cerned, and not in the least apprehenfive of danger, but spent the time in reft and mirth, after the manner of the fea; but the eighth day in the morning, the wind increased, and we had all hands at work to strike our top-masts, and make every thing fnug and clofe, that the fhip might ride as eafy as poffible. By noon the fea went very high indeed, and our ship rid forecastle in, fhipp'd several feas, and we thought once or twice our anchor had come home; upon which our mafter ordered out the fheet anchor; fo that we rode with two anchors a-head, and the cables vered out to the better end.

By this time it blew a terrible ftorm indeed, and now I began to fee terror and amazement in the faces even of the feamen themselves. The mafter, though vigilant in the business of preferving the ship, yet as he went in and out of his cabbin by me, I could hear him foftly to himself fay feveral times, Lord be merciful to us, we shall be all loft, we shall be all undone; and the like. During these first hurries, I was ftupid, lying still in my cabbin, which was in the fteerage, and cannot defcribe my temper: I could ill re-assume the first penitence which I had fo apparently trampled upon, and hardened myself against : thought the bitterness of death had been paft, and that this would be nothing to like the firft. But when the master himself came by me, as I faid juft now, and faid we should be all loft, I was dreadfully frighted: I got up out of my cabbin, and looked out; but fuch a difmal fight I never faw: the fea went mountains high, and broke upon us every three or four minutes: when I could look about, I could fee nothing but diftrefs round us: two fhips that rid

I

near

near us, we found, had cut their mafts by the board, being deep loaden; and our men cryed out, that a fhip which rid about a mile a-head of us was foundered. Two more fhips being driven from their anchors, were run out of the roads to fea, at all adventures, and that with not a maft ftanding. The light fhips fared the beft, as not fo much labouring in the fea; but two or three of them drove, and came close by us, running away with only their spritfail out before the wind.

'Towards evening the mate and boatfwain begged the mafter of our fhip to let them cut away the foremaft, which he was very unwilling to fwain protesting to him, that if he did

but the boat

not, the fhip would founder, he confented; and when they had cut away the fore-maft, the main-mast stood fo loofe, and fhook the fhip fo much, they were obliged to cut her away alfo, and make a clear deck.

Any one may judge what a condition I must be in at all this, who was but a young failor, and who had been in fuch a fright before at but a little. But if I can exprefs at this diftance the thoughts I had about me at that time, I was in tenfold more horror of mind upon account of my former convictions, and the having returned from them to the refolutions I had wickedly taken at first, than I was at death itfelf; and thefe, added to the terror of the ftorm, put me in fuch a condition, that I can by no words defcribe it. But the worst was not come yet, the ftorm continued with fuch fury, that the feamen themselves acknowledged they had never known a worfe. We had a good fhip, but fhe was deep loaden, and wallowed in the fea, that the feamen every now

and

and then cried out, fhe would founder. It was my advantage in one respect, that I did not know what they meant by founder, till I enquired. However, the storm was fo violent, that I faw what is not often feen, the mafter, the boat-fwain, and fome others more fenfible than the reft, at their prayers, and expecting every moment when the fhip would go to the bottom, In the middle of the night, and under all the rest of our diftreffes, one of the men that had been down on purpose to see, cried out we had sprung a leak; another faid there was four foot water in the hold. Then all hands were called to the pump. At that very word my heart, as I thought, died within me, and I fell backwards upon the fide of my bed where I fat, into the cabbin. However, the men rouzed me, and told me, that I that was able to do nothing before, was as well able to pump as another; at which I ftirred up, and went to the pump and worked very heartily. While this was doing, the mafter seeing fome light colliers, who not able to ride out the ftorm, were obliged to flip and run away to fea, and would come near us, ordered to fire a gun as a signal of distress. I who knew nothing what that meant, was fo furprized, that I thought the ship had broke, or fome dreadful thing happened. In a word, I was fo furprized, that I fell down in a fwoon. As this was a time when every body had his own life to think of, no body minded me, or what was become of me; but another man ftept up to the pump, and thrusting me afide with his foot, let me lye, thinking I had been dead; and it was a great while before I came to myself.

We

We worked on, but the water encreafing in the hold, it was apparent that the fhip would founder, and though the ftorm began to abate a little, yet as it was not poffible she could swim till we might run into a port, fo the master continued firing guns for help; and a light fhip who had rid it out just a-head of us, ventured a boat out to help us. It was with the utmost hazard the boat came near us, but it was impoffible for us to get on board, or for the boat to lie near the ship fide, till at last the men rowing very heartily, and venturing their lives to fave ours, our men caft them a rope over the stern with a buoy to it, and then vered it out a great length, which they after great labour and hazard took hold of, and we haul'd them clofe under our ftern and got all into their boat. It was to no purpofe for them or us after we were in the boat to think of reaching to their own ship, fo all agreed to let her drive, and only to pull her in towards fhore as much as we could, and our master promised them, that if the boat was ftaved upon fhore he would make it good to their master, fo partly rowing and partly driving, our boat went away to the norward, floaping towards the fhore almost as far as Winterion-Nefs.

We were not much more than a quarter of an hour out of our fhip but we faw her fink, and then I understood for the firft time what was meant by a fhip foundering in the fea; I muft acknowledge I had hardly eyes to look up when the feamen told me fhe was finking; for from that moment they rather put me into the boat than that I might be faid to go in, my heart was as it were dead within me, partly

with fright, partly with horror of mind, and the thoughts of what was yet before me.

While we were in this condition, the men yet labouring at the oar to bring the boat near the fhore, we could fee, when our boat mounting the waves we were able to see the fhore, a great many people running along the fhore to affift us when we fhould come near, but we made but flow way towards the fhore, nor were we able to reach the fhore, till being past the light-houfe at Winterton, the fhore falls off to the weftward towards Cromer, and fo the land broke off a little the violence of the wind: here we got in, and, though not without much dif ficulty, got all safe on fhore, and walked afterwards on foot to Yarmouth, where, as unfortunate men, we were used with great humanity, as well by the magiftrates of the town, who affigned us good quarters, as by particular merchants and owners of fhips, and had money given us fufficient to carry us either to London or back to Hull, as we thought fit.

Had I now had the fenfe to have gone back to Hull, and have gone home, I had been happy, and my father, an emblem of our bleffed Saviour's parable, had even killed the fatted calf for me; for hearing the fhip I went away in was caft away in Yarmouth Road, it was a great while before he had any affurance that I was not drowned.

But my ill fate pushed me on now with an obftinacy that nothing could refift; and though I had feveral times loud calls from my reafon and my more compofed judgment to go home, yet I had no power to do it. I know not what to call this, nor will I urge, that it is a fecret over-ruling decree that hurries us on to be the inftruments of our own deftruc

tion,