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The Youth who was preferved at the Price of his moft affe&tionate Mother's Life was not fo far gone, yet he lay in a Cabbin-bed as one stretch'd out, with hardly any Life left in him; he had a piece of an old Glove in his Mouth having eaten up the reft of it, however being young and having more Strength than his Mother, the Mate got fomething down his Throat and he began fenfibly to revive, tho' by giving him fome time after but two or three Spoonfuls extraordinary he was very fick and brought it up again.

But the next Care was the poor Maid, the lay all along upon the Deck hard by her Mistress, and juft like one that had fallen down with an Apoplexy and struggled for Life: Her Limbs were diftorted, ore of her Hands was clasp'd round the Frame of a Chair, and she grip'd it so hard that we could not easily make her let go; her other Arm lay over her Head, and her Feet lay both together fet fast against the Frame of the Cabbin Table; in fhort, the lay just like one in the last Agonies of Death, and yet fhe was alive too.

The poor Creature was not only ftarv'd with Hunger, and terrify'd with the Thoughts of Death, but as the Men told us afterwards, was broken-hearted for her Mistress, who she faw dying for two or three Days before, and who the lov'd most tenderly.

We knew not what to do with this poor Girl, for when our Surgeon, who was a Man of very great Knowledge and Experience, had with great Application recover'd her as to Life; he had her upon his Hands as to her Senfes, for fhe was lit

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tle lefs than diftracted for a confiderable time af ter, as fhall appear presently.

. Whoever fhall read these Memorandums must be defir'd to confider, that Vifits at Sea are not like a Journey into the Country, where fometimes People stay a Week or a Fortnight at a Place. Our Bufinefs was to relieve this diftreffed Ship's Crew, -but not to lie by for them; and tho' they were willing to fteer the fame Courfe with us for fome Days, yet we could carry no Sail to keep Pace with a Ship that had no Mafts; however, as their Captain begg'd of us to help him to set up a MainTop-Maft, and a kind of a Top-Mast to his Jury Fore-Maft. We did, as it were lie by him for three or four Days, and then having given him five Barrels of Beef, a Barrel of Pork, two Hogfheads of Bisket, and a Proportion of Peas, Flower, and what other things we could fpare; and taking three Casks of Sugar, fome Rum, and fome Pieces of Eight of them for Satisfaction, we left them, taking on board with us, at their own earnest Request, the Prieft, the Youth, and the Maid, and all their Goods.

The young Lad was about feventeen Years of Age, a pretty, well-bred, modeft, and fenfible Youth, greatly dejected with the Lofs of his Mother, and as it feems had loft his Father but a few Months before at Barbadoes. He begg'd of the Surgeon to fpeak to me to take him out of the Ship, for he faid the cruel Fellows had murther'd his Mother; and indeed fo they had, that is to fay paffively; for they might ha' fpar'd a fmall Suftenance to the poor helplefs Widow, that might have preferv'd her Life, tho' it had been but just to keep her alive. But Hunger knows no Friend,

no Relation, no Juftice, no Right, and therefore is remorfelefs, and capable of no Compaffion.

The Surgeon told him how far we were going, and how it would carry him away from all his Friends, and put him perhaps in as bad Circumftances almoft as those we found him in; that is to fay, ftarving in the World: He faid he mattered not whither he went, if he was but delivered from the terrible Crew he was among: That the Captain (by which he meant me, for he could know nothing of my Nephew) had fav'd his Life, and he was fure wou'd not hurt him; and as for the Maid, he was fure if the came to herself, fhe would be very thankful for it, let us carry them where we would. The Surgeon reprefented the Cafe fo affectionately to me, that I yielded, and we took them both on Board with all their Goods, except eleven Hogheads of Sugar, which could not be removed or come at, and as the Youth had a Bill of Lading for them I made his Commander fign a Writing, obliging himself to go as foon as he came to Bristol to one Mr. Rogers a Merchant there, to whom the Youth faid he was related, and to deliver a Letter which I wrote to him, and all the Goods he had belonging to the deceafed Widow; which I fuppofe was not done, for I could never learn that the Ship came to Briftol, but was, as is most probable, loft at Sea, being in fo difabled a Condition and fo far from any Land, that I am of Opinion, the firft Storm fhe met with afterwards the might founder in the Sea, for fhe was leaky, and had Damage in her Hold when we met with her.

I was now in the Latitude of 19 Deg. 32 Min. and had hitherto had a tolerable Voyage as to

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Weather, tho' at firft the Winds had been contrary, I fhall trouble no body with the little Incidents of Wind, Weather, Currents, &c. on the reft of our Voyage; but fhortning my Story for the fake of what is to follow, fhall obferve that I came to my old Habitation, the Island, on the 10th of April 1695: It was with no fmall Difficulty that I found the Place; for as I came to it, and went from it before, on the South and East Side of the Island, as coming from the Brafils, fo now coming in between the Main and the Island, and having no Chart for the Coaft, nor any LandMark, I did not know it when I faw it, or know whether I faw it or no.

We beat about a great while, and went on Shore on feveral Islands in the Mouth of the great River Oronooque, but none for my Purpofe. Only this I learn'd by my Coafting the Shore, that I was under one great Miftake before, viz. that the Continent which I thought I faw, from the Inland I liv'd in, was really no Continent, but a long Island, or rather a Ridge of Iflands, reaching from one to the other Side of the extended Mouth of that great River, and that the Savages who came to my Island, were not properly those which we call Caribbees, but Iflanders, and other Barbarians of the fame kind, who inhabited fomething nearer to our Side than the reit.

In fhort, I vifited feveral of these Island to no Purpose; fome I found were inhabited, and fome were not. On one of them I found fome Spaniards, and thought they had liv'd there, but speaking with them, found they had a Sloop lay in a fmall Creek hard by, and they came thither to make Salt, and to catch fome Pearl Mufcles if they

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could,

could, but that they belong'd to the Ifle de Trini dad, which lay farther North in the Latitude of 10 and 11 Degrees.

But at last Coasting from one Ifland to another, fometimes with the Ship, fometimes with the French Mens Shallop, which we had found a convenient Boat, and therefore kept her with their very good Will; at length I came fair on the South Side of my Island, and I prefently knew the very Countenance of the Place; fo I brought the Ship fafe to an Anchor, broadfide with the little Creek where was my old Habitation.

As foon as I faw the Place, I call'd for Friday, and ask'd him if he knew where he was? He look'd about a little, and prefently clapping his Hands, cry'd, O yes, O there, O yes, O there, pointing to our old Habitation, and fell a dancing and capering like a mad Fellow, and I had much ado to keep him from jumping into the Sea, to fwim afhore to the Place.

Well, Friday, fays I, do you think we fhall find any Body here or no? And what do you think, fhall we fee your Father? The Fellow stood mute as a Stock a good while, but when I nam'd his Father, the poor affectionate Creature look'd dẹjected, and I could fee the Tears run down his Face very plentifully. What is the Matter, Friday, fays I? Are you troubled because you may fee your Father? No, no, fays he, fhaking his Head, no fee him more, no ever more fee again; why fo, faid I Fiday, how do you know that? Ono, no, fays Friday, he long ago die, long ago; he much old Man. Well, well, fays 1, Friday, you don't know; but fhall we fee any one

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