ftone; and the facred and tremendous names of God, and his Christ, were of no other import to them than as the balls of a billiard-table, to be toffed and bandied about for sport.

At first this was a matter of great offence and horror to me. Can there be a God, I would fay to myfelf, and can he fuffer his tremendous name to be infulted and blafphemed as it is by these wretches? But, alas! I was not as one of the three captives at Babylon; I could not be caft into the furnace, and come forth without a finge. In time this profaneness became lefs irksome to my ears, and, by degrees, I began to relish, and to catch the com mon contagion.

At times, however, fome thoughts of God and a Saviour would come into my mind, and the pious impreffion of my infancy would return upon me; but I did my beft to banifh them, as they ferved but to torment me.

At times, again, I would filently expoftulate, as it were, with God. It is true, I would fay to him, I have been wicked, defperately wicked, through a long courfe of finning; but did I not long ftrive, and ftruggle, and fight against temptation? If you meant me for your felf, why did you not make me with lefs VOL. IV. E

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proneness to evil? or why did you not give me greater ftrength to refift?

Again, fhocking and blafphemous thoughts would enter into my gloomy foul: As, though the gofpel were all a fable, and religion nothing but prieftcraft: That all events were of chance: That men we regood or evil, merely ac- ́ cording to conftitution; and that either there was no God, or he was too great, or too diftant, to concern himself with the infignificant affairs of mortals. But thefe infufions of the tempter were never of long continuance; and again I would return to believing and trembling.

Our ship had been deftined to protect the trade in the Levant. Within the fpace of five months, we had rescued from the captors fix Englifh fhips, and made prize of three ftout frigates, of thofe African pirates who war upon the world; when the boy from the maft-head cried out, A fail! We immediately made chace, and found by evening that we had gained confiderably upon her; but as the night came on thick and hazy, we shortened fail, and lay to till morning, but hung out no lights.

At dawn of day, we renewed the chace, though no fail was then in fight; but we had not continued it above four or

five leagues, when we clearly difcerned the fame veffel, and perceived that she altered her course, and was bearing down toward us.

Hereupon we fhortened fail, and waited for her. But we had not waited long, till we perceived a fecond veffel that feemed in chace of the firft; and fome time after faw a third that feemed in chace of the two former.

On this the lieutenant, an old and experienced failor, looked fomewhat blank, and defired that the captain would inftantly call a council of war. Gentlemen, fays he, the many captures we have late

made could not fail of informing our enemies that we are in thefe feas; and I apprehend, with great reason, that they have made choice of their beft means to over-reach and over-match us, and to fall with their united force upon us. And indeed ye may already perceive, that the fhip which we had in chace has shortened fail, and waits to be joined by her two conforts, whom the feemed fo lately to fear. I think, as the jockeys fay, that we have more than foot for them; and all the queftion is, whether Old England fhall make ufe of her fleet to fly, while fhe has any hands left wherewith she may fight? At this they cried, with one voice, No

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No flying! no flying! let them come on, the circumcifed dogs, as many as may be. of them; we will neither take nor give quarter, they or we must to the bottom! To work then, my brave lads! cries Captain Jenkins, for we are likely to have as warm a bout of it as we could wish.

To buftle went all hands. We had a clear fhip in a moment; and, for the firft time, ftowed our hammocks in the nettings. The captain then chufing a dozen of the beft markfmen, he difpofed them in the tops, with ftrick orders to direct their fire only at those who appeared to be officers.

Our ship at this time was full manned with about two hundred and feventy fpirits, all as ready and defirous to go and meet death as a beau to go to a bail, or an alderman to a feaft.

The three conforts were now joined, as our mate had foreseen, and bore down upon us right before the wind; and then it was that my fins came crowding into my mind, and I believe I was the only perfon in the fhip's company whỏ trembled.

They all come up with a defperate boldness; and while one attacked us on our bow, a fecond lay upon our quarter,

while the third bore away under our ftern, and raked us fore and aft with her whole broadfide; nor were we idle in the mean time, but plied our guns with fuch spirit and fuccefs as foon obliged

them to fheer off.

Our ship was of English oak, and flood their fhot to a wonder; our metal was also much weightier than theirs; but then they outnumbered us three to one, in men and in guns.

Having got out of the reach of our fhot, they moved off, as intending to make their escape; but, having repaired their damage, as well as time would allow, they returned upon us with two fold refolution and fury.

Then it was, Gentlemen, that such a fcene was opened, as was fufficient to ftrike hell itfelf with horror.

They now entertained us with a new kind of warfare. For getting up within piftol-fhot, they toffed their granadoes or hand-fhells among us, that were filled with broken bottles, and with rufty and ragged pieces of old iron. Thefe did fearful execution, and our deck was quickly covered with blood and brains, and pieces of human flesh, while the noife of the cannon could fcarcely drown

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