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In his anxiety to shield the unhappy man from the observation and unfavourable comment of the crew, he had carefully concealed from everybody the true cause of Purchas's retirement, leaving the man alone to recover from his drunken bout instead of telling off somebody to watch him. Had he done this, he reflected in self-reproach, this dreadful thing would not have happened.
He is represented to have been a busy, meddling and troublesome man, which was the reason, as it is supposed, why he never rose to higher Dignities in the Church. He was buried at St. David's about 70 years of age. Jones's Musical Relicks of the Welsh Bards, and the Life of Giraldus drawn up by Leland and Bale from his writings, which is prefixed to his Itinerary. Purchas's Pilgrimage p. 779.
The night was still beautifully fine, and the weather a flat calm; there was therefore nothing calling for Leslie's immediate attention, and he readily assented to Purchas's urgent solicitation that he should take another look at the patient, and say what he thought of his condition.
The horizon, however, was as bare as it had been from the deck; and he presently descended from his post of observation with an obstinate feeling of relief that made him intensely angry with himself. Three times, that evening, during the dog-watches, did Leslie try the door of Purchas's cabin, in an endeavour to gain access to the man and ascertain his condition.
In consequence of a slight indisposition, an anodyne had been prescribed, from the effects of which he fell asleep in his chair at the moment that he was reading, the following sentence, or words of the same substance, in Purchas's Pilgrimage: 'Here the Khan Kubla commanded a palace to be built, and a stately garden thereunto.
The prolonged incapacity of the new skipper rendered it necessary for Leslie to make some arrangement whereby he could secure a proper amount of rest; and therefore, the carpenter being a steady and fairly reliable man, he arranged with him that the latter should take charge of the starboard watch during Purchas's "indisposition."
You and the lady are quite welcome aboard here; and I'll do what I can to make you both comfortable; though, with our limited accommodation, I don't quite see, just at this minute, how it's going to be done. The lady can have my cabin, and I'll take Purchas's; you, Purchas," turning to the mate, "can have the steward's berth, and he'll have to go into the fo'c's'le.
It was with a very considerable amount of trepidation that, next morning, Leslie undertook the task of communicating to Miss Trevor the news of Purchas's death taking care to suppress the full horror of the tragedy by simply stating that the unfortunate fellow had committed suicide by jumping overboard, omitting all mention of the shark.
Thus, while Miss Trevor was, by Purchas's natural courtesy, allowed to retain possession of the late Potter's cabin, as the best and most commodious berth in the brig, Purchas had transferred the chronometer, charts and other paraphernalia appertaining to the navigation of the brig, to his own cabin, which he once more occupied; Leslie moving from the longboat into the steward's cabin, now vacated by Purchas.
He was at this time deeply interested in Purchas's Pilgrimage, one of the few books of which the late lord had not despoiled him. Narratives of travels and voyages always particularly pleased him; he had an idea that he was laying up information which might be useful to him hereafter; the Cherbury collection was rich in this class of volumes, and Lady Annabel encouraged their perusal.
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