On the other hand, I told them, I came to eftablish them there, not to remove them; and then I let them know, that I had brought with me relief of fundry kinds for them: That I had been at a great charge to fupply them with all things neceffary, as well for their convenience, as their defence; and that I had fuch particular perfons with me, as well to increase and recruit their number, as by the particular neceffary employments which they were bred to, being artificers, to affift them in those things, in which, at prefent, they were to seek.

They were all together when I talked thus to them; and before I delivered to them the ftores I had brought, I asked them, one by one, if they had entirely forgot and buried the first animofities that had been among them, and could fhake hands with one another, and engage in a ftrict friendship, and union of interest, so that there might be no more misunderstandings or jealoufies.

William Atkins, with abundance of frankness and good-humour, faid, They had met with afflictions enough to make them all fober, and enemies enough to make them all friends: That, for his part, he would live and die with them; `and was fo far from defigning any thing against the Spaniards, that, he owned, they had done nothing to him but what his own bad humour made neceffary, and what he would have done, and, perhaps, much worse, in their case; and that he would ask them pardon, if I defired it, for the foolish and brutish things he had done to them; and was very willing and defirous of living on terms of entire friendship and union with them; and would do any thing that lay in his power to con

vince them of it: and as for going to England, he cared not if he did not go thither thefe twenty years.

The Spaniards faid, they had, indeed, at first, difarmed and excluded William Atkins, and his two countrymen, for their ill conduct, as they had let me know: And they appealed to me, for the ne. ceffity they were under to do fo; but that William Atkins had behaved himself fo bravely in the great fight they had with the favages, and on feveral occafions fince, and had fhewed himself so faithful to, and concerned for the general interest of them all, that they had forgotten all that was past, and thought he merited as much to be trufted with arms, and fupplied with neceffaries, as any of them; and that they had testified their fatisfaction in him, by committing the command to him, next to the governor himself; and as they had an entire confidence in him, and all his countrymen, fo they acknowledged, they had merited that confidence, by all the methods that honeft men could merit to be valued and trusted: and they moft heartily embraced the occafion of giving me this affurance, that they would never have any intereft separate from one another.

Upon these frank and open declarations of friendfhip, we appointed the next day to dine all together; and indeed, we made a fplendid feaft: I caufed the fhip's cook and his mate to come on fhore, and dress our dinner; and the old cook's mate we had on fhore, affifted. We brought on fhore fix pieces of good beef, and four pieces of pork, out of the fhip's provifion, with our punch bowl, and mate

rials to fill it; and, in particular, I gave them ten bottles of French claret, and ten bottles of English beer; things that neither the Spaniards, or the Englishmen, had tafted for many years; and which, it may be supposed, they were exceeding glad of.

The Spaniards added to our feast five whole kids, which the cooks roafted; and three of them were fent, covered up close, on board our fhip to the seamen, that they might feaft on fresh meat from on fhore, as we did with their falt meat from on board.

After this feaft, at which we were very innocently merry, I brought out my cargo of goods, wherein, that there might be no difpute about dividing, I fhewed them that there was fufficient for them all 1; and defired, that they might all take an equal quantity of the goods that were for wearing; that is to fay, equal when made up. As firft, I diftributed linen fufficient to make every one of them four fhirts; and, at the Spaniard's request, afterwards made them up fix; these were exceeding comfortable to them, having been what, as I may fay, they had long fince forgot the use of, or what it was to wear them.

I allotted the thin English ftuffs, which I mentioned before, to make every one a light coat, like a frock, which I judged fittest for the heat of the season, cool and loofe; and ordered, that whenever they decayed, they should make more, as they thought fit: The like for pumps, fhoes, ftockings, and hats, &c.

I cannot

I cannot express what pleasure, what fatisfaction, fat upon the countenances of all these poor men, when they faw the care I had taken of them, and how well I had furnished them: they told me, I was a father to them; and that, having fuch a correfpondent as I was, in fo remote a part of the world, it would make them forget that they were left in a defolate place; and they all voluntarily engaged to me, not to leave the place without my confent.

Then I prefented to them the people I had brought with me; particularly the taylor, the fmith, and the two carpenters, all of them moft neceffary people; but above all, my general artificer, than whom they could not name any thing that was more needful to them; and the taylor, to fhew his concern for them, went to work immediately, and with my leave, made them every one a fhirt the first thing he did; and, which was still more, he taught the women not only how to fow and stitch, and use the needle, but made them affist to make the shirts for their husbands, and for all the reft.

As for the carpenters, I fcarce need mention how useful they were, for they took in pieces all my clumfy, unhandy things, and made them clever, convenient tables, stools, bedsteads, cupboards, lockers, fhelves, and every thing they wanted of that kind.

But, to let them fee how nature made artificers at first, I carried the carpenters to see William Atkins's basket-house, as I called it; and they both owned, they never faw an inftance of fuch natural ingenuity before; nor any thing fo regular, and fo handily built,

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built, at least of its kind: and one of them, when he faw it, after mufing a good while, turning about to me, I am fure, fays he, that man has no need of us; you need do nothing but give him tools.

Then I brought them out all my ftore of tools, and gave every man a digging fpade, a fhovel, and a rake, for we had no harrows or ploughs; and, to every feparate place, a pick-axe, a crow, a broad-axe, and a faw; always appointing, that as often as any were broken, or worn out, they should be supplied, without grudging, out of the general stores that I left behind.

Nails, ftaples, hinges, hammers, chiffels, knives, fciffars, and all forts of tools and iron-work, they had without tale, as they required; for no man would care to take more than they wanted; and he must be a fool that would wafte or fpoil them, on any account whatever: And for the use of the smith, I left two tons of unwrought iron for a supply.

My magazine of powder and arms, which I brought them, was such even to profusion, that they could not but rejoice at them; for now they could march as I used to do, with a mufket upon each fhoulder, if there was occafion; and were able to fight 1000 favages, if they had but fome little advantages of fituation; which also they could not mifs of, if they

had occafion.

I carried on fhore with me the young man whofe mother was starved to death, and the maid also; she was a fober, well-educated, religious young woman, and behaved fo inoffenfively, that every one gave her a good word: She had, indeed, an unhappy life with us, there being no woman in the fhip but herself;

but