of fever, and the ship
with all its passengers was in mid-ocean with no one to command.
John Paul took the captain's place, for no one else knew so much about
seamanship. This was a daring thing for one so young, as he was not yet
twenty years old.
When he brought the vessel safely into port, the owners were so grateful
to him that they made him the captain.
Soon afterward he sailed for the West Indies. The carpenter on board
was, one day, very disrespectful to the young captain. He was punished
by a flogging, and was discharged. Not long after this he died of a
fever.
The enemies of John Paul, who were jealous of him, thought this was
their chance to do him harm. They said that the flogging had killed the
carpenter.
Many people believed this, and when John Paul again returned to
Scotland, he found that his friends had lost their faith in him.
During the next two years he made several voyages, but all the while he
remembered the injustice done to him. He finally succeeded, however, in
proving to his friends that he was worthy of their confidence.