Out of pity I hired the one‑legged Long John Silver on the spot—what does it mean to choose mercy in such a time?

I was monstrously touched--so would you have been--and, out of pure pity, I engaged him on the spot to be ship’s cook. Long John Silver, he is called, and has lost a leg; but that I regarded as a recommendation, since he lost it in his country’s service, under the immortal Hawke. He has no pension, Livesey. Imagine the abominable age we live in!