I encourag'd the Fellow, by granting all he defir'd; and as an Addition, I gave him the Savage, which we had taken Prifoner of War, to be his Slave, and order'd the Governour Spaniard to give him his Share of every Thing he wanted, with the rest.

When we came to fit this Man out, my old Partner told me, there was a certain very honeft Fellow, a Brafil Planter of his Acquaintance, who had fallen into the Displeasure of the Church; I know not what the Matter is with him, fays he, but on my Confcience, I think he is a Heretick in his Heart, and he has been oblig'd to conceal himself for Fear of the Inquifition; that he wou'd be very glad of fuch an Opportunity to make his Efcape with his Wife and two Daughters; and if I would let them go to my Ifland, and allot them a Plantation, he would give them a small Stock to begin with; for the Officers of the Inquifition had feiz'd all his Effects and Estate, and he had nothing left but a little Houfhold-Stuff and two Slaves. And adds he, Tho' I hate his Principles, yet I would not have him fall into their Hands ; for he would affuredly be burnt alive, if he does.

I granted this presently, and join'd my English Man with them, and we conceal'd the Man, and his Wife, and Daughters on Board our Ship, 'till the Sloop put out to go to Sea; and then (having put all their Goods on Board the Sloop, fome Time before) we put them on Board the Sloop, after he was got out of the Bay.

Our

Our Seaman was mightily pleas'd with this new Partner; and their Stock indeed was much alike rich in Tools, in Preparations, and a Farm, but nothing to begin with, but as above: However, they carry'd over with them, which was worth all the reft, fome Materials for planting Sugar Canes, with fome Plants of Canes; which he, I mean, the Portugal Man, understood very well,

Among the reft of the Supplies fent my Tenants in the Iland, I fent them by their Sloop, three Milch Cows, and five Calves, about 22 Hogs among them, three Sows big with Pig, Mares, and a Stone-Horfe.

two

For my Spaniards,according to my Promife,I engag'd three Portugal Women to go, and recommended it to them to marry them, and use them kindly. I could have procur'd more Women, but I remember'd, that the poor perfecuted Man had two Daughters, and there was but five of the Spaniards that wanted; the reft had Wives of their own, tho' in another Country.

All this Cargoe arriv'd fafe, and as you may eafily fuppofe, very welcome to my old Inhabitants, who were now with this Addition between fixty and feventy People, befides little Children; of which, there was a great many: I found Letters at London from them all by the Way of Lisbon, when I came back to England; of which I fhall alfo take fome Notice immediately

I have now done with my Ifland, and all Manner of Difcourfe about it; and who ever reads the reft of my Memorandum's, would do well to turn

P 4

his

his Thoughts entirely from it, and expect to read of the Follies of an old Man, not warn'd by his own Harms, much less by those of other Men, to beware of the like; not cool'd by almoft fourty Years Mifery and Disappointments, not fatisfy'd with Profperity beyond Expectation, not made cautious by Affliction and Diftrefs beyond Imi

tation.

I had no more Bufinefs to go to the Eaft-Indies, than a Man at full Liberty, and having committed no Crime, has to go to the Turn-key at Newgate, and defire him to lock him up among the Prifoners there, and ftarve him. Had I taken a fmall Veffel from England, and went directly to the Island; had I loaded her, as I did the other Veffel, with all the Neceffaries for the Plantation, and for my People, took a Patent from the Government here, to have fecur'd my Property, in Subjection only to that of England; had I carry'd over Cannon and Ammunion, Servants and People, to plant, and taking Poffeffion of the Place, fortify'd and strengthen'd it in the Name of England, and encreas'd it with People, as I might eafily have done; had I then fettled myself there, and fent the Ship back, loaden with good Rice, as I might also have done in fix Months Time, and order'd my Friends to have fitted her out again for our Supply; had I done this, and stay'd there myself, I had, at leaft, acted like a Man of common Senfe; but I was poffeffed with a wandring Spirit, fcorn'd all Advantages, I pleas'd myself with being the Patron of thofe People I plac'd there, and doing for them in a kind of haughty majeftick Way, like an old Patriarchal Monarch; providing for them, as if I had been Father of the whole Family, as well as of the Plantation: But I never fo much as pretended

to

to plant in the Name of any Government or Nation; or to acknowledge any Prince, or to call my People Subjects to any one Nation more than another; nay, I never fo much as gave the Place a Name; but left it as I found it belonging to no Body; and the People under no Difcipline or Goverment but my own; who, tho' I had Influence over them as a Father and Benefa&tor, had no Authority or Power, to Act or Command one Way or other, farther than voluntary Confent mov'd them to comply; yet even this, had I ftay'd there, would have done well enough; but as I rambl'd from them, and came there no more, the last Letters I had from any of them, was by my Partners Means; who afterwards fent another Sloop to the Place, and who fent me Word, tho'l had not the Letter till five Years after it was written; that they went on but poorly, were Male-content with their long Stay there: That Will. Atkins was dead that five of the Spaniards were come away, and that tho' they had not been much molested by the Savages, yet they had had fome Skirmishes with them; and that they begg'd of him to write to me, to think of the Promife I had made, to fetch them away, that they might fee their own Country again before they dy'd.

;

But I was gone a Wild Goofe Chafe indeed ; and they that will have any more of me, muft be content to follow me thro' a new Variety of Follies, Hardships, and wild Adventures; wherein the Juftice of Providence may be duly obferv'd, and we may fee how eafily Heaven can gorge us with our own Defires; make the ftrongest of our Wishes, be our Affliction, and punith us most feverely with thofe very Things,

which we think, it would be our utmost Happinefs to be allow'd in:

Let no wife Man flatter himfelf, with the Strength of his own Judgment, as if he was able to chufe any particular Station of Life for himfelf: Man; is a fhort-fighted Creature, fees but a very little Way before him; and as his Paffions, are none of his beft Friends, fo his particular Affections, are generally his worft Counsellors.

I say this, with Refpect to the impetuous Defire I had from a Youth, to wander into the World; and how evident it now was, that this Principle was preferv'd in me for my Punishment: How it came on, the Manner, the Cirftance, and the Conclufion of it, it is eafy to give you hiftorically, and with its utmost Vari

ety

of Particulars: But the fecret Ends of Divine Power, in thus permitting us, to be hurry'd down the Stream of our own Defires, is only to be understood by thofe who can liften to the Voice of Providence, and draw religious Confequences from God's Justice, and their own Mistakes.

Be it, I had Bufinefs, or no Bufinefs, away I went; 'tis no Time now to enlarge any farther upon the Reafon, or Abfurdity of my own Conduct; but to come to the Hiftory, I was embark'd for the Voyage, and the Voyage I went.

I should only add here, that my honest and truly pious Clergy-man left me here; a Ship being ready to go to Lisbon, he ask'd me leave to go thither, being ftill as he obferv'd, bound never to finish any Voyage he began: How happy had it been for me, if I had gone with him!

But