THE

INTERESTING NARRATIVE

OF

THE LIFE

OF

OLAUDAH EQUIANO, OR

GUSTAVUS VASSA, THE AFRICAN. 

_WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. _

 _Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. And in that shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people. Isaiah xii. 2, 4. _

LONDON:

Printed for and sold by the Author, No. 10, Union-Street, Middlesex Hospital

Sold also by Mr. Johnson, St. Paul's Church-Yard; Mr. Murray, Fleet-Street; Messrs. Robson and Clark, Bond-Street; Mr. Davis, opposite Gray's Inn, Holborn; Messrs. Shepperson and Reynolds, and Mr. Jackson, Oxford Street; Mr. Lackington, Chiswell-Street; Mr. Mathews, Strand; Mr. Murray, Prince's-Street, Soho; Mess. Taylor and Co. South Arch, Royal Exchange; Mr. Button, Newington-Causeway; Mr. Parsons, Paternoster-Row; and may be had of all the Booksellers in Town and Country. 

[Entered at Stationer's Hall. ]

[Illustration: Olaudah Equiano or GUSTAVUS VASSA, _the African_]

To the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and the Commons of theParliament of Great Britain. 

_My Lords and Gentlemen_, Permit me, with the greatest deference and respect, to lay at yourfeet the following genuine Narrative; the chief design of which is toexcite in your august assemblies a sense of compassion for themiseries which the Slave-Trade has entailed on my unfortunatecountrymen. By the horrors of that trade was I first torn away fromall the tender connexions that were naturally dear to my heart; butthese, through the mysterious ways of Providence, I ought to regard asinfinitely more than compensated by the introduction I have thenceobtained to the knowledge of the Christian religion, and of a nationwhich, by its liberal sentiments, its humanity, the glorious freedomof its government, and its proficiency in arts and sciences, hasexalted the dignity of human nature. 

I am sensible I ought to entreat your pardon for addressing to you awork so wholly devoid of literary merit; but, as the production of anunlettered African, who is actuated by the hope of becoming aninstrument towards the relief of his suffering countrymen, I trustthat _such a man_, pleading in _such a cause_, will be acquitted ofboldness and presumption. 

May the God of heaven inspire your hearts with peculiar benevolence onthat important day when the question of Abolition is to be discussed, when thousands, in consequence of your Determination, are to look forHappiness or Misery!

 I am, My Lords and Gentlemen, Your most obedient, And devoted humble Servant, Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa. 

 Union-Street, Mary-le-bone, March 24, 1789. 

LIST of SUBSCRIBERS. 

 His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. His Royal Highness the Duke of York. 

 A

 The Right Hon. The Earl of Ailesbury Admiral Affleck Mr. William Abington, 2 copies Mr. John Abraham James Adair, Esq. Reverend Mr. Aldridge Mr. John Almon Mrs. Arnot Mr. Joseph Armitage Mr. Joseph Ashpinshaw Mr. Samuel Atkins Mr. John Atwood Mr. Thomas Atwood Mr. Ashwell J. C. Ashworth, Esq. 

 B

 His Grace the Duke of Bedford Her Grace the Duchess of Buccleugh The Right Rev. The Lord Bishop of Bangor The Right Hon. Lord Belgrave The Rev. Doctor Baker Mrs. Baker Matthew Baillie, M. D. Mrs. Baillie Miss Baillie Miss J. Baillie David Barclay, Esq. Mr. Robert Barrett Mr. William Barrett Mr. John Barnes Mr. John Basnett Mr. Bateman Mrs. Baynes, 2 copies Mr. Thomas Bellamy Mr. J. Benjafield Mr. William Bennett Mr. Bensley Mr. Samuel Benson Mrs. Benton Reverend Mr. Bentley Mr. Thomas Bently Sir John Berney, Bart. Alexander Blair, Esq. James Bocock, Esq. Mrs. Bond Miss Bond Mrs. Borckhardt Mrs. E. Bouverie ---- Brand, Esq. Mr. Martin Brander F. J. Brown, Esq. M. P. 2 copies W. Buttall, Esq. Mr. Buxton Mr. R. L. B. Mr. Thomas Burton, 6 copies Mr. W. Button

 C

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 D

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 E

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 F

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 G

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 H

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 J

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 K

 The Right Hon. Lord Kinnaird William Kendall, Esq. Mr. William Ketland Mr. Edward King Mr. Thomas Kingston Reverend Dr. Kippis Mr. William Kitchener Mr. John Knight

 L

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 M

 His Grace the Duke of Marlborough His Grace the Duke of Montague The Right Hon. Lord Mulgrave Sir Herbert Mackworth, Bart. Sir Charles Middleton, Bart. Lady Middleton Mr. Thomas Macklane Mr. George Markett James Martin, Esq. M. P. Master Martin, Hayes-Grove, Kent Mr. William Massey Mr. Joseph Massingham John McIntosh, Esq. Paul Le Mesurier, Esq. M. P. Mr. James Mewburn Mr. N. Middleton, T. Mitchell, Esq. Mrs. Montague, 2 copies Miss Hannah More Mr. George Morrison Thomas Morris, Esq. Miss Morris Morris Morgann, Esq. 

 N

 His Grace the Duke of Northumberland Captain Nurse

 O

 Edward Ogle, Esq. James Ogle, Esq. Robert Oliver, Esq. 

 P

 Mr. D. Parker, Mr. W. Parker, Mr. Richard Packer, jun. Mr. Parsons, 6 copies Mr. James Pearse Mr. J. Pearson J. Penn, Esq. George Peters, Esq. Mr. W. Phillips, J. Philips, Esq. Mrs. Pickard Mr. Charles Pilgrim The Hon. George Pitt, M. P. Mr. Thomas Pooley Patrick Power, Esq. Mr. Michael Power Joseph Pratt, Esq. 

 Q

 Robert Quarme, Esq. 

 R

 The Right Hon. Lord Rawdon The Right Hon. Lord Rivers, 2 copies Lieutenant General Rainsford Reverend James Ramsay, 3 copies Mr. S. Remnant, jun. Mr. William Richards, 2 copies Mr. J. C. Robarts Mr. James Roberts Dr. Robinson Mr. Robinson Mr. C. Robinson George Rose, Esq. M. P. Mr. W. Ross Mr. William Rouse Mr. Walter Row

 S

 His Grace the Duke of St. Albans Her Grace the Duchess of St. Albans The Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of St. David's The Right Hon. Earl Stanhope, 3 copies The Right Hon. The Earl of Scarbrough William, the Son of Ignatius Sancho Mrs. Mary Ann Sandiford Mr. William Sawyer Mr. Thomas Seddon W. Seward, Esq. Reverend Mr. Thomas Scott Granville Sharp, Esq. 2 copies Captain Sidney Smith, of the Royal Navy Colonel Simcoe Mr. John Simco General Smith John Smith, Esq. Mr. George Smith Mr. William Smith Reverend Mr. Southgate Mr. William Starkey Thomas Steel, Esq. M. P. Mr. Staples Steare Mr. Joseph Stewardson Mr. Henry Stone, jun. 2 copies John Symmons, Esq. 

 T

 Henry Thornton, Esq. M. P. Mr. Alexander Thomson, M. D. Reverend John Till Mr. Samuel Townly Mr. Daniel Trinder Reverend Mr. C. La Trobe Clement Tudway, Esq. Mrs. Twisden

 U

 Mr. M. Underwood

 V

 Mr. John Vaughan Mrs. Vendt

 W

 The Right Hon. Earl of Warnick The Right Reverend the Lord Bishop of Worcester The Hon. William Windham, Esq. M. P. Mr. C. B. Wadstrom Mr. George Walne Reverend Mr. Ward Mr. S. Warren Mr. J. Waugh Josiah Wedgwood, Esq. Reverend Mr. John Wesley Mr. J. Wheble Samuel Whitbread, Esq. M. P. Reverend Thomas Wigzell Mr. W. Wilson Reverend Mr. Wills Mr. Thomas Wimsett Mr. William Winchester John Wollaston, Esq. Mr. Charles Wood Mr. Joseph Woods Mr. John Wood J. Wright, Esq. 

 Y

 Mr. Thomas Young Mr. Samuel Yockney

CONTENTS

 CHAP. I. 

 The author's account of his country, their manners and customs, &c. 

 CHAP. II. 

 The author's birth and parentage--His being kidnapped with his sister--Horrors of a slave ship

 CHAP. III. 

 The author is carried to Virginia--Arrives in England--His wonder at a fall of snow

 CHAP. IV. 

 A particular account of the celebrated engagement between Admiral Boscawen and Monsieur Le Clue

 CHAP. V. 

 Various interesting instances of oppression, cruelty, and extortion

 CHAP. VI. 

 Favourable change in the author's situation--He commences merchant with threepence

 CHAP. VII. 

 The author's disgust at the West Indies--Forms schemes to obtain his freedom

 CHAP. VIII. 

 Three remarkable dreams--The author is shipwrecked on the Bahama-bank

 CHAP. IX. 

 The author arrives at Martinico--Meets with new difficulties, and sails for England

 CHAP. X. 

 Some account of the manner of the author's conversion to the faith of Jesus Christ

 CHAP. XI. 

 Picking up eleven miserable men at sea in returning to England

 CHAP. XII. 

 Different transactions of the author's life--Petition to the Queen--Conclusion

THE LIFE, &c. 

CHAPTER I. 

 _The author's account of his country, and their manners and customs--Administration of justice--Embrenche--Marriage ceremony, and public entertainments--Mode of living--Dress--Manufactures Buildings--Commerce--Agriculture--War and religion--Superstition of the natives--Funeral ceremonies of the priests or magicians--Curious mode of discovering poison--Some hints concerning the origin of the author's countrymen, with the opinions of different writers on that subject. _

I believe it is difficult for those who publish their own memoirs toescape the imputation of vanity; nor is this the only disadvantageunder which they labour: it is also their misfortune, that what isuncommon is rarely, if ever, believed, and what is obvious we are aptto turn from with disgust, and to charge the writer with impertinence. People generally think those memoirs only worthy to be read orremembered which abound in great or striking events, those, in short, which in a high degree excite either admiration or pity: all othersthey consign to contempt and oblivion. It is therefore, I confess, nota little hazardous in a private and obscure individual, and a strangertoo, thus to solicit the indulgent attention of the public; especiallywhen I own I offer here the history of neither a saint, a hero, nor atyrant. I believe there are few events in my life, which have nothappened to many: it is true the incidents of it are numerous; and, did I consider myself an European, I might say my sufferings weregreat: but when I compare my lot with that of most of my countrymen, Iregard myself as a _particular favourite of Heaven_, and acknowledgethe mercies of Providence in every occurrence of my life. If then thefollowing narrative does not appear sufficiently interesting to engagegeneral attention, let my motive be some excuse for its publication. Iam not so foolishly vain as to expect from it either immortality orliterary reputation. If it affords any satisfaction to my numerousfriends, at whose request it has been written, or in the smallestdegree promotes the interests of humanity, the ends for which it wasundertaken will be fully attained, and every wish of my heartgratified. Let it therefore be remembered, that, in wishing to avoidcensure, I do not aspire to praise. 

That part of Africa, known by the name of Guinea, to which the tradefor slaves is carried on, extends along the coast above 3400 miles, from the Senegal to Angola, and includes a variety of kingdoms. Ofthese the most considerable is the kingdom of Benen, both as to extentand wealth, the richness and cultivation of the soil, the power of itsking, and the number and warlike disposition of the inhabitants. It issituated nearly under the line, and extends along the coast about 170miles, but runs back into the interior part of Africa to a distancehitherto I believe unexplored by any traveller; and seems onlyterminated at length by the empire of Abyssinia, near 1500 miles fromits beginning. This kingdom is divided into many provinces ordistricts: in one of the most remote and fertile of which, calledEboe, I was born, in the year 1745, in a charming fruitful vale, namedEssaka. The distance of this province from the capital of Benin andthe sea coast must be very considerable; for I had never heard ofwhite men or Europeans, nor of the sea: and our subjection to the kingof Benin was little more than nominal; for every transaction of thegovernment, as far as my slender observation extended, was conductedby the chiefs or elders of the place. The manners and government of apeople who have little commerce with other countries are generallyvery simple; and the history of what passes in one family or villagemay serve as a specimen of a nation. My father was one of those eldersor chiefs I have spoken of, and was styled Embrenche; a term, as Iremember, importing the highest distinction, and signifying in ourlanguage a _mark_ of grandeur. This mark is conferred on the personentitled to it, by cutting the skin across at the top of the forehead, and drawing it down to the eye-brows; and while it is in thissituation applying a warm hand, and rubbing it until it shrinks upinto a thick _weal_ across the lower part of the forehead. Most of thejudges and senators were thus marked; my father had long born it: Ihad seen it conferred on one of my brothers, and I was also_destined_ to receive it by my parents. Those Embrence, or chief men, decided disputes and punished crimes; for which purpose they alwaysassembled together. The proceedings were generally short; and in mostcases the law of retaliation prevailed. I remember a man was broughtbefore my father, and the other judges, for kidnapping a boy; and, although he was the son of a chief or senator, he was condemned tomake recompense by a man or woman slave. Adultery, however, wassometimes punished with slavery or death; a punishment which I believeis inflicted on it throughout most of the nations of Africa[A]: sosacred among them is the honour of the marriage bed, and so jealousare they of the fidelity of their wives. Of this I recollect aninstance:--a woman was convicted before the judges of adultery, anddelivered over, as the custom was, to her husband to be punished. Accordingly he determined to put her to death: but it being found, just before her execution, that she had an infant at her breast; andno woman being prevailed on to perform the part of a nurse, she wasspared on account of the child. The men, however, do not preserve thesame constancy to their wives, which they expect from them; for theyindulge in a plurality, though seldom in more than two. Their mode ofmarriage is thus:--both parties are usually betrothed when young bytheir parents, (though I have known the males to betroth themselves). On this occasion a feast is prepared, and the bride and bridegroomstand up in the midst of all their friends, who are assembled for thepurpose, while he declares she is thenceforth to be looked upon as hiswife, and that no other person is to pay any addresses to her. This isalso immediately proclaimed in the vicinity, on which the brideretires from the assembly. Some time after she is brought home to herhusband, and then another feast is made, to which the relations ofboth parties are invited: her parents then deliver her to thebridegroom, accompanied with a number of blessings, and at the sametime they tie round her waist a cotton string of the thickness of agoose-quill, which none but married women are permitted to wear: sheis now considered as completely his wife; and at this time the dowryis given to the new married pair, which generally consists of portionsof land, slaves, and cattle, household goods, and implements ofhusbandry. These are offered by the friends of both parties; besideswhich the parents of the bridegroom present gifts to those of thebride, whose property she is looked upon before marriage; but after itshe is esteemed the sole property of her husband. The ceremony beingnow ended the festival begins, which is celebrated with bonefires, andloud acclamations of joy, accompanied with music and dancing. 

We are almost a nation of dancers, musicians, and poets. Thus everygreat event, such as a triumphant return from battle, or other causeof public rejoicing is celebrated in public dances, which areaccompanied with songs and music suited to the occasion. The assemblyis separated into four divisions, which dance either apart or insuccession, and each with a character peculiar to itself. The firstdivision contains the married men, who in their dances frequentlyexhibit feats of arms, and the representation of a battle. To thesesucceed the married women, who dance in the second division. The youngmen occupy the third; and the maidens the fourth. Each represents someinteresting scene of real life, such as a great achievement, domesticemployment, a pathetic story, or some rural sport; and as the subjectis generally founded on some recent event, it is therefore ever new. This gives our dances a spirit and variety which I have scarcely seenelsewhere[B]. We have many musical instruments, particularly drums ofdifferent kinds, a piece of music which resembles a guitar, andanother much like a stickado. These last are chiefly used by betrothedvirgins, who play on them on all grand festivals. 

As our manners are simple, our luxuries are few. The dress of bothsexes is nearly the same. It generally consists of a long piece ofcallico, or muslin, wrapped loosely round the body, somewhat in theform of a highland plaid. This is usually dyed blue, which is ourfavourite colour. It is extracted from a berry, and is brighter andricher than any I have seen in Europe. Besides this, our women ofdistinction wear golden ornaments; which they dispose with someprofusion on their arms and legs. When our women are not employed withthe men in tillage, their usual occupation is spinning and weavingcotton, which they afterwards dye, and make it into garments. Theyalso manufacture earthen vessels, of which we have many kinds. Amongthe rest tobacco pipes, made after the same fashion, and used in thesame manner, as those in Turkey[C]. 

Our manner of living is entirely plain; for as yet the natives areunacquainted with those refinements in cookery which debauch thetaste: bullocks, goats, and poultry, supply the greatest part of theirfood. These constitute likewise the principal wealth of the country, and the chief articles of its commerce. The flesh is usually stewed ina pan; to make it savoury we sometimes use also pepper, and otherspices, and we have salt made of wood ashes. Our vegetables are mostlyplantains, eadas, yams, beans, and Indian corn. The head of the familyusually eats alone; his wives and slaves have also their separatetables. Before we taste food we always wash our hands: indeed ourcleanliness on all occasions is extreme; but on this it is anindispensable ceremony. After washing, libation is made, by pouringout a small portion of the food, in a certain place, for the spiritsof departed relations, which the natives suppose to preside over theirconduct, and guard them from evil. They are totally unacquainted withstrong or spirituous liquours; and their principal beverage is palmwine. This is gotten from a tree of that name by tapping it at thetop, and fastening a large gourd to it; and sometimes one tree willyield three or four gallons in a night. When just drawn it is of amost delicious sweetness; but in a few days it acquires a tartish andmore spirituous flavour: though I never saw any one intoxicated by it. The same tree also produces nuts and oil. Our principal luxury is inperfumes; one sort of these is an odoriferous wood of deliciousfragrance: the other a kind of earth; a small portion of which throwninto the fire diffuses a most powerful odour[D]. We beat this woodinto powder, and mix it with palm oil; with which both men and womenperfume themselves. 

In our buildings we study convenience rather than ornament. Eachmaster of a family has a large square piece of ground, surrounded witha moat or fence, or enclosed with a wall made of red earth tempered;which, when dry, is as hard as brick. Within this are his houses toaccommodate his family and slaves; which, if numerous, frequentlypresent the appearance of a village. In the middle stands theprincipal building, appropriated to the sole use of the master, andconsisting of two apartments; in one of which he sits in the day withhis family, the other is left apart for the reception of his friends. He has besides these a distinct apartment in which he sleeps, togetherwith his male children. On each side are the apartments of his wives, who have also their separate day and night houses. The habitations ofthe slaves and their families are distributed throughout the rest ofthe enclosure. These houses never exceed one story in height: they arealways built of wood, or stakes driven into the ground, crossed withwattles, and neatly plastered within, and without. The roof isthatched with reeds. Our day-houses are left open at the sides; butthose in which we sleep are always covered, and plastered in theinside, with a composition mixed with cow-dung, to keep off thedifferent insects, which annoy us during the night. The walls andfloors also of these are generally covered with mats. Our beds consistof a platform, raised three or four feet from the ground, on which arelaid skins, and different parts of a spungy tree called plaintain. Ourcovering is calico or muslin, the same as our dress. The usual seatsare a few logs of wood; but we have benches, which are generallyperfumed, to accommodate strangers: these compose the greater part ofour household furniture. Houses so constructed and furnished requirebut little skill to erect them. Every man is a sufficient architectfor the purpose. The whole neighbourhood afford their unanimousassistance in building them and in return receive, and expect no otherrecompense than a feast. 

As we live in a country where nature is prodigal of her favours, ourwants are few and easily supplied; of course we have few manufactures. They consist for the most part of calicoes, earthern ware, ornaments, and instruments of war and husbandry. But these make no part of ourcommerce, the principal articles of which, as I have observed, areprovisions. In such a state money is of little use; however we havesome small pieces of coin, if I may call them such. They are madesomething like an anchor; but I do not remember either their value ordenomination. We have also markets, at which I have been frequentlywith my mother. These are sometimes visited by stout mahogany-colouredmen from the south west of us: we call them Oye-Eboe, which termsignifies red men living at a distance. They generally bring usfire-arms, gunpowder, hats, beads, and dried fish. The last weesteemed a great rarity, as our waters were only brooks and springs. These articles they barter with us for odoriferous woods and earth, and our salt of wood ashes. They always carry slaves through our land;but the strictest account is exacted of their manner of procuring thembefore they are suffered to pass. Sometimes indeed we sold slaves tothem, but they were only prisoners of war, or such among us as hadbeen convicted of kidnapping, or adultery, and some other crimes, which we esteemed heinous. This practice of kidnapping induces me tothink, that, notwithstanding all our strictness, their principalbusiness among us was to trepan our people. I remember too theycarried great sacks along with them, which not long after I had anopportunity of fatally seeing applied to that infamous purpose. 

Our land is uncommonly rich and fruitful, and produces all kinds ofvegetables in great abundance. We have plenty of Indian corn, and vastquantities of cotton and tobacco. Our pine apples grow withoutculture; they are about the size of the largest sugar-loaf, and finelyflavoured. We have also spices of different kinds, particularlypepper; and a variety of delicious fruits which I have never seen inEurope; together with gums of various kinds, and honey in abundance. All our industry is exerted to improve those blessings of nature. Agriculture is our chief employment; and every one, even the childrenand women, are engaged in it. Thus we are all habituated to labourfrom our earliest years. Every one contributes something to the commonstock; and as we are unacquainted with idleness, we have no beggars. The benefits of such a mode of living are obvious. The West Indiaplanters prefer the slaves of Benin or Eboe to those of any other partof Guinea, for their hardiness, intelligence, integrity, and zeal. Those benefits are felt by us in the general healthiness of thepeople, and in their vigour and activity; I might have added too intheir comeliness. Deformity is indeed unknown amongst us, I mean thatof shape. Numbers of the natives of Eboe now in London might bebrought in support of this assertion: for, in regard to complexion, ideas of beauty are wholly relative. I remember while in Africa tohave seen three negro children, who were tawny, and another quitewhite, who were universally regarded by myself, and the natives ingeneral, as far as related to their complexions, as deformed. Ourwomen too were in my eyes at least uncommonly graceful, alert, andmodest to a degree of bashfulness; nor do I remember to have everheard of an instance of incontinence amongst them before marriage. They are also remarkably cheerful. Indeed cheerfulness and affabilityare two of the leading characteristics of our nation. 

Our tillage is exercised in a large plain or common, some hours walkfrom our dwellings, and all the neighbours resort thither in a body. They use no beasts of husbandry; and their only instruments are hoes, axes, shovels, and beaks, or pointed iron to dig with. Sometimes weare visited by locusts, which come in large clouds, so as to darkenthe air, and destroy our harvest. This however happens rarely, butwhen it does, a famine is produced by it. I remember an instance ortwo wherein this happened. This common is often the theatre of war;and therefore when our people go out to till their land, they not onlygo in a body, but generally take their arms with them for fear of asurprise; and when they apprehend an invasion they guard the avenuesto their dwellings, by driving sticks into the ground, which are sosharp at one end as to pierce the foot, and are generally dipt inpoison. From what I can recollect of these battles, they appear tohave been irruptions of one little state or district on the other, toobtain prisoners or booty. Perhaps they were incited to this by thosetraders who brought the European goods I mentioned amongst us. Such amode of obtaining slaves in Africa is common; and I believe more areprocured this way, and by kidnapping, than any other[E]. When a traderwants slaves, he applies to a chief for them, and tempts him with hiswares. It is not extraordinary, if on this occasion he yields to thetemptation with as little firmness, and accepts the price of hisfellow creatures liberty with as little reluctance as the enlightenedmerchant. Accordingly he falls on his neighbours, and a desperatebattle ensues. If he prevails and takes prisoners, he gratifies hisavarice by selling them; but, if his party be vanquished, and he fallsinto the hands of the enemy, he is put to death: for, as he has beenknown to foment their quarrels, it is thought dangerous to let himsurvive, and no ransom can save him, though all other prisoners may beredeemed. We have fire-arms, bows and arrows, broad two-edged swordsand javelins: we have shields also which cover a man from head tofoot. All are taught the use of these weapons; even our women arewarriors, and march boldly out to fight along with the men. Our wholedistrict is a kind of militia: on a certain signal given, such as thefiring of a gun at night, they all rise in arms and rush upon theirenemy. It is perhaps something remarkable, that when our people marchto the field a red flag or banner is borne before them. I was once awitness to a battle in our common. We had been all at work in it oneday as usual, when our people were suddenly attacked. I climbed a treeat some distance, from which I beheld the fight. There were many womenas well as men on both sides; among others my mother was there, andarmed with a broad sword. After fighting for a considerable time withgreat fury, and after many had been killed our people obtained thevictory, and took their enemy's Chief prisoner. He was carried off ingreat triumph, and, though he offered a large ransom for his life, hewas put to death. A virgin of note among our enemies had been slain inthe battle, and her arm was exposed in our market-place, where ourtrophies were always exhibited. The spoils were divided according tothe merit of the warriors. Those prisoners which were not sold orredeemed we kept as slaves: but how different was their condition fromthat of the slaves in the West Indies! With us they do no more workthan other members of the community, even their masters; their food, clothing and lodging were nearly the same as theirs, (except that theywere not permitted to eat with those who were free-born); and therewas scarce any other difference between them, than a superior degreeof importance which the head of a family possesses in our state, andthat authority which, as such, he exercises over every part of hishousehold. Some of these slaves have even slaves under them as theirown property, and for their own use. 

As to religion, the natives believe that there is one Creator of allthings, and that he lives in the sun, and is girted round with a beltthat he may never eat or drink; but, according to some, he smokes apipe, which is our own favourite luxury. They believe he governsevents, especially our deaths or captivity; but, as for the doctrineof eternity, I do not remember to have ever heard of it: some howeverbelieve in the transmigration of souls in a certain degree. Thosespirits, which are not transmigrated, such as our dear friends orrelations, they believe always attend them, and guard them from thebad spirits or their foes. For this reason they always before eating, as I have observed, put some small portion of the meat, and pour someof their drink, on the ground for them; and they often make oblationsof the blood of beasts or fowls at their graves. I was very fond of mymother, and almost constantly with her. When she went to make theseoblations at her mother's tomb, which was a kind of small solitarythatched house, I sometimes attended her. There she made herlibations, and spent most of the night in cries and lamentations. Ihave been often extremely terrified on these occasions. The lonelinessof the place, the darkness of the night, and the ceremony of libation, naturally awful and gloomy, were heightened by my mother'slamentations; and these, concuring with the cries of doleful birds, bywhich these places were frequented, gave an inexpressible terror tothe scene. 

We compute the year from the day on which the sun crosses the line, and on its setting that evening there is a general shout throughoutthe land; at least I can speak from my own knowledge throughout ourvicinity. The people at the same time make a great noise with rattles, not unlike the basket rattles used by children here, though muchlarger, and hold up their hands to heaven for a blessing. It is thenthe greatest offerings are made; and those children whom our wise menforetel will be fortunate are then presented to different people. Iremember many used to come to see me, and I was carried about toothers for that purpose. They have many offerings, particularly atfull moons; generally two at harvest before the fruits are taken outof the ground: and when any young animals are killed, sometimes theyoffer up part of them as a sacrifice. These offerings, when made byone of the heads of a family, serve for the whole. I remember we oftenhad them at my father's and my uncle's, and their families have beenpresent. Some of our offerings are eaten with bitter herbs. We had asaying among us to any one of a cross temper, 'That if they were to beeaten, they should be eaten with bitter herbs. '

We practised circumcision like the Jews, and made offerings and feastson that occasion in the same manner as they did. Like them also, ourchildren were named from some event, some circumstance, or fanciedforeboding at the time of their birth. I was named _Olaudah_, which, in our language, signifies vicissitude or fortune also, one favoured, and having a loud voice and well spoken. I remember we never pollutedthe name of the object of our adoration; on the contrary, it wasalways mentioned with the greatest reverence; and we were totallyunacquainted with swearing, and all those terms of abuse and reproachwhich find their way so readily and copiously into the languages ofmore civilized people. The only expressions of that kind I rememberwere 'May you rot, or may you swell, or may a beast take you. '

I have before remarked that the natives of this part of Africa areextremely cleanly. This necessary habit of decency was with us a partof religion, and therefore we had many purifications and washings;indeed almost as many, and used on the same occasions, if myrecollection does not fail me, as the Jews. Those that touched thedead at any time were obliged to wash and purify themselves beforethey could enter a dwelling-house. Every woman too, at certain times, was forbidden to come into a dwelling-house, or touch any person, orany thing we ate. I was so fond of my mother I could not keep fromher, or avoid touching her at some of those periods, in consequence ofwhich I was obliged to be kept out with her, in a little house madefor that purpose, till offering was made, and then we were purified. 

Though we had no places of public worship, we had priests andmagicians, or wise men. I do not remember whether they had differentoffices, or whether they were united in the same persons, but theywere held in great reverence by the people. They calculated our time, and foretold events, as their name imported, for we called themAh-affoe-way-cah, which signifies calculators or yearly men, our yearbeing called Ah-affoe. They wore their beards, and when they died theywere succeeded by their sons. Most of their implements and things ofvalue were interred along with them. Pipes and tobacco were also putinto the grave with the corpse, which was always perfumed andornamented, and animals were offered in sacrifice to them. Noneaccompanied their funerals but those of the same profession or tribe. These buried them after sunset, and always returned from the grave bya different way from that which they went. 

These magicians were also our doctors or physicians. They practisedbleeding by cupping; and were very successful in healing wounds andexpelling poisons. They had likewise some extraordinary method ofdiscovering jealousy, theft, and poisoning; the success of which nodoubt they derived from their unbounded influence over the credulityand superstition of the people. I do not remember what those methodswere, except that as to poisoning: I recollect an instance or two, which I hope it will not be deemed impertinent here to insert, as itmay serve as a kind of specimen of the rest, and is still used by thenegroes in the West Indies. A virgin had been poisoned, but it was notknown by whom: the doctors ordered the corpse to be taken up by somepersons, and carried to the grave. As soon as the bearers had raisedit on their shoulders, they seemed seized with some[F] suddenimpulse, and ran to and fro unable to stop themselves. At last, afterhaving passed through a number of thorns and prickly bushes unhurt, the corpse fell from them close to a house, and defaced it in thefall; and, the owner being taken up, he immediately confessed thepoisoning[G]. 

The natives are extremely cautious about poison. When they buy anyeatable the seller kisses it all round before the buyer, to shew himit is not poisoned; and the same is done when any meat or drink ispresented, particularly to a stranger. We have serpents of differentkinds, some of which are esteemed ominous when they appear in ourhouses, and these we never molest. I remember two of those ominoussnakes, each of which was as thick as the calf of a man's leg, and incolour resembling a dolphin in the water, crept at different timesinto my mother's night-house, where I always lay with her, and coiledthemselves into folds, and each time they crowed like a cock. I wasdesired by some of our wise men to touch these, that I might beinterested in the good omens, which I did, for they were quiteharmless, and would tamely suffer themselves to be handled; and thenthey were put into a large open earthen pan, and set on one side ofthe highway. Some of our snakes, however, were poisonous: one of themcrossed the road one day when I was standing on it, and passed betweenmy feet without offering to touch me, to the great surprise of manywho saw it; and these incidents were accounted by the wise men, andtherefore by my mother and the rest of the people, as remarkable omensin my favour. 

Such is the imperfect sketch my memory has furnished me with of themanners and customs of a people among whom I first drew my breath. Andhere I cannot forbear suggesting what has long struck me veryforcibly, namely, the strong analogy which even by this sketch, imperfect as it is, appears to prevail in the manners and customs ofmy countrymen and those of the Jews, before they reached the Land ofPromise, and particularly the patriarchs while they were yet in thatpastoral state which is described in Genesis--an analogy, which alonewould induce me to think that the one people had sprung from theother. Indeed this is the opinion of Dr. Gill, who, in his commentaryon Genesis, very ably deduces the pedigree of the Africans from Aferand Afra, the descendants of Abraham by Keturah his wife and concubine(for both these titles are applied to her). It is also conformable tothe sentiments of Dr. John Clarke, formerly Dean of Sarum, in hisTruth of the Christian Religion: both these authors concur inascribing to us this original. The reasonings of these gentlemen arestill further confirmed by the scripture chronology; and if anyfurther corroboration were required, this resemblance in so manyrespects is a strong evidence in support of the opinion. Like theIsraelites in their primitive state, our government was conducted byour chiefs or judges, our wise men and elders; and the head of afamily with us enjoyed a similar authority over his household withthat which is ascribed to Abraham and the other patriarchs. The law ofretaliation obtained almost universally with us as with them: and eventheir religion appeared to have shed upon us a ray of its glory, though broken and spent in its passage, or eclipsed by the cloud withwhich time, tradition, and ignorance might have enveloped it; for wehad our circumcision (a rule I believe peculiar to that people:) wehad also our sacrifices and burnt-offerings, our washings andpurifications, on the same occasions as they had. 

As to the difference of colour between the Eboan Africans and themodern Jews, I shall not presume to account for it. It is a subjectwhich has engaged the pens of men of both genius and learning, and isfar above my strength. The most able and Reverend Mr. T. Clarkson, however, in his much admired Essay on the Slavery and Commerce of theHuman Species, has ascertained the cause, in a manner that at oncesolves every objection on that account, and, on my mind at least, hasproduced the fullest conviction. I shall therefore refer to thatperformance for the theory[H], contenting myself with extracting afact as related by Dr. Mitchel[I]. "The Spaniards, who have inhabitedAmerica, under the torrid zone, for any time, are become as darkcoloured as our native Indians of Virginia; of which _I myself havebeen a witness_. " There is also another instance[J] of a Portuguesesettlement at Mitomba, a river in Sierra Leona; where the inhabitantsare bred from a mixture of the first Portuguese discoverers with thenatives, and are now become in their complexion, and in the woollyquality of their hair, _perfect negroes_, retaining however asmattering of the Portuguese language. 

These instances, and a great many more which might be adduced, whilethey shew how the complexions of the same persons vary in differentclimates, it is hoped may tend also to remove the prejudice that someconceive against the natives of Africa on account of their colour. Surely the minds of the Spaniards did not change with theircomplexions! Are there not causes enough to which the apparentinferiority of an African may be ascribed, without limiting thegoodness of God, and supposing he forbore to stamp understanding oncertainly his own image, because "carved in ebony. " Might it notnaturally be ascribed to their situation? When they come amongEuropeans, they are ignorant of their language, religion, manners, andcustoms. Are any pains taken to teach them these? Are they treated asmen? Does not slavery itself depress the mind, and extinguish all itsfire and every noble sentiment? But, above all, what advantages do nota refined people possess over those who are rude and uncultivated. Letthe polished and haughty European recollect that his ancestors wereonce, like the Africans, uncivilized, and even barbarous. Did Naturemake _them_ inferior to their sons? and should _they too_ have beenmade slaves? Every rational mind answers, No. Let such reflections asthese melt the pride of their superiority into sympathy for the wantsand miseries of their sable brethren, and compel them to acknowledge, that understanding is not confined to feature or colour. If, when theylook round the world, they feel exultation, let it be tempered withbenevolence to others, and gratitude to God, "who hath made of oneblood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth[K];and whose wisdom is not our wisdom, neither are our ways his ways. "

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote A: See Benezet's "Account of Guinea" throughout. ]

[Footnote B: When I was in Smyrna I have frequently seen the Greeksdance after this manner. ]

[Footnote C: The bowl is earthen, curiously figured, to which a longreed is fixed as a tube. This tube is sometimes so long as to be bornby one, and frequently out of grandeur by two boys. ]

[Footnote D: When I was in Smyrna I saw the same kind of earth, andbrought some of it with me to England; it resembles musk in strength, but is more delicious in scent, and is not unlike the smell of arose. ]

[Footnote E: See Benezet's Account of Africa throughout. ]

[Footnote F: See also Leut. Matthew's Voyage, p. 123. ]

[Footnote G: An instance of this kind happened at Montserrat in theWest Indies in the year 1763. I then belonged to the Charming Sally, Capt. Doran. --The chief mate, Mr. Mansfield, and some of the crewbeing one day on shore, were present at the burying of a poisonednegro girl. Though they had often heard of the circumstance of therunning in such cases, and had even seen it, they imagined it to be atrick of the corpse-bearers. The mate therefore desired two of thesailors to take up the coffin, and carry it to the grave. The sailors, who were all of the same opinion, readily obeyed; but they hadscarcely raised it to their shoulders, before they began to runfuriously about, quite unable to direct themselves, till, at last, without intention, they came to the hut of him who had poisoned thegirl. The coffin then immediately fell from their shoulders againstthe hut, and damaged part of the wall. The owner of the hut was takeninto custody on this, and confessed the poisoning. --I give this storyas it was related by the mate and crew on their return to the ship. The credit which is due to it I leave with the reader. ]

[Footnote H: Page 178 to 216. ]

[Footnote I: Philos. Trans. Nº 476, Sect. 4, cited by Mr. Clarkson, p. 205. ]

[Footnote J: Same page. ]

[Footnote K: Acts, c. Xvii. V. 26. ]

CHAP. II. 

 _The author's birth and parentage--His being kidnapped with his sister--Their separation--Surprise at meeting again--Are finally separated--Account of the different places and incidents the author met with till his arrival on the coast--The effect the sight of a slave ship had on him--He sails for the West Indies--Horrors of a slave ship--Arrives at Barbadoes, where the cargo is sold and dispersed. _

I hope the reader will not think I have trespassed on hispatience in introducing myself to him with some account of the mannersand customs of my country. They had been implanted in me with greatcare, and made an impression on my mind, which time could not erase, and which all the adversity and variety of fortune I have sinceexperienced served only to rivet and record; for, whether the love ofone's country be real or imaginary, or a lesson of reason, or aninstinct of nature, I still look back with pleasure on the firstscenes of my life, though that pleasure has been for the most partmingled with sorrow. 

I have already acquainted the reader with the time and place of mybirth. My father, besides many slaves, had a numerous family, of whichseven lived to grow up, including myself and a sister, who was theonly daughter. As I was the youngest of the sons, I became, of course, the greatest favourite with my mother, and was always with her; andshe used to take particular pains to form my mind. I was trained upfrom my earliest years in the art of war; my daily exercise wasshooting and throwing javelins; and my mother adorned me with emblems, after the manner of our greatest warriors. In this way I grew up tillI was turned the age of eleven, when an end was put to my happiness inthe following manner:--Generally when the grown people in theneighbourhood were gone far in the fields to labour, the childrenassembled together in some of the neighbours' premises to play; andcommonly some of us used to get up a tree to look out for anyassailant, or kidnapper, that might come upon us; for they sometimestook those opportunities of our parents' absence to attack and carryoff as many as they could seize. One day, as I was watching at the topof a tree in our yard, I saw one of those people come into the yard ofour next neighbour but one, to kidnap, there being many stout youngpeople in it. Immediately on this I gave the alarm of the rogue, andhe was surrounded by the stoutest of them, who entangled him withcords, so that he could not escape till some of the grown people cameand secured him. But alas! ere long it was my fate to be thusattacked, and to be carried off, when none of the grown people werenigh. One day, when all our people were gone out to their works asusual, and only I and my dear sister were left to mind the house, twomen and a woman got over our walls, and in a moment seized us both, and, without giving us time to cry out, or make resistance, theystopped our mouths, and ran off with us into the nearest wood. Herethey tied our hands, and continued to carry us as far as they could, till night came on, when we reached a small house, where the robbershalted for refreshment, and spent the night. We were then unbound, butwere unable to take any food; and, being quite overpowered by fatigueand grief, our only relief was some sleep, which allayed ourmisfortune for a short time. The next morning we left the house, andcontinued travelling all the day. For a long time we had kept thewoods, but at last we came into a road which I believed I knew. I hadnow some hopes of being delivered; for we had advanced but a littleway before I discovered some people at a distance, on which I began tocry out for their assistance: but my cries had no other effect than tomake them tie me faster and stop my mouth, and then they put me into alarge sack. They also stopped my sister's mouth, and tied her hands;and in this manner we proceeded till we were out of the sight of thesepeople. When we went to rest the following night they offered us somevictuals; but we refused it; and the only comfort we had was in beingin one another's arms all that night, and bathing each other with ourtears. But alas! we were soon deprived of even the small comfort ofweeping together. The next day proved a day of greater sorrow than Ihad yet experienced; for my sister and I were then separated, while welay clasped in each other's arms. It was in vain that we besought themnot to part us; she was torn from me, and immediately carried away, while I was left in a state of distraction not to be described. Icried and grieved continually; and for several days I did not eat anything but what they forced into my mouth. At length, after many daystravelling, during which I had often changed masters, I got into thehands of a chieftain, in a very pleasant country. This man had twowives and some children, and they all used me extremely well, and didall they could to comfort me; particularly the first wife, who wassomething like my mother. Although I was a great many days journeyfrom my father's house, yet these people spoke exactly the samelanguage with us. This first master of mine, as I may call him, was asmith, and my principal employment was working his bellows, which werethe same kind as I had seen in my vicinity. They were in some respectsnot unlike the stoves here in gentlemen's kitchens; and were coveredover with leather; and in the middle of that leather a stick wasfixed, and a person stood up, and worked it, in the same manner as isdone to pump water out of a cask with a hand pump. I believe it wasgold he worked, for it was of a lovely bright yellow colour, and wasworn by the women on their wrists and ancles. I was there I supposeabout a month, and they at last used to trust me some little distancefrom the house. This liberty I used in embracing every opportunity toinquire the way to my own home: and I also sometimes, for the samepurpose, went with the maidens, in the cool of the evenings, to bringpitchers of water from the springs for the use of the house. I hadalso remarked where the sun rose in the morning, and set in theevening, as I had travelled along; and I had observed that my father'shouse was towards the rising of the sun. I therefore determined toseize the first opportunity of making my escape, and to shape mycourse for that quarter; for I was quite oppressed and weighed down bygrief after my mother and friends; and my love of liberty, ever great, was strengthened by the mortifying circumstance of not daring to eatwith the free-born children, although I was mostly their companion. While I was projecting my escape, one day an unlucky event happened, which quite disconcerted my plan, and put an end to my hopes. I usedto be sometimes employed in assisting an elderly woman slave to cookand take care of the poultry; and one morning, while I was feedingsome chickens, I happened to toss a small pebble at one of them, which hit it on the middle and directly killed it. The old slave, having soon after missed the chicken, inquired after it; and on myrelating the accident (for I told her the truth, because my motherwould never suffer me to tell a lie) she flew into a violent passion, threatened that I should suffer for it; and, my master being out, sheimmediately went and told her mistress what I had done. This alarmedme very much, and I expected an instant flogging, which to me wasuncommonly dreadful; for I had seldom been beaten at home. I thereforeresolved to fly; and accordingly I ran into a thicket that was hardby, and hid myself in the bushes. Soon afterwards my mistress and theslave returned, and, not seeing me, they searched all the house, butnot finding me, and I not making answer when they called to me, theythought I had run away, and the whole neighbourhood was raised in thepursuit of me. In that part of the country (as in ours) the houses andvillages were skirted with woods, or shrubberies, and the bushes wereso thick that a man could readily conceal himself in them, so as toelude the strictest search. The neighbours continued the whole daylooking for me, and several times many of them came within a few yardsof the place where I lay hid. I then gave myself up for lost entirely, and expected every moment, when I heard a rustling among the trees, tobe found out, and punished by my master: but they never discovered me, though they were often so near that I even heard their conjectures asthey were looking about for me; and I now learned from them, that anyattempt to return home would be hopeless. Most of them supposed I hadfled towards home; but the distance was so great, and the way sointricate, that they thought I could never reach it, and that I shouldbe lost in the woods. When I heard this I was seized with a violentpanic, and abandoned myself to despair. Night too began to approach, and aggravated all my fears. I had before entertained hopes of gettinghome, and I had determined when it should be dark to make the attempt;but I was now convinced it was fruitless, and I began to considerthat, if possibly I could escape all other animals, I could not thoseof the human kind; and that, not knowing the way, I must perish in thewoods. Thus was I like the hunted deer:

 --"Ev'ry leaf and ev'ry whisp'ring breath Convey'd a foe, and ev'ry foe a death. "

I heard frequent rustlings among the leaves; and being pretty surethey were snakes I expected every instant to be stung by them. Thisincreased my anguish, and the horror of my situation became now quiteinsupportable. I at length quitted the thicket, very faint and hungry, for I had not eaten or drank any thing all the day; and crept to mymaster's kitchen, from whence I set out at first, and which was anopen shed, and laid myself down in the ashes with an anxious wish fordeath to relieve me from all my pains. I was scarcely awake in themorning when the old woman slave, who was the first up, came to lightthe fire, and saw me in the fire place. She was very much surprised tosee me, and could scarcely believe her own eyes. She now promised tointercede for me, and went for her master, who soon after came, and, having slightly reprimanded me, ordered me to be taken care of, andnot to be ill-treated. 

Soon after this my master's only daughter, and child by his firstwife, sickened and died, which affected him so much that for some timehe was almost frantic, and really would have killed himself, had henot been watched and prevented. However, in a small time afterwards herecovered, and I was again sold. I was now carried to the left of thesun's rising, through many different countries, and a number of largewoods. The people I was sold to used to carry me very often, when Iwas tired, either on their shoulders or on their backs. I saw manyconvenient well-built sheds along the roads, at proper distances, toaccommodate the merchants and travellers, who lay in those buildingsalong with their wives, who often accompany them; and they always gowell armed. 

From the time I left my own nation I always found somebody thatunderstood me till I came to the sea coast. The languages of differentnations did not totally differ, nor were they so copious as those ofthe Europeans, particularly the English. They were therefore easilylearned; and, while I was journeying thus through Africa, I acquiredtwo or three different tongues. In this manner I had been travellingfor a considerable time, when one evening, to my great surprise, whomshould I see brought to the house where I was but my dear sister! Assoon as she saw me she gave a loud shriek, and ran into my arms--I wasquite overpowered: neither of us could speak; but, for a considerabletime, clung to each other in mutual embraces, unable to do any thingbut weep. Our meeting affected all who saw us; and indeed I mustacknowledge, in honour of those sable destroyers of human rights, thatI never met with any ill treatment, or saw any offered to theirslaves, except tying them, when necessary, to keep them from runningaway. When these people knew we were brother and sister they indulgedus together; and the man, to whom I supposed we belonged, lay with us, he in the middle, while she and I held one another by the hands acrosshis breast all night; and thus for a while we forgot our misfortunesin the joy of being together: but even this small comfort was soon tohave an end; for scarcely had the fatal morning appeared, when she wasagain torn from me for ever! I was now more miserable, if possible, than before. The small relief which her presence gave me from pain wasgone, and the wretchedness of my situation was redoubled by my anxietyafter her fate, and my apprehensions lest her sufferings should begreater than mine, when I could not be with her to alleviate them. Yes, thou dear partner of all my childish sports! thou sharer of myjoys and sorrows! happy should I have ever esteemed myself toencounter every misery for you, and to procure your freedom by thesacrifice of my own. Though you were early forced from my arms, yourimage has been always rivetted in my heart, from which neither _timenor fortune_ have been able to remove it; so that, while the thoughtsof your sufferings have damped my prosperity, they have mingled withadversity and increased its bitterness. To that Heaven which protectsthe weak from the strong, I commit the care of your innocence andvirtues, if they have not already received their full reward, and ifyour youth and delicacy have not long since fallen victims to theviolence of the African trader, the pestilential stench of a Guineaship, the seasoning in the European colonies, or the lash and lust ofa brutal and unrelenting overseer. 

I did not long remain after my sister. I was again sold, and carriedthrough a number of places, till, after travelling a considerabletime, I came to a town called Tinmah, in the most beautiful country Ihave yet seen in Africa. It was extremely rich, and there were manyrivulets which flowed through it, and supplied a large pond in thecentre of the town, where the people washed. Here I first saw andtasted cocoa-nuts, which I thought superior to any nuts I had evertasted before; and the trees, which were loaded, were alsointerspersed amongst the houses, which had commodious shadesadjoining, and were in the same manner as ours, the insides beingneatly plastered and whitewashed. Here I also saw and tasted for thefirst time sugar-cane. Their money consisted of little white shells, the size of the finger nail. I was sold here for one hundred andseventy-two of them by a merchant who lived and brought me there. Ihad been about two or three days at his house, when a wealthy widow, aneighbour of his, came there one evening, and brought with her an onlyson, a young gentleman about my own age and size. Here they saw me;and, having taken a fancy to me, I was bought of the merchant, andwent home with them. Her house and premises were situated close to oneof those rivulets I have mentioned, and were the finest I ever saw inAfrica: they were very extensive, and she had a number of slaves toattend her. The next day I was washed and perfumed, and when meal-timecame I was led into the presence of my mistress, and ate and drankbefore her with her son. This filled me with astonishment; and I couldscarce help expressing my surprise that the young gentleman shouldsuffer me, who was bound, to eat with him who was free; and not onlyso, but that he would not at any time either eat or drink till I hadtaken first, because I was the eldest, which was agreeable to ourcustom. Indeed every thing here, and all their treatment of me, mademe forget that I was a slave. The language of these people resembledours so nearly, that we understood each other perfectly. They had alsothe very same customs as we. There were likewise slaves daily toattend us, while my young master and I with other boys sported withour darts and bows and arrows, as I had been used to do at home. Inthis resemblance to my former happy state I passed about two months;and I now began to think I was to be adopted into the family, and wasbeginning to be reconciled to my situation, and to forget by degreesmy misfortunes, when all at once the delusion vanished; for, withoutthe least previous knowledge, one morning early, while my dear masterand companion was still asleep, I was wakened out of my reverie tofresh sorrow, and hurried away even amongst the uncircumcised. 

Thus, at the very moment I dreamed of the greatest happiness, I foundmyself most miserable; and it seemed as if fortune wished to give methis taste of joy, only to render the reverse more poignant. Thechange I now experienced was as painful as it was sudden andunexpected. It was a change indeed from a state of bliss to a scenewhich is inexpressible by me, as it discovered to me an element I hadnever before beheld, and till then had no idea of, and wherein suchinstances of hardship and cruelty continually occurred as I can neverreflect on but with horror. 

All the nations and people I had hitherto passed through resembled ourown in their manners, customs, and language: but I came at length to acountry, the inhabitants of which differed from us in all thoseparticulars. I was very much struck with this difference, especiallywhen I came among a people who did not circumcise, and ate withoutwashing their hands. They cooked also in iron pots, and had Europeancutlasses and cross bows, which were unknown to us, and fought withtheir fists amongst themselves. Their women were not so modest asours, for they ate, and drank, and slept, with their men. But, aboveall, I was amazed to see no sacrifices or offerings among them. Insome of those places the people ornamented themselves with scars, andlikewise filed their teeth very sharp. They wanted sometimes toornament me in the same manner, but I would not suffer them; hopingthat I might some time be among a people who did not thus disfigurethemselves, as I thought they did. At last I came to the banks of alarge river, which was covered with canoes, in which the peopleappeared to live with their household utensils and provisions of allkinds. I was beyond measure astonished at this, as I had never beforeseen any water larger than a pond or a rivulet: and my surprise wasmingled with no small fear when I was put into one of these canoes, and we began to paddle and move along the river. We continued going onthus till night; and when we came to land, and made fires on thebanks, each family by themselves, some dragged their canoes on shore, others stayed and cooked in theirs, and laid in them all night. Thoseon the land had mats, of which they made tents, some in the shape oflittle houses: in these we slept; and after the morning meal weembarked again and proceeded as before. I was often very muchastonished to see some of the women, as well as the men, jump into thewater, dive to the bottom, come up again, and swim about. Thus Icontinued to travel, sometimes by land, sometimes by water, throughdifferent countries and various nations, till, at the end of six orseven months after I had been kidnapped, I arrived at the sea coast. It would be tedious and uninteresting to relate all the incidentswhich befell me during this journey, and which I have not yetforgotten; of the various hands I passed through, and the manners andcustoms of all the different people among whom I lived: I shalltherefore only observe, that in all the places where I was the soilwas exceedingly rich; the pomkins, eadas, plantains, yams, &c. &c. Were in great abundance, and of incredible size. There were also vastquantities of different gums, though not used for any purpose; andevery where a great deal of tobacco. The cotton even grew quite wild;and there was plenty of redwood. I saw no mechanics whatever in allthe way, except such as I have mentioned. The chief employment in allthese countries was agriculture, and both the males and females, aswith us, were brought up to it, and trained in the arts of war. 

The first object which saluted my eyes when I arrived on the coast wasthe sea, and a slave ship, which was then riding at anchor, andwaiting for its cargo. These filled me with astonishment, which wassoon converted into terror when I was carried on board. I wasimmediately handled and tossed up to see if I were sound by some ofthe crew; and I was now persuaded that I had gotten into a world ofbad spirits, and that they were going to kill me. Their complexionstoo differing so much from ours, their long hair, and the languagethey spoke, (which was very different from any I had ever heard)united to confirm me in this belief. Indeed such were the horrors ofmy views and fears at the moment, that, if ten thousand worlds hadbeen my own, I would have freely parted with them all to haveexchanged my condition with that of the meanest slave in my owncountry. When I looked round the ship too and saw a large furnace orcopper boiling, and a multitude of black people of every descriptionchained together, every one of their countenances expressing dejectionand sorrow, I no longer doubted of my fate; and, quite overpoweredwith horror and anguish, I fell motionless on the deck and fainted. When I recovered a little I found some black people about me, who Ibelieved were some of those who brought me on board, and had beenreceiving their pay; they talked to me in order to cheer me, but allin vain. I asked them if we were not to be eaten by those white menwith horrible looks, red faces, and loose hair. They told me I wasnot; and one of the crew brought me a small portion of spirituousliquor in a wine glass; but, being afraid of him, I would not take itout of his hand. One of the blacks therefore took it from him and gaveit to me, and I took a little down my palate, which, instead ofreviving me, as they thought it would, threw me into the greatestconsternation at the strange feeling it produced, having never tastedany such liquor before. Soon after this the blacks who brought me onboard went off, and left me abandoned to despair. I now saw myselfdeprived of all chance of returning to my native country, or even theleast glimpse of hope of gaining the shore, which I now considered asfriendly; and I even wished for my former slavery in preference to mypresent situation, which was filled with horrors of every kind, stillheightened by my ignorance of what I was to undergo. I was not longsuffered to indulge my grief; I was soon put down under the decks, andthere I received such a salutation in my nostrils as I had neverexperienced in my life: so that, with the loathsomeness of the stench, and crying together, I became so sick and low that I was not able toeat, nor had I the least desire to taste any thing. I now wished forthe last friend, death, to relieve me; but soon, to my grief, two ofthe white men offered me eatables; and, on my refusing to eat, one ofthem held me fast by the hands, and laid me across I think thewindlass, and tied my feet, while the other flogged me severely. I hadnever experienced any thing of this kind before; and although, notbeing used to the water, I naturally feared that element the firsttime I saw it, yet nevertheless, could I have got over the nettings, I would have jumped over the side, but I could not; and, besides, thecrew used to watch us very closely who were not chained down to thedecks, lest we should leap into the water: and I have seen some ofthese poor African prisoners most severely cut for attempting to doso, and hourly whipped for not eating. This indeed was often the casewith myself. In a little time after, amongst the poor chained men, Ifound some of my own nation, which in a small degree gave ease to mymind. I inquired of these what was to be done with us; they gave me tounderstand we were to be carried to these white people's country towork for them. I then was a little revived, and thought, if it were noworse than working, my situation was not so desperate: but still Ifeared I should be put to death, the white people looked and acted, asI thought, in so savage a manner; for I had never seen among anypeople such instances of brutal cruelty; and this not only shewntowards us blacks, but also to some of the whites themselves. Onewhite man in particular I saw, when we were permitted to be on deck, flogged so unmercifully with a large rope near the foremast, that hedied in consequence of it; and they tossed him over the side as theywould have done a brute. This made me fear these people the more; andI expected nothing less than to be treated in the same manner. I couldnot help expressing my fears and apprehensions to some of mycountrymen: I asked them if these people had no country, but lived inthis hollow place (the ship): they told me they did not, but came froma distant one. 'Then, ' said I, 'how comes it in all our country wenever heard of them?' They told me because they lived so very far off. I then asked where were their women? had they any like themselves? Iwas told they had: 'and why, ' said I, 'do we not see them?' theyanswered, because they were left behind. I asked how the vessel couldgo? they told me they could not tell; but that there were cloths putupon the masts by the help of the ropes I saw, and then the vesselwent on; and the white men had some spell or magic they put in thewater when they liked in order to stop the vessel. I was exceedinglyamazed at this account, and really thought they were spirits. Itherefore wished much to be from amongst them, for I expected theywould sacrifice me: but my wishes were vain; for we were so quarteredthat it was impossible for any of us to make our escape. While westayed on the coast I was mostly on deck; and one day, to my greatastonishment, I saw one of these vessels coming in with the sails up. As soon as the whites saw it, they gave a great shout, at which wewere amazed; and the more so as the vessel appeared larger byapproaching nearer. At last she came to an anchor in my sight, andwhen the anchor was let go I and my countrymen who saw it were lost inastonishment to observe the vessel stop; and were not convinced it wasdone by magic. Soon after this the other ship got her boats out, andthey came on board of us, and the people of both ships seemed veryglad to see each other. Several of the strangers also shook hands withus black people, and made motions with their hands, signifying Isuppose we were to go to their country; but we did not understandthem. At last, when the ship we were in had got in all her cargo, theymade ready with many fearful noises, and we were all put under deck, so that we could not see how they managed the vessel. But thisdisappointment was the least of my sorrow. The stench of the holdwhile we were on the coast was so intolerably loathsome, that it wasdangerous to remain there for any time, and some of us had beenpermitted to stay on the deck for the fresh air; but now that thewhole ship's cargo were confined together, it became absolutelypestilential. The closeness of the place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each hadscarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us. This producedcopious perspirations, so that the air soon became unfit forrespiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on asickness among the slaves, of which many died, thus falling victims tothe improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers. Thiswretched situation was again aggravated by the galling of the chains, now become insupportable; and the filth of the necessary tubs, intowhich the children often fell, and were almost suffocated. The shrieksof the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a sceneof horror almost inconceivable. Happily perhaps for myself I was soonreduced so low here that it was thought necessary to keep me almostalways on deck; and from my extreme youth I was not put in fetters. Inthis situation I expected every hour to share the fate of mycompanions, some of whom were almost daily brought upon deck at thepoint of death, which I began to hope would soon put an end to mymiseries. Often did I think many of the inhabitants of the deep muchmore happy than myself. I envied them the freedom they enjoyed, and asoften wished I could change my condition for theirs. Everycircumstance I met with served only to render my state more painful, and heighten my apprehensions, and my opinion of the cruelty of thewhites. One day they had taken a number of fishes; and when they hadkilled and satisfied themselves with as many as they thought fit, toour astonishment who were on the deck, rather than give any of them tous to eat as we expected, they tossed the remaining fish into the seaagain, although we begged and prayed for some as well as we could, butin vain; and some of my countrymen, being pressed by hunger, took anopportunity, when they thought no one saw them, of trying to get alittle privately; but they were discovered, and the attempt procuredthem some very severe floggings. One day, when we had a smooth sea andmoderate wind, two of my wearied countrymen who were chained together(I was near them at the time), preferring death to such a life ofmisery, somehow made through the nettings and jumped into the sea:immediately another quite dejected fellow, who, on account of hisillness, was suffered to be out of irons, also followed their example;and I believe many more would very soon have done the same if they hadnot been prevented by the ship's crew, who were instantly alarmed. Those of us that were the most active were in a moment put down underthe deck, and there was such a noise and confusion amongst the peopleof the ship as I never heard before, to stop her, and get the boat outto go after the slaves. However two of the wretches were drowned, butthey got the other, and afterwards flogged him unmercifully for thusattempting to prefer death to slavery. In this manner we continued toundergo more hardships than I can now relate, hardships which areinseparable from this accursed trade. Many a time we were nearsuffocation from the want of fresh air, which we were often withoutfor whole days together. This, and the stench of the necessary tubs, carried off many. During our passage I first saw flying fishes, whichsurprised me very much: they used frequently to fly across the ship, and many of them fell on the deck. I also now first saw the use of thequadrant; I had often with astonishment seen the mariners makeobservations with it, and I could not think what it meant. They atlast took notice of my surprise; and one of them, willing to increaseit, as well as to gratify my curiosity, made me one day look throughit. The clouds appeared to me to be land, which disappeared as theypassed along. This heightened my wonder; and I was now more persuadedthan ever that I was in another world, and that every thing about mewas magic. At last we came in sight of the island of Barbadoes, atwhich the whites on board gave a great shout, and made many signs ofjoy to us. We did not know what to think of this; but as the vesseldrew nearer we plainly saw the harbour, and other ships of differentkinds and sizes; and we soon anchored amongst them off Bridge Town. Many merchants and planters now came on board, though it was in theevening. They put us in separate parcels, and examined us attentively. They also made us jump, and pointed to the land, signifying we were togo there. We thought by this we should be eaten by these ugly men, asthey appeared to us; and, when soon after we were all put down underthe deck again, there was much dread and trembling among us, andnothing but bitter cries to be heard all the night from theseapprehensions, insomuch that at last the white people got some oldslaves from the land to pacify us. They told us we were not to beeaten, but to work, and were soon to go on land, where we should seemany of our country people. This report eased us much; and sureenough, soon after we were landed, there came to us Africans of alllanguages. We were conducted immediately to the merchant's yard, wherewe were all pent up together like so many sheep in a fold, withoutregard to sex or age. As every object was new to me every thing I sawfilled me with surprise. What struck me first was that the houses werebuilt with stories, and in every other respect different from those inAfrica: but I was still more astonished on seeing people on horseback. I did not know what this could mean; and indeed I thought these peoplewere full of nothing but magical arts. While I was in thisastonishment one of my fellow prisoners spoke to a countryman of hisabout the horses, who said they were the same kind they had in theircountry. I understood them, though they were from a distant part ofAfrica, and I thought it odd I had not seen any horses there; butafterwards, when I came to converse with different Africans, I foundthey had many horses amongst them, and much larger than those I thensaw. We were not many days in the merchant's custody before we weresold after their usual manner, which is this:--On a signal given, (asthe beat of a drum) the buyers rush at once into the yard where theslaves are confined, and make choice of that parcel they like best. The noise and clamour with which this is attended, and the eagernessvisible in the countenances of the buyers, serve not a little toincrease the apprehensions of the terrified Africans, who may well besupposed to consider them as the ministers of that destruction towhich they think themselves devoted. In this manner, without scruple, are relations and friends separated, most of them never to see eachother again. I remember in the vessel in which I was brought over, inthe men's apartment, there were several brothers, who, in the sale, were sold in different lots; and it was very moving on this occasionto see and hear their cries at parting. O, ye nominal Christians!might not an African ask you, learned you this from your God, who saysunto you, Do unto all men as you would men should do unto you? Is itnot enough that we are torn from our country and friends to toil foryour luxury and lust of gain? Must every tender feeling be likewisesacrificed to your avarice? Are the dearest friends and relations, nowrendered more dear by their separation from their kindred, still to beparted from each other, and thus prevented from cheering the gloom ofslavery with the small comfort of being together and mingling theirsufferings and sorrows? Why are parents to lose their children, brothers their sisters, or husbands their wives? Surely this is a newrefinement in cruelty, which, while it has no advantage to atone forit, thus aggravates distress, and adds fresh horrors even to thewretchedness of slavery. 

CHAP. III. 

 _The author is carried to Virginia--His distress--Surprise at seeing a picture and a watch--Is bought by Captain Pascal, and sets out for England--His terror during the voyage--Arrives in England--His wonder at a fall of snow--Is sent to Guernsey, and in some time goes on board a ship of war with his master--Some account of the expedition against Louisbourg under the command of Admiral Boscawen, in 1758. _

I now totally lost the small remains of comfort I had enjoyed inconversing with my countrymen; the women too, who used to wash andtake care of me, were all gone different ways, and I never saw one ofthem afterwards. 

I stayed in this island for a few days; I believe it could not beabove a fortnight; when I and some few more slaves, that were notsaleable amongst the rest, from very much fretting, were shipped offin a sloop for North America. On the passage we were better treatedthan when we were coming from Africa, and we had plenty of rice andfat pork. We were landed up a river a good way from the sea, aboutVirginia county, where we saw few or none of our native Africans, andnot one soul who could talk to me. I was a few weeks weeding grass, and gathering stones in a plantation; and at last all my companionswere distributed different ways, and only myself was left. I was nowexceedingly miserable, and thought myself worse off than any of therest of my companions; for they could talk to each other, but I had noperson to speak to that I could understand. In this state I wasconstantly grieving and pining, and wishing for death rather than anything else. While I was in this plantation the gentleman, to whom Isuppose the estate belonged, being unwell, I was one day sent for tohis dwelling house to fan him; when I came into the room where he wasI was very much affrighted at some things I saw, and the more so as Ihad seen a black woman slave as I came through the house, who wascooking the dinner, and the poor creature was cruelly loaded withvarious kinds of iron machines; she had one particularly on her head, which locked her mouth so fast that she could scarcely speak; andcould not eat nor drink. I was much astonished and shocked at thiscontrivance, which I afterwards learned was called the iron muzzle. Soon after I had a fan put into my hand, to fan the gentleman while heslept; and so I did indeed with great fear. While he was fast asleep Iindulged myself a great deal in looking about the room, which to meappeared very fine and curious. The first object that engaged myattention was a watch which hung on the chimney, and was going. I wasquite surprised at the noise it made, and was afraid it would tell thegentleman any thing I might do amiss: and when I immediately afterobserved a picture hanging in the room, which appeared constantly tolook at me, I was still more affrighted, having never seen such thingsas these before. At one time I thought it was something relative tomagic; and not seeing it move I thought it might be some way thewhites had to keep their great men when they died, and offer themlibation as we used to do to our friendly spirits. In this state ofanxiety I remained till my master awoke, when I was dismissed out ofthe room, to my no small satisfaction and relief; for I thought thatthese people were all made up of wonders. In this place I was calledJacob; but on board the African snow I was called Michael. I had beensome time in this miserable, forlorn, and much dejected state, withouthaving any one to talk to, which made my life a burden, when the kindand unknown hand of the Creator (who in very deed leads the blind in away they know not) now began to appear, to my comfort; for one day thecaptain of a merchant ship, called the Industrious Bee, came on somebusiness to my master's house. This gentleman, whose name was MichaelHenry Pascal, was a lieutenant in the royal navy, but now commandedthis trading ship, which was somewhere in the confines of the countymany miles off. While he was at my master's house it happened that hesaw me, and liked me so well that he made a purchase of me. I think Ihave often heard him say he gave thirty or forty pounds sterling forme; but I do not now remember which. However, he meant me for apresent to some of his friends in England: and I was sent accordinglyfrom the house of my then master, one Mr. Campbell, to the place wherethe ship lay; I was conducted on horseback by an elderly black man, (amode of travelling which appeared very odd to me). When I arrived Iwas carried on board a fine large ship, loaded with tobacco, &c. Andjust ready to sail for England. I now thought my condition muchmended; I had sails to lie on, and plenty of good victuals to eat; andevery body on board used me very kindly, quite contrary to what I hadseen of any white people before; I therefore began to think that theywere not all of the same disposition. A few days after I was on boardwe sailed for England. I was still at a loss to conjecture my destiny. By this time, however, I could smatter a little imperfect English; andI wanted to know as well as I could where we were going. Some of thepeople of the ship used to tell me they were going to carry me back tomy own country, and this made me very happy. I was quite rejoiced atthe sound of going back; and thought if I should get home what wondersI should have to tell. But I was reserved for another fate, and wassoon undeceived when we came within sight of the English coast. WhileI was on board this ship, my captain and master named me _GustavusVassa_. I at that time began to understand him a little, and refused tobe called so, and told him as well as I could that I would be calledJacob; but he said I should not, and still called me Gustavus; andwhen I refused to answer to my new name, which at first I did, itgained me many a cuff; so at length I submitted, and was obliged tobear the present name, by which I have been known ever since. The shiphad a very long passage; and on that account we had very shortallowance of provisions. Towards the last we had only one pound and ahalf of bread per week, and about the same quantity of meat, and onequart of water a-day. We spoke with only one vessel the whole time wewere at sea, and but once we caught a few fishes. In our extremitiesthe captain and people told me in jest they would kill and eat me; butI thought them in earnest, and was depressed beyond measure, expectingevery moment to be my last. While I was in this situation one eveningthey caught, with a good deal of trouble, a large shark, and got it onboard. This gladdened my poor heart exceedingly, as I thought it wouldserve the people to eat instead of their eating me; but very soon, tomy astonishment, they cut off a small part of the tail, and tossed therest over the side. This renewed my consternation; and I did not knowwhat to think of these white people, though I very much feared theywould kill and eat me. There was on board the ship a young lad who hadnever been at sea before, about four or five years older than myself:his name was Richard Baker. He was a native of America, had receivedan excellent education, and was of a most amiable temper. Soon after Iwent on board he shewed me a great deal of partiality and attention, and in return I grew extremely fond of him. We at length becameinseparable; and, for the space of two years, he was of very great useto me, and was my constant companion and instructor. Although thisdear youth had many slaves of his own, yet he and I have gone throughmany sufferings together on shipboard; and we have many nights lain ineach other's bosoms when we were in great distress. Thus such afriendship was cemented between us as we cherished till his death, which, to my very great sorrow, happened in the year 1759, when he wasup the Archipelago, on board his majesty's ship the Preston: an eventwhich I have never ceased to regret, as I lost at once a kindinterpreter, an agreeable companion, and a faithful friend; who, atthe age of fifteen, discovered a mind superior to prejudice; and whowas not ashamed to notice, to associate with, and to be the friend andinstructor of one who was ignorant, a stranger, of a differentcomplexion, and a slave! My master had lodged in his mother's house inAmerica: he respected him very much, and made him always eat with himin the cabin. He used often to tell him jocularly that he would killme to eat. Sometimes he would say to me--the black people were notgood to eat, and would ask me if we did not eat people in my country. I said, No: then he said he would kill Dick (as he always called him)first, and afterwards me. Though this hearing relieved my mind alittle as to myself, I was alarmed for Dick and whenever he was calledI used to be very much afraid he was to be killed; and I would peepand watch to see if they were going to kill him: nor was I free fromthis consternation till we made the land. One night we lost a manoverboard; and the cries and noise were so great and confused, instopping the ship, that I, who did not know what was the matter, began, as usual, to be very much afraid, and to think they were goingto make an offering with me, and perform some magic; which I stillbelieved they dealt in. As the waves were very high I thought theRuler of the seas was angry, and I expected to be offered up toappease him. This filled my mind with agony, and I could not any morethat night close my eyes again to rest. However, when daylightappeared I was a little eased in my mind; but still every time I wascalled I used to think it was to be killed. Some time after this wesaw some very large fish, which I afterwards found were calledgrampusses. They looked to me extremely terrible, and made theirappearance just at dusk; and were so near as to blow the water on theship's deck. I believed them to be the rulers of the sea; and, as thewhite people did not make any offerings at any time, I thought theywere angry with them: and, at last, what confirmed my belief was, thewind just then died away, and a calm ensued, and in consequence of itthe ship stopped going. I supposed that the fish had performed this, and I hid myself in the fore part of the ship, through fear of beingoffered up to appease them, every minute peeping and quaking: but mygood friend Dick came shortly towards me, and I took an opportunity toask him, as well as I could, what these fish were. Not being able totalk much English, I could but just make him understand my question;and not at all, when I asked him if any offerings were to be made tothem: however, he told me these fish would swallow any body; whichsufficiently alarmed me. Here he was called away by the captain, whowas leaning over the quarter-deck railing and looking at the fish; andmost of the people were busied in getting a barrel of pitch to light, for them to play with. The captain now called me to him, havinglearned some of my apprehensions from Dick; and having divertedhimself and others for some time with my fears, which appearedludicrous enough in my crying and trembling, he dismissed me. Thebarrel of pitch was now lighted and put over the side into the water:by this time it was just dark, and the fish went after it; and, to mygreat joy, I saw them no more. 

However, all my alarms began to subside when we got sight of land; andat last the ship arrived at Falmouth, after a passage of thirteenweeks. Every heart on board seemed gladdened on our reaching theshore, and none more than mine. The captain immediately went on shore, and sent on board some fresh provisions, which we wanted very much:we made good use of them, and our famine was soon turned intofeasting, almost without ending. It was about the beginning of thespring 1757 when I arrived in England, and I was near twelve years ofage at that time. I was very much struck with the buildings and thepavement of the streets in Falmouth; and, indeed, any object I sawfilled me with new surprise. One morning, when I got upon deck, I sawit covered all over with the snow that fell over-night: as I had neverseen any thing of the kind before, I thought it was salt; so Iimmediately ran down to the mate and desired him, as well as I could, to come and see how somebody in the night had thrown salt all over thedeck. He, knowing what it was, desired me to bring some of it down tohim: accordingly I took up a handful of it, which I found very coldindeed; and when I brought it to him he desired me to taste it. I didso, and I was surprised beyond measure. I then asked him what it was;he told me it was snow: but I could not in anywise understand him. Heasked me if we had no such thing in my country; and I told him, No. Ithen asked him the use of it, and who made it; he told me a great manin the heavens, called God: but here again I was to all intents andpurposes at a loss to understand him; and the more so, when a littleafter I saw the air filled with it, in a heavy shower, which fell downon the same day. After this I went to church; and having never been atsuch a place before, I was again amazed at seeing and hearing theservice. I asked all I could about it; and they gave me to understandit was worshipping God, who made us and all things. I was still at agreat loss, and soon got into an endless field of inquiries, as wellas I was able to speak and ask about things. However, my little friendDick used to be my best interpreter; for I could make free with him, and he always instructed me with pleasure: and from what I couldunderstand by him of this God, and in seeing these white people didnot sell one another, as we did, I was much pleased; and in this Ithought they were much happier than we Africans. I was astonished atthe wisdom of the white people in all things I saw; but was amazed attheir not sacrificing, or making any offerings, and eating withunwashed hands, and touching the dead. I likewise could not helpremarking the particular slenderness of their women, which I did notat first like; and I thought they were not so modest and shamefaced asthe African women. 

I had often seen my master and Dick employed in reading; and I had agreat curiosity to talk to the books, as I thought they did; and so tolearn how all things had a beginning: for that purpose I have oftentaken up a book, and have talked to it, and then put my ears to it, when alone, in hopes it would answer me; and I have been very muchconcerned when I found it remained silent. 

My master lodged at the house of a gentleman in Falmouth, who had afine little daughter about six or seven years of age, and she grewprodigiously fond of me; insomuch that we used to eat together, andhad servants to wait on us. I was so much caressed by this family thatit often reminded me of the treatment I had received from my littlenoble African master. After I had been here a few days, I was sent onboard of the ship; but the child cried so much after me that nothingcould pacify her till I was sent for again. It is ludicrous enough, that I began to fear I should be betrothed to this young lady; andwhen my master asked me if I would stay there with her behind him, ashe was going away with the ship, which had taken in the tobacco again, I cried immediately, and said I would not leave her. At last, bystealth, one night I was sent on board the ship again; and in a littletime we sailed for Guernsey, where she was in part owned by amerchant, one Nicholas Doberry. As I was now amongst a people who hadnot their faces scarred, like some of the African nations where I hadbeen, I was very glad I did not let them ornament me in that mannerwhen I was with them. When we arrived at Guernsey, my master placed meto board and lodge with one of his mates, who had a wife and familythere; and some months afterwards he went to England, and left me incare of this mate, together with my friend Dick: This mate had alittle daughter, aged about five or six years, with whom I used to bemuch delighted. I had often observed that when her mother washed herface it looked very rosy; but when she washed mine it did not look so:I therefore tried oftentimes myself if I could not by washing make myface of the same colour as my little play-mate (Mary), but it was allin vain; and I now began to be mortified at the difference in ourcomplexions. This woman behaved to me with great kindness andattention; and taught me every thing in the same manner as she did herown child, and indeed in every respect treated me as such. I remainedhere till the summer of the year 1757; when my master, being appointedfirst lieutenant of his majesty's ship the Roebuck, sent for Dick andme, and his old mate: on this we all left Guernsey, and set out forEngland in a sloop bound for London. As we were coming up towards theNore, where the Roebuck lay, a man of war's boat came alongside topress our people; on which each man ran to hide himself. I was verymuch frightened at this, though I did not know what it meant, or whatto think or do. However I went and hid myself also under a hencoop. Immediately afterwards the press-gang came on board with their swordsdrawn, and searched all about, pulled the people out by force, and putthem into the boat. At last I was found out also: the man that foundme held me up by the heels while they all made their sport of me, Iroaring and crying out all the time most lustily: but at last themate, who was my conductor, seeing this, came to my assistance, anddid all he could to pacify me; but all to very little purpose, till Ihad seen the boat go off. Soon afterwards we came to the Nore, wherethe Roebuck lay; and, to our great joy, my master came on board to us, and brought us to the ship. When I went on board this large ship, Iwas amazed indeed to see the quantity of men and the guns. However mysurprise began to diminish as my knowledge increased; and I ceased tofeel those apprehensions and alarms which had taken such strongpossession of me when I first came among the Europeans, and for sometime after. I began now to pass to an opposite extreme; I was so farfrom being afraid of any thing new which I saw, that, after I had beensome time in this ship, I even began to long for a battle. My griefstoo, which in young minds are not perpetual, were now wearing away;and I soon enjoyed myself pretty well, and felt tolerably easy in mypresent situation. There was a number of boys on board, which stillmade it more agreeable; for we were always together, and a great partof our time was spent in play. I remained in this ship a considerabletime, during which we made several cruises, and visited a variety ofplaces: among others we were twice in Holland, and brought overseveral persons of distinction from it, whose names I do not nowremember. On the passage, one day, for the diversion of thosegentlemen, all the boys were called on the quarter-deck, and werepaired proportionably, and then made to fight; after which thegentleman gave the combatants from five to nine shillings each. Thiswas the first time I ever fought with a white boy; and I never knewwhat it was to have a bloody nose before. This made me fight mostdesperately; I suppose considerably more than an hour: and at last, both of us being weary, we were parted. I had a great deal of thiskind of sport afterwards, in which the captain and the ship's companyused very much to encourage me. Sometime afterwards the ship went toLeith in Scotland, and from thence to the Orkneys, where I wassurprised in seeing scarcely any night: and from thence we sailed witha great fleet, full of soldiers, for England. All this time we hadnever come to an engagement, though we were frequently cruising offthe coast of France: during which we chased many vessels, and took inall seventeen prizes. I had been learning many of the manoeuvres ofthe ship during our cruise; and I was several times made to fire theguns. One evening, off Havre de Grace, just as it was growing dark, wewere standing off shore, and met with a fine large French-builtfrigate. We got all things immediately ready for fighting; and I nowexpected I should be gratified in seeing an engagement, which I had solong wished for in vain. But the very moment the word of command wasgiven to fire we heard those on board the other ship cry 'Haul downthe jib;' and in that instant she hoisted English colours. There wasinstantly with us an amazing cry of--Avast! or stop firing; and Ithink one or two guns had been let off, but happily they did nomischief. We had hailed them several times; but they not hearing, wereceived no answer, which was the cause of our firing. The boat wasthen sent on board of her, and she proved to be the Ambuscade man ofwar, to my no small disappointment. We returned to Portsmouth, withouthaving been in any action, just at the trial of Admiral Byng (whom Isaw several times during it): and my master having left the ship, andgone to London for promotion, Dick and I were put on board the Savagesloop of war, and we went in her to assist in bringing off the St. George man of war, that had ran ashore somewhere on the coast. Afterstaying a few weeks on board the Savage, Dick and I were sent on shoreat Deal, where we remained some short time, till my master sent for usto London, the place I had long desired exceedingly to see. Wetherefore both with great pleasure got into a waggon, and came toLondon, where we were received by a Mr. Guerin, a relation of mymaster. This gentleman had two sisters, very amiable ladies, who tookmuch notice and great care of me. Though I had desired so much to seeLondon, when I arrived in it I was unfortunately unable to gratify mycuriosity; for I had at this time the chilblains to such a degree thatI could not stand for several months, and I was obliged to be sent toSt. George's Hospital. There I grew so ill, that the doctors wanted tocut my left leg off at different times, apprehending a mortification;but I always said I would rather die than suffer it; and happily (Ithank God) I recovered without the operation. After being thereseveral weeks, and just as I had recovered, the small-pox broke out onme, so that I was again confined; and I thought myself nowparticularly unfortunate. However I soon recovered again; and by thistime my master having been promoted to be first lieutenant of thePreston man of war of fifty guns, then new at Deptford, Dick and Iwere sent on board her, and soon after we went to Holland to bringover the late Duke of ---- to England. --While I was in this ship anincident happened, which, though trifling, I beg leave to relate, as Icould not help taking particular notice of it, and considering it thenas a judgment of God. One morning a young man was looking up to thefore-top, and in a wicked tone, common on shipboard, d----d his eyesabout something. Just at the moment some small particles of dirt fellinto his left eye, and by the evening it was very much inflamed. Thenext day it grew worse; and within six or seven days he lost it. Fromthis ship my master was appointed a lieutenant on board the RoyalGeorge. When he was going he wished me to stay on board the Preston, to learn the French horn; but the ship being ordered for Turkey Icould not think of leaving my master, to whom I was very warmlyattached; and I told him if he left me behind it would break my heart. This prevailed on him to take me with him; but he left Dick on boardthe Preston, whom I embraced at parting for the last time. The RoyalGeorge was the largest ship I had ever seen; so that when I came onboard of her I was surprised at the number of people, men, women, andchildren, of every denomination; and the largeness of the guns, manyof them also of brass, which I had never seen before. Here were alsoshops or stalls of every kind of goods, and people crying theirdifferent commodities about the ship as in a town. To me it appeared alittle world, into which I was again cast without a friend, for I hadno longer my dear companion Dick. We did not stay long here. My masterwas not many weeks on board before he got an appointment to be sixthlieutenant of the Namur, which was then at Spithead, fitting up forVice-admiral Boscawen, who was going with a large fleet on anexpedition against Louisburgh. The crew of the Royal George wereturned over to her, and the flag of that gallant admiral was hoistedon board, the blue at the maintop-gallant mast head. There was a verygreat fleet of men of war of every description assembled together forthis expedition, and I was in hopes soon to have an opportunity ofbeing gratified with a sea-fight. All things being now in readiness, this mighty fleet (for there was also Admiral Cornish's fleet incompany, destined for the East Indies) at last weighed anchor, andsailed. The two fleets continued in company for several days, and thenparted; Admiral Cornish, in the Lenox, having first saluted ouradmiral in the Namur, which he returned. We then steered for America;but, by contrary winds, we were driven to Teneriffe, where I wasstruck with its noted peak. Its prodigious height, and its form, resembling a sugar-loaf, filled me with wonder. We remained in sightof this island some days, and then proceeded for America, which wesoon made, and got into a very commodious harbour called St. George, in Halifax, where we had fish in great plenty, and all other freshprovisions. We were here joined by different men of war and transportships with soldiers; after which, our fleet being increased to aprodigious number of ships of all kinds, we sailed for Cape Breton inNova Scotia. We had the good and gallant General Wolfe on board ourship, whose affability made him highly esteemed and beloved by all themen. He often honoured me, as well as other boys, with marks of hisnotice; and saved me once a flogging for fighting with a younggentleman. We arrived at Cape Breton in the summer of 1758: and herethe soldiers were to be landed, in order to make an attack uponLouisbourgh. My master had some part in superintending the landing;and here I was in a small measure gratified in seeing an encounterbetween our men and the enemy. The French were posted on the shore toreceive us, and disputed our landing for a long time; but at last theywere driven from their trenches, and a complete landing was effected. Our troops pursued them as far as the town of Louisbourgh. In thisaction many were killed on both sides. One thing remarkable I saw thisday:--A lieutenant of the Princess Amelia, who, as well as my master, superintended the landing, was giving the word of command, and whilehis mouth was open a musquet ball went through it, and passed out athis cheek. I had that day in my hand the scalp of an indian king, whowas killed in the engagement: the scalp had been taken off by anHighlander. I saw this king's ornaments too, which were very curious, and made of feathers. 

Our land forces laid siege to the town of Louisbourgh, while theFrench men of war were blocked up in the harbour by the fleet, thebatteries at the same time playing upon them from the land. This theydid with such effect, that one day I saw some of the ships set on fireby the shells from the batteries, and I believe two or three of themwere quite burnt. At another time, about fifty boats belonging to theEnglish men of war, commanded by Captain George Balfour of the Ætnafire-ship, and another junior captain, Laforey, attacked and boardedthe only two remaining French men of war in the harbour. They also setfire to a seventy-gun ship, but a sixty-four, called the Bienfaisant, they brought off. During my stay here I had often an opportunity ofbeing near Captain Balfour, who was pleased to notice me, and liked meso much that he often asked my master to let him have me, but he wouldnot part with me; and no consideration could have induced me to leavehim. At last Louisbourgh was taken, and the English men of war cameinto the harbour before it, to my very great joy; for I had now moreliberty of indulging myself, and I went often on shore. When the shipswere in the harbour we had the most beautiful procession on the waterI ever saw. All the admirals and captains of the men of war, fulldressed, and in their barges, well ornamented with pendants, camealongside of the Namur. The vice-admiral then went on shore in hisbarge, followed by the other officers in order of seniority, to takepossession, as I suppose, of the town and fort. Some time after thisthe French governor and his lady, and other persons of note, came onboard our ship to dine. On this occasion our ships were dressed withcolours of all kinds, from the topgallant-mast head to the deck; andthis, with the firing of guns, formed a most grand and magnificentspectacle. 

As soon as every thing here was settled Admiral Boscawen sailed withpart of the fleet for England, leaving some ships behind withRear-admirals Sir Charles Hardy and Durell. It was now winter; and oneevening, during our passage home, about dusk, when we were in thechannel, or near soundings, and were beginning to look for land, wedescried seven sail of large men of war, which stood off shore. Several people on board of our ship said, as the two fleets were (inforty minutes from the first sight) within hail of each other, thatthey were English men of war; and some of our people even began toname some of the ships. By this time both fleets began to mingle, andour admiral ordered his flag to be hoisted. At that instant the otherfleet, which were French, hoisted their ensigns, and gave us abroadside as they passed by. Nothing could create greater surprise andconfusion among us than this: the wind was high, the sea rough, and wehad our lower and middle deck guns housed in, so that not a single gunon board was ready to be fired at any of the French ships. However, the Royal William and the Somerset being our sternmost ships, became alittle prepared, and each gave the French ships a broadside as theypassed by. I afterwards heard this was a French squadron, commanded byMons. Conflans; and certainly had the Frenchmen known our condition, and had a mind to fight us, they might have done us great mischief. But we were not long before we were prepared for an engagement. Immediately many things were tossed overboard; the ships were madeready for fighting as soon as possible; and about ten at night we hadbent a new main sail, the old one being split. Being now in readinessfor fighting, we wore ship, and stood after the French fleet, whowere one or two ships in number more than we. However we gave themchase, and continued pursuing them all night; and at daylight we sawsix of them, all large ships of the line, and an English EastIndiaman, a prize they had taken. We chased them all day till betweenthree and four o'clock in the evening, when we came up with, andpassed within a musquet shot of, one seventy-four gun ship, and theIndiaman also, who now hoisted her colours, but immediately hauledthem down again. On this we made a signal for the other ships to takepossession of her; and, supposing the man of war would likewisestrike, we cheered, but she did not; though if we had fired into her, from being so near, we must have taken her. To my utter surprise theSomerset, who was the next ship astern of the Namur, made waylikewise; and, thinking they were sure of this French ship, theycheered in the same manner, but still continued to follow us. TheFrench Commodore was about a gun-shot ahead of all, running from uswith all speed; and about four o'clock he carried his foretopmastoverboard. This caused another loud cheer with us; and a little afterthe topmast came close by us; but, to our great surprise, instead ofcoming up with her, we found she went as fast as ever, if not faster. The sea grew now much smoother; and the wind lulling, the seventy-fourgun ship we had passed came again by us in the very same direction, and so near, that we heard her people talk as she went by; yet not ashot was fired on either side; and about five or six o'clock, just asit grew dark, she joined her commodore. We chased all night; but thenext day they were out of sight, so that we saw no more of them; andwe only had the old Indiaman (called Carnarvon I think) for ourtrouble. After this we stood in for the channel, and soon made theland; and, about the close of the year 1758-9, we got safe to St. Helen's. Here the Namur ran aground; and also another large shipastern of us; but, by starting our water, and tossing many thingsoverboard to lighten her, we got the ships off without any damage. Westayed for a short time at Spithead, and then went into Portsmouthharbour to refit; from whence the admiral went to London; and mymaster and I soon followed, with a press-gang, as we wanted some handsto complete our complement. 

CHAP. IV. 

 _The author is baptized--Narrowly escapes drowning--Goes on an expedition to the Mediterranean--Incidents he met with there--Is witness to an engagement between some English and French ships--A particular account of the celebrated engagement between Admiral Boscawen and Mons. Le Clue, off Cape Logas, in August 1759--Dreadful explosion of a French ship--The author sails for England--His master appointed to the command of a fire-ship--Meets a negro boy, from whom he experiences much benevolence--Prepares for an expedition against Belle-Isle--A remarkable story of a disaster which befel his ship--Arrives at Belle-Isle--Operations of the landing and siege--The author's danger and distress, with his manner of extricating himself--- Surrender of Belle-Isle--Transactions afterwards on the coast of France--Remarkable instance of kidnapping--The author returns to England--Hears a talk of peace, and expects his freedom--His ship sails for Deptford to be paid off, and when he arrives there he is suddenly seized by his master and carried forcibly on board a West India ship and sold. _

It was now between two and three years since I first came to England, a great part of which I had spent at sea; so that I became inured tothat service, and began to consider myself as happily situated; for mymaster treated me always extremely well; and my attachment andgratitude to him were very great. From the various scenes I had beheldon shipboard, I soon grew a stranger to terror of every kind, and was, in that respect at least, almost an Englishman. I have often reflectedwith surprise that I never felt half the alarm at any of the numerousdangers I have been in, that I was filled with at the first sight ofthe Europeans, and at every act of theirs, even the most trifling, when I first came among them, and for some time afterwards. That fear, however, which was the effect of my ignorance, wore away as I began toknow them. I could now speak English tolerably well, and I perfectlyunderstood every thing that was said. I now not only felt myselfquite easy with these new countrymen, but relished their society andmanners. I no longer looked upon them as spirits, but as men superiorto us; and therefore I had the stronger desire to resemble them; toimbibe their spirit, and imitate their manners; I therefore embracedevery occasion of improvement; and every new thing that I observed Itreasured up in my memory. I had long wished to be able to read andwrite; and for this purpose I took every opportunity to gaininstruction, but had made as yet very little progress. However, when Iwent to London with my master, I had soon an opportunity of improvingmyself, which I gladly embraced. Shortly after my arrival, he sent meto wait upon the Miss Guerins, who had treated me with much kindnesswhen I was there before; and they sent me to school. 

While I was attending these ladies their servants told me I could notgo to Heaven unless I was baptized. This made me very uneasy; for Ihad now some faint idea of a future state: accordingly I communicatedmy anxiety to the eldest Miss Guerin, with whom I was become afavourite, and pressed her to have me baptized; when to my great joyshe told me I should. She had formerly asked my master to let me bebaptized, but he had refused; however she now insisted on it; and hebeing under some obligation to her brother complied with her request;so I was baptized in St. Margaret's church, Westminster, in February1759, by my present name. The clergyman, at the same time, gave me abook, called a Guide to the Indians, written by the Bishop of Sodorand Man. On this occasion Miss Guerin did me the honour to stand asgodmother, and afterwards gave me a treat. I used to attend theseladies about the town, in which service I was extremely happy; as Ihad thus many opportunities of seeing London, which I desired of allthings. I was sometimes, however, with my master at hisrendezvous-house, which was at the foot of Westminster-bridge. Here Iused to enjoy myself in playing about the bridge stairs, and often inthe watermen's wherries, with other boys. On one of these occasionsthere was another boy with me in a wherry, and we went out into thecurrent of the river: while we were there two more stout boys came tous in another wherry, and, abusing us for taking the boat, desired meto get into the other wherry-boat. Accordingly I went to get out ofthe wherry I was in; but just as I had got one of my feet into theother boat the boys shoved it off, so that I fell into the Thames;and, not being able to swim, I should unavoidably have been drowned, but for the assistance of some watermen who providentially came to myrelief. 

The Namur being again got ready for sea, my master, with his gang, wasordered on board; and, to my no small grief, I was obliged to leave myschool-master, whom I liked very much, and always attended while Istayed in London, to repair on board with my master. Nor did I leavemy kind patronesses, the Miss Guerins, without uneasiness and regret. They often used to teach me to read, and took great pains to instructme in the principles of religion and the knowledge of God. I thereforeparted from those amiable ladies with reluctance; after receiving fromthem many friendly cautions how to conduct myself, and some valuablepresents. 

When I came to Spithead, I found we were destined for theMediterranean, with a large fleet, which was now ready to put to sea. We only waited for the arrival of the admiral, who soon came on board;and about the beginning of the spring 1759, having weighed anchor, andgot under way, Sailed for the Mediterranean; and in eleven days, fromthe Land's End, we got to Gibraltar. While we were here I used to beoften on shore, and got various fruits in great plenty, and verycheap. 

I had frequently told several people, in my excursions on shore, thestory of my being kidnapped with my sister, and of our beingseparated, as I have related before; and I had as often expressed myanxiety for her fate, and my sorrow at having never met her again. Oneday, when I was on shore, and mentioning these circumstances to somepersons, one of them told me he knew where my sister was, and, if Iwould accompany him, he would bring me to her. Improbable as thisstory was I believed it immediately, and agreed to go with him, whilemy heart leaped for joy: and, indeed, he conducted me to a black youngwoman, who was so like my sister, that, at first sight, I reallythought it was her: but I was quickly undeceived; and, on talking toher, I found her to be of another nation. 

While we lay here the Preston came in from the Levant. As soon as shearrived, my master told me I should now see my old companion, Dick, who had gone in her when she sailed for Turkey. I was much rejoiced atthis news, and expected every minute to embrace him; and when thecaptain came on board of our ship, which he did immediately after, Iran to inquire after my friend; but, with inexpressible sorrow, Ilearned from the boat's crew that the dear youth was dead! and thatthey had brought his chest, and all his other things, to my master:these he afterwards gave to me, and I regarded them as a memorial ofmy friend, whom I loved, and grieved for, as a brother. 

While we were at Gibraltar, I saw a soldier hanging by his heels, atone of the moles[L]: I thought this a strange sight, as I had seen aman hanged in London by his neck. At another time I saw the master ofa frigate towed to shore on a grating, by several of the men of war'sboats, and discharged the fleet, which I understood was a mark ofdisgrace for cowardice. On board the same ship there was also a sailorhung up at the yard-arm. 

After lying at Gibraltar for some time, we sailed up the Mediterraneana considerable way above the Gulf of Lyons; where we were one nightovertaken with a terrible gale of wind, much greater than any I hadever yet experienced. The sea ran so high that, though all the gunswere well housed, there was great reason to fear their getting loose, the ship rolled so much; and if they had it must have proved ourdestruction. After we had cruised here for a short time, we came toBarcelona, a Spanish sea-port, remarkable for its silk manufactures. Here the ships were all to be watered; and my master, who spokedifferent languages, and used often to interpret for the admiral, superintended the watering of ours. For that purpose he and theofficers of the other ships, who were on the same service, had tentspitched in the bay; and the Spanish soldiers were stationed along theshore, I suppose to see that no depredations were committed by ourmen. 

I used constantly to attend my master; and I was charmed with thisplace. All the time we stayed it was like a fair with the natives, whobrought us fruits of all kinds, and sold them to us much cheaper thanI got them in England. They used also to bring wine down to us in hogand sheep skins, which diverted me very much. The Spanish officershere treated our officers with great politeness and attention; andsome of them, in particular, used to come often to my master's tent tovisit him; where they would sometimes divert themselves by mounting meon the horses or mules, so that I could not fall, and setting them offat full gallop; my imperfect skill in horsemanship all the whileaffording them no small entertainment. After the ships were watered, we returned to our old station of cruizing off Toulon, for the purposeof intercepting a fleet of French men of war that lay there. OneSunday, in our cruise, we came off a place where there were two smallFrench frigates lying in shore; and our admiral, thinking to take ordestroy them, sent two ships in after them--the Culloden and theConqueror. They soon came up to the Frenchmen; and I saw a smart fighthere, both by sea and land: for the frigates were covered bybatteries, and they played upon our ships most furiously, which theyas furiously returned, and for a long time a constant firing was keptup on all sides at an amazing rate. At last one frigate sunk; but thepeople escaped, though not without much difficulty: and a little aftersome of the people left the other frigate also, which was a merewreck. However, our ships did not venture to bring her away, they wereso much annoyed from the batteries, which raked them both in going andcoming: their topmasts were shot away, and they were otherwise so muchshattered, that the admiral was obliged to send in many boats to towthem back to the fleet. I afterwards sailed with a man who fought inone of the French batteries during the engagement, and he told me ourships had done considerable mischief that day on shore and in thebatteries. 

After this we sailed for Gibraltar, and arrived there about August1759. Here we remained with all our sails unbent, while the fleet waswatering and doing other necessary things. While we were in thissituation, one day the admiral, with most of the principal officers, and many people of all stations, being on shore, about seven o'clockin the evening we were alarmed by signals from the frigates stationedfor that purpose; and in an instant there was a general cry that theFrench fleet was out, and just passing through the streights. Theadmiral immediately came on board with some other officers; and it isimpossible to describe the noise, hurry and confusion throughout thewhole fleet, in bending their sails and slipping their cables; manypeople and ships' boats were left on shore in the bustle. We had twocaptains on board of our ship who came away in the hurry and lefttheir ships to follow. We shewed lights from the gun-whale to the maintopmast-head; and all our lieutenants were employed amongst the fleetto tell the ships not to wait for their captains, but to put the sailsto the yards, slip their cables and follow us; and in this confusionof making ready for fighting we set out for sea in the dark after theFrench fleet. Here I could have exclaimed with Ajax, "Oh Jove! O father! if it be thy will That we must perish, we thy will obey, But let us perish by the light of day. "

They had got the start of us so far that we were not able to come upwith them during the night; but at daylight we saw seven sail of theline of battle some miles ahead. We immediately chased them till aboutfour o'clock in the evening, when our ships came up with them; and, though we were about fifteen large ships, our gallant admiral onlyfought them with his own division, which consisted of seven; so thatwe were just ship for ship. We passed by the whole of the enemy'sfleet in order to come at their commander, Mons. La Clue, who was inthe Ocean, an eighty-four gun ship: as we passed they all fired on us;and at one time three of them fired together, continuing to do so forsome time. Notwithstanding which our admiral would not suffer a gun tobe fired at any of them, to my astonishment; but made us lie on ourbellies on the deck till we came quite close to the Ocean, who wasahead of them all; when we had orders to pour the whole three tiersinto her at once. 

The engagement now commenced with great fury on both sides: the Oceanimmediately returned our fire, and we continued engaged with eachother for some time; during which I was frequently stunned with thethundering of the great guns, whose dreadful contents hurried many ofmy companions into awful eternity. At last the French line wasentirely broken, and we obtained the victory, which was immediatelyproclaimed with loud huzzas and acclamations. We took three prizes, LaModeste, of sixty-four guns, and Le Temeraire and Centaur, ofseventy-four guns each. The rest of the French ships took to flightwith all the sail they could crowd. Our ship being very much damaged, and quite disabled from pursuing the enemy, the admiral immediatelyquitted her, and went in the broken and only boat we had left on boardthe Newark, with which, and some other ships, he went after theFrench. The Ocean, and another large French ship, called theRedoubtable, endeavouring to escape, ran ashore at Cape Logas, on thecoast of Portugal; and the French admiral and some of the crew gotashore; but we, finding it impossible to get the ships off, set fireto them both. About midnight I saw the Ocean blow up, with a mostdreadful explosion. I never beheld a more awful scene. In less than aminute the midnight for a certain space seemed turned into day by theblaze, which was attended with a noise louder and more terrible thanthunder, that seemed to rend every element around us. 

My station during the engagement was on the middle-deck, where I wasquartered with another boy, to bring powder to the aftermost gun; andhere I was a witness of the dreadful fate of many of my companions, who, in the twinkling of an eye, were dashed in pieces, and launchedinto eternity. Happily I escaped unhurt, though the shot and splintersflew thick about me during the whole fight. Towards the latter part ofit my master was wounded, and I saw him carried down to the surgeon;but though I was much alarmed for him and wished to assist him I darednot leave my post. At this station my gun-mate (a partner in bringingpowder for the same gun) and I ran a very great risk for more thanhalf an hour of blowing up the ship. For, when we had taken thecartridges out of the boxes, the bottoms of many of them provingrotten, the powder ran all about the deck, near the match tub: wescarcely had water enough at the last to throw on it. We were also, from our employment, very much exposed to the enemy's shots; for wehad to go through nearly the whole length of the ship to bring thepowder. I expected therefore every minute to be my last; especiallywhen I saw our men fall so thick about me; but, wishing to guard asmuch against the dangers as possible, at first I thought it would besafest not to go for the powder till the Frenchmen had fired theirbroadside; and then, while they were charging, I could go and comewith my powder: but immediately afterwards I thought this caution wasfruitless; and, cheering myself with the reflection that there was atime allotted for me to die as well as to be born, I instantly castoff all fear or thought whatever of death, and went through the wholeof my duty with alacrity; pleasing myself with the hope, if I survivedthe battle, of relating it and the dangers I had escaped to the dearMiss Guerin, and others, when I should return to London. 

Our ship suffered very much in this engagement; for, besides thenumber of our killed and wounded, she was almost torn to pieces, andour rigging so much shattered, that our mizen-mast and main-yard, &c. Hung over the side of the ship; so that we were obliged to get manycarpenters, and others from some of the ships of the fleet, to assistin setting us in some tolerable order; and, notwithstanding, it tookus some time before we were completely refitted; after which we leftAdmiral Broderick to command, and we, with the prizes, steered forEngland. On the passage, and as soon as my master was somethingrecovered of his wounds, the admiral appointed him captain of the Ætnafire-ship, on which he and I left the Namur, and went on board of herat sea. I liked this little ship very much. I now became the captain'ssteward, in which situation I was very happy: for I was extremely welltreated by all on board; and I had leisure to improve myself inreading and writing. The latter I had learned a little of before Ileft the Namur, as there was a school on board. When we arrived atSpithead the Ætna went into Portsmouth harbour to refit, which beingdone, we returned to Spithead and joined a large fleet that wasthought to be intended against the Havannah; but about that time theking died: whether that prevented the expedition I know not; but itcaused our ship to be stationed at Cowes, in the isle of Wight, tillthe beginning of the year sixty-one. Here I spent my time verypleasantly; I was much on shore all about this delightful island, andfound the inhabitants very civil. 

While I was here, I met with a trifling incident, which surprised meagreeably. I was one day in a field belonging to a gentleman who hada black boy about my own size; this boy having observed me from hismaster's house, was transported at the sight of one of his owncountrymen, and ran to meet me with the utmost haste. I not knowingwhat he was about turned a little out of his way at first, but to nopurpose: he soon came close to me and caught hold of me in his arms asif I had been his brother, though we had never seen each other before. After we had talked together for some time he took me to his master'shouse, where I was treated very kindly. This benevolent boy and I werevery happy in frequently seeing each other till about the month ofMarch 1761, when our ship had orders to fit out again for anotherexpedition. When we got ready, we joined a very large fleet atSpithead, commanded by Commodore Keppel, which was destined againstBelle-Isle, and with a number of transport ships with troops on boardto make a descent on the place. We sailed once more in quest of fame. I longed to engage in new adventures and see fresh wonders. 

I had a mind on which every thing uncommon made its full impression, and every event which I considered as marvellous. Every extraordinaryescape, or signal deliverance, either of myself or others, I lookedupon to be effected by the interposition of Providence. We had notbeen above ten days at sea before an incident of this kind happened;which, whatever credit it may obtain from the reader, made no smallimpression on my mind. 

We had on board a gunner, whose name was John Mondle; a man of veryindifferent morals. This man's cabin was between the decks, exactlyover where I lay, abreast of the quarter-deck ladder. One night, the20th of April, being terrified with a dream, he awoke in so great afright that he could not rest in his bed any longer, nor even remainin his cabin; and he went upon deck about four o'clock in the morningextremely agitated. He immediately told those on the deck of theagonies of his mind, and the dream which occasioned it; in which hesaid he had seen many things very awful, and had been warned by St. Peter to repent, who told him time was short. This he said had greatlyalarmed him, and he was determined to alter his life. People generallymock the fears of others when they are themselves in safety; and someof his shipmates who heard him only laughed at him. However, he madea vow that he never would drink strong liquors again; and heimmediately got a light, and gave away his sea-stores of liquor. Afterwhich, his agitation still continuing, he began to read theScriptures, hoping to find some relief; and soon afterwards he laidhimself down again on his bed, and endeavoured to compose himself tosleep, but to no purpose; his mind still continuing in a state ofagony. By this time it was exactly half after seven in the morning: Iwas then under the half-deck at the great cabin door; and all at onceI heard the people in the waist cry out, most fearfully--'The Lordhave mercy upon us! We are all lost! The Lord have mercy upon us!' Mr. Mondle hearing the cries, immediately ran out of his cabin; and wewere instantly struck by the Lynne, a forty-gun ship, Captain Clark, which nearly ran us down. This ship had just put about, and was by thewind, but had not got full headway, or we must all have perished; forthe wind was brisk. However, before Mr. Mondle had got four steps fromhis cabin-door, she struck our ship with her cutwater right in themiddle of his bed and cabin, and ran it up to the combings of thequarter-deck hatchway, and above three feet below water, and in aminute there was not a bit of wood to be seen where Mr. Mondle's cabinstood; and he was so near being killed that some of the splinters torehis face. As Mr. Mondle must inevitably have perished from thisaccident had he not been alarmed in the very extraordinary way I haverelated, I could not help regarding this as an awful interposition ofProvidence for his preservation. The two ships for some time swingedalongside of each other; for ours being a fire-ship, ourgrappling-irons caught the Lynne every way, and the yards and riggingwent at an astonishing rate. Our ship was in such a shocking conditionthat we all thought she would instantly go down, and every one ran fortheir lives, and got as well as they could on board the Lynne; but ourlieutenant being the aggressor, he never quitted the ship. However, when we found she did not sink immediately, the captain came on boardagain, and encouraged our people to return and try to save her. Manyon this came back, but some would not venture. Some of the ships inthe fleet, seeing our situation, immediately sent their boats to ourassistance; but it took us the whole day to save the ship with alltheir help. And by using every possible means, particularly frappingher together with many hawsers, and putting a great quantity of tallowbelow water where she was damaged, she was kept together: but it waswell we did not meet with any gales of wind, or we must have gone topieces; for we were in such a crazy condition that we had ships toattend us till we arrived at Belle-Isle, the place of our destination;and then we had all things taken out of the ship, and she was properlyrepaired. This escape of Mr. Mondle, which he, as well as myself, always considered as a singular act of Providence, I believe had agreat influence on his life and conduct ever afterwards. 

Now that I am on this subject I beg leave to relate another instanceor two which strongly raised my belief of the particular interpositionof Heaven, and which might not otherwise have found a place here, fromtheir insignificance. I belonged for a few days in the year 1758 tothe Jason, of fifty-four guns, at Plymouth; and one night, when I wason board, a woman, with a child at her breast, fell from theupper-deck down into the hold, near the keel. Every one thought thatthe mother and child must be both dashed to pieces; but, to our greatsurprise, neither of them was hurt. I myself one day fell headlongfrom the upper-deck of the Ætna down the after-hold, when the ballastwas out; and all who saw me fall cried out I was killed: but Ireceived not the least injury. And in the same ship a man fell fromthe mast-head on the deck without being hurt. In these, and in manymore instances, I thought I could plainly trace the hand of God, without whose permission a sparrow cannot fall. I began to raise myfear from man to him alone, and to call daily on his holy name withfear and reverence: and I trust he heard my supplications, andgraciously condescended to answer me according to his holy word, andto implant the seeds of piety in me, even one of the meanest of hiscreatures. 

When we had refitted our ship, and all things were in readiness forattacking the place, the troops on board the transports were orderedto disembark; and my master, as a junior captain, had a share in thecommand of the landing. This was on the 8th of April. The French weredrawn up on the shore, and had made every disposition to oppose thelanding of our men, only a small part of them this day being able toeffect it; most of them, after fighting with great bravery, were cutoff; and General Crawford, with a number of others, were takenprisoners. In this day's engagement we had also our lieutenant killed. 

On the 21st of April we renewed our efforts to land the men, while allthe men of war were stationed along the shore to cover it, and firedat the French batteries and breastworks from early in the morning tillabout four o'clock in the evening, when our soldiers effected a safelanding. They immediately attacked the French; and, after a sharpencounter, forced them from the batteries. Before the enemy retreatedthey blew up several of them, lest they should fall into our hands. Our men now proceeded to besiege the citadel, and my master wasordered on shore to superintend the landing of all the materialsnecessary for carrying on the siege; in which service I mostlyattended him. While I was there I went about to different parts of theisland; and one day, particularly, my curiosity almost cost me mylife. I wanted very much to see the mode of charging the mortars andletting off the shells, and for that purpose I went to an Englishbattery that was but a very few yards from the walls of the citadel. There, indeed, I had an opportunity of completely gratifying myself inseeing the whole operation, and that not without running a very greatrisk, both from the English shells that burst while I was there, butlikewise from those of the French. One of the largest of their shellsbursted within nine or ten yards of me: there was a single rock closeby, about the size of a butt; and I got instant shelter under it intime to avoid the fury of the shell. Where it burst the earth was tornin such a manner that two or three butts might easily have gone intothe hole it made, and it threw great quantities of stones and dirt toa considerable distance. Three shot were also fired at me and anotherboy who was along with me, one of them in particular seemed

 "Wing'd with red lightning and impetuous rage;"

for with a most dreadful sound it hissed close by me, and struck arock at a little distance, which it shattered to pieces. When I sawwhat perilous circumstances I was in, I attempted to return thenearest way I could find, and thereby I got between the English andthe French centinels. An English serjeant, who commanded the outposts, seeing me, and surprised how I came there, (which was by stealth alongthe seashore), reprimanded me very severely for it, and instantly tookthe centinel off his post into custody, for his negligence insuffering me to pass the lines. While I was in this situation Iobserved at a little distance a French horse, belonging to someislanders, which I thought I would now mount, for the greaterexpedition of getting off. Accordingly I took some cord which I hadabout me, and making a kind of bridle of it, I put it round thehorse's head, and the tame beast very quietly suffered me to tie himthus and mount him. As soon as I was on the horse's back I began tokick and beat him, and try every means to make him go quick, but allto very little purpose: I could not drive him out of a slow pace. While I was creeping along, still within reach of the enemy's shot, Imet with a servant well mounted on an English horse. I immediatelystopped; and, crying, told him my case; and begged of him to help me, and this he effectually did; for, having a fine large whip, he beganto lash my horse with it so severely, that he set off full speed withme towards the sea, while I was quite unable to hold or manage him. Inthis manner I went along till I came to a craggy precipice. I nowcould not stop my horse; and my mind was filled with apprehensions ofmy deplorable fate should he go down the precipice, which he appearedfully disposed to do: I therefore thought I had better throw myselfoff him at once, which I did immediately with a great deal ofdexterity, and fortunately escaped unhurt. As soon as I found myselfat liberty I made the best of my way for the ship, determined I wouldnot be so fool-hardy again in a hurry. 

We continued to besiege the citadel till June, when it surrendered. During the siege I have counted above sixty shells and carcases in theair at once. When this place was taken I went through the citadel, andin the bomb-proofs under it, which were cut in the solid rock; and Ithought it a surprising place, both for strength and building:notwithstanding which our shots and shells had made amazingdevastation, and ruinous heaps all around it. 

After the taking of this island our ships, with some others commandedby Commodore Stanhope in the Swiftsure, went to Basse-road, where weblocked up a French fleet. Our ships were there from June tillFebruary following; and in that time I saw a great many scenes of war, and stratagems on both sides to destroy each others fleet. Sometimeswe would attack the French with some ships of the line; at other timeswith boats; and frequently we made prizes. Once or twice the Frenchattacked us by throwing shells with their bomb-vessels: and one day asa French vessel was throwing shells at our ships she broke from hersprings, behind the isle of I de Re: the tide being complicated, shecame within a gun shot of the Nassau; but the Nassau could not bring agun to bear upon her, and thereby the Frenchman got off. We were twiceattacked by their fire-floats, which they chained together, and thenlet them float down with the tide; but each time we sent boats withgraplings, and towed them safe out of the fleet. 

We had different commanders while we were at this place, CommodoresStanhope, Dennis, Lord Howe, &c. From hence, before the Spanish warbegan, our ship and the Wasp sloop were sent to St. Sebastian inSpain, by Commodore Stanhope; and Commodore Dennis afterwards sent ourship as a cartel to Bayonne in France[M], after which[N] we went inFebruary in 1762 to Belle-Isle, and there stayed till the summer, whenwe left it, and returned to Portsmouth. 

After our ship was fitted out again for service, in September she wentto Guernsey, where I was very glad to see my old hostess, who was nowa widow, and my former little charming companion, her daughter. Ispent some time here very happily with them, till October, when we hadorders to repair to Portsmouth. We parted from each other with a greatdeal of affection; and I promised to return soon, and see them again, not knowing what all-powerful fate had determined for me. Our shiphaving arrived at Portsmouth, we went into the harbour, and remainedthere till the latter end of November, when we heard great talk aboutpeace; and, to our very great joy, in the beginning of December we hadorders to go up to London with our ship to be paid off. We receivedthis news with loud huzzas, and every other demonstration of gladness;and nothing but mirth was to be seen throughout every part of theship. I too was not without my share of the general joy on thisoccasion. I thought now of nothing but being freed, and working formyself, and thereby getting money to enable me to get a goodeducation; for I always had a great desire to be able at least to readand write; and while I was on shipboard I had endeavoured to improvemyself in both. While I was in the Ætna particularly, the captain'sclerk taught me to write, and gave me a smattering of arithmetic asfar as the rule of three. There was also one Daniel Queen, about fortyyears of age, a man very well educated, who messed with me on boardthis ship, and he likewise dressed and attended the captain. Fortunately this man soon became very much attached to me, and tookvery great pains to instruct me in many things. He taught me to shaveand dress hair a little, and also to read in the Bible, explainingmany passages to me, which I did not comprehend. I was wonderfullysurprised to see the laws and rules of my country written almostexactly here; a circumstance which I believe tended to impress ourmanners and customs more deeply on my memory. I used to tell him ofthis resemblance; and many a time we have sat up the whole nighttogether at this employment. In short, he was like a father to me; andsome even used to call me after his name; they also styled me theblack Christian. Indeed I almost loved him with the affection of ason. Many things I have denied myself that he might have them; andwhen I used to play at marbles or any other game, and won a fewhalf-pence, or got any little money, which I sometimes did, forshaving any one, I used to buy him a little sugar or tobacco, as faras my stock of money would go. He used to say, that he and I nevershould part; and that when our ship was paid off, as I was as free ashimself or any other man on board, he would instruct me in hisbusiness, by which I might gain a good livelihood. This gave me newlife and spirits; and my heart burned within me, while I thought thetime long till I obtained my freedom. For though my master had notpromised it to me, yet, besides the assurances I had received that hehad no right to detain me, he always treated me with the greatestkindness, and reposed in me an unbounded confidence; he even paidattention to my morals; and would never suffer me to deceive him, ortell lies, of which he used to tell me the consequences; and that if Idid so God would not love me; so that, from all this tenderness, I hadnever once supposed, in all my dreams of freedom, that he would thinkof detaining me any longer than I wished. 

In pursuance of our orders we sailed from Portsmouth for the Thames, and arrived at Deptford the 10th of December, where we cast anchorjust as it was high water. The ship was up about half an hour, when mymaster ordered the barge to be manned; and all in an instant, withouthaving before given me the least reason to suspect any thing of thematter, he forced me into the barge; saying, I was going to leave him, but he would take care I should not. I was so struck with theunexpectedness of this proceeding, that for some time I did not make areply, only I made an offer to go for my books and chest of clothes, but he swore I should not move out of his sight; and if I did he wouldcut my throat, at the same time taking his hanger. I began, however, to collect myself; and, plucking up courage, I told him I was free, and he could not by law serve me so. But this only enraged him themore; and he continued to swear, and said he would soon let me knowwhether he would or not, and at that instant sprung himself into thebarge from the ship, to the astonishment and sorrow of all on board. The tide, rather unluckily for me, had just turned downward, so thatwe quickly fell down the river along with it, till we came among someoutward-bound West Indiamen; for he was resolved to put me on boardthe first vessel he could get to receive me. The boat's crew, whopulled against their will, became quite faint different times, andwould have gone ashore; but he would not let them. Some of them strovethen to cheer me, and told me he could not sell me, and that theywould stand by me, which revived me a little; and I still entertainedhopes; for as they pulled along he asked some vessels to receive me, but they could not. But, just as we had got a little below Gravesend, we came alongside of a ship which was going away the next tide for theWest Indies; her name was the Charming Sally, Captain James Doran; andmy master went on board and agreed with him for me; and in a littletime I was sent for into the cabin. When I came there Captain Doranasked me if I knew him; I answered that I did not; 'Then, ' said he'you are now my slave. ' I told him my master could not sell me to him, nor to any one else. 'Why, ' said he, 'did not your master buy you?' Iconfessed he did. 'But I have served him, ' said I, 'many years, and hehas taken all my wages and prize-money, for I only got one sixpenceduring the war; besides this I have been baptized; and by the laws ofthe land no man has a right to sell me:' And I added, that I had hearda lawyer and others at different times tell my master so. They boththen said that those people who told me so were not my friends; but Ireplied--it was very extraordinary that other people did not know thelaw as well as they. Upon this Captain Doran said I talked too muchEnglish; and if I did not behave myself well, and be quiet, he had amethod on board to make me. I was too well convinced of his power overme to doubt what he said; and my former sufferings in the slave-shippresenting themselves to my mind, the recollection of them made meshudder. However, before I retired I told them that as I could not getany right among men here I hoped I should hereafter in Heaven; and Iimmediately left the cabin, filled with resentment and sorrow. Theonly coat I had with me my master took away with him, and said if myprize-money had been 10, 000 £. He had a right to it all, and would havetaken it. I had about nine guineas, which, during my long sea-faringlife, I had scraped together from trifling perquisites and littleventures; and I hid it that instant, lest my master should take thatfrom me likewise, still hoping that by some means or other I shouldmake my escape to the shore; and indeed some of my old shipmates toldme not to despair, for they would get me back again; and that, as soonas they could get their pay, they would immediately come to Portsmouthto me, where this ship was going: but, alas! all my hopes werebaffled, and the hour of my deliverance was yet far off. My master, having soon concluded his bargain with the captain, came out of thecabin, and he and his people got into the boat and put off; I followedthem with aching eyes as long as I could, and when they were out ofsight I threw myself on the deck, while my heart was ready to burstwith sorrow and anguish. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote L: He had drowned himself in endeavouring to desert. ]

[Footnote M: Among others whom we brought from Bayonne, two gentlemen, who had been in the West Indies, where they sold slaves; and theyconfessed they had made at one time a false bill of sale, and sold twoPortuguese white men among a lot of slaves. ]

[Footnote N: Some people have it, that sometimes shortly beforepersons die their ward has been seen; that is, some spirit exactly intheir likeness, though they are themselves at other places at the sametime. One day while we were at Bayonne Mr. Mondle saw one of our men, as he thought, in the gun-room; and a little after, coming on thequarter-deck, he spoke of some circumstances of this man to some ofthe officers. They told him that the man was then out of the ship, inone of the boats with the Lieutenant: but Mr. Mondle would not believeit, and we searched the ship, when he found the man was actually outof her; and when the boat returned some time afterwards, we found theman had been drowned at the very time Mr. Mondle thought he saw him. ]

CHAP. V. 

 _The author's reflections on his situation--Is deceived by a promise of being delivered--His despair at sailing for the West Indies--Arrives at Montserrat, where he is sold to Mr. King--Various interesting instances of oppression, cruelty, and extortion, which the author saw practised upon the slaves in the West Indies during his captivity from the year 1763 to 1766--Address on it to the planters. _

Thus, at the moment I expected all my toils to end, was I plunged, asI supposed, in a new slavery; in comparison of which all my servicehitherto had been 'perfect freedom;' and whose horrors, always presentto my mind, now rushed on it with tenfold aggravation. I wept verybitterly for some time: and began to think that I must have donesomething to displease the Lord, that he thus punished me so severely. This filled me with painful reflections on my past conduct; Irecollected that on the morning of our arrival at Deptford I hadrashly sworn that as soon as we reached London I would spend the dayin rambling and sport. My conscience smote me for this unguardedexpression: I felt that the Lord was able to disappoint me in allthings, and immediately considered my present situation as a judgmentof Heaven on account of my presumption in swearing: I therefore, withcontrition of heart, acknowledged my transgression to God, and pouredout my soul before him with unfeigned repentance, and with earnestsupplications I besought him not to abandon me in my distress, norcast me from his mercy for ever. In a little time my grief, spent withits own violence, began to subside; and after the first confusion ofmy thoughts was over I reflected with more calmness on my presentcondition: I considered that trials and disappointments are sometimesfor our good, and I thought God might perhaps have permitted this inorder to teach me wisdom and resignation; for he had hitherto shadowedme with the wings of his mercy, and by his invisible but powerful handbrought me the way I knew not. These reflections gave me a littlecomfort, and I rose at last from the deck with dejection and sorrow inmy countenance, yet mixed with some faint hope that the _Lord wouldappear_ for my deliverance. 

Soon afterwards, as my new master was going ashore, he called me tohim, and told me to behave myself well, and do the business of theship the same as any of the rest of the boys, and that I should farethe better for it; but I made him no answer. I was then asked if Icould swim, and I said, No. However I was made to go under the deck, and was well watched. The next tide the ship got under way, and soonafter arrived at the Mother Bank, Portsmouth; where she waited a fewdays for some of the West India convoy. While I was here I tried everymeans I could devise amongst the people of the ship to get me a boatfrom the shore, as there was none suffered to come alongside of theship; and their own, whenever it was used, was hoisted in againimmediately. A sailor on board took a guinea from me on pretence ofgetting me a boat; and promised me, time after time, that it washourly to come off. When he had the watch upon deck I watched also;and looked long enough, but all in vain; I could never see either theboat or my guinea again. And what I thought was still the worst ofall, the fellow gave information, as I afterwards found, all the whileto the mates, of my intention to go off, if I could in any way do it;but, rogue like, he never told them he had got a guinea from me toprocure my escape. However, after we had sailed, and his trick wasmade known to the ship's crew, I had some satisfaction in seeing himdetested and despised by them all for his behaviour to me. I was stillin hopes that my old shipmates would not forget their promise to comefor me to Portsmouth: and, indeed, at last, but not till the daybefore we sailed, some of them did come there, and sent me off someoranges, and other tokens of their regard. They also sent me word theywould come off to me themselves the next day or the day after; and alady also, who lived in Gosport, wrote to me that she would come andtake me out of the ship at the same time. This lady had been once veryintimate with my former master: I used to sell and take care of agreat deal of property for her, in different ships; and in return shealways shewed great friendship for me, and used to tell my master thatshe would take me away to live with her: but, unfortunately for me, adisagreement soon afterwards took place between them; and she wassucceeded in my master's good graces by another lady, who appearedsole mistress of the Ætna, and mostly lodged on board. I was not sogreat a favourite with this lady as with the former; she had conceiveda pique against me on some occasion when she was on board, and she didnot fail to instigate my master to treat me in the manner he did[O]. 

However, the next morning, the 30th of December, the wind being briskand easterly, the Oeolus frigate, which was to escort the convoy, made a signal for sailing. All the ships then got up their anchors;and, before any of my friends had an opportunity to come off to myrelief, to my inexpressible anguish our ship had got under way. Whattumultuous emotions agitated my soul when the convoy got under sail, and I a prisoner on board, now without hope! I kept my swimming eyesupon the land in a state of unutterable grief; not knowing what to do, and despairing how to help myself. While my mind was in this situationthe fleet sailed on, and in one day's time I lost sight of thewished-for land. In the first expressions of my grief I reproached myfate, and wished I had never been born. I was ready to curse the tidethat bore us, the gale that wafted my prison, and even the ship thatconducted us; and I called on death to relieve me from the horrors Ifelt and dreaded, that I might be in that place

 "Where slaves are free, and men oppress no more. Fool that I was, inur'd so long to pain, To trust to hope, or dream of joy again. 

 * * * * *

 Now dragg'd once more beyond the western main, To groan beneath some dastard planter's chain; Where my poor countrymen in bondage wait The long enfranchisement of ling'ring fate: Hard ling'ring fate! while, ere the dawn of day, Rous'd by the lash they go their cheerless way; And as their souls with shame and anguish burn, Salute with groans unwelcome morn's return, And, chiding ev'ry hour the slow-pac'd sun, Pursue their toils till all his race is run. No eye to mark their suff'rings with a tear; No friend to comfort, and no hope to cheer: Then, like the dull unpity'd brutes, repair To stalls as wretched, and as coarse a fare; Thank heaven one day of mis'ry was o'er, Then sink to sleep, and wish to wake no more[P]. "

The turbulence of my emotions however naturally gave way to calmerthoughts, and I soon perceived what fate had decreed no mortal onearth could prevent. The convoy sailed on without any accident, with apleasant gale and smooth sea, for six weeks, till February, when onemorning the Oeolus ran down a brig, one of the convoy, and sheinstantly went down and was ingulfed in the dark recesses of theocean. The convoy was immediately thrown into great confusion till itwas daylight; and the Oeolus was illumined with lights to preventany farther mischief. On the 13th of February 1763, from themast-head, we descried our destined island Montserrat; and soon afterI beheld those

 "Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace And rest can rarely dwell. Hope never comes That comes to all, but torture without end Still urges. "

At the sight of this land of bondage, a fresh horror ran through allmy frame, and chilled me to the heart. My former slavery now rose indreadful review to my mind, and displayed nothing but misery, stripes, and chains; and, in the first paroxysm of my grief, I called uponGod's thunder, and his avenging power, to direct the stroke of deathto me, rather than permit me to become a slave, and be sold from lordto lord. 

In this state of my mind our ship came to an anchor, and soon afterdischarged her cargo. I now knew what it was to work hard; I was madeto help to unload and load the ship. And, to comfort me in my distressin that time, two of the sailors robbed me of all my money, and ranaway from the ship. I had been so long used to an European climatethat at first I felt the scorching West India sun very painful, whilethe dashing surf would toss the boat and the people in it frequentlyabove high water mark. Sometimes our limbs were broken with this, oreven attended with instant death, and I was day by day mangled andtorn. 

About the middle of May, when the ship was got ready to sail forEngland, I all the time believing that Fate's blackest clouds weregathering over my head, and expecting their bursting would mix me withthe dead, Captain Doran sent for me ashore one morning, and I was toldby the messenger that my fate was then determined. With flutteringsteps and trembling heart I came to the captain, and found with himone Mr. Robert King, a quaker, and the first merchant in the place. The captain then told me my former master had sent me there to besold; but that he had desired him to get me the best master he could, as he told him I was a very deserving boy, which Captain Doran said hefound to be true; and if he were to stay in the West Indies he wouldbe glad to keep me himself; but he could not venture to take me toLondon, for he was very sure that when I came there I would leave him. I at that instant burst out a crying, and begged much of him to takeme to England with him, but all to no purpose. He told me he had gotme the very best master in the whole island, with whom I should be ashappy as if I were in England, and for that reason he chose to let himhave me, though he could sell me to his own brother-in-law for a greatdeal more money than what he got from this gentleman. Mr. King, my newmaster, then made a reply, and said the reason he had bought me was onaccount of my good character; and, as he had not the least doubt of mygood behaviour, I should be very well off with him. He also told me hedid not live in the West Indies, but at Philadelphia, where he wasgoing soon; and, as I understood something of the rules ofarithmetic, when we got there he would put me to school, and fit mefor a clerk. This conversation relieved my mind a little, and I leftthose gentlemen considerably more at ease in myself than when I cameto them; and I was very grateful to Captain Doran, and even to my oldmaster, for the character they had given me; a character which Iafterwards found of infinite service to me. I went on board again, andtook leave of all my shipmates; and the next day the ship sailed. Whenshe weighed anchor I went to the waterside and looked at her with avery wishful and aching heart, and followed her with my eyes and tearsuntil she was totally out of sight. I was so bowed down with griefthat I could not hold up my head for many months; and if my new masterhad not been kind to me I believe I should have died under it at last. And indeed I soon found that he fully deserved the good characterwhich Captain Doran had given me of him; for he possessed a mostamiable disposition and temper, and was very charitable and humane. Ifany of his slaves behaved amiss he did not beat or use them ill, butparted with them. This made them afraid of disobliging him; and as hetreated his slaves better than any other man on the island, so he wasbetter and more faithfully served by them in return. By his kindtreatment I did at last endeavour to compose myself; and withfortitude, though moneyless, determined to face whatever fate haddecreed for me. Mr. King soon asked me what I could do; and at thesame time said he did not mean to treat me as a common slave. I toldhim I knew something of seamanship, and could shave and dress hairpretty well; and I could refine wines, which I had learned onshipboard, where I had often done it; and that I could write, andunderstood arithmetic tolerably well as far as the Rule of Three. Hethen asked me if I knew any thing of gauging; and, on my answeringthat I did not, he said one of his clerks should teach me to gauge. 

Mr. King dealt in all manner of merchandize, and kept from one to sixclerks. He loaded many vessels in a year; particularly toPhiladelphia, where he was born, and was connected with a greatmercantile house in that city. He had besides many vessels anddroggers, of different sizes, which used to go about the island; andothers to collect rum, sugar, and other goods. I understood pullingand managing those boats very well; and this hard work, which was thefirst that he set me to, in the sugar seasons used to be my constantemployment. I have rowed the boat, and slaved at the oars, from onehour to sixteen in the twenty-four; during which I had fifteen pencesterling per day to live on, though sometimes only ten pence. Howeverthis was considerably more than was allowed to other slaves that usedto work with me, and belonged to other gentlemen on the island: thosepoor souls had never more than nine pence per day, and seldom morethan six pence, from their masters or owners, though they earned themthree or four pisterines[Q]: for it is a common practice in the WestIndies for men to purchase slaves though they have not plantationsthemselves, in order to let them out to planters and merchants at somuch a piece by the day, and they give what allowance they chuse outof this produce of their daily work to their slaves for subsistence;this allowance is often very scanty. My master often gave the ownersof these slaves two and a half of these pieces per day, and found thepoor fellows in victuals himself, because he thought their owners didnot feed them well enough according to the work they did. The slavesused to like this very well; and, as they knew my master to be a manof feeling, they were always glad to work for him in preference to anyother gentleman; some of whom, after they had been paid for these poorpeople's labours, would not give them their allowance out of it. Manytimes have I even seen these unfortunate wretches beaten for askingfor their pay; and often severely flogged by their owners if they didnot bring them their daily or weekly money exactly to the time; thoughthe poor creatures were obliged to wait on the gentlemen they hadworked for sometimes for more than half the day before they could gettheir pay; and this generally on Sundays, when they wanted the timefor themselves. In particular, I knew a countryman of mine who oncedid not bring the weekly money directly that it was earned; and thoughhe brought it the same day to his master, yet he was staked to theground for this pretended negligence, and was just going to receive ahundred lashes, but for a gentleman who begged him off fifty. Thispoor man was very industrious; and, by his frugality, had saved somuch money by working on shipboard, that he had got a white man to buyhim a boat, unknown to his master. Some time after he had this littleestate the governor wanted a boat to bring his sugar from differentparts of the island; and, knowing this to be a negro-man's boat, heseized upon it for himself, and would not pay the owner a farthing. The man on this went to his master, and complained to him of this actof the governor; but the only satisfaction he received was to bedamned very heartily by his master, who asked him how dared any of hisnegroes to have a boat. If the justly-merited ruin of the governor'sfortune could be any gratification to the poor man he had thus robbed, he was not without consolation. Extortion and rapine are poorproviders; and some time after this the governor died in the King'sBench in England, as I was told, in great poverty. The last warfavoured this poor negro-man, and he found some means to escape fromhis Christian master: he came to England; where I saw him afterwardsseveral times. Such treatment as this often drives these miserablewretches to despair, and they run away from their masters at thehazard of their lives. Many of them, in this place, unable to gettheir pay when they have earned it, and fearing to be flogged, asusual, if they return home without it, run away where they can forshelter, and a reward is often offered to bring them in dead or alive. My master used sometimes, in these cases, to agree with their owners, and to settle with them himself; and thereby he saved many of them aflogging. 

Once, for a few days, I was let out to fit a vessel, and I had novictuals allowed me by either party; at last I told my master of thistreatment, and he took me away from it. In many of the estates, on thedifferent islands where I used to be sent for rum or sugar, they wouldnot deliver it to me, or any other negro; he was therefore obliged tosend a white man along with me to those places; and then he used topay him from six to ten pisterines a day. From being thus employed, during the time I served Mr. King, in going about the differentestates on the island, I had all the opportunity I could wish for tosee the dreadful usage of the poor men; usage that reconciled me to mysituation, and made me bless God for the hands into which I hadfallen. 

I had the good fortune to please my master in every department inwhich he employed me; and there was scarcely any part of his business, or household affairs, in which I was not occasionally engaged. I oftensupplied the place of a clerk, in receiving and delivering cargoes tothe ships, in tending stores, and delivering goods: and, besides this, I used to shave and dress my master when convenient, and take care ofhis horse; and when it was necessary, which was very often, I workedlikewise on board of different vessels of his. By these means I becamevery useful to my master; and saved him, as he used to acknowledge, above a hundred pounds a year. Nor did he scruple to say I was of moreadvantage to him than any of his clerks; though their usual wages inthe West Indies are from sixty to a hundred pounds current a year. 

I have sometimes heard it asserted that a negro cannot earn his masterthe first cost; but nothing can be further from the truth. I supposenine tenths of the mechanics throughout the West Indies are negroslaves; and I well know the coopers among them earn two dollars a day;the carpenters the same, and oftentimes more; as also the masons, smiths, and fishermen, &c. And I have known many slaves whose masterswould not take a thousand pounds current for them. But surely thisassertion refutes itself; for, if it be true, why do the planters andmerchants pay such a price for slaves? And, above all, why do thosewho make this assertion exclaim the most loudly against the abolitionof the slave trade? So much are men blinded, and to such inconsistentarguments are they driven by mistaken interest! I grant, indeed, thatslaves are some times, by half-feeding, half-clothing, over-workingand stripes, reduced so low, that they are turned out as unfit forservice, and left to perish in the woods, or expire on a dunghill. 

My master was several times offered by different gentlemen one hundredguineas for me; but he always told them he would not sell me, to mygreat joy: and I used to double my diligence and care for fear ofgetting into the hands of those men who did not allow a valuable slavethe common support of life. Many of them even used to find fault withmy master for feeding his slaves so well as he did; although I oftenwent hungry, and an Englishman might think my fare very indifferent;but he used to tell them he always would do it, because the slavesthereby looked better and did more work. 

While I was thus employed by my master I was often a witness tocruelties of every kind, which were exercised on my unhappy fellowslaves. I used frequently to have different cargoes of new negroes inmy care for sale; and it was almost a constant practice with ourclerks, and other whites, to commit violent depredations on thechastity of the female slaves; and these I was, though withreluctance, obliged to submit to at all times, being unable to helpthem. When we have had some of these slaves on board my master'svessels to carry them to other islands, or to America, I have knownour mates to commit these acts most shamefully, to the disgrace, notof Christians only, but of men. I have even known them gratify theirbrutal passion with females not ten years old; and these abominationssome of them practised to such scandalous excess, that one of ourcaptains discharged the mate and others on that account. And yet inMontserrat I have seen a negro man staked to the ground, and cut mostshockingly, and then his ears cut off bit by bit, because he had beenconnected with a white woman who was a common prostitute: as if itwere no crime in the whites to rob an innocent African girl of hervirtue; but most heinous in a black man only to gratify a passion ofnature, where the temptation was offered by one of a different colour, though the most abandoned woman of her species. Another negro man washalf hanged, and then burnt, for attempting to poison a crueloverseer. Thus by repeated cruelties are the wretched first urged todespair, and then murdered, because they still retain so much of humannature about them as to wish to put an end to their misery, andretaliate on their tyrants! These overseers are indeed for the mostpart persons of the worst character of any denomination of men in theWest Indies. Unfortunately, many humane gentlemen, by not residing ontheir estates, are obliged to leave the management of them in thehands of these human butchers, who cut and mangle the slaves in ashocking manner on the most trifling occasions, and altogether treatthem in every respect like brutes. They pay no regard to the situationof pregnant women, nor the least attention to the lodging of thefield negroes. Their huts, which ought to be well covered, and theplace dry where they take their little repose, are often open sheds, built in damp places; so that, when the poor creatures return tiredfrom the toils of the field, they contract many disorders, from beingexposed to the damp air in this uncomfortable state, while they areheated, and their pores are open. This neglect certainly conspireswith many others to cause a decrease in the births as well as in thelives of the grown negroes. I can quote many instances of gentlemenwho reside on their estates in the West Indies, and then the scene isquite changed; the negroes are treated with lenity and proper care, bywhich their lives are prolonged, and their masters are profited. Tothe honour of humanity, I knew several gentlemen who managed theirestates in this manner; and they found that benevolence was their trueinterest. And, among many I could mention in several of the islands, Iknew one in Montserrat[R] whose slaves looked remarkably well, andnever needed any fresh supplies of negroes; and there are many otherestates, especially in Barbadoes, which, from such judicioustreatment, need no fresh stock of negroes at any time. I have thehonour of knowing a most worthy and humane gentleman, who is a nativeof Barbadoes, and has estates there[S]. This gentleman has written atreatise on the usage of his own slaves. He allows them two hours forrefreshment at mid-day; and many other indulgencies and comforts, particularly in their lying; and, besides this, he raises moreprovisions on his estate than they can destroy; so that by theseattentions he saves the lives of his negroes, and keeps them healthy, and as happy as the condition of slavery can admit. I myself, as shallappear in the sequel, managed an estate, where, by those attentions, the negroes were uncommonly cheerful and healthy, and did more work byhalf than by the common mode of treatment they usually do. For want, therefore, of such care and attention to the poor negroes, andotherwise oppressed as they are, it is no wonder that the decreaseshould require 20, 000 new negroes annually to fill up the vacantplaces of the dead. 

Even in Barbadoes, notwithstanding those humane exceptions which Ihave mentioned, and others I am acquainted with, which justly make itquoted as a place where slaves meet with the best treatment, and needfewest recruits of any in the West Indies, yet this island requires1000 negroes annually to keep up the original stock, which is only80, 000. So that the whole term of a negro's life may be said to bethere but sixteen years![T] And yet the climate here is in everyrespect the same as that from which they are taken, except in beingmore wholesome. Do the British colonies decrease in this manner? Andyet what a prodigious difference is there between an English and WestIndia climate?

While I was in Montserrat I knew a negro man, named Emanuel Sankey, who endeavoured to escape from his miserable bondage, by concealinghimself on board of a London ship: but fate did not favour the pooroppressed man; for, being discovered when the vessel was under sail, he was delivered up again to his master. This Christian masterimmediately pinned the wretch down to the ground at each wrist andancle, and then took some sticks of sealing wax, and lighted them, anddroped it all over his back. There was another master who was notedfor cruelty; and I believe he had not a slave but what had been cut, and had pieces fairly taken out of the flesh: and, after they had beenpunished thus, he used to make them get into a long wooden box or casehe had for that purpose, in which he shut them up during pleasure. Itwas just about the height and breadth of a man; and the poor wretcheshad no room, when in the case, to move. 

It was very common in several of the islands, particularly in St. Kitt's, for the slaves to be branded with the initial letters of theirmaster's name; and a load of heavy iron hooks hung about their necks. Indeed on the most trifling occasions they were loaded with chains;and often instruments of torture were added. The iron muzzle, thumb-screws, &c. Are so well known, as not to need a description, andwere sometimes applied for the slightest faults. I have seen a negrobeaten till some of his bones were broken, for even letting a pot boilover. Is it surprising that usage like this should drive the poorcreatures to despair, and make them seek a refuge in death from thoseevils which render their lives intolerable--while, "With shudd'ring horror pale, and eyes aghast, They view their lamentable lot, and find No rest!"

This they frequently do. A negro-man on board a vessel of my master, while I belonged to her, having been put in irons for some triflingmisdemeanor, and kept in that state for some days, being weary oflife, took an opportunity of jumping overboard into the sea; however, he was picked up without being drowned. Another, whose life was also aburden to him, resolved to starve himself to death, and refused to eatany victuals; this procured him a severe flogging: and he also, on thefirst occasion which offered, jumped overboard at Charles Town, butwas saved. 

Nor is there any greater regard shewn to the little property thanthere is to the persons and lives of the negroes. I have alreadyrelated an instance or two of particular oppression out of many whichI have witnessed; but the following is frequent in all the islands. The wretched field-slaves, after toiling all the day for an unfeelingowner, who gives them but little victuals, steal sometimes a fewmoments from rest or refreshment to gather some small portion ofgrass, according as their time will admit. This they commonly tie upin a parcel; (either a bit, worth six pence; or half a bit's-worth)and bring it to town, or to the market, to sell. Nothing is morecommon than for the white people on this occasion to take the grassfrom them without paying for it; and not only so, but too often also, to my knowledge, our clerks, and many others, at the same time havecommitted acts of violence on the poor, wretched, and helplessfemales; whom I have seen for hours stand crying to no purpose, andget no redress or pay of any kind. Is not this one common and cryingsin enough to bring down God's judgment on the islands? He tells usthe oppressor and the oppressed are both in his hands; and if theseare not the poor, the broken-hearted, the blind, the captive, thebruised, which our Saviour speaks of, who are they? One of thesedepredators once, in St. Eustatia, came on board of our vessel, andbought some fowls and pigs of me; and a whole day after his departurewith the things he returned again and wanted his money back: I refusedto give it; and, not seeing my captain on board, he began the commonpranks with me; and swore he would even break open my chest and takemy money. I therefore expected, as my captain was absent, that hewould be as good as his word: and he was just proceeding to strike me, when fortunately a British seaman on board, whose heart had not beendebauched by a West India climate, interposed and prevented him. Buthad the cruel man struck me I certainly should have defended myself atthe hazard of my life; for what is life to a man thus oppressed? Hewent away, however, swearing; and threatened that whenever he caughtme on shore he would shoot me, and pay for me afterwards. 

The small account in which the life of a negro is held in the WestIndies is so universally known, that it might seem impertinent toquote the following extract, if some people had not been hardy enoughof late to assert that negroes are on the same footing in that respectas Europeans. By the 329th Act, page 125, of the Assembly ofBarbadoes, it is enacted 'That if any negro, or other slave, underpunishment by his master, or his order, for running away, or any othercrime or misdemeanor towards his said master, unfortunately shallsuffer in life or member, no person whatsoever shall be liable to afine; but if any man shall out of _wantonness, or only ofbloody-mindedness, or cruel intention, wilfully kill a negro, or otherslave, of his own, he shall pay into the public treasury fifteenpounds sterling_. ' And it is the same in most, if not all, of the WestIndia islands. Is not this one of the many acts of the islands whichcall loudly for redress? And do not the assembly which enacted itdeserve the appellation of savages and brutes rather than ofChristians and men? It is an act at once unmerciful, unjust, andunwise; which for cruelty would disgrace an assembly of those who arecalled barbarians; and for its injustice and _insanity_ would shockthe morality and common sense of a Samaide or a Hottentot. 

Shocking as this and many more acts of the bloody West India code atfirst view appear, how is the iniquity of it heightened when weconsider to whom it may be extended! Mr. James Tobin, a zealouslabourer in the vineyard of slavery, gives an account of a Frenchplanter of his acquaintance, in the island of Martinico, who shewedhim many mulattoes working in the fields like beasts of burden; and hetold Mr. Tobin these were all the produce of his own loins! And Imyself have known similar instances. Pray, reader, are these sons anddaughters of the French planter less his children by being begotten ona black woman? And what must be the virtue of those legislators, andthe feelings of those fathers, who estimate the lives of their sons, however begotten, at no more than fifteen pounds; though they shouldbe murdered, as the act says, _out of wantonness and bloody-mindedness_!But is not the slave trade entirely a war with the heart of man? Andsurely that which is begun by breaking down the barriers of virtueinvolves in its continuance destruction to every principle, and buriesall sentiments in ruin!

I have often seen slaves, particularly those who were meagre, indifferent islands, put into scales and weighed; and then sold fromthree pence to six pence or nine pence a pound. My master, however, whose humanity was shocked at this mode, used to sell such by thelump. And at or after a sale it was not uncommon to see negroes takenfrom their wives, wives taken from their husbands, and children fromtheir parents, and sent off to other islands, and wherever else theirmerciless lords chose; and probably never more during life to see eachother! Oftentimes my heart has bled at these partings; when thefriends of the departed have been at the water side, and, with sighsand tears, have kept their eyes fixed on the vessel till it went outof sight. 

A poor Creole negro I knew well, who, after having been often thustransported from island to island, at last resided in Montserrat. Thisman used to tell me many melancholy tales of himself. Generally, afterhe had done working for his master, he used to employ his few leisuremoments to go a fishing. When he had caught any fish, his master wouldfrequently take them from him without paying him; and at other timessome other white people would serve him in the same manner. One day hesaid to me, very movingly, 'Sometimes when a white man take away myfish I go to my maser, and he get me my right; and when my maser bystrength take away my fishes, what me must do? I can't go to any bodyto be righted; then' said the poor man, looking up above 'I must lookup to God Mighty in the top for right. ' This artless tale moved memuch, and I could not help feeling the just cause Moses had inredressing his brother against the Egyptian. I exhorted the man tolook up still to the God on the top, since there was no redress below. Though I little thought then that I myself should more than onceexperience such imposition, and read the same exhortation hereafter, in my own transactions in the islands; and that even this poor man andI should some time after suffer together in the same manner, as shallbe related hereafter. 

Nor was such usage as this confined to particular places orindividuals; for, in all the different islands in which I have been(and I have visited no less than fifteen) the treatment of the slaveswas nearly the same; so nearly indeed, that the history of an island, or even a plantation, with a few such exceptions as I have mentioned, might serve for a history of the whole. Such a tendency has theslave-trade to debauch men's minds, and harden them to every feelingof humanity! For I will not suppose that the dealers in slaves areborn worse than other men--No; it is the fatality of this mistakenavarice, that it corrupts the milk of human kindness and turns it intogall. And, had the pursuits of those men been different, they mighthave been as generous, as tender-hearted and just, as they areunfeeling, rapacious and cruel. Surely this traffic cannot be good, which spreads like a pestilence, and taints what it touches! whichviolates that first natural right of mankind, equality andindependency, and gives one man a dominion over his fellows which Godcould never intend! For it raises the owner to a state as far aboveman as it depresses the slave below it; and, with all the presumptionof human pride, sets a distinction between them, immeasurable inextent, and endless in duration! Yet how mistaken is the avarice evenof the planters? Are slaves more useful by being thus humbled to thecondition of brutes, than they would be if suffered to enjoy theprivileges of men? The freedom which diffuses health and prosperitythroughout Britain answers you--No. When you make men slaves youdeprive them of half their virtue, you set them in your own conduct anexample of fraud, rapine, and cruelty, and compel them to live withyou in a state of war; and yet you complain that they are not honestor faithful! You stupify them with stripes, and think it necessary tokeep them in a state of ignorance; and yet you assert that they areincapable of learning; that their minds are such a barren soil ormoor, that culture would be lost on them; and that they come from aclimate, where nature, though prodigal of her bounties in a degreeunknown to yourselves, has left man alone scant and unfinished, andincapable of enjoying the treasures she has poured out for him!--Anassertion at once impious and absurd. Why do you use those instrumentsof torture? Are they fit to be applied by one rational being toanother? And are ye not struck with shame and mortification, to seethe partakers of your nature reduced so low? But, above all, are thereno dangers attending this mode of treatment? Are you not hourly indread of an insurrection? Nor would it be surprising: for when

 "--No peace is given To us enslav'd, but custody severe; And stripes and arbitrary punishment Inflicted--What peace can we return? But to our power, hostility and hate; Untam'd reluctance, and revenge, though slow, Yet ever plotting how the conqueror least May reap his conquest, and may least rejoice In doing what we most in suffering feel. "

But by changing your conduct, and treating your slaves as men, everycause of fear would be banished. They would be faithful, honest, intelligent and vigorous; and peace, prosperity, and happiness, wouldattend you. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote O: Thus was I sacrificed to the envy and resentment of thiswoman for knowing that the lady whom she had succeeded in my master'sgood graces designed to take me into her service; which, had I oncegot on shore, she would not have been able to prevent. She felt herpride alarmed at the superiority of her rival in being attended by ablack servant: it was not less to prevent this than to be revenged onme, that she caused the captain to treat me thus cruelly. ]

[Footnote P: "The Dying Negro, " a poem originally published in 1773. Perhaps it may not be deemed impertinent here to add, that thiselegant and pathetic little poem was occasioned, as appears by theadvertisement prefixed to it, by the following incident. "A black, who, a few days before had ran away from his master, and got himselfchristened, with intent to marry a white woman his fellow-servant, being taken and sent on board a ship in the Thames, took anopportunity of shooting himself through the head. "]

[Footnote Q: These pisterines are of the value of a shilling. ]

[Footnote R: Mr. Dubury, and many others, Montserrat. ]

[Footnote S: Sir Philip Gibbes, Baronet, Barbadoes. ]

[Footnote T: Benezet's Account of Guinea, p. 16. ]

CHAP. VI. 

 _Some account of Brimstone-Hill in Montserrat--Favourable change in the author's situation--He commences merchant with three pence--His various success in dealing in the different islands, and America, and the impositions he meets with in his transactions with Europeans--A curious imposition on human nature--Danger of the surfs in the West Indies--Remarkable instance of kidnapping a free mulatto--The author is nearly murdered by Doctor Perkins in Savannah. _

In the preceding chapter I have set before the reader a few of thosemany instances of oppression, extortion, and cruelty, which I havebeen a witness to in the West Indies: but, were I to enumerate themall, the catalogue would be tedious and disgusting. The punishments ofthe slaves on every trifling occasion are so frequent, and so wellknown, together with the different instruments with which they aretortured, that it cannot any longer afford novelty to recite them; andthey are too shocking to yield delight either to the writer or thereader. I shall therefore hereafter only mention such as incidentallybefel myself in the course of my adventures. 

In the variety of departments in which I was employed by my master, Ihad an opportunity of seeing many curious scenes in different islands;but, above all, I was struck with a celebrated curiosity calledBrimstone-Hill, which is a high and steep mountain, some few milesfrom the town of Plymouth in Montserrat. I had often heard of somewonders that were to be seen on this hill, and I went once with somewhite and black people to visit it. When we arrived at the top, I sawunder different cliffs great flakes of brimstone, occasioned by thesteams of various little ponds, which were then boiling naturally inthe earth. Some of these ponds were as white as milk, some quite blue, and many others of different colours. I had taken some potatoes withme, and I put them into different ponds, and in a few minutes theywere well boiled. I tasted some of them, but they were verysulphurous; and the silver shoe buckles, and all the other things ofthat metal we had among us, were, in a little time, turned as blackas lead. 

Some time in the year 1763 kind Providence seemed to appear rathermore favourable to me. One of my master's vessels, a Bermudas sloop, about sixty tons, was commanded by one Captain Thomas Farmer, anEnglishman, a very alert and active man, who gained my master a greatdeal of money by his good management in carrying passengers from oneisland to another; but very often his sailors used to get drunk andrun away from the vessel, which hindered him in his business verymuch. This man had taken a liking to me; and many different timesbegged of my master to let me go a trip with him as a sailor; but hewould tell him he could not spare me, though the vessel sometimescould not go for want of hands, for sailors were generally very scarcein the island. However, at last, from necessity or force, my masterwas prevailed on, though very reluctantly, to let me go with thiscaptain; but he gave great charge to him to take care that I did notrun away, for if I did he would make him pay for me. This being thecase, the captain had for some time a sharp eye upon me whenever thevessel anchored; and as soon as she returned I was sent for on shoreagain. Thus was I slaving as it were for life, sometimes at one thing, and sometimes at another; so that the captain and I were nearly themost useful men in my master's employment. I also became so useful tothe captain on shipboard, that many times, when he used to ask for meto go with him, though it should be but for twenty-four hours, to someof the islands near us, my master would answer he could not spare me, at which the captain would swear, and would not go the trip; and tellmy master I was better to him on board than any three white men hehad; for they used to behave ill in many respects, particularly ingetting drunk; and then they frequently got the boat stove, so as tohinder the vessel from coming back as soon as she might have done. This my master knew very well; and at last, by the captain's constantentreaties, after I had been several times with him, one day, to mygreat joy, my master told me the captain would not let him rest, andasked me whether I would go aboard as a sailor, or stay on shore andmind the stores, for he could not bear any longer to be plagued inthis manner. I was very happy at this proposal, for I immediatelythought I might in time stand some chance by being on board to get alittle money, or possibly make my escape if I should be used ill: Ialso expected to get better food, and in greater abundance; for I hadfelt much hunger oftentimes, though my master treated his slaves, as Ihave observed, uncommonly well. I therefore, without hesitation, answered him, that I would go and be a sailor if he pleased. Accordingly I was ordered on board directly. Nevertheless, between thevessel and the shore, when she was in port, I had little or no rest, as my master always wished to have me along with him. Indeed he was avery pleasant gentleman, and but for my expectations on shipboard Ishould not have thought of leaving him. But the captain liked me alsovery much, and I was entirely his right-hand man. I did all I could todeserve his favour, and in return I received better treatment from himthan any other I believe ever met with in the West Indies in mysituation. 

After I had been sailing for some time with this captain, at length Iendeavoured to try my luck and commence merchant. I had but a verysmall capital to begin with; for one single half bit, which is equalto three pence in England, made up my whole stock. However I trustedto the Lord to be with me; and at one of our trips to St. Eustatia, aDutch island, I bought a glass tumbler with my half bit, and when Icame to Montserrat I sold it for a bit, or sixpence. Luckily we madeseveral successive trips to St. Eustatia (which was a general mart forthe West Indies, about twenty leagues from Montserrat); and in ournext, finding my tumbler so profitable, with this one bit I bought twotumblers more; and when I came back I sold them for two bits, equal toa shilling sterling. When we went again I bought with these two bitsfour more of these glasses, which I sold for four bits on our returnto Montserrat; and in our next voyage to St. Eustatia I bought twoglasses with one bit, and with the other three I bought a jug ofGeneva, nearly about three pints in measure. When we came toMontserrat I sold the gin for eight bits, and the tumblers for two, sothat my capital now amounted in all to a dollar, well husbanded andacquired in the space of a month or six weeks, when I blessed the Lordthat I was so rich. As we sailed to different islands, I laid thismoney out in various things occasionally, and it used to turn out tovery good account, especially when we went to Guadaloupe, Grenada, andthe rest of the French islands. Thus was I going all about the islandsupwards of four years, and ever trading as I went, during which Iexperienced many instances of ill usage, and have seen many injuriesdone to other negroes in our dealings with Europeans: and, amidst ourrecreations, when we have been dancing and merry-making, they, withoutcause, have molested and insulted us. Indeed I was more than onceobliged to look up to God on high, as I had advised the poor fishermansome time before. And I had not been long trading for myself in themanner I have related above, when I experienced the like trial incompany with him as follows: This man being used to the water, wasupon an emergency put on board of us by his master to work as anotherhand, on a voyage to Santa Cruz; and at our sailing he had brought hislittle all for a venture, which consisted of six bits' worth of limesand oranges in a bag; I had also my whole stock, which was abouttwelve bits' worth of the same kind of goods, separate in two bags;for we had heard these fruits sold well in that island. When we camethere, in some little convenient time he and I went ashore with ourfruits to sell them; but we had scarcely landed when we were met bytwo white men, who presently took our three bags from us. We could notat first guess what they meant to do; and for some time we thoughtthey were jesting with us; but they too soon let us know otherwise, for they took our ventures immediately to a house hard by, andadjoining the fort, while we followed all the way begging of them togive us our fruits, but in vain. They not only refused to return them, but swore at us, and threatened if we did not immediately depart theywould flog us well. We told them these three bags were all we wereworth in the world, and that we brought them with us to sell when wecame from Montserrat, and shewed them the vessel. But this was ratheragainst us, as they now saw we were strangers as well as slaves. Theystill therefore swore, and desired us to be gone, and even took sticksto beat us; while we, seeing they meant what they said, went off inthe greatest confusion and despair. Thus, in the very minute ofgaining more by three times than I ever did by any venture in my lifebefore, was I deprived of every farthing I was worth. Aninsupportable misfortune! but how to help ourselves we knew not. Inour consternation we went to the commanding officer of the fort andtold him how we had been served by some of his people; but we obtainednot the least redress: he answered our complaints only by a volley ofimprecations against us, and immediately took a horse-whip, in orderto chastise us, so that we were obliged to turn out much faster thanwe came in. I now, in the agony of distress and indignation, wishedthat the ire of God in his forked lightning might transfix these crueloppressors among the dead. Still however we persevered; went backagain to the house, and begged and besought them again and again forour fruits, till at last some other people that were in the houseasked if we would be contented if they kept one bag and gave us theother two. We, seeing no remedy whatever, consented to this; and they, observing one bag to have both kinds of fruit in it, which belonged tomy companion, kept that; and the other two, which were mine, they gaveus back. As soon as I got them, I ran as fast as I could, and got thefirst negro man I could to help me off; my companion, however, stayeda little longer to plead; he told them the bag they had was his, andlikewise all that he was worth in the world; but this was of no avail, and he was obliged to return without it. The poor old man, wringinghis hands, cried bitterly for his loss; and, indeed, he then did lookup to God on high, which so moved me with pity for him, that I gavehim nearly one third of my fruits. We then proceeded to the markets tosell them; and Providence was more favourable to us than we could haveexpected, for we sold our fruits uncommonly well; I got for mine aboutthirty-seven bits. Such a surprising reverse of fortune in so short aspace of time seemed like a dream to me, and proved no smallencouragement for me to trust the Lord in any situation. My captainafterwards frequently used to take my part, and get me my right, whenI have been plundered or used ill by these tender Christiandepredators; among whom I have shuddered to observe the unceasingblasphemous execrations which are wantonly thrown out by persons ofall ages and conditions, not only without occasion, but even as ifthey were indulgences and pleasure. 

At one of our trips to St. Kitt's I had eleven bits of my own; and myfriendly captain lent me five bits more, with which I bought a Bible. I was very glad to get this book, which I scarcely could meet with anywhere. I think there was none sold in Montserrat; and, much to mygrief, from being forced out of the Ætna in the manner I have related, my Bible, and the Guide to the Indians, the two books I loved aboveall others, were left behind. 

While I was in this place, St. Kitt's, a very curious imposition onhuman nature took place:--A white man wanted to marry in the church afree black woman that had land and slaves in Montserrat: but theclergyman told him it was against the law of the place to marry awhite and a black in the church. The man then asked to be married onthe water, to which the parson consented, and the two lovers went inone boat, and the parson and clerk in another, and thus the ceremonywas performed. After this the loving pair came on board our vessel, and my captain treated them extremely well, and brought them safe toMontserrat. 

The reader cannot but judge of the irksomeness of this situation to amind like mine, in being daily exposed to new hardships andimpositions, after having seen many better days, and having been as itwere in a state of freedom and plenty; added to which, every part ofthe world I had hitherto been in seemed to me a paradise in comparisonof the West Indies. My mind was therefore hourly replete withinventions and thoughts of being freed, and, if possible, by honestand honourable means; for I always remembered the old adage; and Itrust it has ever been my ruling principle, that honesty is the bestpolicy; and likewise that other golden precept--to do unto all men asI would they should do unto me. However, as I was from early years apredestinarian, I thought whatever fate had determined must ever cometo pass; and therefore, if ever it were my lot to be freed nothingcould prevent me, although I should at present see no means or hope toobtain my freedom; on the other hand, if it were my fate not to befreed I never should be so, and all my endeavours for that purposewould be fruitless. In the midst of these thoughts I therefore lookedup with prayers anxiously to God for my liberty; and at the same timeI used every honest means, and endeavoured all that was possible onmy part to obtain it. In process of time I became master of a fewpounds, and in a fair way of making more, which my friendly captainknew very well; this occasioned him sometimes to take liberties withme: but whenever he treated me waspishly I used plainly to tell him mymind, and that I would die before I would be imposed on as othernegroes were, and that to me life had lost its relish when liberty wasgone. This I said although I foresaw my then well-being or futurehopes of freedom (humanly speaking) depended on this man. However, ashe could not bear the thoughts of my not sailing with him, he alwaysbecame mild on my threats. I therefore continued with him; and, frommy great attention to his orders and his business, I gained himcredit, and through his kindness to me I at last procured my liberty. While I thus went on, filled with the thoughts of freedom, andresisting oppression as well as I was able, my life hung daily insuspense, particularly in the surfs I have formerly mentioned, as Icould not swim. These are extremely violent throughout the WestIndies, and I was ever exposed to their howling rage and devouringfury in all the islands. I have seen them strike and toss a boat rightup an end, and maim several on board. Once in the Grenada islands, when I and about eight others were pulling a large boat with twopuncheons of water in it, a surf struck us, and drove the boat and allin it about half a stone's throw, among some trees, and above the highwater mark. We were obliged to get all the assistance we could fromthe nearest estate to mend the boat, and launch it into the wateragain. At Montserrat one night, in pressing hard to get off the shoreon board, the punt was overset with us four times; the first time Iwas very near being drowned; however the jacket I had on kept me upabove water a little space of time, while I called on a man near mewho was a good swimmer, and told him I could not swim; he then madehaste to me, and, just as I was sinking, he caught hold of me, andbrought me to sounding, and then he went and brought the punt also. Assoon as we had turned the water out of her, lest we should be used illfor being absent, we attempted again three times more, and as oftenthe horrid surfs served us as at first; but at last, the fifth time weattempted, we gained our point, at the imminent hazard of our lives. One day also, at Old Road in Montserrat, our captain, and three menbesides myself, were going in a large canoe in quest of rum and sugar, when a single surf tossed the canoe an amazing distance from thewater, and some of us even a stone's throw from each other: most of uswere very much bruised; so that I and many more often said, and reallythought, that there was not such another place under the heavens asthis. I longed therefore much to leave it, and daily wished to see mymaster's promise performed of going to Philadelphia. While we lay inthis place a very cruel thing happened on board of our sloop whichfilled me with horror; though I found afterwards such practices werefrequent. There was a very clever and decent free young mulatto-manwho sailed a long time with us: he had a free woman for his wife, bywhom he had a child; and she was then living on shore, and all veryhappy. Our captain and mate, and other people on board, and severalelsewhere, even the natives of Bermudas, all knew this young man froma child that he was always free, and no one had ever claimed him astheir property: however, as might too often overcomes right in theseparts, it happened that a Bermudas captain, whose vessel lay there fora few days in the road, came on board of us, and seeing themulatto-man, whose name was Joseph Clipson, he told him he was notfree, and that he had orders from his master to bring him to Bermudas. The poor man could not believe the captain to be in earnest; but hewas very soon undeceived, his men laying violent hands on him: andalthough he shewed a certificate of his being born free in St. Kitt's, and most people on board knew that he served his time to boatbuilding, and always passed for a free man, yet he was taken forciblyout of our vessel. He then asked to be carried ashore before thesecretary or magistrates, and these infernal invaders of human rightspromised him he should; but, instead of that, they carried him onboard of the other vessel: and the next day, without giving the poorman any hearing on shore, or suffering him even to see his wife orchild, he was carried away, and probably doomed never more in thisworld to see them again. Nor was this the only instance of this kindof barbarity I was a witness to. I have since often seen in Jamaicaand other islands free men, whom I have known in America, thusvillainously trepanned and held in bondage. I have heard of twosimilar practices even in Philadelphia: and were it not for thebenevolence of the quakers in that city many of the sable race, whonow breathe the air of liberty, would, I believe, be groaning indeedunder some planter's chains. These things opened my mind to a newscene of horror to which I had been before a stranger. Hitherto I hadthought only slavery dreadful; but the state of a free negro appearedto me now equally so at least, and in some respects even worse, forthey live in constant alarm for their liberty; and even this is butnominal, for they are universally insulted and plundered without thepossibility of redress; for such is the equity of the West Indianlaws, that no free negro's evidence will be admitted in their courtsof justice. In this situation is it surprising that slaves, whenmildly treated, should prefer even the misery of slavery to such amockery of freedom? I was now completely disgusted with the WestIndies, and thought I never should be entirely free until I had leftthem. 

 "With thoughts like these my anxious boding mind Recall'd those pleasing scenes I left behind; Scenes where fair Liberty in bright array Makes darkness bright, and e'en illumines day; Where nor complexion, wealth, or station, can Protect the wretch who makes a slave of man. "

I determined to make every exertion to obtain my freedom, and toreturn to Old England. For this purpose I thought a knowledge ofnavigation might be of use to me; for, though I did not intend to runaway unless I should be ill used, yet, in such a case, if I understoodnavigation, I might attempt my escape in our sloop, which was one ofthe swiftest sailing vessels in the West Indies, and I could be at noloss for hands to join me: and if I should make this attempt, I hadintended to have gone for England; but this, as I said, was only to bein the event of my meeting with any ill usage. I therefore employedthe mate of our vessel to teach me navigation, for which I agreed togive him twenty-four dollars, and actually paid him part of the moneydown; though when the captain, some time after, came to know that themate was to have such a sum for teaching me, he rebuked him, and saidit was a shame for him to take any money from me. However, myprogress in this useful art was much retarded by the constancy of ourwork. Had I wished to run away I did not want opportunities, whichfrequently presented themselves; and particularly at one time, soonafter this. When we were at the island of Gaurdeloupe there was alarge fleet of merchantmen bound for Old France; and, seamen thenbeing very scarce, they gave from fifteen to twenty pounds a man forthe run. Our mate, and all the white sailors, left our vessel on thisaccount, and went on board of the French ships. They would have had mealso to go with them, for they regarded me; and they swore to protectme, if I would go: and, as the fleet was to sail the next day, Ireally believe I could have got safe to Europe at that time. However, as my master was kind, I would not attempt to leave him; and, remembering the old maxim, that 'honesty is the best policy, ' Isuffered them to go without me. Indeed my captain was much afraid ofmy leaving him and the vessel at that time, as I had so fair anopportunity: but, I thank God, this fidelity of mine turned out muchto my advantage hereafter, when I did not in the least think of it;and made me so much in favour with the captain, that he used now andthen to teach me some parts of navigation himself: but some of ourpassengers, and others, seeing this, found much fault with him for it, saying it was a very dangerous thing to let a negro know navigation;thus I was hindered again in my pursuits. About the latter end of theyear 1764 my master bought a larger sloop, called the Providence, about seventy or eighty tons, of which my captain had the command. Iwent with him into this vessel, and we took a load of new slaves forGeorgia and Charles Town. My master now left me entirely to thecaptain, though he still wished for me to be with him; but I, whoalways much wished to lose sight of the West Indies, was not a littlerejoiced at the thoughts of seeing any other country. Therefore, relying on the goodness of my captain, I got ready all the littleventure I could; and, when the vessel was ready, we sailed, to mygreat joy. When we got to our destined places, Georgia and CharlesTown, I expected I should have an opportunity of selling my littleproperty to advantage: but here, particularly in Charles Town, I metwith buyers, white men, who imposed on me as in other places. Notwithstanding, I was resolved to have fortitude; thinking no lot ortrial is too hard when kind Heaven is the rewarder. We soon got loadedagain, and returned to Montserrat; and there, amongst the rest of theislands, I sold my goods well; and in this manner I continued tradingduring the year 1764; meeting with various scenes of imposition, asusual. After this, my master fitted out his vessel for Philadelphia, in the year 1765; and during the time we were loading her, and gettingready for the voyage, I worked with redoubled alacrity, from the hopeof getting money enough by these voyages to buy my freedom in time, ifit should please God; and also to see the town of Philadelphia, whichI had heard a great deal about for some years past; besides which, Ihad always longed to prove my master's promise the first day I came tohim. In the midst of these elevated ideas, and while I was aboutgetting my little merchandize in readiness, one Sunday my master sentfor me to his house. When I came there I found him and the captaintogether; and, on my going in, I was struck with astonishment at histelling me he heard that I meant to run away from him when I got toPhiladelphia: 'And therefore, ' said he, 'I must sell you again: youcost me a great deal of money, no less than forty pounds sterling; andit will not do to lose so much. You are a valuable fellow, ' continuedhe; 'and I can get any day for you one hundred guineas, from manygentlemen in this island. ' And then he told me of Captain Doran'sbrother-in-law, a severe master, who ever wanted to buy me to make mehis overseer. My captain also said he could get much more than ahundred guineas for me in Carolina. This I knew to be a fact; for thegentleman that wanted to buy me came off several times on board of us, and spoke to me to live with him, and said he would use me well. WhenI asked what work he would put me to he said, as I was a sailor, hewould make me a captain of one of his rice vessels. But I refused: andfearing, at the same time, by a sudden turn I saw in the captain'stemper, he might mean to sell me, I told the gentleman I would notlive with him on any condition, and that I certainly would run awaywith his vessel: but he said he did not fear that, as he would catchme again; and then he told me how cruelly he would serve me if Ishould do so. My captain, however, gave him to understand that I knewsomething of navigation: so he thought better of it; and, to my greatjoy, he went away. I now told my master I did not say I would run awayin Philadelphia; neither did I mean it, as he did not use me ill, noryet the captain: for if they did I certainly would have made someattempts before now; but as I thought that if it were God's will Iever should be freed it would be so, and, on the contrary, if it wasnot his will it would not happen; so I hoped, if ever I were freed, whilst I was used well, it should be by honest means; but, as I couldnot help myself, he must do as he pleased; I could only hope and trustto the God of Heaven; and at that instant my mind was big withinventions and full of schemes to escape. I then appealed to thecaptain whether he ever saw any sign of my making the least attempt torun away; and asked him if I did not always come on board according tothe time for which he gave me liberty; and, more particularly, whenall our men left us at Gaurdeloupe and went on board of the Frenchfleet, and advised me to go with them, whether I might not, and thathe could not have got me again. To my no small surprise, and verygreat joy, the captain confirmed every syllable that I had said: andeven more; for he said he had tried different times to see if I wouldmake any attempt of this kind, both at St. Eustatia and in America, and he never found that I made the smallest; but, on the contrary, Ialways came on board according to his orders; and he did reallybelieve, if I ever meant to run away, that, as I could never have hada better opportunity, I would have done it the night the mate and allthe people left our vessel at Gaurdeloupe. The captain then informedmy master, who had been thus imposed on by our mate, though I did notknow who was my enemy, the reason the mate had for imposing this lieupon him; which was, because I had acquainted the captain of theprovisions the mate had given away or taken out of the vessel. Thisspeech of the captain was like life to the dead to me, and instantlymy soul glorified God; and still more so on hearing my masterimmediately say that I was a sensible fellow, and he never did intendto use me as a common slave; and that but for the entreaties of thecaptain, and his character of me, he would not have let me go from thestores about as I had done; that also, in so doing, he thought bycarrying one little thing or other to different places to sell I mightmake money. That he also intended to encourage me in this by creditingme with half a puncheon of rum and half a hogshead of sugar at a time;so that, from being careful, I might have money enough, in some time, to purchase my freedom; and, when that was the case, I might dependupon it he would let me have it for forty pounds sterling money, whichwas only the same price he gave for me. This sound gladdened my poorheart beyond measure; though indeed it was no more than the very ideaI had formed in my mind of my master long before, and I immediatelymade him this reply: 'Sir, I always had that very thought of you, indeed I had, and that made me so diligent in serving you. ' He thengave me a large piece of silver coin, such as I never had seen or hadbefore, and told me to get ready for the voyage, and he would creditme with a tierce of sugar, and another of rum; he also said that hehad two amiable sisters in Philadelphia, from whom I might get somenecessary things. Upon this my noble captain desired me to go aboard;and, knowing the African metal, he charged me not to say any thing ofthis matter to any body; and he promised that the lying mate shouldnot go with him any more. This was a change indeed; in the same hourto feel the most exquisite pain, and in the turn of a moment thefullest joy. It caused in me such sensations as I was only able toexpress in my looks; my heart was so overpowered with gratitude that Icould have kissed both of their feet. When I left the room Iimmediately went, or rather flew, to the vessel, which being loaded, my master, as good as his word, trusted me with a tierce of rum, andanother of sugar, when we sailed, and arrived safe at the elegant townof Philadelphia. I soon sold my goods here pretty well; and in thischarming place I found every thing plentiful and cheap. 

While I was in this place a very extraordinary occurrence befell me. Ihad been told one evening of a _wise_ woman, a Mrs. Davis, whorevealed secrets, foretold events, &c. I put little faith in thisstory at first, as I could not conceive that any mortal could foreseethe future disposals of Providence, nor did I believe in any otherrevelation than that of the Holy Scriptures; however, I was greatlyastonished at seeing this woman in a dream that night, though aperson I never before beheld in my life; this made such an impressionon me, that I could not get the idea the next day out of my mind, andI then became as anxious to see her as I was before indifferent;accordingly in the evening, after we left off working, I inquiredwhere she lived, and being directed to her, to my inexpressiblesurprise, beheld the very woman in the very same dress she appeared tome to wear in the vision. She immediately told me I had dreamed of herthe preceding night; related to me many things that had happened witha correctness that astonished me; and finally told me I should not belong a slave: this was the more agreeable news, as I believed it themore readily from her having so faithfully related the past incidentsof my life. She said I should be twice in very great danger of my lifewithin eighteen months, which, if I escaped, I should afterwards go onwell; so, giving me her blessing, we parted. After staying here sometime till our vessel was loaded, and I had bought in my littletraffic, we sailed from this agreeable spot for Montserrat, once moreto encounter the raging surfs. 

We arrived safe at Montserrat, where we discharged our cargo; and soonafter that we took slaves on board for St. Eustatia, and from thenceto Georgia. I had always exerted myself and did double work, in orderto make our voyages as short as possible; and from thus over-workingmyself while we were at Georgia I caught a fever and ague. I was veryill for eleven days and near dying; eternity was now exceedinglyimpressed on my mind, and I feared very much that awful event. Iprayed the Lord therefore to spare me; and I made a promise in my mindto God, that I would be good if ever I should recover. At length, fromhaving an eminent doctor to attend me, I was restored again to health;and soon after we got the vessel loaded, and set off for Montserrat. During the passage, as I was perfectly restored, and had much businessof the vessel to mind, all my endeavours to keep up my integrity, andperform my promise to God, began to fail; and, in spite of all I coulddo, as we drew nearer and nearer to the islands, my resolutions moreand more declined, as if the very air of that country or climateseemed fatal to piety. When we were safe arrived at Montserrat, and Ihad got ashore, I forgot my former resolutions. --Alas! how prone isthe heart to leave that God it wishes to love! and how strongly do thethings of this world strike the senses and captivate the soul!--Afterour vessel was discharged, we soon got her ready, and took in, asusual, some of the poor oppressed natives of Africa, and othernegroes; we then set off again for Georgia and Charlestown. We arrivedat Georgia, and, having landed part of our cargo, proceeded toCharlestown with the remainder. While we were there I saw the townilluminated; the guns were fired, and bonfires and otherdemonstrations of joy shewn, on account of the repeal of the stampact. Here I disposed of some goods on my own account; the white menbuying them with smooth promises and fair words, giving me however butvery indifferent payment. There was one gentleman particularly whobought a puncheon of rum of me, which gave me a great deal of trouble;and, although I used the interest of my friendly captain, I could notobtain any thing for it; for, being a negro man, I could not obligehim to pay me. This vexed me much, not knowing how to act; and I lostsome time in seeking after this Christian; and though, when theSabbath came (which the negroes usually make their holiday) I was muchinclined to go to public worship, I was obliged to hire some black mento help to pull a boat across the water to God in quest of thisgentleman. When I found him, after much entreaty, both from myself andmy worthy captain, he at last paid me in dollars; some of them, however, were copper, and of consequence of no value; but he tookadvantage of my being a negro man, and obliged me to put up with thoseor none, although I objected to them. Immediately after, as I wastrying to pass them in the market, amongst other white men, I wasabused for offering to pass bad coin; and, though I shewed them theman I got them from, I was within one minute of being tied up andflogged without either judge or jury; however, by the help of a goodpair of heels, I ran off, and so escaped the bastinadoes I should havereceived. I got on board as fast as I could, but still continued infear of them until we sailed, which I thanked God we did not longafter; and I have never been amongst them since. 

We soon came to Georgia, where we were to complete our lading; andhere worse fate than ever attended me: for one Sunday night, as I waswith some negroes in their master's yard in the town of Savannah, ithappened that their master, one Doctor Perkins, who was a very severeand cruel man, came in drunk; and, not liking to see any strangenegroes in his yard, he and a ruffian of a white man he had in hisservice beset me in an instant, and both of them struck me with thefirst weapons they could get hold of. I cried out as long as I couldfor help and mercy; but, though I gave a good account of myself, andhe knew my captain, who lodged hard by him, it was to no purpose. Theybeat and mangled me in a shameful manner, leaving me near dead. I lostso much blood from the wounds I received, that I lay quite motionless, and was so benumbed that I could not feel any thing for many hours. Early in the morning they took me away to the jail. As I did notreturn to the ship all night, my captain, not knowing where I was, andbeing uneasy that I did not then make my appearance, he made inquiryafter me; and, having found where I was, immediately came to me. Assoon as the good man saw me so cut and mangled, he could not forbearweeping; he soon got me out of jail to his lodgings, and immediatelysent for the best doctors in the place, who at first declared it astheir opinion that I could not recover. My captain on this went to allthe lawyers in the town for their advice, but they told him they coulddo nothing for me as I was a negro. He then went to Doctor Perkins, the hero who had vanquished me, and menaced him, swearing he would berevenged of him, and challenged him to fight. --But cowardice is everthe companion of cruelty--and the Doctor refused. However, by theskilfulness of one Doctor Brady of that place, I began at last toamend; but, although I was so sore and bad with the wounds I had allover me that I could not rest in any posture, yet I was in more painon account of the captain's uneasiness about me than I otherwiseshould have been. The worthy man nursed and watched me all the hoursof the night; and I was, through his attention and that of the doctor, able to get out of bed in about sixteen or eighteen days. All thistime I was very much wanted on board, as I used frequently to go upand down the river for rafts, and other parts of our cargo, and stowthem when the mate was sick or absent. In about four weeks I was ableto go on duty; and in a fortnight after, having got in all ourlading, our vessel set sail for Montserrat; and in less than threeweeks we arrived there safe towards the end of the year. This ended myadventures in 1764; for I did not leave Montserrat again till thebeginning of the following year. 

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 

 They ran the ship aground: and the fore part stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves. Acts xxvii. 41. 

 Howbeit, we must be cast upon a certain island;

 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Acts xxvii. 26, 25. 

 Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. 

 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men. Job iv. 12, 13. 

 Lo, all these _things_ worketh God oftentimes with man, To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living. Job xxxiii. 29, 30. 

VOLUME II

CHAP. VII. 

 _The author's disgust at the West Indies--Forms schemes to obtain his freedom--Ludicrous disappointment he and his Captain meet with in Georgia--At last, by several successful voyages, he acquires a sum of money sufficient to purchase it--Applies to his master, who accepts it, and grants his manumission, to his great joy--He afterwards enters as a freeman on board one of Mr. King's ships, and sails for Georgia--Impositions on free negroes as usual--His venture of turkies--Sails for Montserrat, and on his passage his friend, the Captain, falls ill and dies. _

Every day now brought me nearer my freedom, and I was impatient tillwe proceeded again to sea, that I might have an opportunity of gettinga sum large enough to purchase it. I was not long ungratified; for, inthe beginning of the year 1766, my master bought another sloop, namedthe Nancy, the largest I had ever seen. She was partly laden, and wasto proceed to Philadelphia; our Captain had his choice of three, and Iwas well pleased he chose this, which was the largest; for, from hishaving a large vessel, I had more room, and could carry a largerquantity of goods with me. Accordingly, when we had delivered our oldvessel, the Prudence, and completed the lading of the Nancy, havingmade near three hundred per cent, by four barrels of pork I broughtfrom Charlestown, I laid in as large a cargo as I could, trusting toGod's providence to prosper my undertaking. With these views I sailedfor Philadelphia. On our passage, when we drew near the land, I wasfor the first time surprised at the sight of some whales, having neverseen any such large sea monsters before; and as we sailed by the landone morning I saw a puppy whale close by the vessel; it was about thelength of a wherry boat, and it followed us all the day till we gotwithin the Capes. We arrived safe and in good time at Philadelphia, and I sold my goods there chiefly to the quakers. They always appearedto be a very honest discreet sort of people, and never attempted toimpose on me; I therefore liked them, and ever after chose to dealwith them in preference to any others. One Sunday morning while I washere, as I was going to church, I chanced to pass a meeting-house. Thedoors being open, and the house full of people, it excited mycuriosity to go in. When I entered the house, to my great surprise, Isaw a very tall woman standing in the midst of them, speaking in anaudible voice something which I could not understand. Having neverseen anything of this kind before, I stood and stared about me forsome time, wondering at this odd scene. As soon as it was over I tookan opportunity to make inquiry about the place and people, when I wasinformed they were called Quakers. I particularly asked what thatwoman I saw in the midst of them had said, but none of them werepleased to satisfy me; so I quitted them, and soon after, as I wasreturning, I came to a church crowded with people; the church-yard wasfull likewise, and a number of people were even mounted on ladders, looking in at the windows. I thought this a strange sight, as I hadnever seen churches, either in England or the West Indies, crowded inthis manner before. I therefore made bold to ask some people themeaning of all this, and they told me the Rev. Mr. George Whitfieldwas preaching. I had often heard of this gentleman, and had wished tosee and hear him; but I had never before had an opportunity. I nowtherefore resolved to gratify myself with the sight, and I pressed inamidst the multitude. When I got into the church I saw this pious manexhorting the people with the greatest fervour and earnestness, andsweating as much as I ever did while in slavery on Montserrat beach. Iwas very much struck and impressed with this; I thought it strange Ihad never seen divines exert themselves in this manner before, and Iwas no longer at a loss to account for the thin congregations theypreached to. When we had discharged our cargo here, and were loadedagain, we left this fruitful land once more, and set sail forMontserrat. My traffic had hitherto succeeded so well with me, that Ithought, by selling my goods when we arrived at Montserrat, I shouldhave enough to purchase my freedom. But, as soon as our vessel arrivedthere, my master came on board, and gave orders for us to go to St. Eustatia, and discharge our cargo there, and from thence proceed forGeorgia. I was much disappointed at this; but thinking, as usual, itwas of no use to encounter with the decrees of fate, I submittedwithout repining, and we went to St. Eustatia. After we had dischargedour cargo there we took in a live cargo, as we call a cargo of slaves. Here I sold my goods tolerably well; but, not being able to lay outall my money in this small island to as much advantage as in manyother places, I laid out only part, and the remainder I brought awaywith me neat. We sailed from hence for Georgia, and I was glad when wegot there, though I had not much reason to like the place from my lastadventure in Savannah; but I longed to get back to Montserrat andprocure my freedom, which I expected to be able to purchase when Ireturned. As soon as we arrived here I waited on my careful doctor, Mr. Brady, to whom I made the most grateful acknowledgments in mypower for his former kindness and attention during my illness. Whilewe were here an odd circumstance happened to the Captain and me, whichdisappointed us both a good deal. A silversmith, whom we had broughtto this place some voyages before, agreed with the Captain to returnwith us to the West Indies, and promised at the same time to give theCaptain a great deal of money, having pretended to take a liking tohim, and being, as we thought, very rich. But while we stayed to loadour vessel this man was taken ill in a house where he worked, and in aweek's time became very bad. The worse he grew the more he used tospeak of giving the Captain what he had promised him, so that heexpected something considerable from the death of this man, who had nowife or child, and he attended him day and night. I used also to gowith the Captain, at his own desire, to attend him; especially when wesaw there was no appearance of his recovery: and, in order torecompense me for my trouble, the Captain promised me ten pounds, whenhe should get the man's property. I thought this would be of greatservice to me, although I had nearly money enough to purchase myfreedom, if I should get safe this voyage to Montserrat. In thisexpectation I laid out above eight pounds of my money for a suit ofsuperfine clothes to dance with at my freedom, which I hoped was thenat hand. We still continued to attend this man, and were with him evenon the last day he lived, till very late at night, when we went onboard. After we were got to bed, about one or two o'clock in themorning, the Captain was sent for, and informed the man was dead. Onthis he came to my bed, and, waking me, informed me of it, and desiredme to get up and procure a light, and immediately go to him. I toldhim I was very sleepy, and wished he would take somebody else withhim; or else, as the man was dead, and could want no fartherattendance, to let all things remain as they were till the nextmorning. 'No, no, ' said he, 'we will have the money to-night, I cannotwait till to-morrow; so let us go. ' Accordingly I got up and struck alight, and away we both went and saw the man as dead as we could wish. The Captain said he would give him a grand burial, in gratitude forthe promised treasure; and desired that all the things belonging tothe deceased might be brought forth. Among others, there was a nest oftrunks of which he had kept the keys whilst the man was ill, and whenthey were produced we opened them with no small eagerness andexpectation; and as there were a great number within one another, withmuch impatience we took them one out of the other. At last, when wecame to the smallest, and had opened it, we saw it was full of papers, which we supposed to be notes; at the sight of which our hearts leaptfor joy; and that instant the Captain, clapping his hands, cried out, 'Thank God, here it is. ' But when we took up the trunk, and began toexamine the supposed treasure and long-looked-for bounty, (alas! alas!how uncertain and deceitful are all human affairs!) what had we found!While we thought we were embracing a substance we grasped an emptynothing. The whole amount that was in the nest of trunks was only onedollar and a half; and all that the man possessed would not pay forhis coffin. Our sudden and exquisite joy was now succeeded by a suddenand exquisite pain; and my Captain and I exhibited, for some time, most ridiculous figures--pictures of chagrin and disappointment! Wewent away greatly mortified, and left the deceased to do as well as hecould for himself, as we had taken so good care of him when alive fornothing. We set sail once more for Montserrat, and arrived there safe;but much out of humour with our friend the silversmith. When we hadunladen the vessel, and I had sold my venture, finding myself masterof about forty-seven pounds, I consulted my true friend, the Captain, how I should proceed in offering my master the money for my freedom. He told me to come on a certain morning, when he and my master wouldbe at breakfast together. Accordingly, on that morning I went, and metthe Captain there, as he had appointed. When I went in I made myobeisance to my master, and with my money in my hand, and many fearsin my heart, I prayed him to be as good as his offer to me, when hewas pleased to promise me my freedom as soon as I could purchase it. This speech seemed to confound him; he began to recoil: and my heartthat instant sunk within me. 'What, ' said he, 'give you your freedom?Why, where did you get the money? Have you got forty pounds sterling?''Yes, sir, ' I answered. 'How did you get it?' replied he. I told him, very honestly. The Captain then said he knew I got the money veryhonestly and with much industry, and that I was particularly careful. On which my master replied, I got money much faster than he did; andsaid he would not have made me the promise he did if he had thought Ishould have got money so soon. 'Come, come, ' said my worthy Captain, clapping my master on the back, 'Come, Robert, (which was his name) Ithink you must let him have his freedom; you have laid your money outvery well; you have received good interest for it all this time, andhere is now the principal at last. I know Gustavus has earned you morethan an hundred a-year, and he will still save you money, as he willnot leave you:--Come, Robert, take the money. ' My master then said, hewould not be worse than his promise; and, taking the money, told me togo to the Secretary at the Register Office, and get my manumissiondrawn up. These words of my master were like a voice from heaven tome: in an instant all my trepidation was turned into unutterablebliss; and I most reverently bowed myself with gratitude, unable toexpress my feelings, but by the overflowing of my eyes, while my trueand worthy friend, the Captain, congratulated us both with a peculiardegree of heartfelt pleasure. As soon as the first transports of myjoy were over, and that I had expressed my thanks to these my worthyfriends in the best manner I was able, I rose with a heart full ofaffection and reverence, and left the room, in order to obey mymaster's joyful mandate of going to the Register Office. As I wasleaving the house I called to mind the words of the Psalmist, in the126th Psalm, and like him, 'I glorified God in my heart, in whom Itrusted. ' These words had been impressed on my mind from the very dayI was forced from Deptford to the present hour, and I now saw them, asI thought, fulfilled and verified. My imagination was all rapture as Iflew to the Register Office, and, in this respect, like the apostlePeter, [U] (whose deliverance from prison was so sudden andextraordinary, that he thought he was in a vision) I could scarcelybelieve I was awake. Heavens! who could do justice to my feelings atthis moment! Not conquering heroes themselves, in the midst of atriumph--Not the tender mother who has just regained her long-lostinfant, and presses it to her heart--Not the weary hungry mariner, atthe sight of the desired friendly port--Not the lover, when he oncemore embraces his beloved mistress, after she had been ravished fromhis arms!--All within my breast was tumult, wildness, and delirium! Myfeet scarcely touched the ground, for they were winged with joy, and, like Elijah, as he rose to Heaven, they 'were with lightning sped as Iwent on. ' Every one I met I told of my happiness, and blazed about thevirtue of my amiable master and captain. 

When I got to the office and acquainted the Register with my errand hecongratulated me on the occasion, and told me he would draw up mymanumission for half price, which was a guinea. I thanked him for hiskindness; and, having received it and paid him, I hastened to mymaster to get him to sign it, that I might be fully released. Accordingly he signed the manumission that day, so that, before night, I who had been a slave in the morning, trembling at the will ofanother, was become my own master, and completely free. I thought thiswas the happiest day I had ever experienced; and my joy was stillheightened by the blessings and prayers of the sable race, particularly the aged, to whom my heart had ever been attached withreverence. 

 * * * * *

As the form of my manumission has something peculiar in it, andexpresses the absolute power and dominion one man claims over hisfellow, I shall beg leave to present it before my readers at fulllength:

 _Montserrat_. --To all men unto whom these presents shall come: I Robert King, of the parish of St. Anthony in the said island, merchant, send greeting: Know ye, that I the aforesaid Robert King, for and in consideration of the sum of seventy pounds current money of the said island, to me in hand paid, and to the intent that a negro man-slave, named Gustavus Vassa, shall and may become free, have manumitted, emancipated, enfranchised, and set free, and by these presents do manumit, emancipate, enfranchise, and set free, the aforesaid negro man-slave, named Gustavus Vassa, for ever, hereby giving, granting, and releasing unto him, the said Gustavus Vassa, all right, title, dominion, sovereignty, and property, which, as lord and master over the aforesaid Gustavus Vassa, I had, or now I have, or by any means whatsoever I may or can hereafter possibly have over him the aforesaid negro, for ever. In witness whereof I the abovesaid Robert King have unto these presents set my hand and seal, this tenth day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty-six. 

 Robert King. 

 Signed, sealed, and delivered in the presence of Terrylegay, Montserrat. 

 Registered the within manumission at full length, this eleventh day of July, 1766, in liber D. 

 Terrylegay, Register. 

 * * * * *

In short, the fair as well as black people immediately styled me by anew appellation, to me the most desirable in the world, which wasFreeman, and at the dances I gave my Georgia superfine blue clothesmade no indifferent appearance, as I thought. Some of the sablefemales, who formerly stood aloof, now began to relax and appear lesscoy; but my heart was still fixed on London, where I hoped to be erelong. So that my worthy captain and his owner, my late master, finding that the bent of my mind was towards London, said to me, 'Wehope you won't leave us, but that you will still be with the vessels. 'Here gratitude bowed me down; and none but the generous mind can judgeof my feelings, struggling between inclination and duty. However, notwithstanding my wish to be in London, I obediently answered mybenefactors that I would go in the vessel, and not leave them; andfrom that day I was entered on board as an able-bodied sailor, atthirty-six shillings per month, besides what perquisites I could make. My intention was to make a voyage or two, entirely to please these myhonoured patrons; but I determined that the year following, if itpleased God, I would see Old England once more, and surprise my oldmaster, Capt. Pascal, who was hourly in my mind; for I still lovedhim, notwithstanding his usage of me, and I pleased myself withthinking of what he would say when he saw what the Lord had done forme in so short a time, instead of being, as he might perhaps suppose, under the cruel yoke of some planter. With these kind of reveries Iused often to entertain myself, and shorten the time till my return;and now, being as in my original free African state, I embarked onboard the Nancy, after having got all things ready for our voyage. Inthis state of serenity we sailed for St. Eustatia; and, having smoothseas and calm weather, we soon arrived there: after taking our cargoon board, we proceeded to Savannah in Georgia, in August, 1766. Whilewe were there, as usual, I used to go for the cargo up the rivers inboats; and on this business I have been frequently beset byalligators, which were very numerous on that coast, and I have shotmany of them when they have been near getting into our boats; which wehave with great difficulty sometimes prevented, and have been verymuch frightened at them. I have seen a young one sold in Georgia alivefor six pence. During our stay at this place, one evening a slavebelonging to Mr. Read, a merchant of Savannah, came near our vessel, and began to use me very ill. I entreated him, with all the patience Iwas master of, to desist, as I knew there was little or no law for afree negro here; but the fellow, instead of taking my advice, persevered in his insults, and even struck me. At this I lost alltemper, and I fell on him and beat him soundly. The next morning hismaster came to our vessel as we lay alongside the wharf, and desiredme to come ashore that he might have me flogged all round the town, for beating his negro slave. I told him he had insulted me, and hadgiven the provocation, by first striking me. I had told my captainalso the whole affair that morning, and wished him to have gone alongwith me to Mr. Read, to prevent bad consequences; but he said that itdid not signify, and if Mr. Read said any thing he would make mattersup, and had desired me to go to work, which I accordingly did. TheCaptain being on board when Mr. Read came, he told him I was a freeman; and when Mr. Read applied to him to deliver me up, he said heknew nothing of the matter. I was astonished and frightened at this, and thought I had better keep where I was than go ashore and beflogged round the town, without judge or jury. I therefore refused tostir; and Mr. Read went away, swearing he would bring all theconstables in the town, for he would have me out of the vessel. Whenhe was gone, I thought his threat might prove too true to my sorrow;and I was confirmed in this belief, as well by the many instances Ihad seen of the treatment of free negroes, as from a fact that hadhappened within my own knowledge here a short time before. There was afree black man, a carpenter, that I knew, who, for asking a gentlemanthat he worked for for the money he had earned, was put into gaol; andafterwards this oppressed man was sent from Georgia, with falseaccusations, of an intention to set the gentleman's house on fire, andrun away with his slaves. I was therefore much embarrassed, and veryapprehensive of a flogging at least. I dreaded, of all things, thethoughts of being striped, as I never in my life had the marks of anyviolence of that kind. At that instant a rage seized my soul, and fora little I determined to resist the first man that should offer to layviolent hands on me, or basely use me without a trial; for I wouldsooner die like a free man, than suffer myself to be scourged by thehands of ruffians, and my blood drawn like a slave. The captain andothers, more cautious, advised me to make haste and conceal myself;for they said Mr. Read was a very spiteful man, and he would soon comeon board with constables and take me. At first I refused this counsel, being determined to stand my ground; but at length, by the prevailingentreaties of the captain and Mr. Dixon, with whom he lodged, I wentto Mr. Dixon's house, which was a little out of town, at a placecalled Yea-ma-chra. I was but just gone when Mr. Read, with theconstables, came for me, and searched the vessel; but, not finding methere, he swore he would have me dead or alive. I was secreted aboutfive days; however, the good character which my captain always gave meas well as some other gentlemen who also knew me, procured me somefriends. At last some of them told my captain that he did not use mewell, in suffering me thus to be imposed upon, and said they would seeme redressed, and get me on board some other vessel. My captain, onthis, immediately went to Mr. Read, and told him, that ever since Ieloped from the vessel his work had been neglected, and he could notgo on with her loading, himself and mate not being well; and, as I hadmanaged things on board for them, my absence must retard his voyage, and consequently hurt the owner; he therefore begged of him to forgiveme, as he said he never had any complaint of me before, for the manyyears that I had been with him. After repeated entreaties, Mr. Readsaid I might go to hell, and that he would not meddle with me; onwhich my captain came immediately to me at his lodging, and, tellingme how pleasantly matters had gone on, he desired me to go on board. Some of my other friends then asked him if he had got the constable'swarrant from them; the captain said, No. On this I was desired by themto stay in the house; and they said they would get me on board of someother vessel before the evening. When the captain heard this he becamealmost distracted. He went immediately for the warrant, and, afterusing every exertion in his power, he at last got it from my hunters;but I had all the expenses to pay. After I had thanked all my friendsfor their attention, I went on board again to my work, of which I hadalways plenty. We were in haste to complete our lading, and were tocarry twenty head of cattle with us to the West Indies, where they area very profitable article. In order to encourage me in working, and tomake up for the time I had lost, my captain promised me the privilegeof carrying two bullocks of my own with me; and this made me work withredoubled ardour. As soon as I had got the vessel loaded, in doingwhich I was obliged to perform the duty of the mate as well as my ownwork, and that the bullocks were near coming on board, I asked thecaptain leave to bring my two, according to his promise; but, to mygreat surprise, he told me there was no room for them. I then askedhim to permit me to take one; but he said he could not. I was a gooddeal mortified at this usage, and told him I had no notion that heintended thus to impose on me; nor could I think well of any man thatwas so much worse than his word. On this we had some disagreement, andI gave him to understand, that I intended to leave the vessel. At thishe appeared to be very much dejected; and our mate, who had been verysickly, and whose duty had long devolved upon me, advised him topersuade me to stay: in consequence of which he spoke very kindly tome, making many fair promises, telling me that, as the mate was sosickly, he could not do without me, and that, as the safety of thevessel and cargo depended greatly upon me, he therefore hoped that Iwould not be offended at what had passed between us, and swore hewould make up all matters when we arrived in the West Indies; so Iconsented to slave on as before. Soon after this, as the bullocks werecoming on board, one of them ran at the captain, and butted him sofuriously in the breast, that he never recovered of the blow. In orderto make me some amends for his treatment about the bullocks, thecaptain now pressed me very much to take some turkeys, and otherfowls, with me, and gave me liberty to take as many as I could findroom for; but I told him he knew very well I had never carried anyturkeys before, as I always thought they were such tender birds thatthey were not fit to cross the seas. However, he continued to press meto buy them for once; and, what was very surprising to me, the more Iwas against it, the more he urged my taking them, insomuch that heensured me from all losses that might happen by them, and I wasprevailed on to take them; but I thought this very strange, as he hadnever acted so with me before. This, and not being able to dispose ofmy paper-money in any other way, induced me at length to take fourdozen. The turkeys, however, I was so dissatisfied about that Idetermined to make no more voyages to this quarter, nor with thiscaptain; and was very apprehensive that my free voyage would be theworst I had ever made. We set sail for Montserrat. The captain andmate had been both complaining of sickness when we sailed, and as weproceeded on our voyage they grew worse. This was about November, andwe had not been long at sea before we began to meet with strongnortherly gales and rough seas; and in about seven or eight days allthe bullocks were near being drowned, and four or five of them died. Our vessel, which had not been tight at first, was much less so now;and, though we were but nine in the whole, including five sailors andmyself, yet we were obliged to attend to the pumps every half or threequarters of an hour. The captain and mate came on deck as often asthey were able, which was now but seldom; for they declined so fast, that they were not well enough to make observations above four or fivetimes the whole voyage. The whole care of the vessel rested, therefore, upon me, and I was obliged to direct her by my formerexperience, not being able to work a traverse. The captain was nowvery sorry he had not taught me navigation, and protested, if ever heshould get well again, he would not fail to do so; but in aboutseventeen days his illness increased so much, that he was obliged tokeep his bed, continuing sensible, however, till the last, constantlyhaving the owner's interest at heart; for this just and benevolent manever appeared much concerned about the welfare of what he wasintrusted with. When this dear friend found the symptoms of deathapproaching, he called me by my name; and, when I came to him, heasked (with almost his last breath) if he had ever done me any harm?'God forbid I should think so, ' I replied, 'I should then be the mostungrateful of wretches to the best of sorrow by his bedside, heexpired without saying another word; and the day following wecommitted his body to the deep. Every man on board loved this man, andregretted his death; but I was exceedingly affected at it, and I foundthat I did not know, till he was gone, the strength of my regard forhim. Indeed I had every reason in the world to be attached to him;for, besides that he was in general mild, affable, generous, faithful, benevolent, and just, he was to me a friend and a father; and, had itpleased Providence that he had died but five months before, I verilybelieve I should not have obtained my freedom when I did; and it isnot improbable that I might not have been able to get it at any rateafterwards. The captain being dead, the mate came on the deck, andmade such observations as he was able, but to no purpose. In thecourse of a few days more, the few bullocks that remained were founddead; but the turkies I had, though on the deck, and exposed to somuch wet and bad weather, did well, and I afterwards gained near threehundred per cent, on the sale of them; so that in the event it proveda happy circumstance for me that I had not bought the bullocks Iintended, for they must have perished with the rest; and I could nothelp looking on this, otherwise trifling circumstance, as a particularprovidence of God, and I was thankful accordingly. The care of thevessel took up all my time, and engaged my attention entirely. As wewere now out of the variable winds, I thought I should not be muchpuzzled to hit upon the islands. I was persuaded I steered right forAntigua, which I wished to reach, as the nearest to us; and in thecourse of nine or ten days we made this island, to our great joy; andthe next day after we came safe to Montserrat. Many were surprisedwhen they heard of my conducting the sloop into the port, and I nowobtained a new appellation, and was called Captain. This elated me nota little, and it was quite flattering to my vanity to be thus styledby as high a title as any free man in this place possessed. When thedeath of the captain became known, he was much regretted by all whoknew him; for he was a man universally respected. At the same time thesable captain lost no fame; for the success I had met with increasedthe affection of my friends in no small measure. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote U: Acts, chap. Xii. Ver. 9. ]

CHAP. VIII. 

 _The author, to oblige Mr. King, once more embarks for Georgia in one of his vessels--A new captain is appointed--They sail, and steer a new course--Three remarkable dreams--The vessel is shipwrecked on the Bahama bank, but the crew are preserved, principally by means of the author--He sets out from the island with the captain, in a small boat, in quest of a ship--Their distress--Meet with a wrecker--Sail for Providence--Are overtaken again by a terrible storm, and are all near perishing--Arrive at New Providence--The author, after some time, sails from thence to Georgia--Meets with another storm, and is obliged to put back and refit--Arrives at Georgia--Meets new impositions--Two white men attempt to kidnap him--Officiates as a parson at a funeral ceremony--Bids adieu to Georgia, and sails for Martinico. _

As I had now, by the death of my captain, lost my great benefactor andfriend, I had little inducement to remain longer in the West Indies, except my gratitude to Mr. King, which I thought I had pretty welldischarged in bringing back his vessel safe, and delivering his cargoto his satisfaction. I began to think of leaving this part of theworld, of which I had been long tired, and returning to England, wheremy heart had always been; but Mr. King still pressed me very much tostay with his vessel; and he had done so much for me that I foundmyself unable to refuse his requests, and consented to go anothervoyage to Georgia, as the mate, from his ill state of health, wasquite useless in the vessel. Accordingly a new captain was appointed, whose name was William Phillips, an old acquaintance of mine; and, having refitted our vessel, and taken several slaves on board, we setsail for St. Eustatia, where we stayed but a few days; and on the 30thof January 1767 we steered for Georgia. Our new captain boastedstrangely of his skill in navigating and conducting a vessel; and inconsequence of this he steered a new course, several points more tothe westward than we ever did before; this appeared to me veryextraordinary. 

On the fourth of February, which was soon after we had got into ournew course, I dreamt the ship was wrecked amidst the surfs and rocks, and that I was the means of saving every one on board; and on thenight following I dreamed the very same dream. These dreams howevermade no impression on my mind; and the next evening, it being my watchbelow, I was pumping the vessel a little after eight o'clock, justbefore I went off the deck, as is the custom; and being weary with theduty of the day, and tired at the pump, (for we made a good deal ofwater) I began to express my impatience, and I uttered with an oath, 'Damn the vessel's bottom out. ' But my conscience instantly smote mefor the expression. When I left the deck I went to bed, and hadscarcely fallen asleep when I dreamed the same dream again about theship that I had dreamt the two preceeding nights. At twelve o'clockthe watch was changed; and, as I had always the charge of thecaptain's watch, I then went upon deck. At half after one in themorning the man at the helm saw something under the lee-beam that thesea washed against, and he immediately called to me that there was agrampus, and desired me to look at it. Accordingly I stood up andobserved it for some time; but, when I saw the sea wash up against itagain and again, I said it was not a fish but a rock. Being sooncertain of this, I went down to the captain, and, with some confusion, told him the danger we were in, and desired him to come upon deckimmediately. He said it was very well, and I went up again. As soon asI was upon deck the wind, which had been pretty high, having abated alittle, the vessel began to be carried sideways towards the rock, bymeans of the current. Still the captain did not appear. I thereforewent to him again, and told him the vessel was then near a large rock, and desired he would come up with speed. He said he would, and Ireturned to the deck. When I was upon the deck again I saw we were notabove a pistol shot from the rock, and I heard the noise of thebreakers all around us. I was exceedingly alarmed at this; and thecaptain having not yet come on the deck I lost all patience; and, growing quite enraged, I ran down to him again, and asked him why hedid not come up, and what he could mean by all this? 'The breakers, 'said I, 'are round us, and the vessel is almost on the rock. ' Withthat he came on the deck with me, and we tried to put the vesselabout, and get her out of the current, but all to no purpose, thewind being very small. We then called all hands up immediately; andafter a little we got up one end of a cable, and fastened it to theanchor. By this time the surf was foaming round us, and made adreadful noise on the breakers, and the very moment we let the anchorgo the vessel struck against the rocks. One swell now succeededanother, as it were one wave calling on its fellow: the roaring of thebillows increased, and, with one single heave of the swells, the sloopwas pierced and transfixed among the rocks! In a moment a scene ofhorror presented itself to my mind, such as I never had conceived orexperienced before. All my sins stared me in the face; and especially, I thought that God had hurled his direful vengeance on my guilty headfor cursing the vessel on which my life depended. My spirits at thisforsook me, and I expected every moment to go to the bottom: Idetermined if I should still be saved that I would never swear again. And in the midst of my distress, while the dreadful surfs were dashingwith unremitting fury among the rocks, I remembered the Lord, thoughfearful that I was undeserving of forgiveness, and I thought that ashe had often delivered he might yet deliver; and, calling to mind themany mercies he had shewn me in times past, they gave me some smallhope that he might still help me. I then began to think how we mightbe saved; and I believe no mind was ever like mine so replete withinventions and confused with schemes, though how to escape death Iknew not. The captain immediately ordered the hatches to be naileddown on the slaves in the hold, where there were above twenty, all ofwhom must unavoidably have perished if he had been obeyed. When hedesired the man to nail down the hatches I thought that my sin was thecause of this, and that God would charge me with these people's blood. This thought rushed upon my mind that instant with such violence, thatit quite overpowered me, and I fainted. I recovered just as the peoplewere about to nail down the hatches; perceiving which, I desired themto stop. The captain then said it must be done: I asked him why? Hesaid that every one would endeavour to get into the boat, which wasbut small, and thereby we should be drowned; for it would not havecarried above ten at the most. I could no longer restrain my emotion, and I told him he deserved drowning for not knowing how to navigatethe vessel; and I believe the people would have tossed him overboardif I had given them the least hint of it. However the hatches were notnailed down; and, as none of us could leave the vessel then on accountof the darkness, and as we knew not where to go, and were convincedbesides that the boat could not survive the surfs, we all said wewould remain on the dry part of the vessel, and trust to God tilldaylight appeared, when we should know better what to do. 

I then advised to get the boat prepared against morning, and some ofus began to set about it; but some abandoned all care of the ship andthemselves, and fell to drinking. Our boat had a piece out of herbottom near two feet long, and we had no materials to mend her;however, necessity being the mother of invention, I took some pumpleather and nailed it to the broken part, and plastered it over withtallow-grease. And, thus prepared, with the utmost anxiety of mind wewatched for daylight, and thought every minute an hour till itappeared. At last it saluted our longing eyes, and kind Providenceaccompanied its approach with what was no small comfort to us; for thedreadful swell began to subside; and the next thing that we discoveredto raise our drooping spirits, was a small key or island, about fiveor six miles off; but a barrier soon presented itself; for there wasnot water enough for our boat to go over the reefs, and this threw usagain into a sad consternation; but there was no alternative, we weretherefore obliged to put but few in the boat at once; and, what isstill worse, all of us were frequently under the necessity of gettingout to drag and lift it over the reefs. This cost us much labour andfatigue; and, what was yet more distressing, we could not avoid havingour legs cut and torn very much with the rocks. There were only fourpeople that would work with me at the oars; and they consisted ofthree black men and a Dutch Creole sailor; and, though we went withthe boat five times that day, we had no others to assist us. But, hadwe not worked in this manner, I really believe the people could nothave been saved; for not one of the white men did any thing topreserve their lives; and indeed they soon got so drunk that they werenot able, but lay about the deck like swine, so that we were at lastobliged to lift them into the boat and carry them on shore by force. This want of assistance made our labour intolerably severe; insomuch, that, by putting on shore so often that day, the skin was entirelystript off my hands. 

However, we continued all the day to toil and strain our exertions, till we had brought all on board safe to the shore; so that out ofthirty-two people we lost not one. My dream now returned upon my mindwith all its force; it was fulfilled in every part; for our danger wasthe same I had dreamt of: and I could not help looking on myself asthe principal instrument in effecting our deliverance; for, owing tosome of our people getting drunk, the rest of us were obliged todouble our exertions; and it was fortunate we did, for in a verylittle time longer the patch of leather on the boat would have beenworn out, and she would have been no longer fit for service. Situatedas we were, who could think that men should be so careless of thedanger they were in? for, if the wind had but raised the swell as itwas when the vessel struck, we must have bid a final farewell to allhopes of deliverance; and though, I warned the people who weredrinking and entreated them to embrace the moment of deliverance, nevertheless they persisted, as if not possessed of the least spark ofreason. I could not help thinking, that, if any of these people hadbeen lost, God would charge me with their lives, which, perhaps, wasone cause of my labouring so hard for their preservation, and indeedevery one of them afterwards seemed so sensible of the service I hadrendered them; and while we were on the key I was a kind of chieftainamongst them. I brought some limes, oranges, and lemons ashore; and, finding it to be a good soil where we were, I planted several of themas a token to any one that might be cast away hereafter. This key, aswe afterwards found, was one of the Bahama islands, which consist of acluster of large islands, with smaller ones or keys, as they arecalled, interspersed among them. It was about a mile in circumference, with a white sandy beach running in a regular order along it. On thatpart of it where we first attempted to land there stood some verylarge birds, called flamingoes: these, from the reflection of the sun, appeared to us at a little distance as large as men; and, when theywalked backwards and forwards, we could not conceive what they were:our captain swore they were cannibals. This created a great panicamong us; and we held a consultation how to act. The captain wanted togo to a key that was within sight, but a great way off; but I wasagainst it, as in so doing we should not be able to save all thepeople; 'And therefore, ' said I, 'let us go on shore here, and perhapsthese cannibals may take to the water. ' Accordingly we steered towardsthem; and when we approached them, to our very great joy and no lesswonder, they walked off one after the other very deliberately; and atlast they took flight and relieved us entirely from our fears. Aboutthe key there were turtles and several sorts of fish in such abundancethat we caught them without bait, which was a great relief to us afterthe salt provisions on board. There was also a large rock on thebeach, about ten feet high, which was in the form of a punch-bowl atthe top; this we could not help thinking Providence had ordained tosupply us with rainwater; and it was something singular that, if wedid not take the water when it rained, in some little time after itwould turn as salt as sea-water. 

Our first care, after refreshment, was to make ourselves tents tolodge in, which we did as well as we could with some sails we hadbrought from the ship. We then began to think how we might get fromthis place, which was quite uninhabited; and we determined to repairour boat, which was very much shattered, and to put to sea in quest ofa ship or some inhabited island. It took us up however eleven daysbefore we could get the boat ready for sea in the manner we wanted it, with a sail and other necessaries. When we had got all things preparedthe captain wanted me to stay on shore while he went to sea in questof a vessel to take all the people off the key; but this I refused;and the captain and myself, with five more, set off in the boattowards New Providence. We had no more than two musket load ofgunpowder with us if any thing should happen; and our stock ofprovisions consisted of three gallons of rum, four of water, some saltbeef, some biscuit; and in this manner we proceeded to sea. 

On the second day of our voyage we came to an island called Obbico, the largest of the Bahama islands. We were much in want of water; forby this time our water was expended, and we were exceedingly fatiguedin pulling two days in the heat of the sun; and it being late in theevening, we hauled the boat ashore to try for water and remain duringthe night: when we came ashore we searched for water, but could findnone. When it was dark, we made a fire around us for fear of the wildbeasts, as the place was an entire thick wood, and we took it by turnsto watch. In this situation we found very little rest, and waited withimpatience for the morning. As soon as the light appeared we set offagain with our boat, in hopes of finding assistance during the day. Wewere now much dejected and weakened by pulling the boat; for our sailwas of no use, and we were almost famished for want of fresh water todrink. We had nothing left to eat but salt beef, and that we could notuse without water. In this situation we toiled all day in sight of theisland, which was very long; in the evening, seeing no relief, we madeashore again, and fastened our boat. We then went to look for freshwater, being quite faint for the want of it; and we dug and searchedabout for some all the remainder of the evening, but could not findone drop, so that our dejection at this period became excessive, andour terror so great, that we expected nothing but death to deliver us. We could not touch our beef, which was as salt as brine, without freshwater; and we were in the greatest terror from the apprehension ofwild beasts. When unwelcome night came we acted as on the nightbefore; and the next morning we set off again from the island in hopesof seeing some vessel. In this manner we toiled as well as we wereable till four o'clock, during which we passed several keys, but couldnot meet with a ship; and, still famishing with thirst, went ashore onone of those keys again in hopes of finding some water. Here we foundsome leaves with a few drops of water in them, which we lapped withmuch eagerness; we then dug in several places, but without success. Aswe were digging holes in search of water there came forth some verythick and black stuff; but none of us could touch it, except the poorDutch Creole, who drank above a quart of it as eagerly as if it hadbeen wine. We tried to catch fish, but could not; and we now began torepine at our fate, and abandon ourselves to despair; when, in themidst of our murmuring, the captain all at once cried out 'A sail! asail! a sail!' This gladdening sound was like a reprieve to aconvict, and we all instantly turned to look at it; but in a littletime some of us began to be afraid it was not a sail. However, at aventure, we embarked and steered after it; and, in half an hour, toour unspeakable joy, we plainly saw that it was a vessel. At this ourdrooping spirits revived, and we made towards her with all the speedimaginable. When we came near to her, we found she was a little sloop, about the size of a Gravesend hoy, and quite full of people; acircumstance which we could not make out the meaning of. Our captain, who was a Welchman, swore that they were pirates, and would kill us. Isaid, be that as it might, we must board her if we were to die for it;and, if they should not receive us kindly, we must oppose them as wellas we could; for there was no alternative between their perishing andours. This counsel was immediately taken; and I really believe thatthe captain, myself, and the Dutchman, would then have faced twentymen. We had two cutlasses and a musquet, that I brought in the boat;and, in this situation, we rowed alongside, and immediately boardedher. I believe there were about forty hands on board; but how greatwas our surprise, as soon as we got on board, to find that the majorpart of them were in the same predicament as ourselves!

They belonged to a whaling schooner that was wrecked two days beforeus about nine miles to the north of our vessel. When she was wreckedsome of them had taken to their boats and had left some of theirpeople and property on a key, in the same manner as we had done; andwere going, like us, to New Providence in quest of a ship, when theymet with this little sloop, called a wrecker; their employment inthose seas being to look after wrecks. They were then going to takethe remainder of the people belonging to the schooner; for which thewrecker was to have all things belonging to the vessel, and likewisetheir people's help to get what they could out of her, and were thento carry the crew to New Providence. 

We told the people of the wrecker the condition of our vessel, and wemade the same agreement with them as the schooner's people; and, ontheir complying, we begged of them to go to our key directly, becauseour people were in want of water. They agreed, therefore, to go alongwith us first; and in two days we arrived at the key, to theinexpressible joy of the people that we had left behind, as they hadbeen reduced to great extremities for want of water in our absence. Luckily for us, the wrecker had now more people on board than shecould carry or victual for any moderate length of time; they thereforehired the schooner's people to work on our wreck, and we left them ourboat, and embarked for New Providence. 

Nothing could have been more fortunate than our meeting with thiswrecker, for New Providence was at such a distance that we never couldhave reached it in our boat. The island of Abbico was much longer thanwe expected; and it was not till after sailing for three or four daysthat we got safe to the farther end of it, towards New Providence. When we arrived there we watered, and got a good many lobsters andother shellfish; which proved a great relief to us, as our provisionsand water were almost exhausted. We then proceeded on our voyage; butthe day after we left the island, late in the evening, and whilst wewere yet amongst the Bahama keys, we were overtaken by a violent galeof wind, so that we were obliged to cut away the mast. The vessel wasvery near foundering; for she parted from her anchors, and struckseveral times on the shoals. Here we expected every minute that shewould have gone to pieces, and each moment to be our last; so much sothat my old captain and sickly useless mate, and several others, fainted; and death stared us in the face on every side. All theswearers on board now began to call on the God of Heaven to assistthem: and, sure enough, beyond our comprehension he did assist us, andin a miraculous manner delivered us! In the very height of ourextremity the wind lulled for a few minutes; and, although the swellwas high beyond expression, two men, who were expert swimmers, attempted to go to the buoy of the anchor, which we still saw on thewater, at some distance, in a little punt that belonged to thewrecker, which was not large enough to carry more than two. She filleddifferent times in their endeavours to get into her alongside of ourvessel; and they saw nothing but death before them, as well as we; butthey said they might as well die that way as any other. A coil of verysmall rope, with a little buoy, was put in along with them; and, atlast, with great hazard, they got the punt clear from the vessel; andthese two intrepid water heroes paddled away for life towards the buoyof the anchor. The eyes of us all were fixed on them all the time, expecting every minute to be their last: and the prayers of all thosethat remained in their senses were offered up to God, on their behalf, for a speedy deliverance; and for our own, which depended on them; andhe heard and answered us! These two men at last reached the buoy; and, having fastened the punt to it, they tied one end of their rope to thesmall buoy that they had in the punt, and sent it adrift towards thevessel. We on board observing this threw out boat-hooks and leadsfastened to lines, in order to catch the buoy: at last we caught it, and fastened a hawser to the end of the small rope; we then gave thema sign to pull, and they pulled the hawser to them, and fastened it tothe buoy: which being done we hauled for our lives; and, through themercy of God, we got again from the shoals into deep water, and thepunt got safe to the vessel. It is impossible for any to conceive ourheartfelt joy at this second deliverance from ruin, but those who havesuffered the same hardships. Those whose strength and senses were gonecame to themselves, and were now as elated as they were beforedepressed. Two days after this the wind ceased, and the water becamesmooth. The punt then went on shore, and we cut down some trees; andhaving found our mast and mended it we brought it on board, and fixedit up. As soon as we had done this we got up the anchor, and away wewent once more for New Providence, which in three days more we reachedsafe, after having been above three weeks in a situation in which wedid not expect to escape with life. The inhabitants here were verykind to us; and, when they learned our situation, shewed us a greatdeal of hospitality and friendship. Soon after this every one of myold fellow-sufferers that were free parted from us, and shaped theircourse where their inclination led them. One merchant, who had a largesloop, seeing our condition, and knowing we wanted to go to Georgia, told four of us that his vessel was going there; and, if we would workon board and load her, he would give us our passage free. As we couldnot get any wages whatever, and found it very hard to get off theplace, we were obliged to consent to his proposal; and we went onboard and helped to load the sloop, though we had only our victualsallowed us. When she was entirely loaded he told us she was going toJamaica first, where we must go if we went in her. This, however, Irefused; but my fellow-sufferers not having any money to helpthemselves with, necessity obliged them to accept of the offer, and tosteer that course, though they did not like it. 

We stayed in New Providence about seventeen or eighteen days; duringwhich time I met with many friends, who gave me encouragement to staythere with them: but I declined it; though, had not my heart beenfixed on England, I should have stayed, as I liked the placeextremely, and there were some free black people here who were veryhappy, and we passed our time pleasantly together, with the melodioussound of the catguts, under the lime and lemon trees. At lengthCaptain Phillips hired a sloop to carry him and some of the slavesthat he could not sell to Georgia; and I agreed to go with him in thisvessel, meaning now to take my farewell of that place. When the vesselwas ready we all embarked; and I took my leave of New Providence, notwithout regret. We sailed about four o'clock in the morning, with afair wind, for Georgia; and about eleven o'clock the same morning ashort and sudden gale sprung up and blew away most of our sails; and, as we were still amongst the keys, in a very few minutes it dashed thesloop against the rocks. Luckily for us the water was deep; and thesea was not so angry but that, after having for some time labouredhard, and being many in number, we were saved through God's mercy;and, by using our greatest exertions, we got the vessel off. The nextday we returned to Providence, where we soon got her again refitted. Some of the people swore that we had spells set upon us by somebody inMontserrat; and others that we had witches and wizzards amongst thepoor helpless slaves; and that we never should arrive safe at Georgia. But these things did not deter me; I said, 'Let us again face thewinds and seas, and swear not, but trust to God, and he will deliverus. ' We therefore once more set sail; and, with hard labour, in sevenday's time arrived safe at Georgia. 

After our arrival we went up to the town of Savannah; and the sameevening I went to a friend's house to lodge, whose name was Mosa, ablack man. We were very happy at meeting each other; and after supperwe had a light till it was between nine and ten o'clock at night. About that time the watch or patrol came by; and, discerning a lightin the house, they knocked at the door: we opened it; and they came inand sat down, and drank some punch with us: they also begged somelimes of me, as they understood I had some, which I readily gave them. A little after this they told me I must go to the watch-house withthem: this surprised me a good deal, after our kindness to them; and Iasked them, Why so? They said that all negroes who had light in theirhouses after nine o'clock were to be taken into custody, and eitherpay some dollars or be flogged. Some of those people knew that I was afree man; but, as the man of the house was not free, and had hismaster to protect him, they did not take the same liberty with himthey did with me. I told them that I was a free man, and just arrivedfrom Providence; that we were not making any noise, and that I was nota stranger in that place, but was very well known there: 'Besides, 'said I, 'what will you do with me?'--'That you shall see, ' repliedthey, 'but you must go to the watch-house with us. ' Now whether theymeant to get money from me or not I was at a loss to know; but Ithought immediately of the oranges and limes at Santa Cruz: and seeingthat nothing would pacify them I went with them to the watch-house, where I remained during the night. Early the the next morning theseimposing ruffians flogged a negro-man and woman that they had in thewatch-house, and then they told me that I must be flogged too. I askedwhy? and if there was no law for free men? And told them if there wasI would have it put in force against them. But this only exasperatedthem the more; and instantly they swore they would serve me as DoctorPerkins had done; and they were going to lay violent hands on me; whenone of them, more humane than the rest, said that as I was a free manthey could not justify stripping me by law. I then immediately sentfor Doctor Brady, who was known to be an honest and worthy man; and onhis coming to my assistance they let me go. 

This was not the only disagreeable incident I met with while I was inthis place; for, one day, while I was a little way out of the town ofSavannah, I was beset by two white men, who meant to play their usualtricks with me in the way of kidnapping. As soon as these men accostedme, one of them said to the other, 'This is the very fellow we arelooking for that you lost:' and the other swore immediately that I wasthe identical person. On this they made up to me, and were about tohandle me; but I told them to be still and keep off; for I had seenthose kind of tricks played upon other free blacks, and they must notthink to serve me so. At this they paused a little, and one said tothe other--it will not do; and the other answered that I talked toogood English. I replied, I believed I did; and I had also with me arevengeful stick equal to the occasion; and my mind was likewise good. Happily however it was not used; and, after we had talked together alittle in this manner, the rogues left me. I stayed in Savannah sometime, anxiously trying to get to Montserrat once more to see Mr. King, my old master, and then to take a final farewell of the Americanquarter of the globe. At last I met with a sloop called the Speedwell, Captain John Bunton, which belonged to Grenada, and was bound toMartinico, a French island, with a cargo of rice, and I shipped myselfon board of her. Before I left Georgia a black woman, who had a childlying dead, being very tenacious of the church burial service, and notable to get any white person to perform it, applied to me for thatpurpose. I told her I was no parson; and besides, that the serviceover the dead did not affect the soul. This however did not satisfyher; she still urged me very hard: I therefore complied with herearnest entreaties, and at last consented to act the parson for thefirst time in my life. As she was much respected, there was a greatcompany both of white and black people at the grave. I thenaccordingly assumed my new vocation, and performed the funeralceremony to the satisfaction of all present; after which I bade adieuto Georgia, and sailed for Martinico. 

CHAP. IX

 _The author arrives at Martinico--Meets with new difficulties--Gets to Montserrat, where he takes leave of his old master, and sails for England--Meets Capt. Pascal--Learns the French horn--Hires himself with Doctor Irving, where he learns to freshen sea water--Leaves the doctor, and goes a voyage to Turkey and Portugal; and afterwards goes a voyage to Grenada, and another to Jamaica--Returns to the Doctor, and they embark together on a voyage to the North Pole, with the Hon. Capt. Phipps--Some account of that voyage, and the dangers the author was in--He returns to England. _

I thus took a final leave of Georgia; for the treatment I had receivedin it disgusted me very much against the place; and when I left it andsailed for Martinico I determined never more to revisit it. My newcaptain conducted his vessel safer than my former one; and, after anagreeable voyage, we got safe to our intended port. While I was onthis island I went about a good deal, and found it very pleasant: inparticular I admired the town of St. Pierre, which is the principalone in the island, and built more like an European town than any I hadseen in the West Indies. In general also, slaves were better treated, had more holidays, and looked better than those in the Englishislands. After we had done our business here, I wanted my discharge, which was necessary; for it was then the month of May, and I wishedmuch to be at Montserrat to bid farewell to Mr. King, and all my otherfriends there, in time to sail for Old England in the July fleet. But, alas! I had put a great stumbling block in my own way, by which I wasnear losing my passage that season to England. I had lent my captainsome money, which I now wanted to enable me to prosecute myintentions. This I told him; but when I applied for it, though I urgedthe necessity of my occasion, I met with so much shuffling from him, that I began at last to be afraid of losing my money, as I could notrecover it by law: for I have already mentioned, that throughout theWest Indies no black man's testimony is admitted, on any occasion, against any white person whatever, and therefore my own oath wouldhave been of no use. I was obliged, therefore, to remain with himtill he might be disposed to return it to me. Thus we sailed fromMartinico for the Grenades. I frequently pressing the captain for mymoney to no purpose; and, to render my condition worse, when we gotthere, the captain and his owners quarrelled; so that my situationbecame daily more irksome: for besides that we on board had little orno victuals allowed us, and I could not get my money nor wages, Icould then have gotten my passage free to Montserrat had I been ableto accept it. The worst of all was, that it was growing late in July, and the ships in the islands must sail by the 26th of that month. Atlast, however, with a great many entreaties, I got my money from thecaptain, and took the first vessel I could meet with for St. Eustatia. From thence I went in another to Basseterre in St. Kitts, where Iarrived on the 19th of July. On the 22d, having met with a vesselbound to Montserrat, I wanted to go in her; but the captain and otherswould not take me on board until I should advertise myself, and givenotice of my going off the island. I told them of my haste to be inMontserrat, and that the time then would not admit of advertising, itbeing late in the evening, and the captain about to sail; but heinsisted it was necessary, and otherwise he said he would not take me. This reduced me to great perplexity; for if I should be compelled tosubmit to this degrading necessity, which every black freeman isunder, of advertising himself like a slave, when he leaves an island, and which I thought a gross imposition upon any freeman, I feared Ishould miss that opportunity of going to Montserrat, and then I couldnot get to England that year. The vessel was just going off, and notime could be lost; I immediately therefore set about, with a heavyheart, to try who I could get to befriend me in complying with thedemands of the captain. Luckily I found, in a few minutes, somegentlemen of Montserrat whom I knew; and, having told them mysituation, I requested their friendly assistance in helping me off theisland. Some of them, on this, went with me to the captain, andsatisfied him of my freedom; and, to my very great joy, he desired meto go on board. We then set sail, and the next day, the 23d, I arrivedat the wished-for place, after an absence of six months, in which Ihad more than once experienced the delivering hand of Providence, when all human means of escaping destruction seemed hopeless. I saw myfriends with a gladness of heart which was increased by my absence andthe dangers I had escaped, and I was received with great friendship bythem all, but particularly by Mr. King, to whom I related the fate ofhis sloop, the Nancy, and the causes of her being wrecked. I nowlearned with extreme sorrow, that his house was washed away during myabsence, by the bursting of a pond at the top of a mountain that wasopposite the town of Plymouth. It swept great part of the town away, and Mr. King lost a great deal of property from the inundation, andnearly his life. When I told him I intended to go to London thatseason, and that I had come to visit him before my departure, the goodman expressed a great deal of affection for me, and sorrow that Ishould leave him, and warmly advised me to stay there; insisting, as Iwas much respected by all the gentlemen in the place, that I might dovery well, and in a short time have land and slaves of my own. Ithanked him for this instance of his friendship; but, as I wished verymuch to be in London, I declined remaining any longer there, andbegged he would excuse me. I then requested he would be kind enough togive me a certificate of my behaviour while in his service, which hevery readily complied with, and gave me the following:

 _Montserrat, January 26, 1767. _

 'The bearer hereof, Gustavus Vassa, was my slave for upwards of three years, during which he has always behaved himself well, and discharged his duty with honesty and assiduity. 

 Robert King. 

 'To all whom this may concern. '

Having obtained this, I parted from my kind master, after many sincereprofessions of gratitude and regard, and prepared for my departure forLondon. I immediately agreed to go with one Capt. John Hamer, forseven guineas, the passage to London, on board a ship called theAndromache; and on the 24th and 25th I had free dances, as they arecalled, with some of my countrymen, previous to my setting off; afterwhich I took leave of all my friends, and on the 26th I embarked forLondon, exceedingly glad to see myself once more on board of a ship;and still more so, in steering the course I had long wished for. Witha light heart I bade Montserrat farewell, and never had my feet on itsince; and with it I bade adieu to the sound of the cruel whip, andall other dreadful instruments of torture; adieu to the offensivesight of the violated chastity of the sable females, which has toooften accosted my eyes; adieu to oppressions (although to me lesssevere than most of my countrymen); and adieu to the angry howling, dashing surfs. I wished for a grateful and thankful heart to praisethe Lord God on high for all his mercies!

We had a most prosperous voyage, and, at the end of seven weeks, arrived at Cherry-Garden stairs. Thus were my longing eyes once moregratified with a sight of London, after having been absent from itabove four years. I immediately received my wages, and I never hadearned seven guineas so quick in my life before; I had thirty-sevenguineas in all, when I got cleared of the ship. I now entered upon ascene, quite new to me, but full of hope. In this situation my firstthoughts were to look out for some of my former friends, and amongstthe first of those were the Miss Guerins. As soon, therefore, as I hadregaled myself I went in quest of those kind ladies, whom I was veryimpatient to see; and with some difficulty and perseverance, I foundthem at May's-hill, Greenwich. They were most agreeably surprised tosee me, and I quite overjoyed at meeting with them. I told them myhistory, at which they expressed great wonder, and freely acknowledgedit did their cousin, Capt. Pascal, no honour. He then visited therefrequently; and I met him four or five days after in Greenwich park. When he saw me he appeared a good deal surprised, and asked me how Icame back? I answered, 'In a ship. ' To which he replied dryly, 'Isuppose you did not walk back to London on the water. ' As I saw, byhis manner, that he did not seem to be sorry for his behaviour to me, and that I had not much reason to expect any favour from him, I toldhim that he had used me very ill, after I had been such a faithfulservant to him for so many years; on which, without saying any more, he turned about and went away. A few days after this I met Capt. Pascal at Miss Guerin's house, and asked him for my prize-money. Hesaid there was none due to me; for, if my prize money had been10, 000 £. He had a right to it all. I told him I was informedotherwise; on which he bade me defiance; and, in a bantering tone, desired me to commence a lawsuit against him for it: 'There arelawyers enough, ' said he, 'that will take the cause in hand, and youhad better try it. ' I told him then that I would try it, which enragedhim very much; however, out of regard to the ladies, I remained still, and never made any farther demand of my right. Some time afterwardsthese friendly ladies asked me what I meant to do with myself, and howthey could assist me. I thanked them, and said, if they pleased, Iwould be their servant; but if not, as I had thirty-seven guineas, which would support me for some time, I would be much obliged to themto recommend me to some person who would teach me a business whereby Imight earn my living. They answered me very politely, that they weresorry it did not suit them to take me as their servant, and asked mewhat business I should like to learn? I said, hair-dressing. They thenpromised to assist me in this; and soon after they recommended me to agentleman whom I had known before, one Capt. O'Hara, who treated mewith much kindness, and procured me a master, a hair-dresser, inCoventry-court, Haymarket, with whom he placed me. I was with this manfrom September till the February following. In that time we had aneighbour in the same court who taught the French horn. He used toblow it so well that I was charmed with it, and agreed with him toteach me to blow it. Accordingly he took me in hand, and began toinstruct me, and I soon learned all the three parts. I took greatdelight in blowing on this instrument, the evenings being long; andbesides that I was fond of it, I did not like to be idle, and itfilled up my vacant hours innocently. At this time also I agreed withthe Rev. Mr. Gregory, who lived in the same court, where he kept anacademy and an evening-school, to improve me in arithmetic. This hedid as far as barter and alligation; so that all the time I was thereI was entirely employed. In February 1768 I hired myself to Dr. Charles Irving, in Pall-mall, so celebrated for his successfulexperiments in making sea water fresh; and here I had plenty ofhair-dressing to improve my hand. This gentleman was an excellentmaster; he was exceedingly kind and good tempered; and allowed me inthe evenings to attend my schools, which I esteemed a great blessing;therefore I thanked God and him for it, and used all my diligence toimprove the opportunity. This diligence and attention recommended meto the notice and care of my three preceptors, who on their partsbestowed a great deal of pains in my instruction, and besides were allvery kind to me. My wages, however, which were by two thirds less thanI ever had in my life (for I had only 12l. Per annum) I soon foundwould not be sufficient to defray this extraordinary expense ofmasters, and my own necessary expenses; my old thirty-seven guineashad by this time worn all away to one. I thought it best, therefore, to try the sea again in quest of more money, as I had been bred to it, and had hitherto found the profession of it successful. I had also avery great desire to see Turkey, and I now determined to gratify it. Accordingly, in the month of May, 1768, I told the doctor my wish togo to sea again, to which he made no opposition; and we parted onfriendly terms. The same day I went into the city in quest of amaster. I was extremely fortunate in my inquiry; for I soon heard of agentleman who had a ship going to Italy and Turkey, and he wanted aman who could dress hair well. I was overjoyed at this, and wentimmediately on board of his ship, as I had been directed, which Ifound to be fitted up with great taste, and I already foreboded nosmall pleasure in sailing in her. Not finding the gentleman on board, I was directed to his lodgings, where I met with him the next day, andgave him a specimen of my dressing. He liked it so well that he hiredme immediately, so that I was perfectly happy; for the ship, master, and voyage, were entirely to my mind. The ship was called the Delawar, and my master's name was John Jolly, a neat smart good humoured man, just such an one as I wished to serve. We sailed from England in Julyfollowing, and our voyage was extremely pleasant. We went to VillaFranca, Nice, and Leghorn; and in all these places I was charmed withthe richness and beauty of the countries, and struck with the elegantbuildings with which they abound. We had always in them plenty ofextraordinary good wines and rich fruits, which I was very fond of;and I had frequent occasions of gratifying both my taste andcuriosity; for my captain always lodged on shore in those places, which afforded me opportunities to see the country around. I alsolearned navigation of the mate, which I was very fond of. When we leftItaly we had delightful sailing among the Archipelago islands, andfrom thence to Smyrna in Turkey. This is a very ancient city; thehouses are built of stone, and most of them have graves adjoining tothem; so that they sometimes present the appearance of church-yards. Provisions are very plentiful in this city, and good wine less than apenny a pint. The grapes, pomegranates, and many other fruits, werealso the richest and largest I ever tasted. The natives are welllooking and strong made, and treated me always with great civility. Ingeneral I believe they are fond of black people; and several of themgave me pressing invitations to stay amongst them, although they keepthe franks, or Christians, separate, and do not suffer them to dwellimmediately amongst them. I was astonished in not seeing women in anyof their shops, and very rarely any in the streets; and whenever I didthey were covered with a veil from head to foot, so that I could notsee their faces, except when any of them out of curiosity uncoveredthem to look at me, which they sometimes did. I was surprised to seehow the Greeks are, in some measure, kept under by the Turks, as thenegroes are in the West Indies by the white people. The less refinedGreeks, as I have already hinted, dance here in the same manner as wedo in my nation. On the whole, during our stay here, which was aboutfive months, I liked the place and the Turks extremely well. I couldnot help observing one very remarkable circumstance there: the tailsof the sheep are flat, and so very large, that I have known the taileven of a lamb to weigh from eleven to thirteen pounds. The fat ofthem is very white and rich, and is excellent in puddings, for whichit is much used. Our ship being at length richly loaded with silk, andother articles, we sailed for England. 

In May 1769, soon after our return from Turkey, our ship made adelightful voyage to Oporto in Portugal, where we arrived at the timeof the carnival. On our arrival, there were sent on board to usthirty-six articles to observe, with very heavy penalties if we shouldbreak any of them; and none of us even dared to go on board any othervessel or on shore till the Inquisition had sent on board andsearched for every thing illegal, especially bibles. Such as wereproduced, and certain other things, were sent on shore till the shipswere going away; and any person in whose custody a bible was foundconcealed was to be imprisoned and flogged, and sent into slavery forten years. I saw here many very magnificent sights, particularly thegarden of Eden, where many of the clergy and laity went in processionin their several orders with the host, and sung Te Deum. I had a greatcuriosity to go into some of their churches, but could not gainadmittance without using the necessary sprinkling of holy water at myentrance. From curiosity, and a wish to be holy, I therefore compliedwith this ceremony, but its virtues were lost on me, for I foundmyself nothing the better for it. This place abounds with plenty ofall kinds of provisions. The town is well built and pretty, andcommands a fine prospect. Our ship having taken in a load of wine, andother commodities, we sailed for London, and arrived in Julyfollowing. Our next voyage was to the Mediterranean. The ship wasagain got ready, and we sailed in September for Genoa. This is one ofthe finest cities I ever saw; some of the edifices were of beautifulmarble, and made a most noble appearance; and many had very curiousfountains before them. The churches were rich and magnificent, andcuriously adorned both in the inside and out. But all this grandeurwas in my eyes disgraced by the galley slaves, whose condition boththere and in other parts of Italy is truly piteous and wretched. Afterwe had stayed there some weeks, during which we bought many differentthings which we wanted, and got them very cheap, we sailed to Naples, a charming city, and remarkably clean. The bay is the most beautiful Iever saw; the moles for shipping are excellent. I thought itextraordinary to see grand operas acted here on Sunday nights, andeven attended by their majesties. I too, like these great ones, wentto those sights, and vainly served God in the day while I thus servedmammon effectually at night. While we remained here there happened aneruption of mount Vesuvius, of which I had a perfect view. It wasextremely awful; and we were so near that the ashes from it used to bethick on our deck. After we had transacted our business at Naples wesailed with a fair wind once more for Smyrna, where we arrived inDecember. A seraskier or officer took a liking to me here, and wantedme to stay, and offered me two wives; however I refused thetemptation. The merchants here travel in caravans or large companies. I have seen many caravans from India, with some hundreds of camels, laden with different goods. The people of these caravans are quitebrown. Among other articles, they brought with them a great quantityof locusts, which are a kind of pulse, sweet and pleasant to thepalate, and in shape resembling French beans, but longer. Each kind ofgoods is sold in a street by itself, and I always found the Turks veryhonest in their dealings. They let no Christians into their mosques orchurches, for which I was very sorry; as I was always fond of going tosee the different modes of worship of the people wherever I went. Theplague broke out while we were in Smyrna, and we stopped taking goodsinto the ship till it was over. She was then richly laden, and wesailed in about March 1770 for England. One day in our passage we metwith an accident which was near burning the ship. A black cook, inmelting some fat, overset the pan into the fire under the deck, whichimmediately began to blaze, and the flame went up very high under theforetop. With the fright the poor cook became almost white, andaltogether speechless. Happily however we got the fire out withoutdoing much mischief. After various delays in this passage, which wastedious, we arrived in Standgate creek in July; and, at the latter endof the year, some new event occurred, so that my noble captain, theship, and I all separated. 

In April 1771 I shipped myself as a steward with Capt. Wm. Robertsonof the ship Grenada Planter, once more to try my fortune in the WestIndies; and we sailed from London for Madeira, Barbadoes, and theGrenades. When we were at this last place, having some goods to sell, I met once more with my former kind of West India customers. A whiteman, an islander, bought some goods of me to the amount of somepounds, and made me many fair promises as usual, but without anyintention of paying me. He had likewise bought goods from some more ofour people, whom he intended to serve in the same manner; but he stillamused us with promises. However, when our ship was loaded, and nearsailing, this honest buyer discovered no intention or sign of payingfor any thing he had bought of us; but on the contrary, when I askedhim for my money he threatened me and another black man he had boughtgoods of, so that we found we were like to get more blows thanpayment. On this we went to complain to one Mr. M'Intosh, a justice ofthe peace; we told his worship of the man's villainous tricks, andbegged that he would be kind enough to see us redressed: but beingnegroes, although free, we could not get any remedy; and our shipbeing then just upon the point of sailing, we knew not how to helpourselves, though we thought it hard to lose our property in thismanner. Luckily for us however, this man was also indebted to threewhite sailors, who could not get a farthing from him; they thereforereadily joined us, and we all went together in search of him. When wefound where he was, I took him out of a house and threatened him withvengeance; on which, finding he was likely to be handled roughly, therogue offered each of us some small allowance, but nothing near ourdemands. This exasperated us much more; and some were for cutting hisears off; but he begged hard for mercy, which was at last granted him, after we had entirely stripped him. We then let him go, for which hethanked us, glad to get off so easily, and ran into the bushes, afterhaving wished us a good voyage. We then repaired on board, and shortlyafter set sail for England. I cannot help remarking here a very narrowescape we had from being blown up, owing to a piece of negligence ofmine. Just as our ship was under sail, I went down into the cabin todo some business, and had a lighted candle in my hand, which, in myhurry, without thinking, I held in a barrel of gunpowder. It remainedin the powder until it was near catching fire, when fortunately Iobserved it and snatched it out in time, and providentially no harmhappened; but I was so overcome with terror that I immediately faintedat this deliverance. 

In twenty-eight days time we arrived in England, and I got clear ofthis ship. But, being still of a roving disposition, and desirous ofseeing as many different parts of the world as I could, I shippedmyself soon after, in the same year, as steward on board of a finelarge ship, called the Jamaica, Captain David Watt; and we sailed fromEngland in December 1771 for Nevis and Jamaica. I found Jamaica to bea very fine large island, well peopled, and the most considerable ofthe West India islands. There was a vast number of negroes here, whomI found as usual exceedingly imposed upon by the white people, and theslaves punished as in the other islands. There are negroes whosebusiness it is to flog slaves; they go about to different people foremployment, and the usual pay is from one to four bits. I saw manycruel punishments inflicted on the slaves in the short time I stayedhere. In particular I was present when a poor fellow was tied up andkept hanging by the wrists at some distance from the ground, and thensome half hundred weights were fixed to his ancles, in which posturehe was flogged most unmercifully. There were also, as I heard, twodifferent masters noted for cruelty on the island, who had staked uptwo negroes naked, and in two hours the vermin stung them to death. Iheard a gentleman I well knew tell my captain that he passed sentenceon a negro man to be burnt alive for attempting to poison an overseer. I pass over numerous other instances, in order to relieve the readerby a milder scene of roguery. Before I had been long on the island, one Mr. Smith at Port Morant bought goods of me to the amount oftwenty-five pounds sterling; but when I demanded payment from him, hewas going each time to beat me, and threatened that he would put me ingoal. One time he would say I was going to set his house on fire, atanother he would swear I was going to run away with his slaves. I wasastonished at this usage from a person who was in the situation of agentleman, but I had no alternative; I was therefore obliged tosubmit. When I came to Kingston, I was surprised to see the number ofAfricans who were assembled together on Sundays; particularly at alarge commodious place, called Spring Path. Here each different nationof Africa meet and dance after the manner of their own country. Theystill retain most of their native customs: they bury their dead, andput victuals, pipes and tobacco, and other things, in the grave withthe corps, in the same manner as in Africa. Our ship having got herloading we sailed for London, where we arrived in the Augustfollowing. On my return to London, I waited on my old and good master, Dr. Irving, who made me an offer of his service again. Being now tiredof the sea I gladly accepted it. I was very happy in living with thisgentleman once more; during which time we were daily employed inreducing old Neptune's dominions by purifying the briny element andmaking it fresh. Thus I went on till May 1773, when I was roused bythe sound of fame, to seek new adventures, and to find, towards thenorth pole, what our Creator never intended we should, a passage toIndia. An expedition was now fitting out to explore a north-eastpassage, conducted by the Honourable John Constantine Phipps, sinceLord Mulgrave, in his Majesty's sloop of war the Race Horse. My masterbeing anxious for the reputation of this adventure, we thereforeprepared every thing for our voyage, and I attended him on board theRace Horse, the 24th day of May 1773. We proceeded to Sheerness, wherewe were joined by his Majesty's sloop the Carcass, commanded byCaptain Lutwidge. On the 4th of June we sailed towards our destinedplace, the pole; and on the 15th of the same month we were offShetland. On this day I had a great and unexpected deliverance from anaccident which was near blowing up the ship and destroying the crew, which made me ever after during the voyage uncommonly cautious. Theship was so filled that there was very little room on board for anyone, which placed me in a very aukward situation. I had resolved tokeep a journal of this singular and interesting voyage; and I had noother place for this purpose but a little cabin, or the doctor'sstore-room, where I slept. This little place was stuffed with allmanner of combustibles, particularly with tow and aquafortis, and manyother dangerous things. Unfortunately it happened in the evening as Iwas writing my journal, that I had occasion to take the candle out ofthe lanthorn, and a spark having touched a single thread of the tow, all the rest caught the flame, and immediately the whole was in ablaze. I saw nothing but present death before me, and expected to bethe first to perish in the flames. In a moment the alarm was spread, and many people who were near ran to assist in putting out the fire. All this time I was in the very midst of the flames; my shirt, and thehandkerchief on my neck, were burnt, and I was almost smothered withthe smoke. However, through God's mercy, as I was nearly giving up allhopes, some people brought blankets and mattresses and threw them onthe flames, by which means in a short time the fire was put out. I wasseverely reprimanded and menaced by such of the officers who knew it, and strictly charged never more to go there with a light: and, indeed, even my own fears made me give heed to this command for a little time;but at last, not being able to write my journal in any other part ofthe ship, I was tempted again to venture by stealth with a light inthe same cabin, though not without considerable fear and dread on mymind. On the 20th of June we began to use Dr. Irving's apparatus formaking salt water fresh; I used to attend the distillery: I frequentlypurified from twenty-six to forty gallons a day. The water thusdistilled was perfectly pure, well tasted, and free from salt; and wasused on various occasions on board the ship. On the 28th of June, being in lat. 78, we made Greenland, where I was surprised to see thesun did not set. The weather now became extremely cold; and as wesailed between north and east, which was our course, we saw many veryhigh and curious mountains of ice; and also a great number of verylarge whales, which used to come close to our ship, and blow the waterup to a very great height in the air. One morning we had vastquantities of sea-horses about the ship, which neighed exactly likeany other horses. We fired some harpoon guns amongst them, in order totake some, but we could not get any. The 30th, the captain of aGreenland ship came on board, and told us of three ships that werelost in the ice; however we still held on our course till July the11th, when we were stopt by one compact impenetrable body of ice. Weran along it from east to west above ten degrees; and on the 27th wegot as far north as 80, 37; and in 19 or 20 degrees east longitudefrom London. On the 29th and 30th of July we saw one continued plainof smooth unbroken ice, bounded only by the horizon; and we fastenedto a piece of ice that was eight yards eleven inches thick. We hadgenerally sunshine, and constant daylight; which gave cheerfulness andnovelty to the whole of this striking, grand, and uncommon scene; and, to heighten it still more, the reflection of the sun from the ice gavethe clouds a most beautiful appearance. We killed many differentanimals at this time, and among the rest nine bears. Though they hadnothing in their paunches but water yet they were all very fat. Weused to decoy them to the ship sometimes by burning feathers or skins. I thought them coarse eating, but some of the ship's company relishedthem very much. Some of our people once, in the boat, fired at andwounded a sea-horse, which dived immediately; and, in a little timeafter, brought up with it a number of others. They all joined in anattack upon the boat, and were with difficulty prevented from stavingor oversetting her; but a boat from the Carcass having come to assistours, and joined it, they dispersed, after having wrested an oar fromone of the men. One of the ship's boats had before been attacked inthe same manner, but happily no harm was done. Though we woundedseveral of these animals we never got but one. We remained hereaboutsuntil the 1st of August; when the two ships got completely fastened inthe ice, occasioned by the loose ice that set in from the sea. Thismade our situation very dreadful and alarming; so that on the 7th daywe were in very great apprehension of having the ships squeezed topieces. The officers now held a council to know what was best for usto do in order to save our lives; and it was determined that we shouldendeavour to escape by dragging our boats along the ice towards thesea; which, however, was farther off than any of us thought. Thisdetermination filled us with extreme dejection, and confounded us withdespair; for we had very little prospect of escaping with life. However, we sawed some of the ice about the ships to keep it fromhurting them; and thus kept them in a kind of pond. We then began todrag the boats as well as we could towards the sea; but, after two orthree days labour, we made very little progress; so that some of ourhearts totally failed us, and I really began to give up myself forlost, when I saw our surrounding calamities. While we were at thishard labour I once fell into a pond we had made amongst some looseice, and was very near being drowned; but providentially some peoplewere near who gave me immediate assistance, and thereby I escapeddrowning. Our deplorable condition, which kept up the constantapprehension of our perishing in the ice, brought me gradually tothink of eternity in such a manner as I never had done before. I hadthe fears of death hourly upon me, and shuddered at the thoughts ofmeeting the grim king of terrors in the _natural_ state I then was in, and was exceedingly doubtful of a happy eternity if I should die init. I had no hopes of my life being prolonged for any time; for wesaw that our existence could not be long on the ice after leaving theships, which were now out of sight, and some miles from the boats. Ourappearance now became truly lamentable; pale dejection seized everycountenance; many, who had been before blasphemers, in this ourdistress began to call on the good God of heaven for his help; and inthe time of our utter need he heard us, and against hope or humanprobability delivered us! It was the eleventh day of the ships beingthus fastened, and the fourth of our drawing the boats in this manner, that the wind changed to the E. N. E. The weather immediately becamemild, and the ice broke towards the sea, which was to the S. W. Of us. Many of us on this got on board again, and with all our might we hovethe ships into every open water we could find, and made all the sailon them in our power; and now, having a prospect of success, we madesignals for the boats and the remainder of the people. This seemed tous like a reprieve from death; and happy was the man who could firstget on board of any ship, or the first boat he could meet. We thenproceeded in this manner till we got into the open water again, whichwe accomplished in about thirty hours, to our infinite joy andgladness of heart. As soon as we were out of danger we came to anchorand refitted; and on the 19th of August we sailed from thisuninhabited extremity of the world, where the inhospitable climateaffords neither food nor shelter, and not a tree or shrub of any kindgrows amongst its barren rocks; but all is one desolate and expandedwaste of ice, which even the constant beams of the sun for six monthsin the year cannot penetrate or dissolve. The sun now being on thedecline the days shortened as we sailed to the southward; and, on the28th, in latitude 73, it was dark by ten o'clock at night. Septemberthe 10th, in latitude 58-59, we met a very severe gale of wind andhigh seas, and shipped a great deal of water in the space of tenhours. This made us work exceedingly hard at all our pumps a wholeday; and one sea, which struck the ship with more force than any thingI ever met with of the kind before, laid her under water for sometime, so that we thought she would have gone down. Two boats werewashed from the booms, and the long-boat from the chucks: all othermoveable things on the deck were also washed away, among which weremany curious things of different kinds which we had brought fromGreenland; and we were obliged, in order to lighten the ship, to tosssome of our guns overboard. We saw a ship, at the same time, in verygreat distress, and her masts were gone; but we were unable to assisther. We now lost sight of the Carcass till the 26th, when we saw landabout Orfordness, off which place she joined us. From thence we sailedfor London, and on the 30th came up to Deptford. And thus ended ourArctic voyage, to the no small joy of all on board, after having beenabsent four months; in which time, at the imminent hazard of ourlives, we explored nearly as far towards the Pole as 81 degrees north, and 20 degrees east longitude; being much farther, by all accounts, than any navigator had ever ventured before; in which we fully provedthe impracticability of finding a passage that way to India. 

CHAP. X. 

 _The author leaves Doctor Irving and engages on board a Turkey ship--Account of a black man's being kidnapped on board and sent to the West Indies, and the author's fruitless endeavours to procure his freedom--Some account of the manner of the author's conversion to the faith of Jesus Christ. _

Our voyage to the North Pole being ended, I returned to London withDoctor Irving, with whom I continued for some time, during which Ibegan seriously to reflect on the dangers I had escaped, particularlythose of my last voyage, which made a lasting impression on my mind, and, by the grace of God, proved afterwards a mercy to me; it causedme to reflect deeply on my eternal state, and to seek the Lord withfull purpose of heart ere it was too late. I rejoiced greatly; andheartily thanked the Lord for directing me to London, where I wasdetermined to work out my own salvation, and in so doing procure atitle to heaven, being the result of a mind blended by ignorance andsin. 

In process of time I left my master, Doctor Irving, the purifier ofwaters, and lodged in Coventry-court, Haymarket, where I wascontinually oppressed and much concerned about the salvation of mysoul, and was determined (in my own strength) to be a first-rateChristian. I used every means for this purpose; and, not being able tofind any person amongst my acquaintance that agreed with me in pointof religion, or, in scripture language, 'that would shew me any good;'I was much dejected, and knew not where to seek relief; however, Ifirst frequented the neighbouring churches, St. James's, and others, two or three times a day, for many weeks: still I came awaydissatisfied; something was wanting that I could not obtain, and Ireally found more heartfelt relief in reading my bible at home than inattending the church; and, being resolved to be saved, I pursued othermethods still. First I went among the quakers, where the word of Godwas neither read or preached, so that I remained as much in the darkas ever. I then searched into the Roman catholic principles, but wasnot in the least satisfied. At length I had recourse to the Jews, which availed me nothing, for the fear of eternity daily harassed mymind, and I knew not where to seek shelter from the wrath to come. However this was my conclusion, at all events, to read the fourevangelists, and whatever sect or party I found adhering thereto suchI would join. Thus I went on heavily without any guide to direct methe way that leadeth to eternal life. I asked different peoplequestions about the manner of going to heaven, and was told differentways. Here I was much staggered, and could not find any at that timemore righteous than myself, or indeed so much inclined to devotion. Ithought we should not all be saved (this is agreeable to the holyscriptures), nor would all be damned. I found none among the circle ofmy acquaintance that kept wholly the ten commandments. So righteouswas I in my own eyes, that I was convinced I excelled many of them inthat point, by keeping eight out of ten; and finding those who ingeneral termed themselves Christians not so honest or so good in theirmorals as the Turks, I really thought the Turks were in a safer way ofsalvation than my neighbours: so that between hopes and fears I wenton, and the chief comforts I enjoyed were in the musical French horn, which I then practised, and also dressing of hair. Such was mysituation some months, experiencing the dishonesty of many peoplehere. I determined at last to set out for Turkey, and there to end mydays. It was now early in the spring 1774. I sought for a master, andfound a captain John Hughes, commander of a ship called Anglicania, fitting out in the river Thames, and bound to Smyrna in Turkey. Ishipped myself with him as a steward; at the same time I recommendedto him a very clever black man, John Annis, as a cook. This man was onboard the ship near two months doing his duty: he had formerly livedmany years with Mr. William Kirkpatrick, a gentleman of the island ofSt. Kitts, from whom he parted by consent, though he afterwards triedmany schemes to inveigle the poor man. He had applied to many captainswho traded to St. Kitts to trepan him; and when all their attempts andschemes of kidnapping proved abortive, Mr. Kirkpatrick came to ourship at Union Stairs on Easter Monday, April the fourth, with twowherry boats and six men, having learned that the man was on board;and tied, and forcibly took him away from the ship, in the presenceof the crew and the chief mate, who had detained him after he hadnotice to come away. I believe that this was a combined piece ofbusiness: but, at any rate, it certainly reflected great disgrace onthe mate and captain also, who, although they had desired theoppressed man to stay on board, yet he did not in the least assist torecover him, or pay me a farthing of his wages, which was about fivepounds. I proved the only friend he had, who attempted to regain himhis liberty if possible, having known the want of liberty myself. Isent as soon as I could to Gravesend, and got knowledge of the ship inwhich he was; but unluckily she had sailed the first tide after he wasput on board. My intention was then immediately to apprehend Mr. Kirkpatrick, who was about setting off for Scotland; and, havingobtained a _habeas corpus_ for him, and got a tipstaff to go with meto St. Paul's church-yard, where he lived, he, suspecting something ofthis kind, set a watch to look out. My being known to them occasionedme to use the following deception: I whitened my face, that they mightnot know me, and this had its desired effect. He did not go out of hishouse that night, and next morning I contrived a well plottedstratagem notwithstanding he had a gentleman in his house to personatehim. My direction to the tipstaff, who got admittance into the house, was to conduct him to a judge, according to the writ. When he camethere, his plea was, that he had not the body in custody, on which hewas admitted to bail. I proceeded immediately to that philanthropist, Granville Sharp, Esq. Who received me with the utmost kindness, andgave me every instruction that was needful on the occasion. I left himin full hope that I should gain the unhappy man his liberty, with thewarmest sense of gratitude towards Mr. Sharp for his kindness; but, alas! my attorney proved unfaithful; he took my money, lost me manymonths employ, and did not do the least good in the cause: and whenthe poor man arrived at St. Kitts, he was, according to custom, stakedto the ground with four pins through a cord, two on his wrists, andtwo on his ancles, was cut and flogged most unmercifully, andafterwards loaded cruelly with irons about his neck. I had two verymoving letters from him, while he was in this situation; and also wastold of it by some very respectable families now in London, who sawhim in St. Kitts, in the same state in which he remained till kinddeath released him out of the hands of his tyrants. During thisdisagreeable business I was under strong convictions of sin, andthought that my state was worse than any man's; my mind wasunaccountably disturbed; I often wished for death, though at the sametime convinced I was altogether unprepared for that awful summons. Suffering much by villains in the late cause, and being much concernedabout the state of my soul, these things (but particularly the latter)brought me very low; so that I became a burden to myself, and viewedall things around me as emptiness and vanity, which could give nosatisfaction to a troubled conscience. I was again determined to go toTurkey, and resolved, at that time, never more to return to England. Iengaged as steward on board a Turkeyman (the Wester Hall, Capt. Linna); but was prevented by means of my late captain, Mr. Hughes, andothers. All this appeared to be against me, and the only comfort Ithen experienced was, in reading the holy scriptures, where I saw that'there is no new thing under the sun, ' Eccles. I. 9; and what wasappointed for me I must submit to. Thus I continued to travel in muchheaviness, and frequently murmured against the Almighty, particularlyin his providential dealings; and, awful to think! I began toblaspheme, and wished often to be any thing but a human being. Inthese severe conflicts the Lord answered me by awful 'visions of thenight, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed, 'Job xxxiii. 15. He was pleased, in much mercy, to give me to see, andin some measure to understand, the great and awful scene of thejudgment-day, that 'no unclean person, no unholy thing, can enter intothe kingdom of God, ' Eph. V. 5. I would then, if it had been possible, have changed my nature with the meanest worm on the earth; and wasready to say to the mountains and rocks 'fall on me, ' Rev. Vi. 16; butall in vain. I then requested the divine Creator that he would grantme a small space of time to repent of my follies and vile iniquities, which I felt were grievous. The Lord, in his manifold mercies, waspleased to grant my request, and being yet in a state of time, thesense of God's mercies was so great on my mind when I awoke, that mystrength entirely failed me for many minutes, and I was exceedinglyweak. This was the first spiritual mercy I ever was sensible of, andbeing on praying ground, as soon as I recovered a little strength, andgot out of bed and dressed myself, I invoked Heaven from my inmostsoul, and fervently begged that God would never again permit me toblaspheme his most holy name. The Lord, who is long-suffering, andfull of compassion to such poor rebels as we are, condescended to hearand answer. I felt that I was altogether unholy, and saw clearly whata bad use I had made of the faculties I was endowed with; they weregiven me to glorify God with; I thought, therefore, I had better wantthem here, and enter into life eternal, than abuse them and be castinto hell fire. I prayed to be directed, if there were any holier thanthose with whom I was acquainted, that the Lord would point them outto me. I appealed to the Searcher of hearts, whether I did not wish tolove him more, and serve him better. Notwithstanding all this, thereader may easily discern, if he is a believer, that I was still innature's darkness. At length I hated the house in which I lodged, because God's most holy name was blasphemed in it; then I saw the wordof God verified, viz. 'Before they call, I will answer; and while theyare yet speaking, I will hear. '

I had a great desire to read the bible the whole day at home; but nothaving a convenient place for retirement, I left the house in the day, rather than stay amongst the wicked ones; and that day as I waswalking, it pleased God to direct me to a house where there was an oldsea-faring man, who experienced much of the love of God shed abroad inhis heart. He began to discourse with me; and, as I desired to lovethe Lord, his conversation rejoiced me greatly; and indeed I had neverheard before the love of Christ to believers set forth in such amanner, and in so clear a point of view. Here I had more questions toput to the man than his time would permit him to answer; and in thatmemorable hour there came in a dissenting minister; he joined ourdiscourse, and asked me some few questions; among others, where Iheard the gospel preached. I knew not what he meant by hearing thegospel; I told him I had read the gospel: and he asked where I went tochurch, or whether I went at all or not. To which I replied, 'Iattended St. James's, St. Martin's, and St. Ann's, Soho;'--'So, ' saidhe, 'you are a churchman. ' I answered, I was. He then invited me to alove-feast at his chapel that evening. I accepted the offer, andthanked him; and soon after he went away, I had some further discoursewith the old Christian, added to some profitable reading, which mademe exceedingly happy. When I left him he reminded me of coming to thefeast; I assured him I would be there. Thus we parted, and I weighedover the heavenly conversation that had passed between these two men, which cheered my then heavy and drooping spirit more than any thing Ihad met with for many months. However, I thought the time long ingoing to my supposed banquet. I also wished much for the company ofthese friendly men; their company pleased me much; and I thought thegentlemen very kind, in asking me, a stranger, to a feast; but howsingular did it appear to me, to have it in a chapel! When thewished-for hour came I went, and happily the old man was there, whokindly seated me, as he belonged to the place. I was much astonishedto see the place filled with people, and no signs of eating anddrinking. There were many ministers in the company. At last they beganby giving out hymns, and between the singing the minister engaged inprayer; in short, I knew not what to make of this sight, having neverseen any thing of the kind in my life before now. Some of the guestsbegan to speak their experience, agreeable to what I read in theScriptures; much was said by every speaker of the providence of God, and his unspeakable mercies, to each of them. This I knew in a greatmeasure, and could most heartily join them. But when they spoke of afuture state, they seemed to be altogether certain of their callingand election of God; and that no one could ever separate them from thelove of Christ, or pluck them out of his hands. This filled me withutter consternation, intermingled with admiration. I was so amazed asnot to know what to think of the company; my heart was attracted andmy affections were enlarged. I wished to be as happy as them, and waspersuaded in my mind that they were different from the world 'thatlieth in wickedness, ' 1 John v. 19. Their language and singing, &c. Did well harmonize; I was entirely overcome, and wished to live anddie thus. Lastly, some persons in the place produced some neat basketsfull of buns, which they distributed about; and each personcommunicated with his neighbour, and sipped water out of differentmugs, which they handed about to all who were present. This kind ofChristian fellowship I had never seen, nor ever thought of seeing onearth; it fully reminded me of what I had read in the holy scriptures, of the primitive Christians, who loved each other and broke bread. Inpartaking of it, even from house to house, this entertainment (whichlasted about four hours) ended in singing and prayer. It was the firstsoul feast I ever was present at. This last twenty-four hours producedme things, spiritual and temporal, sleeping and waking, judgment andmercy, that I could not but admire the goodness of God, in directingthe blind, blasphemous sinner in the path that he knew not of, evenamong the just; and instead of judgment he has shewed mercy, and willhear and answer the prayers and supplications of every returningprodigal:

 O! to grace how great a debtor Daily I'm constrain'd to be!

After this I was resolved to win Heaven if possible; and if I perishedI thought it should be at the feet of Jesus, in praying to him forsalvation. After having been an eye-witness to some of the happinesswhich attended those who feared God, I knew not how, with anypropriety, to return to my lodgings, where the name of God wascontinually profaned, at which I felt the greatest horror. I paused inmy mind for some time, not knowing what to do; whether to hire a bedelsewhere, or go home again. At last, fearing an evil report mightarise, I went home, with a farewell to card-playing and vain jesting, &c. I saw that time was very short, eternity long, and very near, andI viewed those persons alone blessed who were found ready at midnightcall, or when the Judge of all, both quick and dead, cometh. 

The next day I took courage, and went to Holborn, to see my new andworthy acquaintance, the old man, Mr. C----; he, with his wife, agracious woman, were at work at silk weaving; they seemed mutuallyhappy, and both quite glad to see me, and I more so to see them. I satdown, and we conversed much about soul matters, &c. Their discoursewas amazingly delightful, edifying, and pleasant. I knew not at lasthow to leave this agreeable pair, till time summoned me away. As Iwas going they lent me a little book, entitled "The Conversion of anIndian. " It was in questions and answers. The poor man came over thesea to London, to inquire after the Christian's God, who, (throughrich mercy) he found, and had not his journey in vain. The above bookwas of great use to me, and at that time was a means of strengtheningmy faith; however, in parting, they both invited me to call on themwhen I pleased. This delighted me, and I took care to make all theimprovement from it I could; and so far I thanked God for such companyand desires. I prayed that the many evils I felt within might be doneaway, and that I might be weaned from my former carnal acquaintances. This was quickly heard and answered, and I was soon connected withthose whom the scripture calls the excellent of the earth. I heard thegospel preached, and the thoughts of my heart and actions were laidopen by the preachers, and the way of salvation by Christ alone wasevidently set forth. Thus I went on happily for near two months; and Ionce heard, during this period, a reverend gentleman speak of a manwho had departed this life in full assurance of his going to glory. Iwas much astonished at the assertion; and did very deliberatelyinquire how he could get at this knowledge. I was answered fully, agreeable to what I read in the oracles of truth; and was told also, that if I did not experience the new birth, and the pardon of my sins, through the blood of Christ, before I died, I could not enter thekingdom of heaven. I knew not what to think of this report, as Ithought I kept eight commandments out of ten; then my worthyinterpreter told me I did not do it, nor could I; and he added, thatno man ever did or could keep the commandments, without offending inone point. I thought this sounded very strange, and puzzled me muchfor many weeks; for I thought it a hard saying. I then asked myfriend, Mr. L----d, who was a clerk in a chapel, why the commandmentsof God were given, if we could not be saved by them? To which hereplied, 'The law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, ' who alonecould and did keep the commandments, and fulfilled all theirrequirements for his elect people, even those to whom he had given aliving faith, and the sins of those chosen vessels _were already_atoned for and forgiven them whilst living; and if I did notexperience the same before my exit, the Lord would say at that greatday to me 'Go ye cursed, ' &c. &c. For God would appear faithful in hisjudgments to the wicked, as he would be faithful in shewing mercy tothose who were ordained to it before the world was; therefore ChristJesus seemed to be all in all to that man's soul. I was much woundedat this discourse, and brought into such a dilemma as I neverexpected. I asked him, if _he_ was to die that moment, whether he wassure to enter the kingdom of God? and added, 'Do you _know_ that yoursins are forgiven you?' He answered in the affirmative. Thenconfusion, anger, and discontent seized me, and I staggered much atthis sort of doctrine; it brought me to a stand, not knowing which tobelieve, whether salvation by works or by faith only in Christ. Irequested him to tell me how I might know when my sins were forgivenme. He assured me he could not, and that none but God alone could dothis. I told him it was very mysterious; but he said it was reallymatter of fact, and quoted many portions of scripture immediately tothe point, to which I could make no reply. He then desired me to prayto God to shew me these things. I answered, that I prayed to God everyday. He said, 'I perceive you are a churchman. ' I answered I was. Hethen entreated me to beg of God to shew me what I was, and the truestate of my soul. I thought the prayer very short and odd; so weparted for that time. I weighed all these things well over, and couldnot help thinking how it was possible for a man to know that his sinswere forgiven him in this life. I wished that God would reveal thisself same thing unto me. In a short time after this I went toWestminster chapel; the Rev. Mr. P---- preached, from Lam. Iii. 39. Itwas a wonderful sermon; he clearly shewed that a living man had nocause to complain for the punishment of his sins; he evidentlyjustified the Lord in all his dealings with the sons of men; he alsoshewed the justice of God in the eternal punishment of the wicked andimpenitent. The discourse seemed to me like a two-edged sword cuttingall ways; it afforded me much joy, intermingled with many fears, aboutmy soul; and when it was ended, he gave it out that he intended, theensuing week, to examine all those who meant to attend the Lord'stable. Now I thought much of my good works, and at the same time wasdoubtful of my being a proper object to receive the sacrament; I wasfull of meditation till the day of examining. However, I went to thechapel, and, though much distressed, I addressed the reverendgentleman, thinking, if I was not right, he would endeavour toconvince me of it. When I conversed with him, the first thing he askedme was, what I knew of Christ? I told him I believed in him, and hadbeen baptized in his name. 'Then, ' said he, 'when were you brought tothe knowledge of God? and how were you convinced of sin?' I knew notwhat he meant by these questions; I told him I kept eight commandmentsout of ten; but that I sometimes swore on board ship, and sometimeswhen on shore, and broke the sabbath. He then asked me if I couldread? I answered, 'Yes. '--'Then, ' said he, 'do you not read in thebible, he that offends in one point is guilty of all?' I said, 'Yes. 'Then he assured me, that one sin unatoned for was as sufficient todamn a soul as one leak was to sink a ship. Here I was struck withawe; for the minister exhorted me much, and reminded me of theshortness of time, and the length of eternity, and that nounregenerate soul, or any thing unclean, could enter the kingdom ofHeaven. He did not admit me as a communicant; but recommended me toread the scriptures, and hear the word preached, not to neglectfervent prayer to God, who has promised to hear the supplications ofthose who seek him in godly sincerity; so I took my leave of him, withmany thanks, and resolved to follow his advice, so far as the Lordwould condescend to enable me. During this time I was out of employ, nor was I likely to get a situation suitable for me, which obliged meto go once more to sea. I engaged as steward of a ship called theHope, Capt. Richard Strange, bound from London to Cadiz in Spain. In ashort time after I was on board I heard the name of God muchblasphemed, and I feared greatly, lest I should catch the horribleinfection. I thought if I sinned again, after having life and deathset evidently before me, I should certainly go to hell. My mind wasuncommonly chagrined, and I murmured much at God's providentialdealings with me, and was discontented with the commandments, that Icould not be saved by what I had done; I hated all things, and wishedI had never been born; confusion seized me, and I wished to beannihilated. One day I was standing on the very edge of the stern ofthe ship, thinking to drown myself; but this scripture was instantlyimpressed on my mind--'that no murderer hath eternal life abiding inhim, ' 1 John iii. 15. Then I paused, and thought myself the unhappiestman living. Again I was convinced that the Lord was better to me thanI deserved, and I was better off in the world than many. After this Ibegan to fear death; I fretted, mourned, and prayed, till I became aburden to others, but more so to myself. At length I concluded to begmy bread on shore rather than go again to sea amongst a people whofeared not God, and I entreated the captain three different times todischarge me; he would not, but each time gave me greater and greaterencouragement to continue with him, and all on board shewed me verygreat civility: notwithstanding all this I was unwilling to embarkagain. At last some of my religious friends advised me, by saying itwas my lawful calling, consequently it was my duty to obey, and thatGod was not confined to place, &c. &c. Particularly Mr. G. S. Thegovernor of Tothil-fields Bridewell, who pitied my case, and read theeleventh chapter of the Hebrews to me, with exhortations. He prayedfor me, and I believed that he prevailed on my behalf, as my burdenwas then greatly removed, and I found a heartfelt resignation to thewill of God. The good man gave me a pocket Bible and Allen's Alarm tothe unconverted. We parted, and the next day I went on board again. Wesailed for Spain, and I found favour with the captain. It was thefourth of the month of September when we sailed from London; we had adelightful voyage to Cadiz, where we arrived the twenty-third of thesame month. The place is strong, commands a fine prospect, and is veryrich. The Spanish galloons frequent that port, and some arrived whilstwe were there. I had many opportunities of reading the scriptures. Iwrestled hard with God in fervent prayer, who had declared in his wordthat he would hear the groanings and deep sighs of the poor in spirit. I found this verified to my utter astonishment and comfort in thefollowing manner:

On the morning of the 6th of October, (I pray you to attend) or allthat day, I thought that I should either see or hear somethingsupernatural. I had a secret impulse on my mind of something that wasto take place, which drove me continually for that time to a throne ofgrace. It pleased God to enable me to wrestle with him, as Jacob did:I prayed that if sudden death were to happen, and I perished, it mightbe at Christ's feet. 

In the evening of the same day, as I was reading and meditating on thefourth chapter of the Acts, twelfth verse, under the solemnapprehensions of eternity, and reflecting on my past actions, I beganto think I had lived a moral life, and that I had a proper ground tobelieve I had an interest in the divine favour; but still meditatingon the subject, not knowing whether salvation was to be had partly forour own good deeds, or solely as the sovereign gift of God; in thisdeep consternation the Lord was pleased to break in upon my soul withhis bright beams of heavenly light; and in an instant as it were, removing the veil, and letting light into a dark place, I saw clearlywith the eye of faith the crucified Saviour bleeding on the cross onmount Calvary: the scriptures became an unsealed book, I saw myself acondemned criminal under the law, which came with its full force to myconscience, and when 'the commandment came sin revived, and I died, ' Isaw the Lord Jesus Christ in his humiliation, loaded and bearing myreproach, sin, and shame. I then clearly perceived that by the deedsof the law no flesh living could be justified. I was then convincedthat by the first Adam sin came, and by the second Adam (the LordJesus Christ) all that are saved must be made alive. It was given meat that time to know what it was to be born again, John iii. 5. I sawthe eighth chapter to the Romans, and the doctrines of God's decrees, verified agreeable to his eternal, everlasting, and unchangeablepurposes. The word of God was sweet to my taste, yea sweeter thanhoney and the honeycomb. Christ was revealed to my soul as thechiefest among ten thousand. These heavenly moments were really aslife to the dead, and what John calls an earnest of the Spirit[V]. This was indeed unspeakable, and I firmly believe undeniable by many. Now every leading providential circumstance that happened to me, fromthe day I was taken from my parents to that hour, was then in my view, as if it had but just then occurred. I was sensible of the invisiblehand of God, which guided and protected me when in truth I knew itnot: still the Lord pursued me although I slighted and disregarded it;this mercy melted me down. When I considered my poor wretched state Iwept, seeing what a great debtor I was to sovereign free grace. Nowthe Ethiopian was willing to be saved by Jesus Christ, the sinner'sonly surety, and also to rely on none other person or thing forsalvation. Self was obnoxious, and good works he had none, for it isGod that worketh in us both to will and to do. The amazing things ofthat hour can never be told--it was joy in the Holy Ghost! I felt anastonishing change; the burden of sin, the gaping jaws of hell, andthe fears of death, that weighed me down before, now lost theirhorror; indeed I thought death would now be the best earthly friend Iever had. Such were my grief and joy as I believe are seldomexperienced. I was bathed in tears, and said, What am I that Godshould thus look on me the vilest of sinners? I felt a deep concernfor my mother and friends, which occasioned me to pray with freshardour; and, in the abyss of thought, I viewed the unconverted peopleof the world in a very awful state, being without God and withouthope. 

It pleased God to pour out on me the Spirit of prayer and the grace ofsupplication, so that in loud acclamations I was enabled to praise andglorify his most holy name. When I got out of the cabin, and told someof the people what the Lord had done for me, alas, who couldunderstand me or believe my report!--None but to whom the arm of theLord was revealed. I became a barbarian to them in talking of the loveof Christ: his name was to me as ointment poured forth; indeed it wassweet to my soul, but to them a rock of offence. I thought my casesingular, and every hour a day until I came to London, for I muchlonged to be with some to whom I could tell of the wonders of God'slove towards me, and join in prayer to him whom my soul loved andthirsted after. I had uncommon commotions within, such as few can tellaught about. Now the bible was my only companion and comfort; I prizedit much, with many thanks to God that I could read it for myself, andwas not left to be tossed about or led by man's devices and notions. The worth of a soul cannot be told. --May the Lord give the reader anunderstanding in this. Whenever I looked in the bible I saw thingsnew, and many texts were immediately applied to me with great comfort, for I knew that to me was the word of salvation sent. Sure I was thatthe Spirit which indited the word opened my heart to receive the truthof it as it is in Jesus--that the same Spirit enabled me to act faithupon the promises that were so precious to me, and enabled me tobelieve to the salvation of my soul. By free grace I was persuadedthat I had a part in the first resurrection, and was 'enlightened withthe light of the living, ' Job xxxiii. 30. I wished for a man of Godwith whom I might converse: my soul was like the chariots of Aminidab, Canticles vi. 12. These, among others, were the precious promises thatwere so powerfully applied to me: 'All things whatsoever ye shall askin prayer, believing, ye shall receive, ' Mat. Xxi. 22. 'Peace I leavewith you, my peace I give unto you, ' John xiv. 27. I saw the blessedRedeemer to be the fountain of life, and the well of salvation. Iexperienced him all in all; he had brought me by a way that I knewnot, and he had made crooked paths straight. Then in his name I set upmy Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto he hath helped me: and could say to thesinners about me, Behold what a Saviour I have! Thus I was, by theteaching of that all-glorious Deity, the great One in Three, and Threein One, confirmed in the truths of the bible, those oracles ofeverlasting truth, on which every soul living must stand or falleternally, agreeable to Acts iv. 12. 'Neither is there salvation inany other, for there is none other name under heaven given among menwhereby we must be saved, but only Christ Jesus. ' May God give thereader a right understanding in these facts! To him that believeth allthings are possible, but to them that are unbelieving nothing is pure, Titus i. 15. During this period we remained at Cadiz until our shipgot laden. We sailed about the fourth of November; and, having a goodpassage, we arrived in London the month following, to my comfort, withheartfelt gratitude to God for his rich and unspeakable mercies. On myreturn I had but one text which puzzled me, or that the devilendeavoured to buffet me with, viz. Rom. Xi. 6. And, as I had heard ofthe Reverend Mr. Romaine, and his great knowledge in the scriptures, Iwished much to hear him preach. One day I went to Blackfriars church, and, to my great satisfaction and surprise, he preached from that verytext. He very clearly shewed the difference between human works andfree election, which is according to God's sovereign will andpleasure. These glad tidings set me entirely at liberty, and I wentout of the church rejoicing, seeing my spots were those of God'schildren. I went to Westminster Chapel, and saw some of my oldfriends, who were glad when they perceived the wonderful change thatthe Lord had wrought in me, particularly Mr. G---- S----, my worthyacquaintance, who was a man of a choice spirit, and had great zeal forthe Lord's service. I enjoyed his correspondence till he died in theyear 1784. I was again examined at that same chapel, and was receivedinto church fellowship amongst them: I rejoiced in spirit, makingmelody in my heart to the God of all my mercies. Now my whole wish wasto be dissolved, and to be with Christ--but, alas! I must wait mineappointed time. 

 * * * * *

MISCELLANEOUS VERSES, or

 Reflections on the State of my mind during my first Convictions; of the Necessity of believing the Truth, and experiencing the inestimable Benefits of Christianity. 

 Well may I say my life has been One scene of sorrow and of pain; From early days I griefs have known, And as I grew my griefs have grown:

 Dangers were always in my path; And fear of wrath, and sometimes death; While pale dejection in me reign'd I often wept, by grief constrain'd. 

 When taken from my native land, By an unjust and cruel band, How did uncommon dread prevail! My sighs no more I could conceal. 

 'To ease my mind I often strove, And tried my trouble to remove: I sung, and utter'd sighs between-- Assay'd to stifle guilt with sin. 

 'But O! not all that I could do Would stop the current of my woe; Conviction still my vileness shew'd; How great my guilt--how lost from God!

 'Prevented, that I could not die, Nor might to one kind refuge fly; An orphan state I had to mourn, -- Forsook by all, and left forlorn. '

 Those who beheld my downcast mien Could not guess at my woes unseen: They by appearance could not know The troubles that I waded through. 

 'Lust, anger, blasphemy, and pride, With legions of such ills beside, Troubled my thoughts, ' while doubts and fears Clouded and darken'd most my years. 

 'Sighs now no more would be confin'd-- They breath'd the trouble of my mind: I wish'd for death, but check'd the word, And often pray'd unto the Lord. '

 Unhappy, more than some on earth, I thought the place that gave me birth-- Strange thoughts oppress'd--while I replied "Why not in Ethiopia died?"

 And why thus spared, nigh to hell?-- God only knew--I could not tell! 'A tott'ring fence, a bowing wall thought myself ere since the fall. '

 'Oft times I mused, nigh despair, While birds melodious fill'd the air: Thrice happy songsters, ever free, How bless'd were they compar'd to me!'

 Thus all things added to my pain, While grief compell'd me to complain; When sable clouds began to rise My mind grew darker than the skies. 

 The English nation call'd to leave, How did my breast with sorrows heave! I long'd for rest--cried "Help me, Lord! Some mitigation, Lord, afford!"

 Yet on, dejected, still I went-- Heart-throbbing woes within were pent; Nor land, nor sea, could comfort give, Nothing my anxious mind relieve. 

 Weary with travail, yet unknown To all but God and self alone, Numerous months for peace I strove, And numerous foes I had to prove. 

 Inur'd to dangers, griefs, and woes, Train'd up 'midst perils, deaths, and foes, I said "Must it thus ever be?-- No quiet is permitted me. "

 Hard hap, and more than heavy lot! I pray'd to God "Forget me not-- What thou ordain'st willing I'll bear; But O! deliver from despair!"

 Strivings and wrestlings seem'd in vain; Nothing I did could ease my pain: Then gave I up my works and will, Confess'd and own'd my doom was hell!

 Like some poor pris'ner at the bar, Conscious of guilt, of sin and fear, Arraign'd, and self-condemned, I stood-- 'Lost in the world, and in my blood!'

 Yet here, 'midst blackest clouds confin'd, A beam from Christ, the day-star, shin'd; Surely, thought I, if Jesus please, He can at once sign my release. 

 I, ignorant of his righteousness, Set up my labours in its place; 'Forgot for why his blood was shed, And pray'd and fasted in its stead. '

 He dy'd for sinners--I am one! Might not his blood for me atone? Tho' I am nothing else but sin, Yet surely he can make me clean!

 Thus light came in, and I believ'd; Myself forgot, and help receiv'd! My Saviour then I know I found, For, eas'd from guilt, no more I groan'd. 

 O, happy hour, in which I ceas'd To mourn, for then I found a rest! My soul and Christ were now as one-- Thy light, O Jesus, in me shone!

 Bless'd be thy name, for now I know I and my works can nothing do; "The Lord alone can ransom man-- For this the spotless Lamb was slain!"

 When sacrifices, works, and pray'r, Prov'd vain, and ineffectual were, "Lo, then I come!" the Saviour cry'd, And, bleeding, bow'd his head and dy'd!

 He dy'd for all who ever saw No help in them, nor by the law:-- I this have seen; and gladly own "Salvation is by Christ alone[W]!"

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote V: John xvi. 13, 14. &c. ]

[Footnote W: Acts iv. 12. ]

CHAP. XI. 

 _The author embarks on board a ship bound for Cadiz--Is near being shipwrecked--Goes to Malaga--Remarkable fine cathedral there--The author disputes with a popish priest--Picking up eleven miserable men at sea in returning to England--Engages again with Doctor Irving to accompany him to Jamaica and the Mosquito Shore--Meets with an Indian prince on board--The author attempts to instruct him in the truths of the Gospel--Frustrated by the bad example of some in the ship--They arrive on the Mosquito Shore with some slaves they purchased at Jamaica, and begin to cultivate a plantation--Some account of the manners and customs of the Mosquito Indians--Successful device of the author's to quell a riot among them--Curious entertainment given by them to Doctor Irving and the author, who leaves the shore and goes for Jamaica--Is barbarously treated by a man with whom he engaged for his passage--Escapes and goes to the Mosquito admiral, who treats him kindly--He gets another vessel and goes on board--Instances of bad treatment--Meets Doctor Irving--Gets to Jamaica--Is cheated by his captain--Leaves the Doctor and goes for England. _

When our ship was got ready for sea again, I was entreated by thecaptain to go in her once more; but, as I felt myself now as happy asI could wish to be in this life, I for some time refused; however, theadvice of my friends at last prevailed; and, in full resignation tothe will of God, I again embarked for Cadiz in March 1775. We had avery good passage, without any material accident, until we arrived offthe Bay of Cadiz; when one Sunday, just as we were going into theharbour, the ship struck against a rock and knocked off a garboardplank, which is the next to the keel. In an instant all hands were inthe greatest confusion, and began with loud cries to call on God tohave mercy on them. Although I could not swim, and saw no way ofescaping death, I felt no dread in my then situation, having no desireto live. I even rejoiced in spirit, thinking this death would besudden glory. But the fulness of time was not yet come. The peoplenear to me were much astonished in seeing me thus calm and resigned;but I told them of the peace of God, which through sovereign grace Ienjoyed, and these words were that instant in my mind:

 "Christ is my pilot wise, my compass is his word; My soul each storm defies, while I have such a Lord. I trust his faithfulness and power, To save me in the trying hour. Though rocks and quicksands deep through all my passage lie, Yet Christ shall safely keep and guide me with his eye. How can I sink with such a prop, That bears the world and all things up?"

At this time there were many large Spanish flukers or passage-vesselsfull of people crossing the channel; who seeing our condition, anumber of them came alongside of us. As many hands as could beemployed began to work; some at our three pumps, and the restunloading the ship as fast as possible. There being only a single rockcalled the Porpus on which we struck, we soon got off it, andprovidentially it was then high water, we therefore run the shipashore at the nearest place to keep her from sinking. After manytides, with a great deal of care and industry, we got her repairedagain. When we had dispatched our business at Cadiz, we went toGibraltar, and from thence to Malaga, a very pleasant and rich city, where there is one of the finest cathedrals I had ever seen. It hadbeen above fifty years in building, as I heard, though it was not thenquite finished; great part of the inside, however, was completed andhighly decorated with the richest marble columns and many superbpaintings; it was lighted occasionally by an amazing number of waxtapers of different sizes, some of which were as thick as a man'sthigh; these, however, were only used on some of their grandfestivals. 

I was very much shocked at the custom of bull-baiting, and otherdiversions which prevailed here on Sunday evenings, to the greatscandal of Christianity and morals. I used to express my abhorrence ofit to a priest whom I met with. I had frequent contests about religionwith the reverend father, in which he took great pains to make aproselyte of me to his church; and I no less to convert him to mine. On these occasions I used to produce my Bible, and shew him in whatpoints his church erred. He then said he had been in England, and thatevery person there read the Bible, which was very wrong; but Ianswered him that Christ desired us to search the Scriptures. In hiszeal for my conversion, he solicited me to go to one of theuniversities in Spain, and declared that I should have my educationfree; and told me, if I got myself made a priest, I might in timebecome even pope; and that Pope Benedict was a black man. As I wasever desirous of learning, I paused for some time upon thistemptation; and thought by being crafty I might catch some with guile;but I began to think that it would be only hypocrisy in me to embracehis offer, as I could not in conscience conform to the opinions of hischurch. I was therefore enabled to regard the word of God, which says, 'Come out from amongst them, ' and refused Father Vincent's offer. Sowe parted without conviction on either side. 

Having taken at this place some fine wines, fruits, and money, weproceeded to Cadiz, where we took about two tons more of money, &c. And then sailed for England in the month of June. When we were aboutthe north latitude 42, we had contrary wind for several days, and theship did not make in that time above six or seven miles straightcourse. This made the captain exceeding fretful and peevish: and I wasvery sorry to hear God's most holy name often blasphemed by him. Oneday, as he was in that impious mood, a young gentleman on board, whowas a passenger, reproached him, and said he acted wrong; for we oughtto be thankful to God for all things, as we were not in want of anything on board; and though the wind was contrary for us, yet it wasfair for some others, who, perhaps, stood in more need of it than we. I immediately seconded this young gentleman with some boldness, andsaid we had not the least cause to murmur, for that the Lord wasbetter to us than we deserved, and that he had done all things well. Iexpected that the captain would be very angry with me for speaking, but he replied not a word. However, before that time on the followingday, being the 21st of June, much to our great joy and astonishment, we saw the providential hand of our benign Creator, whose ways withhis blind creatures are past finding out. The preceding night Idreamed that I saw a boat immediately off the starboard main shrouds;and exactly at half past one o'clock, the following day at noon, whileI was below, just as we had dined in the cabin, the man at the helmcried out, A boat! which brought my dream that instant into my mind. Iwas the first man that jumped on the deck; and, looking from theshrouds onward, according to my dream, I descried a little boat atsome distance; but, as the waves were high, it was as much as we coulddo sometimes to discern her; we however stopped the ship's way, andthe boat, which was extremely small, came alongside with elevenmiserable men, whom we took on board immediately. To all humanappearance, these people must have perished in the course of one houror less, the boat being small, it barely contained them. When we tookthem up they were half drowned, and had no victuals, compass, water, or any other necessary whatsoever, and had only one bit of an oar tosteer with, and that right before the wind; so that they were obligedto trust entirely to the mercy of the waves. As soon as we got themall on board, they bowed themselves on their knees, and, with handsand voices lifted up to heaven, thanked God for their deliverance; andI trust that my prayers were not wanting amongst them at the sametime. This mercy of the Lord quite melted me, and I recollected hiswords, which I saw thus verified in the 107th Psalm 'O give thanksunto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever. Hungryand thirsty, their souls fainted in them. They cried unto Lord intheir trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. And heled them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city ofhabitation. O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and forhis wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth thelonging soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. 

'Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death:

'Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them outof their distresses. They that go down to the sea in ships; that dobusiness in great waters: these see the works of the Lord, and hiswonders in the deep. Whoso is wise and will observe these things, eventhey shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord. '

The poor distressed captain said, 'that the Lord is good; for, seeingthat I am not fit to die, he therefore gave me a space of time torepent. ' I was very glad to hear this expression, and took anopportunity when convenient of talking to him on the providence ofGod. They told us they were Portuguese, and were in a brig loaded withcorn, which shifted that morning at five o'clock, owing to which thevessel sunk that instant with two of the crew; and how these elevengot into the boat (which was lashed to the deck) not one of them couldtell. We provided them with every necessary, and brought them all safeto London: and I hope the Lord gave them repentance unto life eternal. 

I was happy once more amongst my friends and brethren, till November, when my old friend, the celebrated Doctor Irving, bought a remarkablefine sloop, about 150 tons. He had a mind for a new adventure incultivating a plantation at Jamaica and the Musquito Shore; asked meto go with him, and said that he would trust me with his estate inpreference to any one. By the advice, therefore, of my friends, Iaccepted of the offer, knowing that the harvest was fully ripe inthose parts, and hoped to be the instrument, under God, of bringingsome poor sinner to my well beloved master, Jesus Christ. Before Iembarked, I found with the Doctor four Musquito Indians, who werechiefs in their own country, and were brought here by some Englishtraders for some selfish ends. One of them was the Musquito king'sson; a youth of about eighteen years of age; and whilst he was here hewas baptized by the name of George. They were going back at thegovernment's expense, after having been in England about twelvemonths, during which they learned to speak pretty good English. When Icame to talk to them about eight days before we sailed, I was verymuch mortified in finding that they had not frequented any churchessince they were here, to be baptized, nor was any attention paid totheir morals. I was very sorry for this mock Christianity, and hadjust an opportunity to take some of them once to church before wesailed. We embarked in the month of November 1775, on board of thesloop Morning Star, Captain David Miller, and sailed for Jamaica. Inour passage, I took all the pains that I could to instruct the Indianprince in the doctrines of Christianity, of which he was entirelyignorant; and, to my great joy, he was quite attentive, and receivedwith gladness the truths that the Lord enabled me to set forth to him. I taught him in the compass of eleven days all the letters, and hecould put even two or three of them together and spell them. I hadFox's Martyrology with cuts, and he used to be very fond of lookinginto it, and would ask many questions about the papal cruelties he sawdepicted there, which I explained to him. I made such progress withthis youth, especially in religion, that when I used to go to bed atdifferent hours of the night, if he was in his bed, he would get up onpurpose to go to prayer with me, without any other clothes than hisshirt; and before he would eat any of his meals amongst the gentlemenin the cabin, he would first come to me to pray, as he called it. Iwas well pleased at this, and took great delight in him, and used muchsupplication to God for his conversion. I was in full hope of seeingdaily every appearance of that change which I could wish; not knowingthe devices of satan, who had many of his emissaries to sow his taresas fast as I sowed the good seed, and pull down as fast as I built up. Thus we went on nearly four fifths of our passage, when satan at lastgot the upper hand. Some of his messengers, seeing this poor heathenmuch advanced in piety, began to ask him whether I had converted himto Christianity, laughed, and made their jest at him, for which Irebuked them as much as I could; but this treatment caused the princeto halt between two opinions. Some of the true sons of Belial, who didnot believe that there was any hereafter, told him never to fear thedevil, for there was none existing; and if ever he came to the prince, they desired he might be sent to them. Thus they teazed the poorinnocent youth, so that he would not learn his book any more! He wouldnot drink nor carouse with these ungodly actors, nor would he be withme, even at prayers. This grieved me very much. I endeavoured topersuade him as well as I could, but he would not come; and entreatedhim very much to tell me his reasons for acting thus. At last he askedme, 'How comes it that all the white men on board who can read andwrite, and observe the sun, and know all things, yet swear, lie, andget drunk, only excepting yourself?' I answered him, the reason was, that they did not fear God; and that if any one of them died so theycould not go to, or be happy with God. He replied, that if thesepersons went to hell he would go to hell too. I was sorry to hearthis; and, as he sometimes had the toothach, and also some otherpersons in the ship at the same time, I asked him if their toothachmade his easy: he said, No. Then I told him if he and these peoplewent to hell together, their pains would not make his any lighter. This answer had great weight with him: it depressed his spirits much;and he became ever after, during the passage, fond of being alone. When we were in the latitude of Martinico, and near making the land, one morning we had a brisk gale of wind, and, carrying too much sail, the main-mast went over the side. Many people were then all about thedeck, and the yards, masts, and rigging, came tumbling all about us, yet there was not one of us in the least hurt, although some werewithin a hair's breadth of being killed: and, particularly, I saw twomen then, by the providential hand of God, most miraculously preservedfrom being smashed to pieces. On the fifth of January we made Antiguaand Montserrat, and ran along the rest of the islands: and on thefourteenth we arrived at Jamaica. One Sunday while we were there Itook the Musquito Prince George to church, where he saw the sacramentadministered. When we came out we saw all kinds of people, almost fromthe church door for the space of half a mile down to the waterside, buying and selling all kinds of commodities: and these acts affordedme great matter of exhortation to this youth, who was much astonished. Our vessel being ready to sail for the Musquito shore, I went with theDoctor on board a Guinea-man, to purchase some slaves to carry withus, and cultivate a plantation; and I chose them all my owncountrymen. On the twelfth of February we sailed from Jamaica, and onthe eighteenth arrived at the Musquito shore, at a place calledDupeupy. All our Indian guests now, after I had admonished them and afew cases of liquor given them by the Doctor, took an affectionateleave of us, and went ashore, where they were met by the Musquitoking, and we never saw one of them afterwards. We then sailed to thesouthward of the shore, to a place called Cape Gracias a Dios, wherethere was a large lagoon or lake, which received the emptying of twoor three very fine large rivers, and abounded much in fish and landtortoise. Some of the native Indians came on board of us here; and weused them well, and told them we were come to dwell amongst them, which they seemed pleased at. So the Doctor and I, with some others, went with them ashore; and they took us to different places to viewthe land, in order to choose a place to make a plantation of. We fixedon a spot near a river's bank, in a rich soil; and, having got ournecessaries out of the sloop, we began to clear away the woods, andplant different kinds of vegetables, which had a quick growth. Whilewe were employed in this manner, our vessel went northward to BlackRiver to trade. While she was there, a Spanish guarda costa met withand took her. This proved very hurtful, and a great embarrassment tous. However, we went on with the culture of the land. We used to makefires every night all around us, to keep off wild beasts, which, assoon as it was dark, set up a most hideous roaring. Our habitationbeing far up in the woods, we frequently saw different kinds ofanimals; but none of them ever hurt us, except poisonous snakes, thebite of which the Doctor used to cure by giving to the patient, assoon as possible, about half a tumbler of strong rum, with a good dealof Cayenne pepper in it. In this manner he cured two natives and oneof his own slaves. The Indians were exceedingly fond of the Doctor, and they had good reason for it; for I believe they never had such anuseful man amongst them. They came from all quarters to our dwelling;and some _woolwow_, or flat-headed Indians, who lived fifty or sixtymiles above our river, and this side of the South Sea, brought us agood deal of silver in exchange for our goods. The principal articleswe could get from our neighbouring Indians, were turtle oil, andshells, little silk grass, and some provisions; but they would notwork at any thing for us, except fishing; and a few times theyassisted to cut some trees down, in order to build us houses; whichthey did exactly like the Africans, by the joint labour of men, women, and children. I do not recollect any of them to have had more than twowives. These always accompanied their husbands when they came to ourdwelling; and then they generally carried whatever they brought to us, and always squatted down behind their husbands. Whenever we gave themany thing to eat, the men and their wives ate it separate. I neversaw the least sign of incontinence amongst them. The women areornamented with beads, and fond of painting themselves; the men alsopaint, even to excess, both their faces and shirts: their favouritecolour is red. The women generally cultivate the ground, and the menare all fishermen and canoe makers. Upon the whole, I never met anynation that were so simple in their manners as these people, or had solittle ornament in their houses. Neither had they, as I ever couldlearn, one word expressive of an oath. The worst word I ever heardamongst them when they were quarreling, was one that they had got fromthe English, which was, 'you rascal. ' I never saw any mode of worshipamong them; but in this they were not worse than their Europeanbrethren or neighbours: for I am sorry to say that there was not onewhite person in our dwelling, nor any where else that I saw indifferent places I was at on the shore, that was better or more piousthan those unenlightened Indians; but they either worked or slept onSundays: and, to my sorrow, working was too much Sunday's employmentwith ourselves; so much so, that in some length of time we really didnot know one day from another. This mode of living laid the foundationof my decamping at last. The natives are well made and warlike; andthey particularly boast of having never been conquered by theSpaniards. They are great drinkers of strong liquors when they can getthem. We used to distil rum from pine apples, which were veryplentiful here; and then we could not get them away from our place. Yet they seemed to be singular, in point of honesty, above any othernation I was ever amongst. The country being hot, we lived under anopen shed, where we had all kinds of goods, without a door or a lockto any one article; yet we slept in safety, and never lost any thing, or were disturbed. This surprised us a good deal; and the Doctor, myself, and others, used to say, if we were to lie in that manner inEurope we should have our throats cut the first night. The Indiangovernor goes once in a certain time all about the province ordistrict, and has a number of men with him as attendants andassistants. He settles all the differences among the people, like thejudge here, and is treated with very great respect. He took care togive us timely notice before he came to our habitation, by sending hisstick as a token, for rum, sugar, and gunpowder, which we did notrefuse sending; and at the same time we made the utmost preparation toreceive his honour and his train. When he came with his tribe, and allour neighbouring chieftains, we expected to find him a grave reverendjudge, solid and sagacious; but instead of that, before he and hisgang came in sight, we heard them very clamorous; and they even hadplundered some of our good neighbouring Indians, having intoxicatedthemselves with our liquor. When they arrived we did not know what tomake of our new guests, and would gladly have dispensed with thehonour of their company. However, having no alternative, we feastedthem plentifully all the day till the evening; when the governor, getting quite drunk, grew very unruly, and struck one of our mostfriendly chiefs, who was our nearest neighbour, and also took hisgold-laced hat from him. At this a great commotion taken place; andthe Doctor interfered to make peace, as we could all understand oneanother, but to no purpose; and at last they became so outrageous thatthe Doctor, fearing he might get into trouble, left the house, andmade the best of his way to the nearest wood, leaving me to do as wellas I could among them. I was so enraged with the Governor, that Icould have wished to have seen him tied fast to a tree and flogged forhis behaviour; but I had not people enough to cope with his party. Itherefore thought of a stratagem to appease the riot. Recollecting apassage I had read in the life of Columbus, when he was amongst theIndians in Mexico or Peru, where, on some occasion, he frightenedthem, by telling them of certain events in the heavens, I had recourseto the same expedient; and it succeeded beyond my most sanguineexpectations. When I had formed my determination, I went in the midstof them; and, taking hold of the Governor, I pointed up to theheavens. I menaced him and the rest: I told them God lived there, andthat he was angry with them, and they must not quarrel so; that theywere all brothers, and if they did not leave off, and go away quietly, I would take the book (pointing to the Bible), read, and _tell_ God tomake them dead. This was something like magic. The clamour immediatelyceased, and I gave them some rum and a few other things; after whichthey went away peaceably; and the Governor afterwards gave ourneighbour, who was called Captain Plasmyah, his hat again. When theDoctor returned, he was exceedingly glad at my success in thus gettingrid of our troublesome guests. The Musquito people within ourvicinity, out of respect to the Doctor, myself and his people, madeentertainments of the grand kind, called in their tongue _tourrie_ or_dryckbot_. The English of this expression is, a feast of drinkingabout, of which it seems a corruption of language. The drink consistedof pine apples roasted, and casades chewed or beaten in mortars;which, after lying some time, ferments, and becomes so strong as tointoxicate, when drank in any quantity. We had timely notice given tous of the entertainment. A white family, within five miles of us, toldus how the drink was made, and I and two others went before the timeto the village, where the mirth was appointed to be held; and there wesaw the whole art of making the drink, and also the kind of animalsthat were to be eaten there. I cannot say the sight of either thedrink or the meat were enticing to me. They had some thousands of pineapples roasting, which they squeezed, dirt and all, into a canoe theyhad there for the purpose. The casade drink was in beef barrels andother vessels, and looked exactly like hog-wash. Men, women, andchildren, were thus employed in roasting the pine apples, andsqueezing them with their hands. For food they had many land torpinsor tortoises, some dried turtle, and three large alligators alive, andtied fast to the trees. I asked the people what they were going to dowith these alligators; and I was told they were to be eaten. I wasmuch surprised at this, and went home, not a little disgusted at thepreparations. When the day of the feast was come, we took some rumwith us, and went to the appointed place, where we found a greatassemblage of these people, who received us very kindly. The mirth hadbegun before we came; and they were dancing with music: and themusical instruments were nearly the same as those of any other sablepeople; but, as I thought, much less melodious than any other nation Iever knew. They had many curious gestures in dancing, and a variety ofmotions and postures of their bodies, which to me were in no wiseattracting. The males danced by themselves, and the females also bythemselves, as with us. The Doctor shewed his people the example, byimmediately joining the women's party, though not by their choice. Onperceiving the women disgusted, he joined the males. At night therewere great illuminations, by setting fire to many pine trees, whilethe dryckbot went round merrily by calabashes or gourds: but theliquor might more justly be called eating than drinking. One Owden, the oldest father in the vicinity, was dressed in a strange andterrifying form. Around his body were skins adorned with differentkinds of feathers, and he had on his head a very large and highhead-piece, in the form of a grenadier's cap, with prickles like aporcupine; and he made a certain noise which resembled the cry of analligator. Our people skipped amongst them out of complaisance, thoughsome could not drink of their tourrie; but our rum met with customersenough, and was soon gone. The alligators were killed and some of themroasted. Their manner of roasting is by digging a hole in the earth, and filling it with wood, which they burn to coal, and then they laysticks across, on which they set the meat. I had a raw piece of thealligator in my hand: it was very rich: I thought it looked like freshsalmon, and it had a most fragrant smell, but I could not eat any ofit. This merry-making at last ended without the least discord in anyperson in the company, although it was made up of different nationsand complexions. The rainy season came on here about the latter end ofMay, which continued till August very heavily; so that the rivers wereoverflowed, and our provisions then in the ground were washed away. Ithought this was in some measure a judgment upon us for working onSundays, and it hurt my mind very much. I often wished to leave thisplace and sail for Europe; for our mode of procedure and living inthis heathenish form was very irksome to me. The word of God saith, 'What does it avail a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his ownsoul?' This was much and heavily impressed on my mind; and, though Idid not know how to speak to the Doctor for my discharge, it wasdisagreeable for me to stay any longer. But about the middle of June Itook courage enough to ask him for it. He was very unwilling at firstto grant my request; but I gave him so many reasons for it, that atlast he consented to my going, and gave me the following certificateof my behaviour:

 'The bearer, Gustavus Vassa, has served me several years with strict honesty, sobriety, and fidelity. I can, therefore, with justice recommend him for these qualifications; and indeed in every respect I consider him as an excellent servant. I do hereby certify that he always behaved well, and that he is perfectly trust-worthy. 

 'CHARLES IRVING. '

 _Musquito Shore, June 15, 1776. _

Though I was much attached to the doctor, I was happy when heconsented. I got every thing ready for my departure, and hired someIndians, with a large canoe, to carry me off. All my poor countrymen, the slaves, when they heard of my leaving them, were very sorry, as Ihad always treated them with care and affection, and did every thing Icould to comfort the poor creatures, and render their condition easy. Having taken leave of my old friends and companions, on the 18th ofJune, accompanied by the doctor, I left that spot of the world, andwent southward above twenty miles along the river. There I found asloop, the captain of which told me he was going to Jamaica. Havingagreed for my passage with him and one of the owners, who was also onboard, named Hughes, the doctor and I parted, not without sheddingtears on both sides. The vessel then sailed along the river tillnight, when she stopped in a lagoon within the same river. During thenight a schooner belonging to the same owners came in, and, as she wasin want of hands, Hughes, the owner of the sloop, asked me to go inthe schooner as a sailor, and said he would give me wages. I thankedhim; but I said I wanted to go to Jamaica. He then immediately changedhis tone, and swore, and abused me very much, and asked how I came tobe freed. I told him, and said that I came into that vicinity with Dr. Irving, whom he had seen that day. This account was of no use; hestill swore exceedingly at me, and cursed the master for a fool thatsold me my freedom, and the doctor for another in letting me go fromhim. Then he desired me to go in the schooner, or else I should not goout of the sloop as a freeman. I said this was very hard, and beggedto be put on shore again; but he swore that I should not. I said I hadbeen twice amongst the Turks, yet had never seen any such usage withthem, and much less could I have expected any thing of this kindamongst Christians. This incensed him exceedingly; and, with a volleyof oaths and imprecations, he replied, 'Christians! Damn you, you areone of St. Paul's men; but by G----, except you have St. Paul's or St. Peter's faith, and walk upon the water to the shore, you shall not goout of the vessel;' which I now found was going amongst the Spaniardstowards Carthagena, where he swore he would sell me. I simply askedhim what right he had to sell me? but, without another word, he madesome of his people tie ropes round each of my ancles, and also to eachwrist, and another rope round my body, and hoisted me up withoutletting my feet touch or rest upon any thing. Thus I hung, without anycrime committed, and without judge or jury; merely because I was afree man, and could not by the law get any redress from a white personin those parts of the world. I was in great pain from my situation, and cried and begged very hard for some mercy; but all in vain. Mytyrant, in a great rage, brought a musquet out of the cabin, andloaded it before me and the crew, and swore that he would shoot me ifI cried any more. I had now no alternative; I therefore remainedsilent, seeing not one white man on board who said a word on mybehalf. I hung in that manner from between ten and eleven o'clock atnight till about one in the morning; when, finding my cruel abuserfast asleep, I begged some of his slaves to slack the rope that wasround my body, that my feet might rest on something. This they did atthe risk of being cruelly used by their master, who beat some of themseverely at first for not tying me when he commanded them. Whilst Iremained in this condition, till between five and six o'clock nextmorning, I trust I prayed to God to forgive this blasphemer, who carednot what he did, but when he got up out of his sleep in the morningwas of the very same temper and disposition as when he left me atnight. When they got up the anchor, and the vessel was getting underway, I once more cried and begged to be released; and now, beingfortunately in the way of their hoisting the sails, they released me. When I was let down, I spoke to one Mr. Cox, a carpenter, whom I knewon board, on the impropriety of this conduct. He also knew the doctor, and the good opinion he ever had of me. This man then went to thecaptain, and told him not to carry me away in that manner; that I wasthe doctor's steward, who regarded me very highly, and would resentthis usage when he should come to know it. On which he desired a youngman to put me ashore in a small canoe I brought with me. This soundgladdened my heart, and I got hastily into the canoe and set off, whilst my tyrant was down in the cabin; but he soon spied me out, whenI was not above thirty or forty yards from the vessel, and, runningupon the deck with a loaded musket in his hand, he presented it at me, and swore heavily and dreadfully, that he would shoot me that instant, if I did not come back on board. As I knew the wretch would have doneas he said, without hesitation, I put back to the vessel again; but, as the good Lord would have it, just as I was alongside he was abusingthe captain for letting me go from the vessel; which the captainreturned, and both of them soon got into a very great heat. The youngman that was with me now got out of the canoe; the vessel was sailingon fast with a smooth sea: and I then thought it was neck or nothing, so at that instant I set off again, for my life, in the canoe, towardsthe shore; and fortunately the confusion was so great amongst them onboard, that I got out of the reach of the musquet shot unnoticed, while the vessel sailed on with a fair wind a different way; so thatthey could not overtake me without tacking: but even before that couldbe done I should have been on shore, which I soon reached, with manythanks to God for this unexpected deliverance. I then went and toldthe other owner, who lived near that shore (with whom I had agreed formy passage) of the usage I had met with. He was very much astonished, and appeared very sorry for it. After treating me with kindness, hegave me some refreshment, and three heads of roasted Indian corn, fora voyage of about eighteen miles south, to look for another vessel. Hethen directed me to an Indian chief of a district, who was also theMusquito admiral, and had once been at our dwelling; after which I setoff with the canoe across a large lagoon alone (for I could not getany one to assist me), though I was much jaded, and had pains in mybowels, by means of the rope I had hung by the night before. I wastherefore at different times unable to manage the canoe, for thepaddling was very laborious. However, a little before dark I got to mydestined place, where some of the Indians knew me, and received mekindly. I asked for the admiral; and they conducted me to hisdwelling. He was glad to see me, and refreshed me with such things asthe place afforded; and I had a hammock to sleep in. They actedtowards me more like Christians than those whites I was amongst thelast night, though they had been baptized. I told the admiral I wantedto go to the next port to get a vessel to carry me to Jamaica; andrequested him to send the canoe back which I then had, for which I wasto pay him. He agreed with me, and sent five able Indians with a largecanoe to carry my things to my intended place, about fifty miles; andwe set off the next morning. When we got out of the lagoon and wentalong shore, the sea was so high that the canoe was oftentimes verynear being filled with water. We were obliged to go ashore and dragacross different necks of land; we were also two nights in the swamps, which swarmed with musquito flies, and they proved troublesome to us. This tiresome journey of land and water ended, however, on the thirdday, to my great joy; and I got on board of a sloop commanded by oneCaptain Jenning. She was then partly loaded, and he told me he wasexpecting daily to sail for Jamaica; and having agreed with me to workmy passage, I went to work accordingly. I was not many days on boardbefore we sailed; but to my sorrow and disappointment, though used tosuch tricks, we went to the southward along the Musquito shore, instead of steering for Jamaica. I was compelled to assist in cuttinga great deal of mahogany wood on the shore as we coasted along it, andload the vessel with it, before she sailed. This fretted me much; but, as I did not know how to help myself among these deceivers, I thoughtpatience was the only remedy I had left, and even that was forced. There was much hard work and little victuals on board, except by goodluck we happened to catch turtles. On this coast there was also aparticular kind of fish called manatee, which is most excellenteating, and the flesh is more like beef than fish; the scales are aslarge as a shilling, and the skin thicker than I ever saw that of anyother fish. Within the brackish waters along shore there were likewisevast numbers of alligators, which made the fish scarce. I was on boardthis sloop sixteen days, during which, in our coasting, we came toanother place, where there was a smaller sloop called the IndianQueen, commanded by one John Baker. He also was an Englishman, and hadbeen a long time along the shore trading for turtle shells and silver, and had got a good quantity of each on board. He wanted some handsvery much; and, understanding I was a free man, and wanted to go toJamaica, he told me if he could get one or two, that he would sailimmediately for that island: he also pretended to me some marks ofattention and respect, and promised to give me forty-five shillingssterling a month if I would go with him. I thought this much betterthan cutting wood for nothing. I therefore told the other captain thatI wanted to go to Jamaica in the other vessel; but he would not listento me: and, seeing me resolved to go in a day or two, he got thevessel to sail, intending to carry me away against my will. Thistreatment mortified me extremely. I immediately, according to anagreement I had made with the captain of the Indian Queen, called forher boat, which was lying near us, and it came alongside; and, by themeans of a north-pole shipmate which I met with in the sloop I was in, I got my things into the boat, and went on board of the Indian Queen, July the 10th. A few days after I was there, we got all things readyand sailed: but again, to my great mortification, this vessel stillwent to the south, nearly as far as Carthagena, trading along thecoast, instead of going to Jamaica, as the captain had promised me:and, what was worst of all, he was a very cruel and bloody-minded man, and was a horrid blasphemer. Among others he had a white pilot, oneStoker, whom he beat often as severely as he did some negroes he hadon board. One night in particular, after he had beaten this man mostcruelly, he put him into the boat, and made two negroes row him to adesolate key, or small island; and he loaded two pistols, and sworebitterly that he would shoot the negroes if they brought Stoker onboard again. There was not the least doubt but that he would do as hesaid, and the two poor fellows were obliged to obey the cruel mandate;but, when the captain was asleep, the two negroes took a blanket andcarried it to the unfortunate Stoker, which I believe was the means ofsaving his life from the annoyance of insects. A great deal ofentreaty was used with the captain the next day, before he wouldconsent to let Stoker come on board; and when the poor man was broughton board he was very ill, from his situation during the night, and heremained so till he was drowned a little time after. As we sailedsouthward we came to many uninhabited islands, which were overgrownwith fine large cocoa nuts. As I was very much in want of provisions, I brought a boat load of them on board, which lasted me and others forseveral weeks, and afforded us many a delicious repast in ourscarcity. One day, before this, I could not help observing theprovidential hand of God, that ever supplies all our wants, though inthe ways and manner we know not. I had been a whole day without food, and made signals for boats to come off, but in vain. I thereforeearnestly prayed to God for relief in my need; and at the close of theevening I went off the deck. Just as I laid down I heard a noise onthe deck; and, not knowing what it meant, I went directly on the thedeck again, when what should I see but a fine large fish about sevenor eight pounds, which had jumped aboard! I took it, and admired, withthanks, the good hand of God; and, what I considered as not lessextraordinary, the captain, who was very avaricious, did not attemptto take it from me, there being only him and I on board; for the restwere all gone ashore trading. Sometimes the people did not come offfor some days: this used to fret the captain, and then he would venthis fury on me by beating me, or making me feel in other cruel ways. One day especially, in his wild, wicked, and mad career, afterstriking me several times with different things, and once across mymouth, even with a red burning stick out of the fire, he got a barrelof gunpowder on the deck, and swore that he would blow up the vessel. I was then at my wit's end, and earnestly prayed to God to direct me. The head was out of the barrel; and the captain took a lighted stickout of the fire to blow himself and me up, because there was a vesselthen in sight coming in, which he supposed was a Spaniard, and he wasafraid of falling into their hands. Seeing this I got an axe, unnoticed by him, and placed myself between him and the powder, havingresolved in myself as soon as he attempted to put the fire in thebarrel to chop him down that instant. I was more than an hour in thissituation; during which he struck me often, still keeping the fire inhis hand for this wicked purpose. I really should have thought myselfjustifiable in any other part of the world if I had killed him, andprayed to God, who gave me a mind which rested solely on himself. Iprayed for resignation, that his will might be done; and the followingtwo portions of his holy word, which occurred to my mind, buoyed up myhope, and kept me from taking the life of this wicked man. 'He hathdetermined the times before appointed, and set bounds to ourhabitations, ' Acts xvii. 26. And, 'Who is there amongst you thatfeareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walkethin darkness and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God, ' Isaiah 1. 10. And thus by the grace of God Iwas enabled to do. I found him a present help in the time of need, andthe captain's fury began to subside as the night approached: but Ifound, "That he who cannot stem his anger's tide Doth a wild horse without a bridle ride. "

The next morning we discovered that the vessel which had caused such afury in the captain was an English sloop. They soon came to an anchorwhere we were, and, to my no small surprise, I learned that DoctorIrving was on board of her on his way from the Musquito shore toJamaica. I was for going immediately to see this old master andfriend, but the captain would not suffer me to leave the vessel. Ithen informed the doctor, by letter, how I was treated, and beggedthat he would take me out of the sloop: but he informed me that it wasnot in his power, as he was a passenger himself; but he sent me somerum and sugar for my own use. I now learned that after I had left theestate which I managed for this gentleman on the Musquito shore, during which the slaves were well fed and comfortable, a whiteoverseer had supplied my place: this man, through inhumanity andill-judged avarice, beat and cut the poor slaves most unmercifully;and the consequence was, that every one got into a large Purioguacanoe, and endeavoured to escape; but not knowing where to go, or howto manage the canoe, they were all drowned; in consequence of whichthe doctor's plantation was left uncultivated, and he was nowreturning to Jamaica to purchase more slaves and stock it again. Onthe 14th of October the Indian Queen arrived at Kingston in Jamaica. When we were unloaded I demanded my wages, which amounted to eightpounds and five shillings sterling; but Captain Baker refused to giveme one farthing, although it was the hardest-earned money I everworked for in my life. I found out Doctor Irving upon this, andacquainted him of the captain's knavery. He did all he could to helpme to get my money; and we went to every magistrate in Kingston (andthere were nine), but they all refused to do any thing for me, andsaid my oath could not be admitted against a white man. Nor was thisall; for Baker threatened that he would beat me severely if he couldcatch me for attempting to demand my money; and this he would havedone, but that I got, by means of Dr. Irving, under the protection ofCaptain Douglas of the Squirrel man of war. I thought this exceedinglyhard usage; though indeed I found it to be too much the practice thereto pay free men for their labour in this manner. One day I went with afree negroe taylor, named Joe Diamond, to one Mr. Cochran, who wasindebted to him some trifling sum; and the man, not being able to gethis money, began to murmur. The other immediately took a horse-whip topay him with it; but, by the help of a good pair of heels, the taylorgot off. Such oppressions as these made me seek for a vessel to getoff the island as fast as I could; and by the mercy of God I found aship in November bound for England, when I embarked with a convoy, after having taken a last farewell of Doctor Irving. When I leftJamaica he was employed in refining sugars; and some months after myarrival in England I learned, with much sorrow, that this my amiablefriend was dead, owing to his having eaten some poisoned fish. We hadmany very heavy gales of wind in our passage; in the course of whichno material incident occurred, except that an American privateer, falling in with the fleet, was captured and set fire to by hisMajesty's ship the Squirrel. On January the seventh, 1777, we arrivedat Plymouth. I was happy once more to tread upon English ground; and, after passing some little time at Plymouth and Exeter among some piousfriends, whom I was happy to see, I went to London with a heartreplete with thanks to God for all past mercies. 

CHAP. XII. 

 _Different transactions of the author's life till the present time--His application to the late Bishop of London to be appointed a missionary to Africa--Some account of his share in the conduct of the late expedition to Sierra Leona--Petition to the Queen--Conclusion. _

Such were the various scenes which I was a witness to, and the fortuneI experienced until the year 1777. Since that period my life has beenmore uniform, and the incidents of it fewer, than in any other equalnumber of years preceding; I therefore hasten to the conclusion of anarrative, which I fear the reader may think already sufficientlytedious. 

I had suffered so many impositions in my commercial transactions indifferent parts of the world, that I became heartily disgusted withthe sea-faring life, and I was determined not to return to it, atleast for some time. I therefore once more engaged in service shortlyafter my return, and continued for the most part in this situationuntil 1784. 

Soon after my arrival in London, I saw a remarkable circumstancerelative to African complexion, which I thought so extraordinary, thatI beg leave just to mention it: A white negro woman, that I hadformerly seen in London and other parts, had married a white man, bywhom she had three boys, and they were every one mulattoes, and yetthey had fine light hair. In 1779 I served Governor Macnamara, who hadbeen a considerable time on the coast of Africa. In the time of myservice, I used to ask frequently other servants to join me in familyprayers; but this only excited their mockery. However, the Governor, understanding that I was of a religious turn, wished to know of whatreligion I was; I told him I was a protestant of the church ofEngland, agreeable to the thirty-nine articles of that church, andthat whomsoever I found to preach according to that doctrine, those Iwould hear. A few days after this, we had some more discourse on thesame subject: the Governor spoke to me on it again, and said that hewould, if I chose, as he thought I might be of service in convertingmy countrymen to the Gospel faith, get me sent out as a missionary toAfrica. I at first refused going, and told him how I had been servedon a like occasion by some white people the last voyage I went toJamaica, when I attempted (if it were the will of God) to be the meansof converting the Indian prince; and I said I supposed they wouldserve me worse than Alexander the coppersmith did St. Paul, if Ishould attempt to go amongst them in Africa. He told me not to fear, for he would apply to the Bishop of London to get me ordained. Onthese terms I consented to the Governor's proposal to go to Africa, inhope of doing good if possible amongst my countrymen; so, in order tohave me sent out properly, we immediately wrote the following lettersto the late Bishop of London:

 _To the Right Reverend Father in God_, ROBERT, _Lord Bishop of London_: The MEMORIAL of Gustavus Vassa

 Sheweth, That your memorialist is a native of Africa, and has a knowledge of the manners and customs of the inhabitants of that country. 

 That your memorialist has resided in different parts of Europe for twenty-two years last past, and embraced the Christian faith in the year 1759. 

 That your memorialist is desirous of returning to Africa as a missionary, if encouraged by your Lordship, in hopes of being able to prevail upon his countrymen to become Christians; and your memorialist is the more induced to undertake the same, from the success that has attended the like undertakings when encouraged by the Portuguese through their different settlements on the coast of Africa, and also by the Dutch: both governments encouraging the blacks, who, by their education are qualified to undertake the same, and are found more proper than European clergymen, unacquainted with the language and customs of the country. 

 Your memorialist's only motive for soliciting the office of a missionary is, that he may be a means, under God, of reforming his countrymen and persuading them to embrace the Christian religion. Therefore your memorialist humbly prays your Lordship's encouragement and support in the undertaking. 

 GUSTAVUS VASSA. 

 At Mr. Guthrie's, taylor, No. 17, Hedge-lane. 

 My Lord, I have resided near seven years on the coast of Africa, for most part of the time as commanding officer. From the knowledge I have of the country and its inhabitants, I am inclined to think that the within plan will be attended with great success, if countenanced by your Lordship. I beg leave further to represent to your Lordship, that the like attempts, when encouraged by other governments, have met with uncommon success; and at this very time I know a very respectable character a black priest at Cape Coast Castle. I know the within named Gustavus Vassa, and believe him a moral good man. 

 I have the honour to be, My Lord, Your Lordship's Humble and obedient servant, MATT. MACNAMARA. 

 Grove, 11th March 1779. 

This letter was also accompanied by the following from Doctor Wallace, who had resided in Africa for many years, and whose sentiments on thesubject of an African mission were the same with Governor Macnamara's. 

 _March 13, 1779_. 

 My Lord, I have resided near five years on Senegambia on the coast of Africa, and have had the honour of filling very considerable employments in that province. I do approve of the within plan, and think the undertaking very laudable and proper, and that it deserves your Lordship's protection and encouragement, in which case it must be attended with the intended success. 

 I am, My Lord, Your Lordship's Humble and obedient servant, THOMAS WALLACE. 

With these letters, I waited on the Bishop by the Governor's desire, and presented them to his Lordship. He received me with muchcondescension and politeness; but, from some certain scruples ofdelicacy, declined to ordain me. 

My sole motive for thus dwelling on this transaction, or insertingthese papers, is the opinion which gentlemen of sense and education, who are acquainted with Africa, entertain of the probability ofconverting the inhabitants of it to the faith of Jesus Christ, if theattempt were countenanced by the legislature. 

Shortly after this I left the Governor, and served a nobleman in theDevonshire militia, with whom I was encamped at Coxheath for sometime; but the operations there were too minute and uninteresting tomake a detail of. 

In the year 1783 I visited eight counties in Wales, from motives ofcuriosity. While I was in that part of the country I was led to godown into a coal-pit in Shropshire, but my curiosity nearly cost me mylife; for while I was in the pit the coals fell in, and buried onepoor man, who was not far from me: upon this I got out as fast as Icould, thinking the surface of the earth the safest part of it. 

In the spring 1784 I thought of visiting old ocean again. Inconsequence of this I embarked as steward on board a fine new shipcalled the London, commanded by Martin Hopkin, and sailed forNew-York. I admired this city very much; it is large and well-built, and abounds with provisions of all kinds. While we lay here acircumstance happened which I thought extremely singular:--One day amalefactor was to be executed on a gallows; but with a condition thatif any woman, having nothing on but her shift, married the man underthe gallows, his life was to be saved. This extraordinary privilegewas claimed; a woman presented herself; and the marriage ceremony wasperformed. Our ship having got laden we returned to London in January1785. When she was ready again for another voyage, the captain beingan agreeable man, I sailed with him from hence in the spring, March1785, for Philadelphia. On the fifth of April we took our departurefrom the Land's-end, with a pleasant gale; and about nine o'clock thatnight the moon shone bright, and the sea was smooth, while our shipwas going free by the wind, at the rate of about four or five miles anhour. At this time another ship was going nearly as fast as we on theopposite point, meeting us right in the teeth, yet none on boardobserved either ship until we struck each other forcibly head andhead, to the astonishment and consternation of both crews. She did usmuch damage, but I believe we did her more; for when we passed by eachother, which we did very quickly, they called to us to bring to, andhoist out our boat, but we had enough to do to mind ourselves; and inabout eight minutes we saw no more of her. We refitted as well as wecould the next day, and proceeded on our voyage, and in May arrived atPhiladelphia. I was very glad to see this favourite old town oncemore; and my pleasure was much increased in seeing the worthy quakersfreeing and easing the burthens of many of my oppressed Africanbrethren. It rejoiced my heart when one of these friendly people tookme to see a free-school they had erected for every denomination ofblack people, whose minds are cultivated here and forwarded to virtue;and thus they are made useful members of the community. Does not thesuccess of this practice say loudly to the planters in the language ofscripture--"Go ye and do likewise?"

In October 1785 I was accompanied by some of the Africans, andpresented this address of thanks to the gentlemen called Friends orQuakers, in Gracechurch-Court Lombard-Street:

 Gentlemen, By reading your book, entitled a Caution to Great Britain and her Colonies, concerning the Calamitous State of the enslaved Negroes: We the poor, oppressed, needy, and much-degraded negroes, desire to approach you with this address of thanks, with our inmost love and warmest acknowledgment; and with the deepest sense of your benevolence, unwearied labour, and kind interposition, towards breaking the yoke of slavery, and to administer a little comfort and ease to thousands and tens of thousands of very grievously afflicted, and too heavy burthened negroes. 

 Gentlemen, could you, by perseverance, at last be enabled, under God, to lighten in any degree the heavy burthen of the afflicted, no doubt it would, in some measure, be the possible means, under God, of saving the souls of many of the oppressors; and, if so, sure we are that the God, whose eyes are ever upon all his creatures, and always rewards every true act of virtue, and regards the prayers of the oppressed, will give to you and yours those blessings which it is not in our power to express or conceive, but which we, as a part of those captived, oppressed, and afflicted people, most earnestly wish and pray for. 

These gentlemen received us very kindly, with a promise to exertthemselves on behalf of the oppressed Africans, and we parted. 

While in town I chanced once to be invited to a quaker's wedding. Thesimple and yet expressive mode used at their solemnizations is worthyof note. The following is the true form of it:

After the company have met they have seasonable exhortations byseveral of the members; the bride and bridegroom stand up, and, takingeach other by the hand in a solemn manner, the man audily declares tothis purpose:

"Friends, in the fear of the Lord, and in the presence of thisassembly, whom I desire to be my witnesses, I take this my friend, M. N. To be my wife; promising, through divine assistance, to be untoher a loving and faithful husband till death separate us:" and thewoman makes the like declaration. Then the two first sign their namesto the record, and as many more witnesses as have a mind. I had thehonour to subscribe mine to a register in Gracechurch-Court, Lombard-Street. 

We returned to London in August; and our ship not going immediately tosea, I shipped as a steward in an American ship called the Harmony, Captain John Willet, and left London in March 1786, bound toPhiladelphia. Eleven days after sailing we carried our foremast away. We had a nine weeks passage, which caused our trip not to succeedwell, the market for our goods proving bad; and, to make it worse, mycommander began to play me the like tricks as others too oftenpractise on free negroes in the West Indies. But I thank God I foundmany friends here, who in some measure prevented him. On my return toLondon in August I was very agreeably surprised to find that thebenevolence of government had adopted the plan of some philanthropicindividuals to send the Africans from hence to their native quarter;and that some vessels were then engaged to carry them to Sierra Leone;an act which redounded to the honour of all concerned in itspromotion, and filled me with prayers and much rejoicing. There wasthen in the city a select committee of gentlemen for the black poor, to some of whom I had the honour of being known; and, as soon as theyheard of my arrival they sent for me to the committee. When I camethere they informed me of the intention of government; and as theyseemed to think me qualified to superintend part of the undertaking, they asked me to go with the black poor to Africa. I pointed out tothem many objections to my going; and particularly I expressed somedifficulties on the account of the slave dealers, as I would certainlyoppose their traffic in the human species by every means in my power. However these objections were over-ruled by the gentlemen of thecommittee, who prevailed on me to go, and recommended me to thehonourable Commissioners of his Majesty's Navy as a proper person toact as commissary for government in the intended expedition; and theyaccordingly appointed me in November 1786 to that office, and gave mesufficient power to act for the government in the capacity ofcommissary, having received my warrant and the following order. 

 _By the principal Officers and Commissioners of his Majesty's Navy_. 

 Whereas you were directed, by our warrant of the 4th of last month, to receive into your charge from Mr. Irving the surplus provisions remaining of what was provided for the voyage, as well as the provisions for the support of the black poor, after the landing at Sierra Leone, with the cloathing, tools, and all other articles provided at government's expense; and as the provisions were laid in at the rate of two months for the voyage, and for four months after the landing, but the number embarked being so much less than was expected, whereby there may be a considerable surplus of provisions, cloathing, &c. These are, in addition to former orders, to direct and require you to appropriate or dispose of such surplus to the best advantage you can for the benefit of government, keeping and rendering to us a faithful account of what you do herein. And for your guidance in preventing any white persons going, who are not intended to have the indulgences of being carried thither, we send you herewith a list of those recommended by the Committee for the black poor as proper persons to be permitted to embark, and acquaint you that you are not to suffer any others to go who do not produce a certificate from the committee for the black poor, of their having their permission for it. For which this shall be your warrant. Dated at the Navy Office, January 16, 1787. 

 J. HINSLOW, GEO. MARSH, W. PALMER. 

 To Mr. Gustavus Vassa, Commissary of Provisions and Stores for the Black Poor going to Sierra Leone. 

I proceeded immediately to the execution of my duty on board thevessels destined for the voyage, where I continued till the Marchfollowing. 

During my continuance in the employment of government, I was struckwith the flagrant abuses committed by the agent, and endeavoured toremedy them, but without effect. One instance, among many which Icould produce, may serve as a specimen. Government had ordered to beprovided all necessaries (slops, as they are called, included) for 750persons; however, not being able to muster more than 426, I wasordered to send the superfluous slops, &c. To the king's stores atPortsmouth; but, when I demanded them for that purpose from the agent, it appeared they had never been bought, though paid for by government. But that was not all, government were not the only objects ofpeculation; these poor people suffered infinitely more; theiraccommodations were most wretched; many of them wanted beds, and manymore cloathing and other necessaries. For the truth of this, and muchmore, I do not seek credit from my own assertion. I appeal to thetestimony of Capt. Thompson, of the Nautilus, who convoyed us, to whomI applied in February 1787 for a remedy, when I had remonstrated tothe agent in vain, and even brought him to be a witness of theinjustice and oppression I complained of. I appeal also to a letterwritten by these wretched people, so early as the beginning of thepreceding January, and published in the Morning Herald of the 4th ofthat month, signed by twenty of their chiefs. 

I could not silently suffer government to be thus cheated, and mycountrymen plundered and oppressed, and even left destitute of thenecessaries for almost their existence. I therefore informed theCommissioners of the Navy of the agent's proceeding; but my dismissionwas soon after procured, by means of a gentleman in the city, whom theagent, conscious of his peculation, had deceived by letter, and whom, moreover, empowered the same agent to receive on board, at thegovernment expense, a number of persons as passengers, contrary to theorders I received. By this I suffered a considerable loss in myproperty: however, the commissioners were satisfied with my conduct, and wrote to Capt. Thompson, expressing their approbation of it. 

Thus provided, they proceeded on their voyage; and at last, worn outby treatment, perhaps not the most mild, and wasted by sickness, brought on by want of medicine, cloaths, bedding, &c. They reachedSierra Leone just at the commencement of the rains. At that season ofthe year it is impossible to cultivate the lands; their provisionstherefore were exhausted before they could derive any benefit fromagriculture; and it is not surprising that many, especially thelascars, whose constitutions are very tender, and who had been coopedup in ships from October to June, and accommodated in the manner Ihave mentioned, should be so wasted by their confinement as not longto survive it. 

Thus ended my part of the long-talked-of expedition to Sierra Leone;an expedition which, however unfortunate in the event, was humane andpolitic in its design, nor was its failure owing to government: everything was done on their part; but there was evidently sufficientmismanagement attending the conduct and execution of it to defeat itssuccess. 

I should not have been so ample in my account of this transaction, hadnot the share I bore in it been made the subject of partialanimadversion, and even my dismission from my employment thoughtworthy of being made by some a matter of public triumph[X]. Themotives which might influence any person to descend to a petty contestwith an obscure African, and to seek gratification by his depression, perhaps it is not proper here to inquire into or relate, even if itsdetection were necessary to my vindication; but I thank Heaven it isnot. I wish to stand by my own integrity, and not to shelter myselfunder the impropriety of another; and I trust the behaviour of theCommissioners of the Navy to me entitle me to make this assertion; forafter I had been dismissed, March 24, I drew up a memorial thus:

 _To the Right Honourable the Lords Commissioners of his Majesty's Treasury: The Memorial and Petition of_ Gustavus Vassa _a black Man, late Commissary to the black Poor going to_ Africa. 

 HUMBLY SHEWETH, That your Lordships' memorialist was, by the Honourable the Commissioners of his Majesty's Navy, on the 4th of December last, appointed to the above employment by warrant from that board;

 That he accordingly proceeded to the execution of his duty on board of the Vernon, being one of the ships appointed to proceed to Africa with the above poor;

 That your memorialist, to his great grief and astonishment, received a letter of dismission from the Honourable Commissioners of the Navy, by your Lordships' orders;

 That, conscious of having acted with the most perfect fidelity and the greatest assiduity in discharging the trust reposed in him, he is altogether at a loss to conceive the reasons of your Lordships' having altered the favourable opinion you were pleased to conceive of him, sensible that your Lordships would not proceed to so severe a measure without some apparent good cause; he therefore has every reason to believe that his conduct has been grossly misrepresented to your Lordships; and he is the more confirmed in his opinion, because, by opposing measures of others concerned in the same expedition, which tended to defeat your Lordships' humane intentions, and to put the government to a very considerable additional expense, he created a number of enemies, whose misrepresentations, he has too much reason to believe, laid the foundation of his dismission. Unsupported by friends, and unaided by the advantages of a liberal education, he can only hope for redress from the justice of his cause, in addition to the mortification of having been removed from his employment, and the advantage which he reasonably might have expected to have derived therefrom. He has had the misfortune to have sunk a considerable part of his little property in fitting himself out, and in other expenses arising out of his situation, an account of which he here annexes. Your memorialist will not trouble your Lordships with a vindication of any part of his conduct, because he knows not of what crimes he is accused; he, however, earnestly entreats that you will be pleased to direct an inquiry into his behaviour during the time he acted in the public service; and, if it be found that his dismission arose from false representations, he is confident that in your Lordships' justice he shall find redress. 

 Your petitioner therefore humbly prays that your Lordships will take his case into consideration, and that you will be pleased to order payment of the above referred-to account, amounting to 32l. 4s. And also the wages intended, which is most humbly submitted. 

 _London, May 12, 1787. _

The above petition was delivered into the hands of their Lordships, who were kind enough, in the space of some few months afterwards, without hearing, to order me 50l. Sterling--that is, 18l. Wages forthe time (upwards of four months) I acted a faithful part in theirservice. Certainly the sum is more than a free negro would have had inthe western colonies!!!

 * * * * *

March the 21st, 1788, I had the honour of presenting the Queen with apetition on behalf of my African brethren, which was received mostgraciously by her Majesty[Y]:

 _To the_ QUEEN's _most Excellent Majesty_. 

 Madam, Your Majesty's well known benevolence and humanity emboldens me to approach your royal presence, trusting that the obscurity of my situation will not prevent your Majesty from attending to the sufferings for which I plead. 

 Yet I do not solicit your royal pity for my own distress; my sufferings, although numerous, are in a measure forgotten. I supplicate your Majesty's compassion for millions of my African countrymen, who groan under the lash of tyranny in the West Indies. 

 The oppression and cruelty exercised to the unhappy negroes there, have at length reached the British legislature, and they are now deliberating on its redress; even several persons of property in slaves in the West Indies, have petitioned parliament against its continuance, sensible that it is as impolitic as it is unjust--and what is inhuman must ever be unwise. 

 Your Majesty's reign has been hitherto distinguished by private acts of benevolence and bounty; surely the more extended the misery is, the greater claim it has to your Majesty's compassion, and the greater must be your Majesty's pleasure in administering to its relief. 

 I presume, therefore, gracious Queen, to implore your interposition with your royal consort, in favour of the wretched Africans; that, by your Majesty's benevolent influence, a period may now be put to their misery; and that they may be raised from the condition of brutes, to which they are at present degraded, to the rights and situation of freemen, and admitted to partake of the blessings of your Majesty's happy government; so shall your Majesty enjoy the heartfelt pleasure of procuring happiness to millions, and be rewarded in the grateful prayers of themselves, and of their posterity. 

 And may the all-bountiful Creator shower on your Majesty, and the Royal Family, every blessing that this world can afford, and every fulness of joy which divine revelation has promised us in the next. 

 I am your Majesty's most dutiful and devoted servant to command, Gustavus Vassa, The Oppressed Ethiopean. 

 No. 53, Baldwin's Gardens. 

 * * * * *

The negro consolidated act, made by the assembly of Jamaica last year, and the new act of amendment now in agitation there, contain a proofof the existence of those charges that have been made against theplanters relative to the treatment of their slaves. 

I hope to have the satisfaction of seeing the renovation of libertyand justice resting on the British government, to vindicate the honourof our common nature. These are concerns which do not perhaps belongto any particular office: but, to speak more seriously to every man ofsentiment, actions like these are the just and sure foundation offuture fame; a reversion, though remote, is coveted by some nobleminds as a substantial good. It is upon these grounds that I hope andexpect the attention of gentlemen in power. These are designsconsonant to the elevation of their rank, and the dignity of theirstations: they are ends suitable to the nature of a free and generousgovernment; and, connected with views of empire and dominion, suitedto the benevolence and solid merit of the legislature. It is a pursuitof substantial greatness. --May the time come--at least the speculationto me is pleasing--when the sable people shall gratefully commemoratethe auspicious æra of extensive freedom. Then shall those persons[Z]particularly be named with praise and honour, who generously proposedand stood forth in the cause of humanity, liberty, and good policy;and brought to the ear of the legislature designs worthy of royalpatronage and adoption. May Heaven make the British senators thedispersers of light, liberty, and science, to the uttermost parts ofthe earth: then will be glory to God on the highest, on earth peace, and goodwill to men:--Glory, honour, peace, &c. To every soul of manthat worketh good, to the Britons first, (because to them the Gospelis preached) and also to the nations. 'Those that honour their Makerhave mercy on the poor. ' 'It is righteousness exalteth a nation; butsin is a reproach to any people; destruction shall be to the workersof iniquity, and the wicked shall fall by their own wickedness. ' Maythe blessings of the Lord be upon the heads of all those whocommiserated the cases of the oppressed negroes, and the fear of Godprolong their days; and may their expectations be filled withgladness! 'The liberal devise liberal things, and by liberal thingsshall stand, ' Isaiah xxxii. 8. They can say with pious Job, 'Did not Iweep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for thepoor?' Job xxx. 25. 

As the inhuman traffic of slavery is to be taken into theconsideration of the British legislature, I doubt not, if a system ofcommerce was established in Africa, the demand for manufactures wouldmost rapidly augment, as the native inhabitants will insensibly adoptthe British fashions, manners, customs, &c. In proportion to thecivilization, so will be the consumption of British manufactures. 

The wear and tear of a continent, nearly twice as large as Europe, andrich in vegetable and mineral productions, is much easier conceivedthan calculated. 

A case in point. --It cost the Aborigines of Britain little or nothingin clothing, &c. The difference between their forefathers and thepresent generation, in point of consumption, is literally infinite. The supposition is most obvious. It will be equally immense inAfrica--The same cause, viz. Civilization, will ever have the sameeffect. 

It is trading upon safe grounds. A commercial intercourse with Africaopens an inexhaustible source of wealth to the manufacturing interestsof Great Britain, and to all which the slave trade is an objection. 

If I am not misinformed, the manufacturing interest is equal, if notsuperior, to the landed interest, as to the value, for reasons whichwill soon appear. The abolition of slavery, so diabolical, will give amost rapid extension of manufactures, which is totally anddiametrically opposite to what some interested people assert. 

The manufacturers of this country must and will, in the nature andreason of things, have a full and constant employ by supplying theAfrican markets. 

Population, the bowels and surface of Africa, abound in valuable anduseful returns; the hidden treasures of centuries will be brought tolight and into circulation. Industry, enterprize, and mining, willhave their full scope, proportionably as they civilize. In a word, itlays open an endless field of commerce to the British manufactures andmerchant adventurer. The manufacturing interest and the generalinterests are synonymous. The abolition of slavery would be in realityan universal good. 

Tortures, murder, and every other imaginable barbarity and iniquity, are practised upon the poor slaves with impunity. I hope the slavetrade will be abolished. I pray it may be an event at hand. The greatbody of manufacturers, uniting in the cause, will considerablyfacilitate and expedite it; and, as I have already stated, it is mostsubstantially their interest and advantage, and as such the nation'sat large, (except those persons concerned in the manufacturingneck-yokes, collars, chains, hand-cuffs, leg-bolts, drags, thumb-screws, iron muzzles, and coffins; cats, scourges, and otherinstruments of torture used in the slave trade). In a short time onesentiment alone will prevail, from motives of interest as well asjustice and humanity. Europe contains one hundred and twenty millionsof inhabitants. Query--How many millions doth Africa contain?Supposing the Africans, collectively and individually, to expend 5l. Ahead in raiment and furniture yearly when civilized, &c. An immensitybeyond the reach of imagination!

This I conceive to be a theory founded upon facts, and therefore aninfallible one. If the blacks were permitted to remain in their owncountry, they would double themselves every fifteen years. Inproportion to such increase will be the demand for manufactures. Cotton and indigo grow spontaneously in most parts of Africa; aconsideration this of no small consequence to the manufacturing townsof Great Britain. It opens a most immense, glorious, and happyprospect--the clothing, &c. Of a continent ten thousand miles incircumference, and immensely rich in productions of every denominationin return for manufactures. 

I have only therefore to request the reader's indulgence and conclude. I am far from the vanity of thinking there is any merit in thisnarrative: I hope censure will be suspended, when it is consideredthat it was written by one who was as unwilling as unable to adorn theplainness of truth by the colouring of imagination. My life andfortune have been extremely chequered, and my adventures various. Eventhose I have related are considerably abridged. If any incident inthis little work should appear uninteresting and trifling to mostreaders, I can only say, as my excuse for mentioning it, that almostevery event of my life made an impression on my mind and influenced myconduct. I early accustomed myself to look for the hand of God in theminutest occurrence, and to learn from it a lesson of morality andreligion; and in this light every circumstance I have related was tome of importance. After all, what makes any event important, unless byits observation we become better and wiser, and learn 'to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before God?' To those who arepossessed of this spirit, there is scarcely any book or incident sotrifling that does not afford some profit, while to others theexperience of ages seems of no use; and even to pour out to them thetreasures of wisdom is throwing the jewels of instruction away. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote X: See the Public Advertiser, July 14, 1787. ]

[Footnote Y: At the request of some of my most particular friends, Itake the liberty of inserting it here. ]

[Footnote Z: Grenville Sharp, Esq; the Reverend Thomas Clarkson; theReverend James Ramsay; our approved friends, men of virtue, are anhonour to their country, ornamental to human nature, happy inthemselves, and benefactors to mankind!]

THE END.