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gentleman, that he would only shew it to a few
of his brother Officers and particular friends.
Under this assurance, and in compliance with a
request which my then situation would have
rendered it impolitic to refuse, I compiled a
circumstantial and authentic history of my past
life, which I delivered to Mr Thompson, but
without the slightest idea of its ever appearing in
[underlined] (print). I was soon afterwards removed to Sydney,
at the particular request of Mr Justice Field, who
had applied to Governor Macquarie for my assign-
ment to him as clerk. On my first interview with
Mr Field, he told me, to my great astonishment,
that "he had obtained the manuscript of my
Memoirs from Lieut't Thompson, had thought it
worthy of publication, and had accordingly sent
it home to his bookseller for that purpose." The
following year (1819) Mr Field handed me one
of the printed copies he had received from England.
On perusing it, my surprize [sic] and chagrin were aug-
mented at finding that Mr Field had taken the
unwarrantable liberty of substituting for my
original title-page, a most disgraceful one of [underlined] (his)
composition; that he had changed the tenor of my
preface; added a severe critique of his own;
expunged many passages throughout the work;
and altered others. These facts I made known at
the time to many of my friends; but the injurious
effects of such ungentlemanlike conduct in Mr Field,
and of Mr Thompson's breach of confidence, had been
too widely disseminated to be counteracted by any
efforts of mine. Thus, Sir, I hope I have excul-
pated myself from the implication of having, with
unblushing audacity, obtruded upon the public,
a voluntary record of my own infamy - and of having
prided myself on such a shameful disclosure.

The second point on which I beg to deprecate
Your Excellency's displeasure, is my imprudent
insertion of a letter in "The Australian" newspaper,

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