God for it, rather than me; for I had feen, that he had done that already: but I added, that it was nothing but what reafon and humanity dictated to all men, and that we had as much reafon as he to give thanks to God, who had bleffed us fo far as to make us the inftruments of his mercy to fo many of his creatures.

After this the young prieft applied himself to his country folks; laboured to compose them; perfuaded intreated, argued, reafoned with them, and did his utmost to keep them within the exercife of their reafon; and with fome he had fuccefs, though others were, for a time, out of all government of themfelves.

I cannot help committing this to writing, as perhaps it may be useful to thofe into whofe hands it may fall, in the guiding themselves in all the extravagancies of their paffions; for if an excess of joy can carry men out to fuch a length beyond the reach of their reafon, what will not the extravagancies of anger, rage, and a provoked mind, carry us to? And indeed, here I faw reafon for keeping an exceeding watch over our paffions of every kind, as well thofe of joy and fatisfaction, as thofe of forrow and anger.

We were fomething difordered by these extravagancies among our new guests for the first day; but when they had been retired, lodgings provided for them as well as our fhip would allow, and they had flept heartily, as most of them did, being fatigued and frightened, they were quite another fort of people the next day.

Nothing of good manners, or civil acknow. ledgments for the kindnefs fhewn them was wanting; the French, it is known, are naturally apt enough to exceed that way. The captain, and one of the priets, came to me the next day; and, defiring to fpeak with me and my nephew, the commander, began to confult with us what fhould be done with them; and first they told us, that, as we had faved their lives, fo all they had was little enough for a return to us for the kindness received. The captain faid, they had faved fome money, and fome things of value in their boats, catched haftily out of the flames; and if we would accept it, they were ordered to make an offer of it all to us; they only defired to be fet on fhore fomewhere in our way, where, if poffible, they might get a paffage to France.

My nephew was for accepting their money at first word, and to confider what to do with them afterwards; but I over-ruled him in that part; for I knew what it was to be fet on fhore in a ftrange country; and if the Portugal captain that took me up at fea had ferved me fo, and took all I had for my deliverance, I must have ftarved, or have been as much a flave at the Brafils, as I had been at Barbary, the being fold to a Mahometan only excepted; and perhaps a Portuguefe is not a much better mafter than a Turk, if not, in fome cafes, a much worse.

I therefore told the French captain, that we had taken them up in their diftrefs, it was true; but that it was our duty to do fo, as we were fellow-creatures, and as we would defire to be fo delivered, if we were in the like or any other extremity; that we had done nothing for them, but what we believed they would

have done for us if we had been in their cafe, and they in our's; but that we took them up to ferve them, not to plunder them; and that it would be a most barbarous thing, to take that little from them which they had faved out of the fire, and then fet them on fhore, and leave them; that this would be firft to fave them from death, and then kill them ourselves; fave them from drowning, and then abandon them to ftarving; and therefore I would not let the leaft thing be taken from them: as to fetting them on fhore, I told them indeed, that was an exceeding difficulty to us, for that the fhip was bound to the Eat-Indics; and though we were driven out of our courfe to the weftward a very great way, which perhaps was directed by heaven on purpose for their deliverance, yet it was impoffible for us wilfully to change our voyage on this particular account; nor could my nephew, the captain, anfwer it to the freighters, with whom he was under charter-party to purfue his voyage by the way of Brafil; and all I knew he could do for them was, to put ourfelves in the way of meeting with other fhips homewardbound from the Weft-Indies, and get them paffage, if poffible, to England or France.

The first part of the propofal was fo generous and kind, they could not but be very thankful for it; but they were in a great confternation, especially the pasfengers, at the notion of being carried away to the East-Indies: they then intreated me, that feeing I was driven fo far to the weftward before I met with them, I would at least keep on the fame courfe to the banks of Newfoundland, where it was poffible I might meet with fome fhip or floop that they might hire to carry them back to Canada, from whence they came. I thought

I thought this was but a reafonable requcft on their part; and therefore I inclined to agree to it; for indeed I confidered, that to carry this whole company to the East-Indies, would not only be an intolerable feverity to the poor people, but would be ruining our whole voyage by devouring all our provifions; fo I thought it no breach of charter-party, but what an unforeseen accident made abfolutely neceffary to us; and in which no one could fay we were to blame; for the laws of God and nature would have forbid, that we fhould refufe to take up two boats full of people in fuch a diftreffed condition; and the nature of the thing as well refpecting ourselves, as the poor people, obliged us to fee them on fhore fomewhere or other, for their deliverance; fo I confented that we would carry them to Newfoundland, if wind and weather would permit; and, if not, that I would carry them to Martinico in the West-Indies.

The wind continued fresh eafterly, but the weather pretty good; and as it had blowed continually in the points between N. E. and S. E. a long time, we miffed feveral opportunities of fending them to France; for we met feveral fhips bound to Europe, whereof two were French, from St. Chriftopher's; but they had been fo long beating up against the wind, that they durft take in no paffengers for fear of wanting provifions for the voyage, as well for themfelves as for thofe they fhould take in; fo we were obliged to go on. It was about a week after this, that we made the Banks of Newfoundland, where, to fhorten my flory, we put all our French people on board a bark, which they hired at fea there, to put them on fhore, and afterwards to carry them to

France,

France, if they could get provifions to victual themfelves with when, I fay, all the French went on fhore, I fhould remember, that the young priest I fpoke of, hearing we were bound to the East Indies, defired to go the voyage with us, and to be fet on fhore on the coast of Coromandel: I readily agreed to that; for I wonderfully liked the man, and had very good reason, as will appear afterwards; also four of the feamen entered themfelves in our fhip, and proved very ufeful fellows.

From hence we directed our courfe for the WeftIndies, fteering away S. and S. by E, for about 20 days together, fometimes little or no wind at all, when we met with another fubject for our humanity to work upon, almoft as deplorable as that before.

It was in the latitude of 27 degrees 5 minutes N. and the 19th day of March, 1684-5, when we efpied a fail, our courfe S. E. and by S. We foon perceived it was a large veffel, and that fhe bore up to us; but could not at first know what to make of her, till, after coming a little nearer, we found fhe had loft her main-top-maft, fore-maft, and bowfprit; and prefently the fires a gun as a fignal of diftrefs; the weather was pretty good, wind at N. N. W. a fresh gale, and we foon came to speak with her.

We found her a fhip of Bristol bound home from Barbadoes, but had been blown out of the road at Barbadoes, a few days before fhe was ready to fail, by a terrible hurricane, while the captain and chief mate were both gone on fhore; fo that befide the terror of the ftorm, they were but in an indifferent cafe for good artists to bring the ship home; they had been already nine weeks at fea, and had met with another

terrible