Acre, which grew apace, and cover'd the Place from all Discovery there, with only one narrow Place between two Trees, not cafy to be discover'd to enter on that Side.

The other Colony was that of W. Atkins's, where there were four Families of English Men, I mean thofe I had left there, with their Wives and Children; three Savages that were Slaves; the Widow and Children of the English Man that was kill'd; the young Man and the Maid; and by the way, we made a Wife of her alfo, before we went away: There was alfo the two Carpenters and the Taylor, who I brought with me for them; alfo the Smith, who was a very neceffary Man to them, efpecially as a Gunfmith, to take Care of their Arms; and my other Man, who I call'd, Jack of all Trades; who was in himfelf as good, almoft, as 20 Men, for he was not only a very ingenious Fellow, but a very merry Fellow, and before I went away, we married him to the honest Maid that came with the Youth in the Ship, I mention'd before.

And now I fpeak of Marrying, it brings me naturally to fay fomething of the French Ecclefiaftic that I had brought with me out of the Ship's Crew, who I took up at Sea. It is true, this Man was a Roman, and perhaps it may give Offence to fome hereafter, if I leave any Thing extraordinary upon Record, of a Man, who before I begin, I muft, (to fet him out, in just Colours) reprefent in Terms very much to his Difadvantage, in the Account of Proteftants; as first, that he was a Papift; fecondly, a popith Prielt; and thirdly, a French popish Prieft.

But

But Justice demands of me, to give him a due Character; and 1 muft fay, he was a grave, fober, pious, and most religious Perfon; exact in his Life, extenfive in his Charity, and exemplar in almost every Thing he did; what then can any one fay, against my being very fenfible of the Value of fuch a Man, notwithstanding his Profeffion? Tho' it may be my Opinion, perhaps, as well as the Opinion of others, who shall read this, that he was miftaken ?

The firft Hour that I began to converfe with him, after he had agreed to go with me to the Eaft-Indies, I found Reafon to delight exceedly in his Converfation; and he first began with me about Religion in the most obliging Manner imaginable.

Sir, fays he, you have not only, under God, (and at that he crofs'd his Breaft) fav'd my Life, but you have admitted me to go this Vo. yage in your Ship, and by your obliging Civility have taken me into your Family, giving me an Opportunity of free Converfation. Now, Sir, fays he, you fee by my Habit what my Profeffion is, and I guess by your Nation, what yours is: I may think it is my Duty, and doubtlefs it is fo, to ufe my urmoft Endeavours on all Occafions, to bring all the Souls I can to the Knowledge of the Truth, and to Embrace the Catholick Doctrine; but as I am here under your Permiffion, and in your Family, I am bound in Juftice to your Kindness, as well as in Decency and good Manners, to be under your Goyernment; and therefore, I fhall not, with

out

out your Leave, enter into any Debates on the Point of Religion in which we may not agree, farther then you fhall give me Leave.

I told him, his Carriage was fo modeft, that I could not but acknowledge it; that it was true, we were fuch People as they call'd Hereticks; but that he was not the firft Catholick that I had convers'd with, without falling into any Inconveniencies, or carrying the Questions to any height in Debate: That he should not find himself the worfe ufed for being of a different Opinion from us, and if we did not converfe without any Diflike on either Side upon that Score, it should be his Fault, not ours.

He reply'd, that he thought all our Converfation might be eafily feparated from Difputes; That it was not his Bufinefs to cap Principles with every Man he difcours'd with; and that he rather defir'd me to converfe with him as a Gentleman, than as a Religieufe; that if I would give him Leave at any time to difcourfe upon religious Subjects, he would readily comply with it; and that then, he did not doubt but I would allow him alfo to Defend his own Opinions, as well as he could; but that without my Leave, he would not break in upon me with any fuch thing.

He told me farther, that he would not cease to do all that became him in his Office, as a Priest, as well as a private Chriftian, to procure the Good of the Ship, and the Safety of all that was in her; and tho' perhaps we would not join with him, and he could not pray with us, he hoped he might pray for us, which he would

do

do upon all Occafions. In this manner we convers'd, and as he was of a most obliging gentleman-like Behaviour; fo he was, if I may be allow'd to fay fo, a Man of good Sence, and as I believe, of great Learning.

He gave me a moft diverting Account of his Life, and of the many extraordinary Events of it; of many Adventures which had befallen him in the few Years that he had been abroad in the World, and particularly this was very remarkable, (viz.) That in the Voyage he was now engag'd in; he had had the Misfortune to be five times fhip'd and unfhip'd, and never to go to the Place whether any of the Ships he was in, were at first defign'd: That his firft Intent was to have gone to Martinico, and that he went on board a Ship bound thither, at St. Malo; but being forc'd into Lisbon by bad Weather, the Ship receiv'd fome Damage, by running a Ground in the Mouth of the River Tagus, and was oblig'd to unload her Cargo there; that finding a Portuguese Ship there bound to the Maderas, and ready to fail, and fuppofing he fhould cafily meet with a Veffel there bound to Martinico; he went on board, in order to fail to the Maderas; but the Master of the Portuguese Ship being but an indifferent Mariner, had been out in his Reckoning, and they drove to Fial; where, however, he happen'd to find a very good Market for his Cargo, which was Corn, and therefore refolv'd not to go to the Maderas, but to load Salt at the Isle of May, and to go away to Newfoundland: He had no Remedy in this Exigence, but to go with the Ship, and had a pretty good Voyage as far as the Banks, fo they call the Place, where they catch the Fih, where meeting with a Fench Ship,

bound

1

bound from France to Quebeck in the River of Canada, and from thence to Martinico, to carry Provisions, he thought he fhould have an Opportunity to compleat his firft Defign: But when The came to Quebeck, the Mafter of the Ship dy'd, and the Ship proceeded no farther; fo the next Voyage he fhipp'd himfelf for France, in the Ship that was burnt, when we took them up at Sea, and then shipp'd with us for the Eaft Indies, as I have already faid: Thus he had been difappointed in five Voyages, all, as I may call it, in one Voyage, befides what I fhall have Occafion to mention farther of the fame Perfon.

But, I fhall not make Digreffions into other Men's Stories, which have no Relation to my own, I return to what concerns our Affair in the Inland: He came to me one Morning, for he lodg'd among us all the while we were upon the Ifland; and it happen'd to be just when I was going to vifit the English Men's Colony, at the fartheft Part of the Island, I fay, he came to me and told me, with a very grave Countenance, that he had for two or three Days defir'd an Opportunity of fome Difcourfe with me, which he hop'd fhould not be displeasing to me, because he thought it might in fome Measure correfpond with my general Defign, which was the Profperity of my new Colony, and perhaps might put it, at leaft more than he yet thought it was, in the Way of God's Bleffing.

I look'd a little furpriz'd at the last Part of his Difcourfe, and turning a little fhort, How Sir, faid I, can it be faid, that we are not in the Way of God's Bleffing, after fuch vifible Affftances and wonderful Deliverances as we have feen here, and of which I have given you a large Account?

If