land that way, in which the fire fhewed itself, no not for 500 leagues, for it appeared at W. N. W. Upon this we concluded it must be fome fhip on fire at fea; and as by our hearing the noife of guns juft before, we concluded it could not be far off, we stood directly towards it, and were presently satisfied we should difcover it, because the farther we failed the greater the light appeared, tho' the weather being hazy we could not perceive any thing but the light for a while; in about half an hour's failing, the wind being fair for us, though not much of it, and the weather clearing up a little, we could plainly discern that it was a great fhip on fire in the middle of the sea.

I was most fenfibly touched with this difafter, though not at all acquainted with the perfons engaged in it; I presently recollected my former circumftances, in what condition I was in when taken up by the Portugal Captain; and how much more deplorable the circumstances of the poor creatures belonging to this fhip must be if they had no other fhip in company with them: upon this I immediately ordered, that five guns fhould be fired, one foon after another, that, if poffible, we might give notice to them that there was help for them at hand, and that they might endeavour to fave themselves in their boat; for though we could fee the flame in the fhip, yet they, it being night, could fee nothing of us.

We lay by fome time upon this, only driving as the burning fhip drove, waiting for day light; when on a fudden, to our great terror, though we had reafon to expect it, the fhip blew up in the air, and immediately funk: this was terrible, and indeed an afflicting fight, for the fake of the poor men, who, I

concluded,

concluded must be either all deftroyed in the fhip, or be in the utmoft diftrefs in their boats in the middle of the ocean, which at prefent, by reafon it was dark, I could not fee: however to direct them as well as I could, I caused lights to be hung out in all the parts of the fhip where we could, and which we had lanthorns for, and kept firing guns all the night long; letting them know by this, that there was a fhip not far off.

About eight o'clock in the morning, we difcovered the fhip's boats, by the help of our perfpective-glaffes; and found there were two of them, both thronged with people, and deep in the water: we perceived they rowed, the wind being against them; that they faw our fhip, and did the utmost to make us fee them.

We immediately spread our ancient, to let them know we saw them; and hung a waft out, as a fignal for them to come on board; and then made more fail, ftanding directly to them. In a little more than half an hour, we came up with them, and, in a word, took them all in, being no lefs than fixtyfour men, women, and children; for there were a great many paffengers.

Upon the whole, we found it was a French mer chant-fhip of 300 tons, homeward-bound from Quebeck, in the river of Canada. The master gave us a long account of the distress of his fhip, how the fire began in the fteerage by the negligence of the fteerfman; but, on his crying out for help, was, as every body thought, entirely put out: but they foon found that fome fparks of the firft fire had gotten into fome part of the fhip, fo difficult to come at, VOL. II.

C

that

that they could not effectually quench it; and afterwards getting in between the timbers, and within the cieling of the fhip, it proceeded into the hold, and mastered all the fkill and all the application they were able to exert.

They had no more to do then but to get into their boats, which, to their great comfort, were pretty large; being their long boat, and a great fhallop, befides a small fkiff, which was of no great fervice to them, other than to get fome fresh water and provifions into her, after they had fecured themselves from the fire. They had indeed fmall hope of their lives by getting into these boats at that diftance from any land; only, as they faid well, that they were escaped from the fire, and had a poffibility, that fome fhip might happen to be at sea, and might take them in. They had fails, oars, and a compass; and were preparing to make the best of their way to Newfoundland, the wind blowing pretty fair; for it blew an eafy gale at S. E. by E. They had as much provifions and water, as, with sparing it fo as to be next door to ftarving, might fupport them about 12 days; in which, if they had no bad weather, and no contrary winds, the captain faid, he hoped he might get to the banks of Newfoundland, and might perhaps take fome fish to fuftain them till they might go on fhore. But there were fo many chances against them. in all these cafes; fuch as ftorms to overfet and founder them; rains and cold to benumb and perifh their limbs; contrary winds to keep them out and starve them; that it must have been next to miraculous if they had escaped.

In the midst of their confultations, every one being hopeless, and ready to defpair, the captain with tears

in his eyes told me, they were on a fudden furprised with the joy of hearing a gun fire, and after that four more; thefe were the five guns which I caused to be fired at firft feeing the light: this revived their hearts, and gave them the notice, which, as above, I defigned it fhould, viz. that there was a fhip at hand for their help.

It was upon the hearing thefe guns, that they took down their mafts and fails; and the found coming from the windward, they refolved to lie by till morning. Some time after this, hearing no more. guns, they fired three mufquets, one a confiderable while after another; but thefe, the wind being con trary, we never heard.

Some time after that again, they were ftill more agrecably furprised with feeing our lights, and hearing the guns, which, as I have faid, I caufed to be fired all the reft of the night; this fet them to work with their oars to keep their boats a-head, at least that we might the fooner come up with them; and at last, to their inexpreffible joy, they found we faw them.

It is impoffible for me to exprefs the feveral geftures, the strange ecftafies, the variety of poftures, which these poor delivered people run into, to exprefs the joy of their fouls at fo unexpected a deliverance; grief and fear are easily defcribed; fighs, tears, groans, and a very few motions of head and hands, make up the fum of its variety: but an excefs of joy, a furprise of joy, has a thousand extravagancies in it; there were fome in tears, fome raging and tearing themselves, as if they had been in the greatest agonies of forrow; fome ftark raving and down-right luna.

tic; fome ran about the fhip ftamping with their feet, others wringing their hands; fome were dancing,. feveral finging, fome laughing, more crying; many quite dumb, not able to speak a word; others fick and vomiting, feveral fwooning, and ready to faint; and a few were croffing themselves and giving God thanks.

I would not wrong them neither; there might be many that were thankful afterward; but the paffion was too strong for them at firft, and they were not able to master it; they were thrown into ecstasies and a kind of frenzy, and fo there were but a very few who were composed and serious in their joy.

Perhaps alfo the cafe may have fome addition to it, from the particular circumftance of the nation they belonged to; I mean the French, whofe temper is allowed to be more volatile, more paffionate, and more fprightly, and their fpirits more fluid, than of other nations. Iam not philofopher enough to determine the cause, but nothing I had ever feen before came up to it: the ecftafies poor Friday, my trufty favage, was in, when he found his father in the boat, came the nearest to it; and the surprise of the mafter, and his two companions, whom I delivered from the two . villains that fet them on fhore in the ifland, came a little way towards it; but nothing was to compare to this, either that I saw in. Friday, or any where else in my life.

It is farther obfervable, that these extravagancies did not fhew themselves in that different manner I have mentioned, in different perfons only: but all the variety would appear in a fhort fucceffion of moments, in one and the fame perfon. A man that we