confounded at his difcourfe, and knew not what an fwer to make him. He looked earnestly at me, seeing me in fome disorder: Sir, faid he, I fhall be very forry, if what I have faid gives you any offence. No, no, faid I, I am offended with nobody but myfelf; but I am perfectly confounded, not only to think that I should never take any notice of this before, but with reflecting what notice, I am able to take of it now. You know, Sir, faid I, what circumstances I am in; I am bound to the East Indies, in a fhip freighted by merchants, and to whom it would be an infufferable piece of injuftice to detain their fhip here, the men lying all this while at victuals and wages upon the owner's account: it is true, I agreed to be allowed twelve days here; and if I ftay more, I must pay 31. fterling per diem demurrage; nor can I ftay upon demurrage above eight days more; and I have been here thirteen days already: So that I am perfectly unable to engage in this work, unless I would fuffer myself to be left behind here again; in which cafe, if this single ship fhould mifcarry in any part of her voyage, I fhould be just in the fame condition that I was left in here at first; and from which I have been fo wonderfully delivered.

He owned the cafe was very hard upon me as to my voyage; but laid it home upon my confcience, whether the bleffing of faving seven-and-thirty fouls, was not worth my venturing all I had in the world for? I was not fo fenfible of that as he was: and I returned upon him thus: Why, Sir, it is a valuable thing indeed, to be an inftrument in GoD's hand, to

convert

convert seven-and-thirty heathens to the knowledge of Chrift; but as you are an ecclefiaftic, and are given over to that work, so that it seems naturally to fall into the way of your profeffion, how is it then, that you do not rather offer yourself to undertake it, than prefs me to it?

Upon this he faced about, just before me, as he walked along, and, putting me to a full ftop, made me a very low bow: I moft heartily thank God, and you, Sir, fays he, for giving me fo evident a call to fo bleffed a work; and if you think yourself difcharged from it, and defire me to undertake it, I will most readily do it, and think it a happy reward for all the hazards and difficulties of fuch a broken, disappointed voyage as I have met with, that I have dropped at last into fo glorious a work.

I discovered a kind of rapture in his face, while he spoke this to me; his eyes fparkled like fire, his face glowed, and his colour came and went, as if he had been falling into fits: in a word, he was fired with the joy of being embarked in fuch a work. I paused a confiderable while before I could tell what to fay to him; for I was really surprised to find a man of such fincerity and zeal, and carried out in his zeal beyond the ordinary rate of men, not of his profeffion only, but even of any profeffion whatfoever but, after I had confidered it a while, I asked him seriously, if he was in earnest, and that he would venture on the fingle confideration of an attempt on those poor people, to be locked up in an unplanted ifland for, perhaps, his life; and at last, might not know whether

L 4

whether he should be able to do them any good or not?

He turned fhort upon me, and asked me, what I called a venture? Pray, Sir, faid he, what do you think I confented to go in your fhip to the East Indies for? Nay, faid I, that I know not, unless it was to preach to the Indians. Doubtlefs it was, faid he; and do you think, if I can convert these seven-andthirty men to the faith of Chrift, it is not worth my time, though I fhould never be fetched off the island again? Nay, is it not infinitely of more worth to fave fo many fouls, than my life is, or the life of twenty more of the fame profeffion? Yes, Sir, fays he, I would give Christ and the Blessed Virgin thanks all my days, if I could be made the least happy inftrument of faving the fouls of these poor men, though I was never to fet my foot off this ifland, or fee my native country any more: But fince you will honour me, fays he, with putting me into this work, (for which I will pray for you all the days of my life) I have one humble petition to you, faid he, befides. What is that? faid I. Why, fays he, it is, that you will leave your man interpreter to them, and fome help, I cannot speak to them, or they to me.

Friday with me, to be my to affift me; for, without

I was fenfibly troubled at his requesting Friday, because I could not think of parting with him, and that for many reafons: He had been the companion of my travels; he was not only faithful to me, but fincerely affectionate to the laft degree; and I had refolved to do fomething confiderable for him, if he out-lived me, as it was probable he would: then I knew, that as I had bred Friday up to be a Proteftant,

it would quite confound him, to bring him to embrace another profeffion; and he would never, while his eyes were open, believe that his old mafter was an heretic, and would be damned; and this might in the end ruin the poor fellow's principles, and fo turn him back again to his firft idolatry.

However, a fudden thought relieved me in this ftrait, and it was this: I told him, I could not say that I was willing to part with Friday on any account whatever; though a work, that to him was of more value than his life, ought to me to be of much more value than the keeping or parting with a fervant. But, on the other hand, I was perfuaded, that Friday would by no means confent to part with me; and then to force him to it, without his confent, would be manifeft injuftice; because I had promised I would never put him away; and he had promised and engaged to me that he would never leave me, unless I put him away.

He feemed very much concerned at it; for he had no rational access to these poor people, seeing he did not understand one word of their language, nor they one word of his. To remove this difficulty, I told him, Friday's father had learned Spanish, which I found he also understood; and he should serve him for an interpreter: fo he was much better fatisfied, and nothing could perfuade him but he would stay to endeavour to convert them; but Providence gave another and very happy turn to all this.

I come back now to the first part of his objections. When we came to the Englishmen, I fent for them all together; and after fome accounts given them of what

what I had done for them, viz. what neceffary things I had provided for them, and how they were distributed, which they were fenfible of, and very thankful for; I began to talk to them of the fcandalous life they led, and gave them a full account of the notice the clergyman had already taken of it; and, arguing how unchriftian and irreligious a life it was, I firft afked them, if they were married men or bachelors? They foon explained their condition to me, and fhewed me that two of them were widowers, and the other three were fingle men or bachelors: I asked them, with what confcience they could take these women, and lie with them, as they had done, call them their wives, and have fo many children by them, and not be married lawfully to them?

They all gave me the answer that I expected, viz. that there was nobody to marry them; that they agreed before the governor to keep them as their wives; and to keep them, and own them, as their wives; and they thought, as things flood with them, they were as legally married as if they had been married by a parfon, and with all the formalities in the world.

I told them, that no doubt they were married in the fight of God, and were bound in confcience to keep them as their wives; but that the laws of men being otherwife, they might pretend they were not married, and so defert the poor women and children hereafter; and that their wives, being poor defolate women, friendless and moneyless, would have no way to help themselves: I therefore told them, that unless I was affured of their honest intent, I could do no