tion, even though it be before us, and that we pufft upon it with our eyes open. Certainly nothing but fome fuch decreed unavoidable mifery attending, and which it was impoffible for me to efcape, could have pushed me forward against the calm reafonings and perfuafions of my moft retired thoughts, and against two fuch visible inftructions as I had met with in my first attempt.

My comrade, who had helped to harden me before, and who was the mafter's fon, was now lefs forward than I; the first time he fpoke to me after we were at Yarmouth, which was not till two or three days, for we were feparated in the town to feveral quarters: I fay, the firft time he faw me, it appeared his tone was altered, and looking very melancholy, and shaking his head, afked me how I did, and telling his father who I was, and how I had come this voyage only for a trial, in order to go farther abroad; his father turning to me with a very grave and concerned tone, young man, fays he, you ought never to go to fea any more, you ought to take this for a plain and visible token that you are not to be a feafaring man. Why, Sir, faid I, will you go to fea no more? That is another cafe, faid he, it is my calling, and therefore my duty; but as you made this voyage for a trial, you see what a tafte heaven has given you of what you are to expect if you perfist; perhaps this is all befallen us on your account, like Jonah in the fhip of Tarfhifh. Pray, continues he, what are you? and on what account did you go to fea? Upon that I told him fome of my story; at the end of which he burst out with a strange kind of paffion; what had I done, fays he, that fuch an unhappy wretch should come

into my ship; I would not fet my foot in the fame fhip with thee again for a thousand pounds. This indeed was, as I faid, an excurfion of his fpirits, which were yet agitated by the sense of his lofs, and was farther than he could have authority to go. However he afterwards talked very gravely to me, exhorted me to go back to my father, and not tempt Providence to my ruin; told me I might see a visible hand of heaven against me, and young man, faid he, depend upon it, if you do not go back, wherever you go, you will meet with nothing but difafters and difappointments, till your father's words are fulfilled upon you.

We parted foon after; for I made him little anfwer, and I saw him no more; which way he went, I know not. As for me, having fome money in my pocket, I travelled to London by land; and there, as well as on the road, had many ftruggles with myfelf, what courfe of life I fhould take, and whether I fhould go home, or go to fea.

As to going home, fhame opposed the best motions that offered to my thoughts; and it immediately occurred to me how I fhould be laughed at among the neighbours, and fhould be afhamed to fee, not my father and mother only, but even every body else; from whence I have fince often observed, how incongruous and irrational the common temper of mankind is, efpecially of youth, to that reafon which ought to guide them in such cases, viz. that they are not afhamed to fin, and yet are afhamed to repent; nor ashamed of the action for which they ought justly to be esteemed fools, but are ashamed of the returning, which only can make them be esteemed wife men.

VOL. I.

C

In

In this state of life however I remained fome time, uncertain what measures to take, and what course of life to lead. An irresistible reluctance continued to going home; and as I stayed a while, the remembrance of the diftrefs I had been in wore off; and as that abated, the little motion I had in my defires to a return wore off with it, till at last I quite laid afide the thoughts of it, and looked out for a vovage.'

That evil influence which carried me firft away from my father's house, that hurried me into the wild and indigested notion of raifing my fortune; and that imprest thofe conceits fo forcibly upon me, as to make me deaf to all good advice, and to the entreaties and even the command of my father: I fay, the fame influence, whatever it was, prefented the most unfortunate of all enterprizes to my view; and I went on board a veffel bound to the coaft of Africa; or as our failors vulgarly call it, a voyage to Guinea.

It was my great misfortune that in all thefe adventures I did not fhip myself as a failor; whereby, though I might indeed have worked a little harder than ordinary, yet at the fame time I had learned the duty and office of a fore-maft man; and in time might have qualified myself for a mate or lieutenant, if not for a master. But as it was always my fate to choose for the worse, so I did here; for having money in my pocket, and good cloaths upon my back, I would always go on board in the habit of a gentleman; and fo I neither had any business in the ship, or learned to do any.

It was my lot first of all to fall into pretty good company in London, which does not always happen to fuch loose and unguided young fellows as I then

was;

was; the devil generally not omitting to lay fome fnare for them very early: but it was not so with me, I first fell acquainted with the mafter of a fhip who had been on the coast of Guinea; and who having had very good fuccefs there, was refolved to go again; and who taking a fancy to my conversation, which was not at all difagreeble at that time, hearing me fay I had a mind to fee the world, told me if I would

go the voyage with him I fhould be at no expence ; I fhould be his mess-mate and his companion, and if I could carry any thing with me, I fhould have all the advantage of it that the trade would admit; and perhaps I might meet with fome encouragement.

I embraced the offer, and entering into a strict friendship with this captain, who was an honest and plain-dealing man, I went the voyage with him, and carried a fmall adventure with me, which by the difinterested honesty of my friend the captain, I increased very coufiderably; for I carried about 40 l. in fuch toys and trifles as the captain directed me to buy. This 40. I had mustered together by the afsistance of fome of my relations whom I correfponded with, and who, I believe, got my father, or at least my mother, to contribute fo much as that to my firft adventure.

This was the only voyage which I may fay was successful in all my adventures, and which I owe to the integrity and honefty of my friend the captain, under whom also I got a competent knowledge of the mathematicks and the rules of navigation, learned how to keep an account of the fhip's courfe, take an obfervation, and, in fhort, to understand some things that were needful to be understood by a failor: for,

as he took delight to inftruct me, I took delight to learn; and, in a word, this voyage made me both a failor and a merchant: for I brought home 5 pound 9 ounces of gold duft for my adventure, which yielded me in London at my return, almoft 300l. and this filled me with thofe afpiring thoughts which have fince fo compleated my ruin.

Yet even in this voyage I had my misfortunes too; particularly, that I was continually fick, being thrown into a violent calenture by the exceffive heat of the climate; our principal trading being upon the coaft, from the latitude of 15 degrees north even to the line itself.

I was now fet up for a Guinea trader; and my friend, to my great misfortune, dying foon after his arrival, I refolved to go the fame voyage again, and I embarked in the fame veffel with one who was his mate in the former voyage, and had now got the command of the fhip. This was the unhappiest voyage that ever man made; for though I did not carry quite 100 l. of my new gained wealth, fo that I had 200 left, and which I lodged with my friend's widow, who was very just to me, yet I fell into terrible misfortunes in this voyage; and the first was this, viz. Our fhip making her courfe towards the Canary Islands, or rather between those islands and the African fhore, was furprized in the grey of the morning, by a Turkish rover of Salice, who gave chafe to us with all the fail fhe could make. We crowded alfo as much canvafs as our yards would spread, or our mafts carry, to have got clear; but finding the pirate gained upon us, and would certainly come up with us in a few hours, we prepared to fight;

our