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I cannot help committing this to Writing, as perhaps it may be useful to thofe into whofe Hands it may fall, for the guiding themselves in all the Extravagancies of their Paffions, for if an Excess of Joy can carry Men out to fuch a Length beyond the Reach of their Reason, what will not the Extravagancies of Anger, Rage, and a provok'd Mind carry us to? and indeed here I faw Reafon for keeping an exceeding Watch over our Paffions of every Kind, as well thofe of Joy and Satisfaction, as thofe of Sorrow and Anger.

We were fomething difordered by thefe Extravagancies among our new Gucfts for the first Day, but when they had been retir'd, Lodgings provided for them as well as our Ship would allow, and they had flept heartily, as most of them did, they were quite another fort of People the next Day,

Nothing of good Manners or civil Acknowledgments for the Kindnefs fhewn them was wanting; the French, 'tis known, are naturally apt enough to exceed that way. The Captain and one of the Priests came to me the next Day, and defiring to fpeak with me and my Nephew, the Commander began to confult with us what should be done with them, and firft they told us, that as we had faved their Lives, fo all we had was little enough for a Return to us for that Kindnefs received. The Captain faid, they had faved fome Money and fome Things of Value in their Boats, catch'd haftily up out of the Flames, and if we would accept it they were ordered to make an Offer of it all to us; they only defired to be fet on Shore fome

where

where in our way, where if poffible they might get Paffage to France.

My Nephew was for accepting their Money at firft Word, and to confider what to do with them afterwards; but I over-rul'd him in that part, for I knew what it was to be fet on Shore in a ftrange Country; and if the Portugal Captain that took me up at Sea had ferv'd me fo, and took all I had for my Deliverance, I must have ftarv'd, or have been as much a Slave at the Brafils as I had been in Barbary; the meer being fold to a Mahometan excepted; and perhaps a Portuguefe is not much a better Master than a Turk, if not in fome Cases a much worse.

I therefore told the French Captain that we had taken them up in their Diftrefs, it was true; but that it was our Duty to do fo as we were FellowCreatures, and as we would defire to be fo deliver'd if we were in the like or any other Extremity; that we had done nothing for them but what we believed they would have done for us, if we had been in their Cafe, and they in ours; but that we took them up to fave them, not to plunder them; and it would be a moft barbarous thing to take that little from them which they had faved out of the Fire, and then fet them on Shore and leave them; that this would be firft to fave them from Death, and then kill them our felves; fave them from drowning, and abandon them to ftarving; and therefore I would not let the least thing be taken from them: As to fetting them on Shore, I told them indeed that was an exceeding Difficulty to us, for that the Ship was bound to the Eaft-Indies, and tho' we were driven out of our Course to the Weftward a very great way, and perhaps was di

reced

rected by Heaven on purpofe for their Deliverance, yet it was impoffible for us wilfully to change our Voyage on this particular Account, nor could my Nephew the Captain answer it to the Fraighters, with whom he was under Charter-Party to purfue his Voyage by the way of Brafils, and all I knew we could do for them, was to put our felves in the way of meeting with other Ships homeward bound from the Weft-Indies, and get them Paflage if poffible to England or France.

The first part of the Propofal was fo generous and kind they could not but be very thankful for it, but they were in a very great Confternation, cfpecially the Paffengers, at the Notion of being carried away to the Eaft Indies, and they then entreated me, that feeing I was driven fo far to the Weftward before I met with them, I wou'd at least keep on the fame Course to the Banks of Newfound Land, where it was probable I might meet with fome Ship or Sloop that they might hire to carry them back to Canada from whence they

came.

I thought this was but a reasonable Request on their Part, and therefore I inclined to agree to it, for indeed I confider'd, that to carry this whole Company to the Eaft-Indies, would not only be an intollerable Severity upon the poor People, but would be ruining our whole Voyage by devouring all our Provifions; fo I thought it no Breach of Charter-Party, but what an unforeseen Accident made abfolutely neceflary to us, and in which no one could fay we were to blame, for the Laws of God and Nature would have forbid that we fhould refufe to take up two Boats full of People in fuch a Diftrefs'd Condition, and the nature of

the

the Thing as well refpe&ting our felves as the poor People, oblig'd us to fet them on Shore fome where or other for their Deliverance; fo I confented that we would carry them to New-found Land if Wind and Weather would permit, and if not, that I would carry them to Martinico in the Weft-Indies.

The Wind continued fresh Eafterly, but the Weather pretty good, and as the Winds had continued in the Points between N. E. and S. E. a long time, we miffed feveral Opportunities of fending them to France; for we met several Ships 'bound to Europe, whereof two were French from St. Chriftopher's, but they had been fo long beating up against the Wind, that they durft take in no Paffengers for fear of wanting Provifions for the Voyage, as well for themselves as for those they fhould take in; fo we were obliged to go on. It was about a Weck after this that we made the Banks of New-found Land, where to fhorten my Story, we put all our French People on Board a Bark, which they hir'd at Sea there, to put them on Shore, and afterwards to carry them to France if they could get Provifion to victual themfelves with. When, I fay, all the French went on Shore, I fhould remember that the young Prieft I spoke of, hearing we were bound to the East-Indies, defired to go the Voyage with us, and to be fet on Shore on the Coast of Coromandel, which I readily agreed to, for I wonderfully lik'd the Man, and had very good Reafon, as will appear afterwards; alfo four of the Seamen entered themselves on our Ship, and proved very useful Fellows.

From hence we directed our Course for the WeftIndies, fteering away S. and S. by E. for about twenty

twenty Days together, fometimes little or no Wind at all, when we met with another Subject for our Humanity to work upon, almost as deplorable as that before.

It was in the Latitude of 27 Degrees 5 Minutes North, and the 19th Day of March 1694-5, when we 'fpy'd a Sail, our Courfe S. E. and by S. we foon perceiv'd it was a large Veffel, and that fhe bore up to us, but could not at first know what to make of her, till after coming a little nearer, we found the had loft her Main-top-maft, Foremaft and Boltsprit, and prefently fhe fired a Gun as a fignal of Diftrefs; the Weather was pretty good, Wind at N. N. W. a fresh Gale, and we foon came to speak with her.

We found her a Ship of Bristol, bound home from Barbadoes, but had been blown out of the Road at Barbadoes a few Days before she was ready to fail, by a terrible Hurricane, while the Captain and Chief Mate were both gone on Shore, fo that befide the Terror of the Storm they were but in an indifferent Cafe for good Artists to bring the Ship home: They had been already nine Weeks at Sea and had met with another terrible Storm after the Hurricane was over, which had blown them quite out of their Knowledge to the Weftward, and in which they loft their Mafts, as above; they told us they expected to have seen the Bahama Inlands, but were then driven away again to the South Eaft by a ftrong Gale of Wind at N. N. W. the fame that blew now, and having no Sails to work the Ship with but a main Courfe, and a kind of fquare Sail upon a Jury Fore-maft, which they had fet up, they could not lye near the

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