The writer, with candour, acknowledges that in the affair of commodore Knowles's impress in the harbour of Boston, Nov. 1747, there was somewhat of passionate warmth and indiscretion, merely in affection to Boston, and country of New-England, his altera patria; but not with rancour or malice, having no personal acquaintance nor dealings with Mr. Knowles; therefore from common fame, he (as historians do) only narrates his peculiar temper, his severity in discipline, and not so much regard as some other sea commanders have for the mercantile interest, by impressing their men, when he thought the publick service required it: his general courage, has been construed amiss; the refusing passionate challenges from private masters of merchant ships, whole men he had impressed, which perhaps might deprive the nations of his service, in no slur. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.