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G^^^i *? fes

ACCOUNI OF THE
LIFE AND DEALINGS OF GOD

SILAS/TOLB, M 1
Late preache^of the Gospel s
whereinJs set forth
The wonderful Display of DivinglProvidenciB towards him when at Sea j
HIS \rARIOUS JKIFFERINGS ABROAD :
TOOE^Jft WITH MANY
Instances of tlie Sovereign Grace imG^oil, in the 'Conversion of several MalefaC'
tors under Sentence qf Death, zaim irere gthifl^ Iftessett tender his Ministry.
 ¦—  :  '  -^  ^7T!#'  '¦  r-
WRIJTTEN BY HIMSELF.

They that go down to the Sea in Ships, that do Business in great 'Waters ;
these see the 'Works'Of'the Lord, andhis Wonders inthe Deep. Psal.
cvii. 23, 24.
And they thatbe wiae shall shine as tho Brightness of the Firmament ; and
, they that turn many to Righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever. Daib-
¦ xii. 3, :

PRINTED BY Vf. COWDROY, JUN,
27, BURY-STBEET. 1806.

y^7 6

?'

^imce.

¦^J^LTHOUGH it is nearly seven years since the Author of this lit.
tic work left this vale of tears, yet, when we peruse its contents,
it may with some propriety be said, that although he be dead he
yet speaketh. His experaence (with respect to trials and deliver-
atices) was, in many inmmces, very singular, as will appear in
the following pages. Asm must be allowed, that great advan
tages have been daivedffcm reading, and relating the dealings of
God with his people (both in a way of providence and grace) I
think our deceased friend's testimony should not be withheld frotn
the Christian Reader. (Tlie practice, in different ages of Hie
Church, has been io rec\te the experience of the people of God.
Hence we read, that Daind, who had experienced many deliver
ances from his enemies (boih in a temporal and spiritual manner J
cries out, " O ! come hither, all ye that fear the Lord, and I will
tell you what he hath done for my soul." We read also in the pro
phet Malachi, that " They who feared the Lord, spoke oftentimes
one to another ; Und a book of remembrance was written." The
apostle Paul also observes, that we should " Exhort and encourage
one another the more, as we see the day approaching." This muck
isobserved by way of apology for the publication of Mr. Told's
Life. Suffice it then only to say, ihe Author was one of ihe Rev.
Mr. Wesley's preachers, and that his outward condtict corresponded
with his profession. Hewas (fora number of years) eminent in
visiting the unhappy prisoners both in Newgate and other gaols,
where his ministry was made very useful. I ivas acquainted with
Mr. Told some years before his death, and believe he ivas a tnan of
integrity ; therefore can with greater propriety recommend thefoi-
loiuing work to the candid and Christian Reader.
SAMUEL SMITH,
¦July 27, 178S

AN ACCOJJNT
of 1
Life and Deafings qf God

-frith

SILA^TOLD, &c.

-»®«—

¦8- WAS born at the Lime-kilns, near the Hot-wells, in the
city of Bristol, on the 3d day of April, 1711, My parents
both on rny father and ntother's side, were very creditable peo
ple. My grand-father Told, who was an eminent physician at
London, lived in Bunfiill-row, and was possessed of a very
plentiful estate in houses ; my grand-mother also enjoyed a very
considerable fortune, atTorrington, in the west of England,
worth about 6001, per .annum; but having a great dislike to
London, and her husband's business ^fixing him there, caused
so far a separation between them, that they and their posterity
experienced very fatal consequences therefrom, as he took to
him a house-keeper, who, as I was informed by my mother,
when she found a fair opportunity, gave him what proved hiss
end, and secured all his writings, and the title-deeds of the
estate, together with all the ready money, plate, jewels, .&c.
the family being absent from Londoiv ! and although she could
not hold the estate, &c, yet, for a great number of years, aud
even to this day, several people have lived rent free, for want
of proper title-deeds to empower the heir to receive the same;
ISO that when I first came to London, after faithfully serving my
time to Capt, Moses Lilly, of Bristol, to the seas, they had
commenced the building of a few houses in the front of Bun-
hiU-row, on the left-hand side going up out of Chisvvell-street ;
but hearing that one of Dr. Told's grand-children was come to

j8
London, they proceeded no farther than covering them in, and
in that condition thej' remainjed for the space of twenty years
before they were fini.shed, fiie tenants, all offhena, still Jiving
rent free. I was frequentlyt|idvised to make a claim to the es
tate ; but for want of money tb go to law, together with the
loss of the writings, I utterly d^lined it ; so that I had given
up all hopes of ever being profifbd thereby : and as to my
grand-mother Told's estate in the weSf, this never came with
in my knowledge.
I now come to the account of my father, who was a physi
cian at Bristol, and in great esteem throughout that city ; but
being a great schemer, it proved his ruin, and the impoverish
ing of all his family, particularly in ope instance, of building
a wet dock at the Lime-kilns, where I j.was born ; he laid out
thirty-three hundred pounds, and lost every penny by one
Evans, for whom my father undertook the business, who failed,
and went ofi" : this laid my father under the necessity of going
out doctor of a Guinea-man, in the course of which voyage he
died, and was buried at Kingston in Jamaica, leaving only six
hundred pounds for the maintenance and education of fivecBl-
dren. I would here observe, that during this voyage I was in
formed he cleared the sum of eight hundred pounds which
Capt, Celliwood wronged our family of.
My mother was born at Topsham, near Exeter, and was
daughter to Capt. Thomas Suctabilch, otherwise Sucksbury,
who commanded a ship upwards of forty years. Something
remarkable is related of my mother's pedigree, viz. In tracing
them up to the farthest knowledge, it has begn represented,
that in the time of the Kings of the West Angles, his Majesty
being out on a certain day hunting with his Nobles, discovered
a male child in the wood, with no one near it but a large bitch,
the maid having left the child with the bstch, while she went a
nutting in the woods. The King, who found th^ child sucking

9
the bitch, carried it home, named it Suckabitch, and brought
him up, giving him a large estate round»the spot where he was
found, which.the succeeding generations have severally enjoy-
ed to this day, but altered the name Jo that of Sucksbury, "
My uncle {Thomas Sucksbury) married the daughter of— — .
Lloyd, Esq ; of St, James's Bank, with above one hundred
thousand pounds fortune, but she being deformed, he went to
sea again, being captain of a very large ship for many years
It was supposed the ship foundered in the Atlantic, as she was
never heard of.
My brother Joseph, and sister Dulcy, with myself, were
sent to nurse at King's-wood, near Bristol, where we were taken
the utmost care of by the most tender-hearted woman I ever
met with. At this place we all continued till I arrived at the
age of eight years ; my friends at Bristol, then made interest
for one of us two boys to be admitted into the hospital of Ed
ward Colson, Esq. on St, Augustin's Bank, near the Quay of
Bristol }i^ school, I dare venture to say, that cannot be sur
passed by any throughout Great-Britain for piety and Christian
discipline, having a minister to attend twice a week regularly,
for the instruction of one hundred boys in their duty towards
God and man. Here, I think, it may not be improper to give
an exact and impartial account of the character and piety of so
worthy a benefactor ; and also of the wisdom and goodness of
Almighty God in raising up so steady and useful a man to pos
terity, I shall trace this man of God from his birth ir' he was
the son of Edward Colson, a journeyman soap-boiler, whose
'wages did not exceed ten shillings per week, and had ten chil
dren then living, of whom Edward was the eldest, who, when
he had arrived to an age fit to be put out an apprentice, his fa
ther bound him to a Virginia captain, about the time that thes! .
colonists were transported to North-America, in order to inha
bit those parts, This proved his first rise, as his behaviour^
1 ^

10
ar.flh umble readiness fd- obey his superiors, moved many of
the merchants, ii ho first settled there, to make Edward, the
cabin-boy, many presents, insomuch that, before his ship de
parted from America for England, he had acquired the sum of
fifty pounds ; and being Of an exceeding liberal disposition,
on his asiTival at Bristol, he hastened with the fifty-pounds, and
dispensed every farthing thereof to tbe prisoners at Newgate ;
and shortly after sailed again to Virginia, where he, through
the kind providence of God, gathered, among his former
friends, twice the money of the preceding voyage, and dis
posed of the whole after the same manner. Here I must dis
continue the relation of his proceedings, knowing no more of
them, until he arrived at the age of forty years, when, as I have
beeninforraed, hebecame a very eminent East-India merchant,
prior to the incorporation of the East-India company, and had
forty sail of ships of his own, with immense riches flowing in
Tipon him ; yet, notwithstanding, he remained steady and uni
form in his charitable disposition, distributing many thousand
pounds to various charities in andabout London, as also private
gifts to many parts of the kingdom ; and in the year 1708 he
instituted a yeiy magnificent school on St. Augustin's Bank,
Bristol, which, as I have been informed cost him eleven thou
sand pounds in the building, and endowed the same with be
tween seventeen and eighteen hundred pounds per annum, free
hold for ever; likewise ten pounds for apprenticing every boy,
and, for twelve years after his death, ten pounds to put them
into business : he likewise maintained religious oeconomy in
the school, such as prayersthree times adaj' performed by one
of the superior boys. He also caused to be erected a very
grand free stone alms-house, with an elegant chapel situated in
the front thereof, on St. Michael's-hill, Bristol, for twenty-four
old- men, ¦with a handsome allowance for every individual and
a clergyman to attend thern weekly. He also founded a lafe
free school in Temple-street, Bristol, which was set apart for
the edacation and. .clothing of forty boys ; and likewise pro-

11
vlded for ten old men in the city alms-house ; nor do I recol
lect that I ever was in any* church throughout the city, but
that a memorandum of his donations to several useful charities
is recorded of him. I have likewise been informed of his
building, at his own expence, the whole church and town of
All Saints, near the Tolsey, Bristol, together with those many
public charities now extant in. that city. It has been frequent
ly reported, that his private charities far exceeded those in pub
lic. I remember to have heard, in my youthful days, that one
of his ships, trading to the East-Indies, had been missing for
upwards of thfee years, and was included in the number of
those that were destroyed at sea ; but at length she arrived,
richly laden. His principal clerk brought him the report of
her arrival, and of the riches on board ; to which he gave an
swer, that as she was totally given up for lost, he would by no
means claim any right to her ; therefore ordered the ship and
her merchandizes to be sold, and the produce thereof to be
applied towards the relief of the needy, which directions
were immediately carried into execution.
Another singular instance of his tender consciousness for
charity was, at the age of forty, when he entertained some
thoughts of changing his condition, he paid his addresses to a
lady; but being very timorou.s, lest he should be hindered in
his pious and charitable designs, he was determined to make a
Christian trial of her temper and disposition, and therefore one
morning filled his pockets full of gold and silver, in order that
if any object presented itself in the course of their tour over
London-bridge, he might satisfy his intentions. While they
were walking near St, Agnes church, a woman in extreme mi
sery, with twins in her lap, sat begging ; and, as he and Lis
intended lady were arm in arm, he beheld the wretched object,
put his hand in ihis pocket, aad took out a handful of gold and
silver, casting it into the poor woman's lap. The lady, being
greatly alarmed at such profuse generosity^ coloyred prodigi-
B 2 i

12
oiisly ; so that, when they were gone a little farther toward*
the Bridge foot, she turned to him, and said. Sir ! do you
know what you did a few minutes ago ; Madam, replied Mr.
Colson, I never let my right-hand know what my left-htnd
doth : he then took his leave of her, and for this reason never
married to the day of his death, although he lived to the age
of eighty-three, r- ."• '
In the year 1721 he died at Mortlake, up the river Thames,
havingleft many considerable legacies to charitable uses. Pro
videntially I was in the school at the time of bis death, when
orders were given for all the children to learn by heart the 90th
Psalm, to sing before the corpse as it entered the city, which
was at Lawford's Gate, where we joined the hearse, and sung
before it the space of five hours, amidst a most numerous and
crouded audience : it is impossible to describe in what manner
the houses and streets were lined with all ranks of people ;
and although the rain descended in torrents, none paid any re
gard thereto ; but the yvhole multitude seemed eagerly deter
mined to see the last of so eminent a man ! We came at last tQ
All Saints church, where he was interred under the communi-
pn-table. The day of his birth, and also of his death, are
commemorated to this day throughout the city of Bristol. His
many donations to the poor are, by his executors, faithfully upr
held still. Here I conclude the perpetuative memory of so
good a man, which still regains invaluable to me !
I now proceed to give an historical account of my own life
from my infancy, as far as it may be brought to my rememb
rance, which is from three years of age. I was then in petti
coats, and, for a considerably length of tipae, my sister Dulcy-
tella and self wandered into the woods and fields, fixing our
selves under the hedges, conversing about God and happiness;
go that at times I have been transported in such a measure with

heavenly bliss, that whether in the' body or out of tlje body, 1
could not tell ; this ha'ppiness attended me for-a few%ears,
• One remarkable circumstance I' must obserte : when my sis
ter and self were very young, we wandered out into King's-
wood, and lost ourselves in the woods, and were in the utmost
consternation, lest we should be devoured by wild beasts ; but
quickly the kind providence of God permitted a large dog to
come behind us; although no house was within a mile from the
wood, yet the dog drove us clear out of the wood into our
knowledge; what was remarkable, the dog never barked at us!
And when in our knowledge, we looked around us to behold
the dog, but he was not to be seen. Being heedless, and un
apprehensive of any further danger, we wandered again into
the woods, «nd were a second time bewildered, and in greater
perplexity than before : when on a sudden, looking around us,
we beheld the same dogmaking towards us, until he came direct
ly up to us ; and we being much terrified ran from him, until
we got a oecond time into our knowledge ; nor did the dog
leave us, till we were driven by him where we could not pos
sibly run into any more labyrinths. I then turned about to
look for the dog, but saw no more of him, although we were
upon an open common ; this was the Lord's doing, and it was
marvellous in our eyes.
When I arrived at the age of between seven and eight years
I was put into Mr. Colson's hosfliital, in the year 1719, and in
the year 1725 was bound an apprenticejo the seas to Capt.
Moses Lilly, in the ship Prince of Wales, and sailed from Bris
tol for Cork and Jamaica in the month of July, 1725,
Here I may date my first sufferings : being wonderfully
wrought on by the Spirit of God, a»d totally'ignorant (jf the
maxims of the world, having been confined for six years in
the hospital, free from all intercourse with mankind, this rea-

14
dered the new sea life very disagreeable to me : also my unac-
qnaintance with the various mysteries on ship board, made me
very untoward in the duty I was engaged in. The first recep
tion I met with on board, when the ship lay in King's-road, was
to this effect : the chief mate called for the cabin-boy, but he
not being on board, he sent me to the cook to get him a plate of
victuals, which I really imagined was meant for myself, and
accordingly got a plateful), carried it down into the cabin, and,
having akeen appetite, made a very comfortable dinner. When
the chief mate had done his business, he sent for me, in order
to bring his victuals : I told him, that I understood it was for
myself, and that I had eat it up ; upon which he knocked me
down, and began cursing and damning me at a horrible rate.
This language I was never acquainted with, therefore thought
I .should have broke my heart with grief; and having no friend,
to whom I could apply for redress, I was forced to suffer all
the repeated acts of barbarity that might follow, which conti
nued for eleven years.
The first of those afflictions was that of sea sickness, which held
me till our arrival at Jamaica. After lying at Kingston many
months (not having any freight for England) the ship made a
voyage down to the bay of Campeachy, in the Spanish West-
Indies, at which place she lay at anchor about 12 miles from
the land, where, with her bottom beating the ground every
swell of th& sea, she was exceedingly damaged. When we
had completed our cargo we sailed back for Jamaica, very short
of all species of provision, expecting to have a short passage ;
bnt to our mortification, i1> was a passage of fourteen weeks ;
and, after being out three weeks, we were put to short allow
ance, both of bread atid water ; one biscuit and two thirds of
a pint of water per day. This was what I never before expe
rienced, and therefore it was the more grievous to be sustain
ed ; and had it not been for a heaVy shower of rain, off" the
island of Cuba, vve must have perished for want. Here we

1.5

stopped up all the scuppers, and saved about six casks of wa
ter, by the use of the swabs which we dried the decks with
and which we rung into the casks ; and although the water
was very bitter, yet, providentially, our lives were preserved
thereby ; for, we were reduced to half a pint of water a day,
and that full of mud and maggots : yet were we three days be
fore we arrived at Blue-fields, the west end of Jamaica, with
out a single pint of water on board, and had been eleven weeks
destitute of biscuit, pease or flour; so that we had neither
food to eat, nor water to drink.
When we came to an anchor in Blue-fields-bay we hoisted
out the long-boat, slowed her full of casks, and dispatched Jier
for the fresh water, when one of our men fell flat upon his bel
ly, and drank so immoderately, that a few hours after he came
on board he expired ; and the next morning we sewed him up
in a hammock and threw him overboard, when a large shark
descended after him, and, we supposed, swallowed the whole
body. As we were riding at anchor in Kingston harbour, the
capital of Jamaica, waiting for a freight to England, we at
length got one hundred and five hogsheads of sugar on board ;
arid on a Friday a very great noise was heard in the atmosphere,
similar to that of splitting wood, and the element was very
much disturbed ; our chief mate wa,5 of opinion, that we should
be visited by a hurricane that evening, which began about eight
o'clock the same night, and held its vehemency, without inter
mission, till six o'clock the following evening, . All language
fails me to set forth the violence of this tempest, as nothing
could stand before it ! There were in the harbour of King.ston
seventy-six sail of ships, many of which were very large ; but
all riding with three anchors a head, and notwithstanding ours
was a new ship, with three new cables and anchors, yet about
four o'clock in the morning, we parted all three cables at once,
and turning broadside to the wind, overset, and sunk as far as
thegrpund would permit, and in that condition we were driven.

10
with our gunnel to the bottom, down lo the extremity of the
harbour, which is about twelve miles. Though we were the
first ship that drove from her anchors, yet all our masts stood ;
but this was not the situation of any vessel beside, for the
whole fleet lost all their masts, yards and bowsprit, and not
one vessel, large or small, but was driven, with astonishing ra
pidity, high and dry on the land. The same hurricane also
drove a large snow, of two hundred and twenty tons, above
half a mile into the country, which broke and fore the cocoa-
nut trees, some of them up by the roots ; likewise a very heavy
brigantine was cast upon the wharfs in the town, and a large
sloop, of about one hundred tons, lay with her keel across the
brig's deck. In short, that part of the town nearest the water
side was sufficiently barricaded with the wrecks of ships and
vessels ; and as there were no tides of ebb and flood, conse
quently there was no possibility of getting them off"; nor were
there any, save one fine stately ship, which rode out that tem
pest ; so that seventy-five sail of ships of war and merchant
men Were inevitably destroyed in the tremendous overthrow.
One remarkable instance I would take notice of, viz, the ship
Nicholson, Capt, Smiler, of London, quite a new and beauti
ful vessel, rode her bows out, sunk at her anchors, and all on
board perished, except the captain's son and four more, who
were saved by getting into a small boat, called the Moses, that
carried ho more than one hogshead of sugar at a turn.
All the ships at Port-Royal shared the same fate with those
at Kingston, except the Winchelsea man of war, and Kirking-
ton, of Bristol, Capt. Pills, both of which cut away their
masts, and were upon the brink of foundering even at the close
of the hurricane which was on Saturday evening, about six
o'clock. Here I would briefly observe, how suddenly the
stormxeased; it varied from east to west, and was for a few
hours calm ; after which it chopped round to its former point,
and blowing with a vehemence impossible to be expressed^

17
lasted nearly an hour, and wassucceededbyasecond calm. Two
or three days after the reducement of these parts of the island,
viz, Kingston and Port.Royal, and likewise of the dreadful
consequences of the storm upon the fleet of ships ; the drown
ed seamen were drove upon the shore for miles down the har
bour, and were left to be devoured by the crows and other wild
fowl. Immediately after the hurricane followed a pestilential sick
ness, which swept away thousands of the natives : every morn
ing I have observed between thirty and forty corpses to be car
ried past my window : and, being very near death myself, I
expected every day to approach with the messenger of my dis
solution. From this illness I contracted an habitual fever and
ague, which continued eleven months, so that I was wasted to
a mere shadow, nor had I one person under heaven to take care
of me, except a negro, who brought me every day a dose of
jesuit's-bark to the warehouse, where I was laid in a hammock.
At length my master gave me up, and I wandered up and down
the town, almost parched with the insuff'erable blaze of .the
sun, till I was resolved to lay me down and die as I had neither
money nor friend. Accordingly I fixed upon a dunghill on the
east end of the town of Kingston, and being in so weak a con
dition, I pondered much upon Job's case, and considered mine
similar to that of his. However I was fully resigned to death,
nor had I the slightest expectations of relief from any quarter;
yet the kind providence of God was over me, and raised me up
a friend in an entire stranger. A Londori captain coming by,
was struck with the sordid object, came up to me, and, in a very
compassionate manner, asked me if I was sensible of any friend
upon the island of whom I could obtain relief., He likewise
asked me to whom I belonged, I answered to Captain Moses
Lilly, and had been cast away in the late hurrican,©. - Thiscap-
tain appeared to have some knowledge of my master, and
cursing him for a barbarous villain, told me he would compel

18
him to take proper care of me. In about a quarter of an
hour after this my roaster arrived (whom I had not seen before
for six weeks) and took me to a public-house, kept by a Mrs.
Hutchinson, and there ordered me to be taken proper care of;
this cost my master about forty shillings per week ; however,
he soon quitted the island, and directed his course for England,
leaving me behind at his sick quarters ; and if it should please
God to permit my recovery, I was Commanded to take my pas
sage for England in the Montserratt, Captain David Jones, a
very fatherly tender-hearted man : this was the first alleviation
of my misery. Now the captain sent his son on shore, in order
to receive me on board ; when I came along-side. Captain
Jones, standing on the ship's gunnel, addressed me after a
very humane and compassionate manner, with expressions .to
the following effect : " Come, poor child, into the cabin, and
you shall want nothing the ship aflTords ; go, and my son shall
prepare for you, in the first place, a bason of good egg flipv
and any thing else thsat may be conducive to your relief",,, but
I being still very bad with my fever and ague, could neithereat
nor drink.
Captain Jones then began to explore his surgery-box, in or
der to touch ray case with some proper medicines, if any were
on board ; but to his disappointment, they were all expended. ,
Notwithstanding this, he sent for the boatswain into the cabin,
and asked him, if he knew of any remedy for the intermitting
fever. He told the captain that he could not only produce a
remedy, but that if I lived fifty years longer in the world, I
should not be subject to it thereafter : this was in the year
1727, which is now forty-eight years out of the fifty, and I do
not remember to have experienced one fit of it since ; and, al
though I had been afflicted with the ague eleven months, the
boatswain cured me in less than five hours. Here I began im
mediately to^recovermy strength, and became more lively and
active than"^er I was in my life. Upon our sailing for Bristol,

19
Capt, Jones being of a free, affable temper, in order to please
the sihp's company, steered his course to make the island of
Bermudas, merely out of curiosity, as it appears to be« very
distantly situated from the West-Indian islands. Upon our ar
rival thereat, we scudded along shore from one end of the
island to the other ; nor did I perceive either hill or mountain
upon the whole island, it being a fine level grassy land. After
we lost sight of this island we made the best of our passage
for England ; but in the prosecution thereof something rather
'Supernatural happened, and I suppose may not be credited by
many of my readers. Be that as it may, my intentions are not
to advance beyond the bounds of truth in relating the following
circumstance, or in any other throughout this tract... .In the
space of five weeks, after our departure from Bermudas, the
captain ordered the man to keep a sharp look out at the fore-
top-mast-head, as by our journal and calculation of the log
book we expected to be no great distance from Cape Clear, the
west end of Ireland. Accordingly, one morning about seven
o'clock, the centinel at the mast-head threvvjjut the signal for
land, about two points on the weather-bow ; but as at that
time the ship was running with the wind on the starboard-beam,
the captain deemed it most advisesble to brace all sharp up,
and lie as near the wind as we possibly could. The land soon
became conspicuous to the naked eye from the deck, and we
altered our course as the land edged round, but would not at
tempt to make any nearer approach towards it, than a full
league. I frequently had my eye fixed upon the land, as had
also the captain and all the ship's company, while we were at
work clearing the decks, bending the cables, and making, our
selves ready in all respects to adapt the ship for anchorage ; or
to be prepared for running into an harbour, in case of any strait
or emergency. I do not remember ever to have seen any place
app'arently more fertile, or belter cultivated ; the fields seem
ing to be covered with verdure, and very beautiful ; and as the
swrf of the sea almost convinced us that it was playing on the
c2

20
shore we were beyond all doubt for the space of ten hours
that the ship had made a convenient land-fall. Our captain
therefore gave the man who first discovered it ten gallons of
rum and twenty pounds of sugar ; but about six o'clock in the
evening, as we were washing the deck.s, and the sun was shin
ing clear from the west-ward, in less than a minute, we lost all
sight of the land, and nothing but the horizon, insterspersed
with a few pale clouds, was perceptible from the deck : this
filled the ship'scorapany with the utmost astonishment and con
fusion ; nor did we make the coast of Ireland for several days
after. Our captain and ships company concluded that it was
Old Brazille, which navigators affirm to have been destroyed
by an earthquake between five and six hundred years ago. At
length we arrived at Bristol, and I was with my master, Capt.
Moses Lilly, a few weeks, when he consigned me over to a
Timothy Tucker, commander ofthe Royal George, bound for
Guinea and the West-Indies ; a greater villain, I firmly be
lieve, ntjver existed, although at home he assumed the charac
ter and temper of a saint.
The first demonstration of his notorious conduct w£is given
to the ship's company, in the enforcement of a white woman
out of her native country, and selling her to the Black Prince
of Bonny, on the African coast. The next proof of his vil
lainy was the vile and blasphemous language wherewith he
perpetually governed the seamen. Indeed, another exemplifi
cation of his horrid conduct was particularly noticed one Sun
day morning ; as I went down tothe gun-room, in order to pro
cure necessary provisions for the ship's company, the captain
happened to find me at the bread cask, and declared that I was
taking from thence considerably more than would be used ;
therefore, he immediately went to the cabin, and brought out
with him his large horse-whip, and exercised itabout my body
in so unmerciful a manner, that, not only the cloaths on my
back were cut to pieces, btit every sailor on board declared

21
they could jsee my bones, and that very visibly ; yet this act of
barbarism did not give him sufficient satisfaction, for he threw
me all along the deck, and jumped many times upon the pit of
my stomach, in order to endanger my life ; and had not the
people laid hold of my two legs, and thrown me under the
windlass (after the manner they threw dead cats or dogs) he
would have ended his despotic cruelty in murder. Repeated
instances of this behaviour were committed by Capt.*» Tucker to
the principal part ofhis seamen in the course of the voyage to
Bonny. One day I accompanied the king Arigo on shore for
the benefit of my health (as the savage had almost put an end
to my life) and continued there for the space of six weeks, and
slept with the king's son, prihceArigo, during thesame. At this
place the black king had six hundred concubines, thirty of whom
dwelt in bis house, and an elderly woman presided over the
rest. One morning in particular I was suddenly seized with a
racking pain in my head ; I acquainted the queen, in Moorish,
with the cause of my indisposition ; she informed his black ma
jesty therewith, who ordered me some " doctor," as they term
it ; and about half a dozen of his ladies took me into a back
yard, and stripped me quite naked, even to my skin, sat me on
a joint-stool, and gave me some yabba (or water) with a cloth
to dry myself. I could not conceive what they purposed to do
with me, as the elder lady invented divers stratagems to get me
into a studious frame of mind ; and when they perceived me
quite fixed, looking at my feet, and I apprehending they were
about to wash them with the hot M'ater, suddenly the female
monitor, or president, snatched the cloth from outof the water,
and threw it directly in my face, which startled me to such a
degree, that it effectually removed the pain in an instant : here
I penetrated their maxims in performing the cure. However,
in about half an hour's time my pain revisited ray head with
greater violence than before ; and I informed the queen thai:
Ishe was Obagona, or that my head was very bad ; she then
told his majesty that my disorder was returned, who straight-

22
way collected his grandymen together, and they carried me to
the summit of a certain hill (the aclivity whereof must be im
possible for strangers to surmount) on the right hand side of
which w*as situated the king's palaver-house, or place erected
for their heathenish worship ; they took with them a dog, and
about one hundred roots, called yams. When I entered tJie
house, I was struck with uncommon amazement at the sight of
forty or fifty black men's heads hung round this palaver-house.
Here I was inexpressibly terrified, as I had received a very
pious and Christian education: so that their diabolical and
gross proceedings created great horror upon my soul. At
length they commenced the usual sacrifices to their gods : dur
ing which, one of the senior characters, who signalized him
self by a scymitar at his side, drew it, took the dog before-
mentioned, laid it on the floor, and at one blow cut off'its head.
He then pulled the tongue out of its mouth, fastened it between
its teeth, and instantly came and touched my forehead, cheeks,
chin, and every joint with the dog's tongue,
The king finding these resources to be ineffectual, proceed
ed further, and directed some of his people to sprinkle the dust
with a quantity of palm wine, and to lead me through a track
less desert down to the ship, conceiving the wine (as there was
no water to be had) might create a path to the sea shore. This
answered, and prince Arigo, the king's son, hailed the ship,
which lay at a small distance from land, and desired them to
send the boat on shore, as Piccaninni Baccanneau was yarre,
yarre, that is, " was very sick :" accordingly it was done, and
when I came on board. Tucker, with a grim countenance, and
horrid expressions, asked me what ailed me, I replied that I
had a strong fever on me. Then, said he, I will soon cure
you ; so he went and brought his horse-whip, and, although I
was extremely sick, he whipt me unmercifully ! Yet, however,
this medicine did not perform the cure, but heightened my fe
ver, so that I was nearly brought to the gates of death ; yet

23
God raised me up again. Upon our arrival at St. Thomay, or
St. Thomas, the European woman which Tucker brought out
from England, died in a shocking manner, was sewed up in a
hammock, and thrown overboard with a bag of ballast at her
feet, in order to sink her; but in the course of a week after
wards the corpse of the woman was observed to float upon the
water; I believe God had suffered this uncommon circumstance
to happen in order to open the eyes of our wicked captain ;
but he had no dread or.remorse in him.
I cannot but give one more instance of the barbarity of this
captain during the voyage, and his gross manner of executing
it (as a more .'bloody and inhuman action surely never was per
petrated by an Englishman, except himself.) This was upon
one of our black slaves, who through a violent sickness was
worn to a mere skeleton, and as he could not eat his allowance,
the savage (Tucker) invented a scheme to compel the slave to
eat, aud laid to his charge that he was sulky : however, the
poor creature could not, nor did he eat. Upon this the captain
called for his black cabin boy, Robin, to bring him his horse
whip : he did f. and Tucker began lashing the poor sick man
till I firmly believe, from his neck to his ancles, there was no
thing to be seen but bloody wounds. The poor creature made
no kind of resistance, nor spoke one word ; this provoked and
highly incensed our blood-thirsty devil ; so that he went still
farther, and told him in Negroish, he would tickeravoo him.
The poor slave answered, " Adomma," which signified, " So
be it," By this time the captain's dinner was ready under the
awning on the quarter-deck ; he left the man in shocking ago
nies, bleeding and groaning on the forecastle ; came to his din
gier like a hog, and eat without fear or shame. After he had
dined, he called for John Lad, and ordered him to get two am
munition pistols well loaded with ball ; then called for Robin,
the cabin-boy, to bring them forward, which when done, he
left his table, and ordered John Lad to follow him, which he

24
accerdin*ly did with one pistol in each band. They both went
forward on the main-deck;, the poor object sat with his back
against the larboard-gunnel of the ship. Then Tucker, with
a malicious and violent grin, pointing one of the pistbis to
him, told him he would kill him. The man replied as before,
"Adomma." Upon this the captain applied the mouth of the
pistol to the middle of his forehead, and fired. The man in
stantly clapped his hands to his head, one behind, and the
other before, and stared the captain in the face, the blood gush
ing from his forehead like the tapping a cask, but he did not
fall. Tucker then turning to John Lad, with a blasphemous
oath said, " This will not kill him ;" and immediately clapped
another to his ear, and fired that also ; nor did he drop even
then ! At last the captain ordered John Lad to fire another
through his heart, which. was done ; he then dropt down dead.
All the men slaves in consequence of this uncommon murder,
rose upon the ship's company, with full purpose to slay us all;
but we nimbly betaking ourselves tothe cannons, pointed them
through a bulk-head that parted the main and quarter-deck ;
which when they perceived, the greater part xif them ran
down between decks, and the remainder jumped overboard,
and were all drowned, save one or two which, with the assist
ance ofthe Jolly boat, we rescued from the violence of the sea.
At length we arrived at Barbadoes when Captain Tucker's no
torious conduct was repressed in some measure, which was vi
sibly perceived by his sending the slaves large quantities of
rum and sugar. Yet on his leaving that island, he renewed
his former cruelties ; but did not exercise them on me with that
degree of severity which he had frequently used in the passage
to Kingston,
In the course of eight weeks we arrived at Bristol, and my
original master (Moses Lilly) received all my wages, but al
lowed me no pocket-money ; and fitted me out very scantily
for the next voyage,— Having no friend or relation in London,

, 25
I was drawn in to perform a second voyage with Tucker (the
bare idea of which almost broke my heart ;) yet he treated me
with less irigour than in the voyage'before.
I have only two circumstances to remark in this voyage; the
first was, when slaved and ready to sail for Bonny, we dropt
down, and came lo anchor a little without the bar, and at about
twelve o'clock at night an universal shriek was heard amongthe
slaves between decks ; and, being asked what ailed them, they,
with wild confusion of mind, said, that Egbo, or the devil was
among them. The next morning, when we came to open the
batches to admit the air into their loathsome dens, and for the
purpose of discharging their tubs, lo our great surprize we
found a number of them laying dead ; upon hoisting up about
eighty of them, we saved thirty-nine, and the rest, having ir
recoverably lost their breath in the suffocation, the captain di
rected us to cast them overboard, which was instantly done,
forty in number.
A second circumstance, which happened on board our ship,
and which I think myself compelable to relate, was the cap
tain's inhuman cruelty to the ship's cook. The poor man had
nothing but green-wood to make his furnace boil, on which
account it was impossible for him loget the food ready in time ;
therefore the captain habituated himself to certain practices,
such as horse-whipping him, and stabbing a knife into his face
so that the poor man's life was grievously burthensome to him ;
indeed he oftentimes hinted to us that he would throw him
self overboard, but we endeavoured to dissuade him from
it ; yet, one morning, about eight o'clock, poor John Bundy
plunged himself into the sea without our knowledge ; so that we
diligently searched the ship for him, but he could not be found, '
We informed the captain of it, who answered with some de
gree of pleasure, that he saw a hat swimming a-stern, which he
supposed was the b—d of a b  'shat; yet, not\yithstandipg

26'
this hearl-breaking usage, we providentially completed the
voyage. After this I was shipped on board the Scipio, Capt. Roach,
who was much of a seaman, a pleasant tempered gentleman,
and exceedingly free ami liberal vvith all his ship's company ;
but behaving puichased a fine black girl for his own use, she
in the end, proved ihe cause of his death. Oneevening, as
we lay at anchor in New Callabar, one Tom Ancora came on
board who talked very good English, and the facetious Capt,
Roach having made a tub of punch on the quarter-deck, had
the fuller and the ship's company dancing with him, but left me
with Tom Ancora to purchase the slaves. When -this was
done, Tom desired me to give hin^a dram, which I did; he
then desired me to let tbe bottle stand : I told him I must first
obtain the captain's leave for so doing. I then went to Capt.
Roach, who gave me leave. Tom, at this indulgence, filled a
rummer with biandy, and clasping the black girl in h's arm>i
(as their custom is) they put both their mouths to the glass, and
jointly drank thereout; but unfortunately for Capt. Roach, he
came into the cabin and detected them in* that attitude while
drinking, which so provoked him, that be ran the end ofhis
cane into Tom's mouth, broke the tumbler, and knocked out
all his front teeth, although he had a fine set. The captain
then ran to his state-room for one of his loaded pistols : but
Torn, apprehensive ofhis danger, jumped overboard. It being
dark, and the tide of ebb flowing strong, Tom's canoe dropt
a-stern, took him up, and carried him on shoYe. Our captain
¦wa."; resolved lo gq on shore to close the breach that was made :
but the ship's company all earnestly strove to convince him of
the imprudence ofgoing to Tom An'-'ora's house, yet, if he
was bent upon going, they intreated him not lo eat or drink
anything. However, Capt. Roach was resolutely deaf to al!
•their kind expostulations^ He dressed himself in a scarlet
plush' suit, put his sword on, and went to Tom's house ; but he

27'
being too subtle -for the captain, carried i( fair and easy, and -;
seemed to be very friendly, but took care lo give the captain a
strong dose of pqison, which in three days time operated so
eff"ectually upon him, that the fingers on both his hands were
drawn into the palm-s, and all his toes were drawn under his
'feet; hence it evidently appeared to all the traders that Tom
Ancora had poisoned Capt. Roach.
Next morning one Dick Ebrew and his son came on board,
and desired to learn what kind of eatables he paitook of, and.
whether it was hot or cold, while at Tom Ancoia's' house;
saying, if he would simply tell them, it was not impossible
for them to expel the poison, aud save his life ; tliese two men
I have often admired tor their meek and loving spirit, exceed
ingly far beyond tens of thousands who call themselves Chris
tians : Hovvever, all their reasoning with the captain, to con
vince him that he was poisoned, proved ineff"ectual, ashe in
sisted upon it he was not ; and again, the others as strenuous
ly insisted upon it that he was. At length the benevolnet fa
ther and his son parted with our captain in a plaintive condi
tion (their eyes expressive of the same) as they had not the op
portunity of preserving his Jif'e ; he being a man greatly
esteemed amongst the natives for his courteous behaviour.
Before I proceed any farther, I would relate the behaviour
of our cooper and a black, whom we named Adam. When
the ship was sailing over the bar, Adam had planned the cut
ting off" the ship's company, which, when perceived by the .
other slaves, they joined the mutiny, and on a sudden ro.'e
and seized the cook, a'nd threw him into the furnace of boiling
rice; they likewise attacked the boatswain, took from him his
knife, and stabbed him in several parts ofthe body, and threw
him overboard. Wells, the cooper, hearing the disturbance,
came up out of Jhe hold, upon which Adam also seized him ;
but the cooper said to him, " Adam, you no savee me, toffue

G8
you mini ?" The English of whicL is, " Don't you know I
often give you water ?" Adam then said to him, " Tossiie
coo/)«y," which is, "Get out of the way." The cooper then
got over the ipiarter-deck bulk-head to the arms chest, took up
a loaded pistol, and shot Adam through the head; the other
slaves, at seeing their champion dead, ran all down between
decks, were closely confined, and admirably well secured, to
prevent asecond massacre; and as the captain lay dangerous
ly ill, and only five men able to work the ship, we, with the
greatest and most elaborate toil, reached the West Indies in
three weeks. — Upon the ship's arrival there, the owner of" her
made the cooper a present of sixty pounds for his services on
board her at the time of those a.ssassi nations. I would again
observe, before I return to Capt. Roach, while we lay at Cal
labar, and just previous to our sailing, the captain sent me on
shore armed, with two men, to what is called, " Enforcement
of trade." Accordingly I went on shore, with a cutlass by
my side, and in my hands two loaded pistols. When I arrived
at the top of the hill, I heard an uncommon shrieking of wo
men, and as I drew near a division of houses I saw what
(through curiosity) I had long wished to see, namely, Egbo, a
native, in a fine silk grass meshed net, so curiously made to
fit him, that nothing but his hands and feet appeared ; the net
ended with a fringe, not unlike ruffles. This man is looked
upon as both God and devil, and all stand in the most profound
awe of him, from the highest to the lowest.
I stood still to see the sequel of his caprice, and observed
that in his hand he had a green bough, wherewith he was
whipping the women's posteriors, as they went naked, and
chasing tiiem out of one house into another ; , and as they were
exceedingly terrified, and considered it a heavy curse when
Egbo struck them, therefore they fled from him, as we would
flee from hell flames. However, when he had satisfied him
self by lashing the poor women, he came out thrQugh the

29
middle of the court, and through the meshes of his net, I was
discovered by him. Presently he advanced tcwards me, with
full purpose to let me also feel the weight of his green bough ;
upon which I instantly drew my hanger, with a resolution to
cut off" his head. He then ran away, and I saw him no more.
Afterwards I was visited by some ofthe chief men in the town,
saying, " Bacareau, you no fear £gio .?" I replied, " Not I,
and that if he had offered to strike me I would have cut his
head off"." At which answer they could not help laughing
heartily, and then retired.
I now return to continue the thread of my account of Capt.
Roach, and the further particulars of my voyage to Jamaica.
My reader may observe, that I left the description of our pro
ceedings upon Old Callabar, at our captain losing the use of
his limbs ; at length he found the poison to work fatally upon
him, so that he was reduced lo an inability of helping himself.
The whole burthen then fell on my hands, nor would he suffer
any other to approach him, I conducted myself in Ihe dis
agreeable function tolerably wejl, till we anchored under St,
Thomas's fort, on a Portuguese island, lying about three hun
dred miles to the westward of the Coast of Africa, where Capt,
Roach directed me to sell the surplus of cargo, after purchas
ing the Guinea slaves, &c. I went accordingly on shore with
the remaining part of the cargo to the Scrivan's house. The
governor's principal clerk bartered with me, for gold-dust,
broken and damaged jewels, rings, &c. which amounted to
the sum of six hundred and thirty pounds: he put it into a
very curiously-made bag, the belter to enable me to keep it se
cure. I took the, aforesaid sum in my right-hand, and as I
was walking deliberately down to the beach swinging it back
wards and forward.?, a little black boy came behind me,
snatched the bag of gold out of my hand, and fled out 6f sight
before 1 could well look round me. Here I was left in the ut
most consternation at so great a loss : btjt in s few minutes to

30
my unspeakable satisfaction. I perceived the Scrivan, from
whom I had received the gold, hastening dowa upon the beach
wilh the bag in his hand, who had met the boy flying up the
town with it. He then gave me the bag and money, and said,
"Sir, be more careful of your properly for the future, especi
ally when you are in a strange country." I was inconceivably
thankful, and am ready lo affirm, that this Portuguese was
actuated wilh stronger principles of honour (especially in this
instance to a stranger) than thousands of my countrymen would
have been to a native of their own country.
By this time our captain grew worse, and one day with his
stool came several targe clots of blood from him, one of which
resembled a fowl's kindney, and the bulk was nearly equal to
that of a pigeon's egg. When I informed the captain thereof,
he lifted up his eyes and hands (I hope his heart too) lo hea
ven, repeating these words, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
From this time he voided lacger clots of blood, so that it was
computed two or three and thirty pounds of blood had been
discharged from him at various limes. He strictly charged the
surgeon to open him when dead, for the satisfaction of his wife.
He soon after made his exit^ and upon his body's dissection,
the surgeon pointed out to us the mystery of the poison, and
its operation ; likewise the cause of his voiding such quantities
of blood, which was in consequence of the veins across the
stomach being cut by the poison, into five hundred pieces. He
was then sewed up in his hammock, vvith a bag of ballast
fastened lo his feet, and committed to the great deep ; and I
firmly believe he had all his sufferings liere.
Various occurrences happened in the ship during the cap
tain's illness, but 1 .shall particularly remark only the circum
stance of one which, I apprehend, was rather of an ominous
nature. Every day, in the course of his weakness in body, he
made repeated efforts to reach the cabin windows, in order to

31
receive the cooling air, and at whatever^ time he looked in
the water, a devil fish was regularly swimming at the stern of
the ship ; he did not appear to be a fish of pr.ey, but his
breadth from fin lo fin was about twenty-eight feet, and in
length about seven or eight, with' a wide tail, and two ivory
horns in front. He followed the ship, to our best calculation,
near eighteen hundred miles ; nor was it remembered by any
of the ship's crew that a fish of that nature had made ils ap
pearance in the course of any of their voyages. Perpetual at.
tempts to destroy or catch this monster wa.s made, by the
fastening a thick rope round .the body of a dead negro, and
easliflg him overboard, but it was ineffectual ; the fish swam
clbse under our stern, got his horns entangled in the rope,'
under-run it lo the end, and then tossed his refused prey seve
ral yards above Ihe water. When the captain died he forsook
the ship, and we saw him no more.
Our chief-mate, James Seabons, on the death of Capt.
Roach, undertook the command of the ship, and after a short
passage of a few days she arrived at Jamaica. While we were
lying at moorings, and tarrying in the harbour for a freight,
the ship was over-run vvith rats, and, by our judgment, there
were thousands on board ; this we deemed an ill omen, which
indeed proved so in a short space of time. When the "ship
sailed from Jamaica, . we had a difficult task to steer through
the windward passage ! but at length we weathered the east
end of Jamaica, and directed a steady course between that
and Hispaniola, and the east end of Cuba. About three o!cIbck
in the afternoon, having a fair wind, by which the ship was
scudding eleven or twelve miles an hour, , we suddenly disco
vered a very large sloop, close in shore, under Cape Nichola.
Out captain, being a young mariner, took her lo be a New
York sloop, bound for JaiAaica. We instantly hauled up our
courses and lay too ; but as she swiftly bore down upon us, our
tiaptaiti shortly found his raistakei as she proved to be a Spanish

32
Guarda la Costa, or, what was more redoubtable, a Spanish
pirate. The enemy's vessel was exceedingly large, full of
guns and men; our captain was then very assiduous, and ex
erted himself lo the utmost, in the means of saving the- ship,
but the men would neither fight nor fly ; so that the captain
was constrained to surrender the ,«hip, cargo and men, to the
di.«posal of the enemy.
When we were boarded, the Spanish sailors began to plun
der us, stripping and taking all away, from the captain down
to the cabin-boy ; nor did they spare the cloaths on our backs,
but in turn of tdenri clothed us wilh their filthy ragged frocks
and drawers. They killed all our poultry, and set us to pick-
inij Ihera ; put on tbe ship's large kettle, and boiled both fowls
and ducks. They likewise look away all our compasses, save
two that had been spoiled vvith the rain on the Coast of Africa.
In short, they took away every useful article, and left us to
tally destitute of carpenter's, cooper's, and boatswain's tools,
Th^y tiien informed us, that, at eight o'clock the next morn
ing, every one of us, without distinction, partiality or reserve,
should be hanged, and that without ceremony, and had also
the barbarity to present to us the place 'and the scaffold erect
ed for that purpose, which was on the platform under Cape
Nichola ; and we had every reason to fear that they would have
carried their designs into execution, had not the providence of
God interposed, by making me the instrument of our deliver
ance therefrom. The happy circumstance was this; I fre
quently kept the ship's accounts, in the captain's absence, and
was ordered to do so when he vras removed on board the Spa
nish pirate. I then secured his gold watch, and deposited the
same amongst the coals in the fore-peak, and brought our ship
to an anchor close under the enemy's stern, where we remain
ed all night.
When the enemy's under captain had discontinued his plun
dering, their principal, or Spanish commander, repaired on

S3
board the capture, and brought our master vvith him, in order
lo spend the evening together ; and in ihe course of their con
versation, the Spanish captain (to my extreme grief and dis
appointment) asked captain Seaborn if he had such a thing as
a watch on board ? He rejilied, " Sir, I. had a gold watch on
board, and a silver one, but I am afraid they are lost in ihe
plunder:" However, the captain wisely asked me if I knevi^
whether it was stolen, or whether I had taken care of il my
self; if I had, he said, it would be the sure means of saving
our lives. J told him that 1 had hid it in the fore-peak amongst
the coals. I was then diiected to go and bring it : but one of
•the Spanish common seamen, knowing for what I was sent thi
ther, followed me down the fore-sruttle,- and when I had
pocketed the watch, he took up a billet of wood, struck me a
blow on my_left ear, which stunned me, and then took the
watch from out of my pocket. Notwithstanding my insensi
bility I coijld take particular notice of the ftllov*', that if I
survived the blow-he might be apprehended. In about twenty
minutes I came to myself, went and informed our captain of
vvhal had happened, who abked me if I knew the man again ?
I told him he was leaning with his left-arm on the ship's gun
nel : He then informed the Spanish captain of it, who went
with me to the man, and demanded the watch. The dastardly
fellow went on his knees, and surrendered it, and was after
wards, with his plundering companions, by the command
of their captain, dismissed from our ship, and sent on board
their own. They all returned to iheir own vessel in launches ;
and after their captain Ijad discoursed wilh our's about the .
space of forty minutes, he returned on board his own ship
likewise. We still remained in a slate of anxiety in respect to our
destiny ; but at eight o'clock the next morning a decision took
place, by the Spanish captain hailing our ship, and desiring ua'
to weigh anchor, and direct our immediate course to England.

34
The uncommon joy which this reprieve produced in the hearts
of every sailor on board our ship, was infinitely beyond what
I am able (o describe in this narrative. Each of us danced,
skipped and jumped about from one, end of the ship to the
other, insomuch that several sailors were quite fatigued, and an
utter slop was made to our necessary duty. But. when this ex-
tacy, was subsided, and the ship's compahy, more composed,
we immediately hove a-head, weighed anchor wilh great plea
sure, made sail with a favourable breeze, and, inthe space of
two hours, left ihe land seven leagues a-stern. My reader
will remember, that the ship's company was threatened vvith
execution the morning of the reprieve, therefore the irresist
ible joy we all experienced may be easily accounted for.
However, greater misfortunes and cross providences were yet
lo come, for the third day after our escape from the pirate, by
the officers observation and the ship's reckoning, we appre
hended that the vessel was no great distance from Crooked
Island ; therefore a diligent look-out was ordered tb be kept.
Precisely at ten o'clock, P. M. the centinel called out to the
man' at the wheel, and begged him instantly lo put the helm
hard at lee, as there were fifty sail pf ships onthe lee-bow at
no great distance. We were at that time scudding with the
wind quarterly (all our s.leering-sails set) at the rale of twelve
cr thirteen miles an hour. The ship quickly answered her
helm, but having such a croud of sail upon her, and the mari
ners not being sufficiently active lo haul them down at so short
a notice, we found that instead of shipping, we were sur
rounded wilh dreadful breakers on a reef of rocks, and so
very sleep withal, that when the ship's stern tended round,
any peron could have jumped off the ship's laffarel upoii
them., Having so exceeding swift a way through the water
she drew a little off from the rocks: yet, by reason of her
missing Slays, she fell off' again, and the first blow she struck
a projected part of a rock vvent through her bottom, aud in a
few minutes the whole ship was full of water. By the deep-

35
sea-line we fsiind that her stern lay in eighty fathoms, and had
she not been held fast by this rock, every one on board must
inevitably have perished.
In the midst of those suffering seasons, we all experiment
ally knew the merciful hand of Almighty God was over us, for
if the ship had not struck on the spot where she providentially
did, it would have been an utter impossibility for any one on
board to -have reached the land, as we afterwards found ihere
was no passage through the reef, except that part whereon the
vessel was wrecked. Seeing no prospect of ever securing the
least part of her hull, we used all diligence at every possible
opportunity to save part of her cargo. We speedily hoisted
out our long-boat, and slowed several -bags of bread therein,
together with an old fore-sail, wherewith we intended lo make
a lent on shore : but the boat being exceedingly rotten, with
many leaks in her bottom, and having no tools on board to stop
them before we could reach the landing place, lo our mortifi
cation the boat sunk to the gunnel, and totally spoiled all our
bread ; yet, by the assistance of the Almighty, we all escaped
to land wilh the fore-sail, wilh which, and the help of tivo
long poles, we erected a small tent for the purpose of keelping
oiTthe insuff'eraUe heat, and scorching influence ofthe sun.
When, the evening approached, the captain directed us to
run the yawl backwards and forwards from the east to west
parts of the island, in order to discover town or inhabitants
(if any) whereby to obtain some refreshment; but, after hav
ing spent eight hours \n that-hazardous excursion, we perceived
that the island was totally uninhabited. Here another fresh
scene of distress presented itself. As we could get no provi-
¦'sion from the ship, we were determined lo search the island
for both food and water : we did so, but without success; nor
was the land productive of any animal or vegetable species,
but an abundance of land crabs and shell fish. These evident
JE 2

36
marks of desolation and barrenness gave birth to various re
sources, in order to support life ; and accordingly three or
four of us were compelled by the captain to venture ourselve.i
naked into the sea, and swim on board the ship (if possible)
for the purpose of getting such water as 'vas not spoilt; and,
notwithstanding the wreck lay full two miles from the shoro,
yet we effected our purpose in a short time.
Having hoisted out three casks of fresh water, we left theni
to be driven on shore by the strength of a constant sea-breeze
and the waves together, which, in the space of ten n'inutes,
sent them so near the land, as to be rolled up the beach by our
seamen on shore. My readers may be surprised at our swim
ming two miles upon a stretch ; but let it be observed, th;it
there were many ^mall rocks lying between the shore and the
ship, so that when we were almost wearied out, they served us
for resting places; though, truly, we never quilted these rocks,
but at the immediate hazard of our lives, seeing there were a
multiplicity of sharks and alligators perpetually sporting
throughout the bay. I perfectly well remember lo have seen
three sharks divide a man's body in tbe harbour of St. Tomay,
on the coast of Africa ; the first seized one of his hind-quar
ters, and wrenched it offat the first shake ; a second attacked
the other hind-quarter, and took that away likewise ; when a
third furiously attacked the remainder of the body, and gree
dily devoured the whole thereof,'
I was subject lo many dreadful apprehensions in tbe perform
ance of my exploits, least a circumstance of this kind should
befal me likewise, but the Lord was my sure protector. After
we had weathered three weeks in this deplorable situation, and
exposed to the malignancy of the inclement atmosphere, the
moschettcs, like swarms of hees, discovered our persons, and
pierced our flesh severely with their poisonous slings, inas-
iquch that we were all necessitated to hnry ourselves in thsi

37
sand, even our bands and faces (clearing only our mouths and
nostrils at certain time.s, for the admittance of air and discharce
of breath) or we should certainly have been stung to death.
Our captain then asked who would undertake lo proceed
wilh him towards the N. W- part ofthe island, as he conceived
that would be the only means of finding a remedy. I readilv
complied with his proposal, and jumped into the boat, accom
panied by four others and the captain ; and upon our leaving
the island we left those troublesome companions the insects.
Here it may be well lo observe the goodness of God in sending
these insects to drive us out lo sea. Our captain being inclined
to run round the island, in order to make what discoveries he
could, we sailed about thirty miles round to the S. W. where
we found a fine bay. As the boat (having but a light breeze)
imperceptibly advanced to the land, we discerned .several Fle-
mingo birds, and as they were a fowl of the first magnitude ;
we all imagined that they were some persons who inhabited the
place ; but when we arrived al the rocks we found our mistake,
and were under the nec^sily of revisiting that truly disagree
able reef of rocks, whereon our ship was cast away,
Upon^our approach tothe shore several of our people, with
over-joyi, desired us to run out to sea, as there was a vessel in
the Offing. The captain immediately steered through the gut,
and we happily met her about half a mile from the wreck of
our ship. When we came near to the stranger, the seamen
presented loaded blunderbusses at us, and told us lo keep off,
or they would certainly fire upon us. We begged to inform
them that we were in great distre.ss, our ship being lost on the
reef of rocks, and that the remainder of our people were on
shore in a tent. The captain then, with .some warmth, de
clared, if we did not keep our boat at a greater distance from
their ship,' he would discharge a six-pounder at us, and send
ibotb yawl and meu to the bottom. He likewise asserted, that

we were pirates, (hat our ship was not lost, but riding at an
anchor : and that we had no authority to lay in those uninha
bited parts ofthe world. We expostulated with the captain a
considerable time, and at length he permitted us to repair on
board. When we had done so, the captain, whose name was Cabei
Bean, ran close in shore, embarked the remainder of our dis
tressed companions by the assistance of their yawl, and, after
having interrogated them respecting their catastrophe, he
found that our relation was strictly true,
As we had many valuables on board, which we supposed
had received no damage, the vessel (which was called the jBa-
tomack sloop) stood off and on till, with their boats and ' our
yawl, we had saved goods to the amount of twelve hundred
pounds, in anchors, cables, rigging, rum, pimento, cotton,
&c. and as the vessel had nothing on board but ballast, it was
more adapted to receive the spoilt goods ; while we were thus
employed, a large tunle boat, from Virginia, hove in sight,
the master's name was Sims, a Mulatto, he likewise lent us the
assistance ofhis boat and crew in recovering the spoils of our
cargo. After we had saved every thing within the reach of
possibility, Sims, the Mulatto, took three or four of as, with
the two captains, round to the N, side ofthe island, in ordei
to instruct us in the mystery of fish catching, so that we might
in some degree allevTate our distresses, if we should at any fu
ture period fall into the like sifuation. Accordingly we sailed
up a salt-water river, where were plenty of mullets, and a
young chicken turtle: and js the water in this region was ,
amazingly shallow, not more than two feet, we chased those
fish backwards and forwards till we chased them out of breath
and withal, into about six inches water, which opportunity we
nimbly eml^raced,i in falling flat upon our breasts, and catch
ing them without any tackle.

39
We secured the chicken turtle after -the same manner, and
hastened lo Terra-firma, vvith a design to cook all our acqui
sitions : and notwithstanding we could get neither fire nor can
dle, yet Mr. Sims produced a tinder-box, and striking fire to
the tinder, applied a small piece thereof to some dry grass,
gave it a few shakes into.ihe air, till it was kindled into a sub
stantial fire. We then Darbaqued the young furtle, and boiled
a mullet. Still we were at a loss to obtain fresh water, and
asked Mr. Sims if he could procure us any. He only scratch
ed and troubled the sand rather above high-water mark, and,
to our astonishment, the fresh water sprung up. After we had
regaled ourselves, captain Sims conveyed us from that region,.
in his turtle-boat, to the reef of rocks, whereon our ship was
cast away. By' this time the seamen of captain Bean's Pato-
mack had well nigh equipped her, ahd tarried only for the re
turn of their-passengers.
When we were all on board, the liberal captain openly dis
tributed all and every part of the proceeds of said cargo among
the sailors belonging to the wreck, and then directed his
course towards Boston, in New-England. About three weeks
after our departure from the desolate island, early one morn
ing we discovered the Gay-Head of St. Matthias's vine yard,
so called from its appearance in a variety of colours, with a
reef of rocks, not more than half a mile a-stern of us. We
came to anchor about eight o'clock in the evening, wilh a fine
pleasant weather; but at ten P. M. a tremendous storm arose,
which caused the sea to roar dreadfully, and run mountains
high. Precisely at twelve o'clock, as I had the watch upon deck,
a very heavy sea broke against our bow, which strained the
ship exceedingly: I hastily ran to the companion hatchway to
call .another upon the guard, but suspecting Ihe violent sea to
have bad a dangerous tendency on the ship, went immediately

40
to the deep-sea lead, took and hove it over the stern, to judge
whether she was riding safe at her anchors or not, but found
the lead was under her bottom. I ran lo the hatchway, called
all hands, and informed them the vessel was adrift.
Captain Bean, of the sloop, said in a very solemn manner,
" Then the Lord have inercy on our souh, we are every ono
lost," and immediately the vessel came down v\ith such ve
hemency upon the rock.s, that when the waves returned, they
were high even up to our gunnel above the water, the sea
driving us upon them with such a power, that nothing but the
omnipotence of God could have preserved us from the immi
nent danger. The sea still continued with the utmost rapidity,
and followed us like rolling mountains even lo the beach,
which dashed the sloop so violently upon and against the
rocks, that we entertained no other ideas of the consequence
but that she would be broke into a thousand pieces. In this si.
tualion I pulled off my frock and drawers, which was all the
Spaniards had left me, andall the covering I had in the world ;
ihe next wave that attacked us, washed them overboard, and
left me completely destitute of cloathing of any kind what
ever: nor was it in the power of any person on board to afford
me any kind of relief. However, when we were upon the
deck, I proposed to three more on board that could swim toler
ably well, to plunge ourselves overboard, and attempt lo gain
the shore, persuaded that, if this plan could be eflTected, a
method might be taken to save the lives of those on board,
who otherwise must have been drowned. Accordingly fourof
u.j cast ourselves overboard, and endeavoured lo swim oa
shore; but in the attempt we were carried backwards out of
our depths by a raging surf; nor could we get firm footinn on
the sandy beach till the wave had spent itself. At leno-th
after having our bodies dangerously hurt, and driven about by
every succeeding wave, we got safe on shore, and hailed the
others on board the wreck to send a rope on shore, in order to

41
haul them one.by one to land. They did so, and we, rescued
every poor distressed companions of our's from tbe remorseless
deep. After this they unanimously consented to travel a lit
tle way into the country, and almost compelled me to go with
them, naked as I was ; but I very reluctantly declined it,
owing to shame and confusion ; and while the others were
ransacking the island in quest of provisions, &c. I was solitarily
bewailing my deplorable and hapless state between two small
rock.s,' and almost starved with hunger aud cold. At seven
o'clock in the evening, it being dusk, one of our men came
running towards me, and compelled me to go lo a tavern with
him, which was al the distance of seven miles, 1 asked him
if he had brought me any thing lo cover me. He -replied,'
No; but that there was speedy help for it. I readily compli
ed with his desires, but with much difiiculty reached the ta
vern at midnight. The messenger went in, and informed the
host of my case,, who brought me out a pair of red breeches,
which was all he had left after supplying the rest,
Ebenezer Allen, governor of the island, and who dwelt
about six miles from the tavern, hearing of our distress, made,
all possible haste lo relieve us; and when he arrived at the ta- •
vern (accompanied by his two eldest sons) he look captain
Seaborn, his black servant, Joseph and myself, through parti
ality, and escorjed us home to hia own house. Between eleven
and twelve at night we reached the governor's mansion. All
of us ashamed lo be seen, would fain have hid ourselves in
any dark hole or corner, as it was a truly magnifi,pent build
ing, with wings on eachside thereof; but, lo our astonish
ment I we were received into the great parlour, where were
sitting by the fire-side two fine portly ladies attending the spit,
which was burthened w ith a heavy quarter of house larab»
Observing a large mahogany table to be spread with a fine
damask cloth, and every knife, fork and plate, to be laid in i.

42
genteel mode, I was apprehensive that it was intended for the
entertainment of some persons of note and distinction; or, at
least, fora family supper. In a short time the joint was taken -
up and laid on the table, yet nobody sat down to eat : and as
we were almost hid in one corner ofthe room, the ladies turn
ed round and said, " Poor men, why don't you come to sup
per .>" 1 replied, " Madam, we had no idea that it was pre
pared for us !" The ladies then intreated us to eat without any
kind of fear of them, assuring us that it was prepared for none
others : and none of us having eaten any thing for near six-
and-thirty hours before, we picked the bones of the whole
quarter; to which we had plenty of rich good cyder to drink.
After supper we went lo bed, and enjoyed so profound a
sleep, that the next morning it was difficult for the old gen
tleman to awake us.
The follovvng day- I became a partaker of several second
hand garments, and as I was happily possessed of a little
learning, it caused me to be more abundantly caressed by the
whole family, and therefore I " fared sumptuously every day."
This unexpected change of circumstance and diet, I undoubt
edly experienced in a very uncommon manner; but as I was
strictly trained up a Churchman, and could not support the
idea of a Dissenter (although,. God know.s, 1 had well nigh by
this time dissented from all that was truly good) this proved a
bar to my promotion, and ray strong propensity to sail for
England, lo see my mother, prevented my acceptance of the
greatest oi'er I ever received in my life before ; for when the
day came that we w-ere to quit the island, and- to c'i'oss the
Sound over to a town called Sandwich (on the Main Conti
nent) the V'oung esquire look me apart from my associates, and
carnesily intreated me to tarry wilh thera ; saying, that if I ¦
would accede lo their proposals, nothing should be lacking to
vender rny situation equivalent vvith that of the family.

43
As there were very few white men on the island, I was fixed
upon (if willing) to espouse one ofthe governor's daughters :
I have been informed that the governor was immensely rich,
having on the island two thousand head of caltl^., and twenty
thousand sheep, and every acre of land thereon belonging lo
himself. However, I could not be prevailed upon to accept
the offer ; therefore the governor furnished us with forty shil
lings each, and gave us a pass over to the town of Sandwich.
Upon our arrival there we waited on a Mr. Silas Bourn, jus
tice of the peace, who treated us courteously, ordered us lo
sign our names to a certain document, which he purposed to
transmit over a large canal to the keeper of a tavern, whereby
we could have every thing we wished for.
After taking our leave of justice Bourn, we set out for Ply
mouth, which, we were informed, was the first spot wheron
the Americans landed when they first went over to inhabit
those parts of the world. It appeared a low mean place, with
only a small spired meeting-house, which they built, and co-
'veredinwith shingles before they had raised one dwelling-
house : Such was their zeal for the glory of God ! We passed
through this tract of land without a main road to guide us, till
we came to a wood, The woods in this part of the world are
no ways similar to those in England wilh briars and thorns ;
but are variegated with numberless rows of tall pines, which
naturally grow at a tolerable distance from one another, so that
they bear a greater resemblance lo a gentleman's park, and
form a beautiful appearance. We continued travelling till it
began to grow dark, and finding no house in our way since v^'e
left Plymouth, we concluded that we must pitch our tent in
the woods all night. However, at about seven o'clock, we
fell in with a small public-house. After we had supped, I
craved the hospitality of an old Englishman in providing a bed
for each of us ;"but he very roughly exprest his disapprobation
thereof, seeing we were entire strangers.
F 2

44
As we were just about to comriience our nocturnal journey,
a poor woman ran up to us, and insisted upon our returning to
her quarters, where we should be hospitably accommodated
with every thing that was suitable to our situation for that
night. This being the first of November, and the winter in
that southern hemisphere being just set in, we were, whilst
by the fire, almost burnt on one side, but nearly frozen on the
other. As soon as day-light appeared we arose, took our leave
of the old wornan, after returning her many thanks, set out
upon our journey, and at half past eleven, A. M. we all reach
ed the beautiful town of Hanover. Here the buildings and
structures (from one end thereof to the other) were truly mag
nificent and handsome. The inhabitants were really polite,
wealthy, and of a beautiful complexion, mien and deport
ment. At the north west part of the town was a very fine road,
which extended itself to the sea shore. In the centre of which
road stands a stately church, very aptly situated for the pur
pose of travellers, who frequently have recourse thereto, and
¦intermit their journey on Sabbath-days. One Sunday, as my
companions- and self were crossing the church-yard at the
time of divine service, a well drest gentleman came out of the
church, and said to us, "Gentlemen, we do not suffer any
person in this country to travel on the Lord's-day." We gave
him to understand, that it was necessity which constrained us
to walk that way, as we were all shipwrecked on St. Martin's
Vineyard, and were journeying to Boston. The gentleman
was still dissatisfied, but quitted our company, and went into
the church. When we had gone a little farther, a large white
house proved the object of our attention ; the door being wide
open vse reasonably imagined it was not in an unguarded
stale, without servants or others ; but as we all went into the
kitchen, nobody appeared to be within, nor was there an in
dividual either above or below. However, I advised my com-

45
panions to tarry in the house until some person or other should
arrive. They did so, and in a short time afterwards two ladies
richly drest, with a footman following them, came in through
the kitchen, and notwithstanding they turned round and saw
us (who in so dirty and disagreeable a garb and appearance,
might have terrified them exceedingly) yet neither of them
was observed to take any notice of us, nor did either of them
ask us any questions, touching the cause of so great an intru
sion. About a quarter of an hour afterwards a footman entered'the
kitchen with a cloth, and a large two-quart silver tankard
fuU-of rich cyder; also a loaf and cheese,- but we not know
ing it was prepared for u.=, did not attempt to partake thereof.
At length the ladies, coming into the kitchen, and viewing us
in oui former pqsition, desired lo know the reason of our ma
lady, seeing we were not refreshing ourselves : Whereupon I
urged the others to join with me in the acceptance of so hospi
table a proposal. After this the ladies commenced a familiar
enquiry intc our situation. I gave them as particular an ac
count. of every recent vicissitude that befel us, as 1 was ca
pable of, with a genuine relation of our being shipwrecked,
and the sole reasons of our travelling in that country. Like
wise begged they would excuse our impertinence, as they
were already informed of the cause.
We then were emboldened to ask the ladies if they could
furnish us wjth a lodging that evening. They replied, it was
uncertain whether our wishes could be compleated there; but
that if we proceeded somewhat farther, we should, doubtless,
be entertained, and genteelly accommodated by their brother,
a quaker, whose house was not more than the distance of
seven miles. We thanked the ladies, and set forward, and
about eight o'clock arrived at their brother's house. Fatigued
wiih our journey, we hastened into the parlour, and delivered

46
our me.ssage ; whereupon a gentleman quickly gave us to un
derstand, by his free and liberal conduct, that he was the
quaker referred to by the aforesaid ladies, who (total strangers
as we were) used us with a degree of hopitality, impossible
to be exceeded. Indeed I could venture to say, that the ac
commodations we met with at the quaker's house (seeing they
were irapaited lo us with such aff"ectionate sympathy) greatly
outweighed those we formerly experienced.
After our banquet, the gentleman took us up into a fine spa
cious bed-chamber, vvith desirable bedding, and very costly
chintz curtains. We enjoyed a sound night's rest, arose be
tween seven and eight the next morning, and were entertained
with a good, breakfast ; returned many thanks for his unre
strained friendship and liberality, and departed therefrom fully
purposed to direct our course for Boston ; which was not more
than seven miles farther. Here all the land was strewed with
plenty ; their orchards was replete with apple-trees and pears.
They had cyder presses in the centre of their orchard.s, and
great quantities of neat cyder,, and any person might become
a partaker thereof for the mere trouble of asking. We soon
entered Boston, a commodious beautiful city, with seventeen
spired meetings, the Dissenting religion being then established
in that part ofthe world. I resided here for the space of four
months, and lodged wilh captain Seaborn, at deacon Towns-
ends, deacon ofthe north meeting, by trade 'a blacksmith.
Nothing was wanting during our continuance there, but, on
the contrary, affluence flowed in upon the inhabitants from all
parts of the continent. I need not give any -description of
Boston, as by this time the town, commerce, situation, &c.
are almost universally known lo every kingdom of Europe,
Here I shall only make a few observalioris, touching the nature
and disposition of the inhabitants of that citv. Their behavi
our is altogether amiable, as peace-makers; and they are n«-

47
turally blessed with humane inclinations, together with such
strict orde. and ceconomy, as I never before observed ; nor do
I ever remember to have heard one oath uttered, or the name
of the Lord mentioned, save upon a religious occasion, during
the four months I tarried at that place } nor is there one lewd
house suffered in the whole town, or any Sabbath-breakingj
It was pleasure to buy and sell among them, because 1 never
found an individual throughout their fraternity guilty of extor
tion. Would to God I could say this of the inhabitants of
Great Britain !
Upon the arrival (at Boston) of all our seamen, they were
strongly recommendeu by the natives to sue for the salvage of
their goods aud properties, which were fortunately saved out
of the ship Scipio ; but captain Clark refused to make us any
satisfaction, as his vessel was wrecked by wailing to lake us
up. Upon this circumstance, a certain gentleman of that
city, undertook our cause, and commenced an action, against
captain Clark in the • Admiralty-court. The defendant stood
the trial, which was maintained by judge Byfield, an elderly
gentleman ; and after a hearing of about half an hour, the
judge addressed captain Clark, told him to look upon us as ob
jects of distress, and asked him, if he thought we had not suf
fered sufficiently already. He therefore said, as they saved
the cargo, of their own vessel, I hereby decree, that they
shall all, without any kind of restraint, receive double salvage.
Then lo our astonishment, captain Clark, though deemed by
the inhabitants a covetous and avaricious character, answered
the judge- with a chearful aecenl, that it should be so; and
that he would, moreover, render to each of us a present of
ten pounds currency, exclusive of our respective salvage.
Thus ended our law-suit, and we had a sulEciency to fit us out
with every necessary article for sea again.
I embraced the first opportunity for that purpose, and vo
luntarily shipped myself on board the A(len, captainJDennis,

for Antigua, in the West-Indies, I got my discharge there,
having a strong inclination lo return fo my native country.
Accordingly! entered into an agreement with captain Skutl'
then lying in the harbour of St. Jehn's (the principal com
mercial town of Antigua) but as we were tarrying there, in
order to obtain a freight for England, there came on a very
terrible hurricane ; and although it was excessively violent
during ils continuance, and drove us out of the harbour into
the Offing, yet we providentially sustained but very little da
mage ; and notwithstanding the ship was entirely unrigged
(save a jury foremast) yet by the assistance of that, and the
immediate providence of God, we reached, in the space of
eight days, the harbour of St. John's again. When we had
taken in part of our homeward-bound merchandize, the ship
was, by virtue of a special document from the governor of the ¦
said island, transmitted lo the island of Monlserrat, about ten
leagues to leeward of Antigua; there, to procure the residue
of our cargo, and finish the lading thereof.
This island chiefly consists of numerous lofly and barren
mountains, wilh an unnavigable harbour, rendered so by a
multiplicity of small sharp-pointed rocks, several whereof,
at ebb tide, are one, twp, or more feet above the water.
There is likewise a very mean and inconsiderate town, which -
maintains little or no correspondence with others in the adja
cent islands : The name of this town is Bassaterre, and it is
situated in view ofthe islands of Nevis, St, Christopher, and
Gaudaloupe. Here another difficulty follov\ed us, as we
were necessitated to travel seven or eight miles over various
rocks, and through many vallies, in order to get fire-wood,
called Manchanell ; which is one of the most beautiful trees
probably in the known world, and bears an apple, the odours
whei-eof are not unlike our English golden rennets, and of an
eqoal form and size ; but ;t is o^e ofthe rankest poisons, root
body, branches, leaves, and fruit, I remember when I first

49
iVent tb Jamaica, at a place called Liltlcwotth, ont of those'
kind of trees was planted, which grew full of fruit, and spread
ils branches and leaves as wide as our great walnut-trees in
England. I simply knocked down oneof the apples, and igno
rant of the consequence, was going to eat it (as it was pleasing
to the eye) when a black man, observing my heedless actions;
ran with uncommon swiftness towards me, and in a cautious
hurry, snaiched it from my hand, giving me at the same time
to understand, that if I had eaten it, all my teeth would have
fallen out of my head, and that without any kind of remedy ;
and further, he told me, that if any person was to stand under
that tree in a shower of rain, the drops isssuing therefrom, and
falling any part ofthe skin, would take it clearly off". As
our men were cutting those trees for fire-wood at Monlserrat^
they had their eyes closed and swelled in so dreadful a manner,
that we were apprehensive they never could retrieve their na
tural sight : but, I ijjink, they severally recovered in a very
short time.
When the ship was completely ready for sailing we weigh
ed our anchor, and sailed for Bristol, where we arrived after a
seven weeks passage ; and, after a peaceable retirement, for a
few weeks, I shipped myself wilh captain James Seaborn, for
a second voyage with him, in the ship Amoretta, for Old Cal
labar, on the Coa.st of Africa, and the island of Baibadoes,!
one of the Carribbe or West-Indian islands. Here I began to'
be preferred, being made gunner of the ship; and when we
were slaved the ship sailed for Barbadoes ; but was speedily
ordered for South-Carolina, there to dispose of our slavesy
which we did, to our satisfaction, in a few days, and were
soon reladen 5 then, without any delay steered our course,
with a strong though delightful gale to the Bristol channel.
Nothing remarkable occurred in the course of this voyage. On
coming to England I betook myself to Barnstaple in Devon,
where dwelt a brother of mine, who kept a genteel shop there.

dO
I continued with him for several days, then repaired to Bristol
again, accompanied by my brother, and from thence set off
for London to visit my mother, vvhom I had not seen for ten
.years past. My family being in low circumstances, I was
obliged lo go again to sea, and the first trip was in a coasting
sloop lo Wiabeach, wilh a captain John Heath. When 1 re
turned, 1 shipped myself with captain Thomas Long, in the
ship Ann and Judith, for Antigua. When I had made this,
voyage also, 1 covenanted with captain Rogers for a voyage up
the Mediterranean. His ship was laden wilh two hundred and
eighty quarters of corn, upon charter-party, to three deliver
ing ports, viz. Marseilles, Genoa and. Leghorn, In the course
of this eastern voyage we sustained various hardships, which
may particularly be attributed to, the perverseness of our com
mander. We sailed from the Downs in the month of Janu
ary, 1733, after riding out andWeathering many vehement-
storms in that sea. The whole fleet sailed down Channel vvith
very promising weather ; but before we had made any pro
gress, in our intended voyage, the wind suddenly varied, and
blew with such vehement rage, that the greater part of the
fleet were scattered, andjLheir sails blown and lorn to, atoms ;
therefore such part thereof as could put back without danger
returned to Spilhead, while the others weie dispersed abroad
throughout the Channel, and driven over to the coast of
France; but our captain, as before hinted, being an obstinate,
though an experienced seaman, and the whole ship entirely
his own, was determined fo assume that unrestrained presump
tion, w hich other commanders more circumspectly declined.
The consequence was, we were beating to windward forfuU five
weeks incessantly, under reefed courses, the mountainous sea
making continual breaches over the ship ; nor did the cook, or
any of the seamen, during that time, dress any provisions;
neither had any of us the comfort of a dry thread upon our
backs. One night in particular, the wind being at^ north
west, attacked us so violently, that the ship was laid hatches

51
underwater, and the fore-scullle, where we came up, being
unfortunately open, every repeated sea poured itself down
into the hold like floods, insomuch that the ship was sunk ver
near two streaks in the water. The captain was at the same
time cursing, swearing and roaring, at the ship's company,
life an infernal spirit : and had it not been through the dex
terous alacrity and nimbleness of a John Stonehouse, one of
our seamen, who ran up the weather main shrouds, and who
secretly conveyed himself under water to come at the lee-
main sheet, and let jt go (which, as the main-sail was set, na
turally pressed the ship down to leeward) we must inevitably
have foundered, and all hands, without relief, have perished.
When the main-sheet was let ffy, the main-sail went all to
shivers, like a clap of thunder : the fore-sail then wore the
ship round, and brought her starboard-side to the wind, which
jjrfllew her upon an even keel. She lay fora long time like a
Jog upon the waves, and having five feet water in her hold,
we had immediate recourse lo both pumps, and in about five
hours cleared her, and proceeded on our voyage. But the ob
stinacy of the captain occasioned the loss of the cargo of
wheat, not one single bushel being saved out of the whole
lading ; and this considerable loss fell upon the consignors.
As our first port of delivery was Marseilles, in the south of
France, down in the gulph of Lyons, in the Streights of Gib
raltar, we went thither, and offered lo the consignees there
the cargo ; but they refused lo accept thereof. This- obliged
ns to carry it to Genoa, where it was likewise refused. From
thence we steered up to Leghorn, and this being the last port
of delivery, the frieghtor's correspondents were constrained
to accept of it, good or bad, agreeable to charter. When
our cargo was discharged, and our ship reladen, we departed
for England. But before 1 proceed to our passage for England,
1 would take notice of some of those things which are worthy
observation in that part of Italy, where we were stationed.
o 2

52
And first I never remember to have seen a more splendid,
magnificent, and fertile couiitiy, in the course of my life than
this was. Here the warmest of my juvenile conceptions of
foreign parts were in some measure realized ; and as at the
early period of my life I had entertained many pleasing ideas
of those places where the apostles, with such holy zeal, pro
pagated the Gospel in their travels, so I found a natural pro
pensity to satisfy myself with a clear view of every remarkable
thing throughout the limits of my restriction, while on shore.
In one part of Genoa I observed two very lofty pillars of
marble, built upon so elevated a plan, as to be evidently per
ceptible, from ships atthe distance of twelve miles at sea. This
is conjectured to be the gallows. erected for Mordecai the Jew,
by the wicked contrivance of Hainan, and which proved fatal
to Haman himself. Two thing* more I shall notice in Genoa.
The first is the image of a man, at the back part of a gentle
man's house, sculptured out of a solid rock, almost at the
summit thereof, whicli appears lo be precipitated therefrom,
with his head foremost, his arms extended, aud the hair of his
head hanging pendant considerably below his body, and his
whole frame fixed on his right foot, through which a spring
was conveyed, and ran throughout the body, so as to dis
charge drops of water from the lops of his fingers and hair.
Here another surprising phaenomenon attracted my notice ; at
the top of a passage that led me to the rock, I perceived the
exact repre,<jentation of a stout and corpulent man, descending
from the rock, which seemed lo threaten me with impending
danger, therefore I nimbly fled out of its way, least in its fall
I should be crushed to pieces : However, the statue remained
firm int hat surprising attitude.
The next curiosity was a grand arched bridge, near a mile
in lengt-h, with many spacious arches, and streets of houses
(some of thera four stories high) running under those arches.
This bridge, as I have been informed, was constructed for the

53
better convenience of carriages passing from the city into the
country, for supplying the remoter natives with the necessa
ries of life and commerce. The distance between every arch
is sufficiently extensive to admit of twenty carriages abreast Oi
each other. I likewise, in the course of mv observations on
this city, perceived that it was. founded on a basis of seven
hills, having a beautiful 'Change covered, and sky-lights fixed
around, for the belter conveniency of merchants to transact
their negociations. ,
At Leghorn I saw nothing interesting, or of a grand appear
ance, except the four brazen men, who are placed in a conspi
cuous situation round a pedestal. This was erected in honour
of the duke of Genoa, who gloriously defeated four notorious
pirates that frequently disturbed the Mediterranean, viz. a
father and his three sons ; they were taken prisoners by the
duke in a row galley, and their st'dtues erected in brass around
the pedestal, as a memorial ; and on another spot was placed
the image of the duke standing upright, with a truncheon in
his hand, and casting an air of contempt upon the four cap
tives, the space between these not exceeding half a dozen
yards. In this place there are numerous gallies of war, sup
ported by commmon prostitutes and strumpets tolerated bv go
vernment, who have a considerable part of the city allowed
thera,. wherein they commit all manner of abominations. I do
not ever remember to have fallen in with a city or town, in
which impurity predominates over the inhabitants in so li
centious a manner as in the city of Leghorn; nor is it pos
sible for either sex to forsake or renounce that horrid course of
life, even though they should be ever so desirous, or convinced
of the sin thereof.
When, the term of my liberty was elapsed, I repaired on
board oa'i^ ship, and in a few days, we sailed for England.
When we arrived oflf the Isle of Wight, a tender which lay

54
in the Channel to press Ihe homeward bound seamen (a pro
ceeding derogatory to God and man) took our ship's crew, and
after having been on board the tender rather upwards of a
week, a division took place among the seamen ; one part was
sent on board the Lenox of seventy guns, and the other part
on board the Ipswich, of the .same force. After lying at Spil
head ten months, under the weight of ati arbitrary fellow. of a
lieutenant, I was removed onboard the Phoenix, captain Trivil
Calcy, who was the complete gentleman and Christian, and
one whose conduct was guided by the fear of God. He fre
quently encouraged religious discipline on board ; nor did be.
ever neglect to order his chaplain to attend his invalidsearaen,
at five o'clock in the morning, both at Portsraquth and Gos
port, and vi'ould constantly visit every patient respectively, on
his- knees, at their bedsides, with all the devotion becoming a
Christian. Never was a commander so caressed bv a ship's
company as captain Caley, and his men were equally endear
ed to him. So inlirely cautious was he before he spoke to any
man on board, from the highest ta the lowest, that he even
drew the attention of strangers; for my part I could never
look at him but with uncommon satisfaction and delight: In
short, his mildness, sapience and fortitude, greatly surpassed
those characters I had ever admired before in my life ! Happy,
truly happy if proved forme, that I providentially fell in wilh
so worthy a Christian ; otherwise, what with the hell of un
common curses and blasphemous oaths, accompanied by ah
habitual course of cruel and barbarous behaviour, on the parts
of two lieutenants, I must have died under my burthen, as the
idea of a man of war was ever perfectly distasteful to my in
clination. At that time I was grievously oppressed with the
rheumatism : However, early one morning, God undertook
my cause, and I btigan to reason with myself: The rheu
matism ! What is it ! and it was strongly suggested lo me in a
manner not unlike a clear voice, " It is a violent cold." I then
with great aitonishraent, asked, what is most proper as a re-

65
 •
medy for the cold ? I was answered as before, "Spring water."
The reason of this I could not comprehend ; and asked again.
Why spring water ? The answer lo me (clear as a strong
voice) was, " Man was created out of the dust of the earth,
and water spring* out ofthe bowels of the .earth, therefore it
is the more adapted to his nature." At this I was satisfied,
and straightway called for a.man whose name was Tom Lewis,
who came immediately, and asked me what I wanted, I re
quested him lo procure, frqm some part of the ship, five or
six shirts, and air them sufficiently at the fire-side ; I told him
also to fill a large pitcher full of water, and bring it instantly
to me, and I would drink till I could drink no more, as I be
lieved the Lord had directed me to a cure, by taking a hearty
draught of spring water. He endeavoured to dissuade me from
so hasty an action, assuring me, that ifs operation would sure
ly kill me in my then present condition : " Notwithstanding,"
added he, " if you are bent upon taking it, I will get it quick
ly." He did so, and compleated my desires. I then drank
immediately of the spring water, laid myself -doun on the
bed, and Tom covered me up very warm. After I had lain
about the space of half an hour, wilh no appearance of the
water's operation, I put my head under the cloaths, and breath
ed hard on the pit of my stomach ; this produced a peispira-
tion, and that in a profuse measure. I then desired my at
tendant lo bring me half a dozen well dried and warm flannels,
in order to rub me from head to foot: .He did ihis^ likewise,
and continued his rubbing till I had made five shirts in a con
dition equal to the dipping of ihemin water. When 1 had
put on my si:;th dry shirt, I gave Thomas to understand, that
I was totally exempt from every the least symptom of tiie
rheumatism aod pain; instantly jumped out of bed, dressed
myself without his aid, and asked him what was for dinner
below. He replied, " Salt fish and potatoes ;"an(l although I
had not enjoyed one meal for eight or ten weeks before, yet I
went down, and made as hearty a meal, as I ever remember to

66
• 
h'ave eat in my life, ahd then walked the distance of a mile on
shore, by way of recreation. Here I considered that nothing'
was impossible lo him V, ho had all power in heaven and in
earlh. Two or three days after this I was pronounced •' Able,"
and went on board the Lenox, the ship I formerly belonged
to. My several indispositions began in the month of January,
1734, and accompanied me with direful pangs and sensations,
till the latter end of April following.
On the Chrislmas-Eve, in the course of my liberty, I es-'
pouscd Mary Verney, a very virtuous young woman, in the
tvventy-second year of her age, Al that lime I was in my
twenty-third year. After remaining on board the ship for two
months, orders were sent down lo Sir John Norris, on board
the Britannia, a firil-rale of one hundred guns, vvith the union
flag at his main-fop-mast-head ; the Barfleur, admiral Balchan,
of ninety guns, and blue flag at the fore-top-mast-head ; and
the Lancaster, of eighty guns, admiral Haddock^ whh St.
George's flag at his fore-top-mast-head, together with twenty-
five sail of the lirte, to sail immediately for Lisbon, in order
to protect the king of Portugal's Brazilian fleet from the threats
of the Spaniards. Here myself, with several others, were
turned over from the Lenox on board the Grafton, of seventy
guns, and sailed, in company with the fleet, for- Lisbon, and
arrived in the Tagus some time in the month of May, 1735,
¦where we lay ten months at anchor, in which firne the Brazil
fleet arrived, and orders were sent from England for admiral
Haddock's squadron to return thither. Previous to our de
parture from Lisbon the King of Portugal, with his brother, .
the black prince, came on board of all three admirals, whose
ships were drest in various colours, consisting of all nations in
the world, and making a very brilliant appearance. His
Portuguese majesty allowed every man and boy in the fleet
one pint of wine per da}', with fresh provisions everyday tit!
the completion of our voyage.

57
We sailed for England in the beginning of January, 1736,
and arrived off the rocks of Sciily the latter end of the, same
month, where our ship was well nigh lost, it being indispea-'
sibly necessary for us to beat to windward under reefed
courses ; but, thank God, we were preserved in this storm
also, and arrived safe in Chatham river, where we were paid
oflf, February 6, 1736, I then came directly to London, nor
have I ever been to sea since, I could wish to make one re
mark here, whieh I have omitted in the course of my voyages.
The coast of Africa is attended every day (especially on the
leeward coast) wilh dreadful tornadoes of wind, thunder and
"lightning, the flashes of which for some time take away the
sight. At one time in particular,- about eight degrees to the
southward of the equinoctial line, at one A, M. a violent tor
nado came down upon us, with loud claps of thunder, and
fierce flashes of lightning: In the height of. this storm also
descended from the disturbed clouds something that bore the
resemblance of k squib darling out fire af one end, about one
foot and a half in length, and the thickness of a man's wrist :
It cai»e down from the heavens wilh astonishing velocity,
passed within a yard of my head and penetrated the quarter
deck : but meeting with an obstruction of the air, made its
way through the main hatchway, look a swift course over the
larboard-quarter, and, when it burst, exploded with so loud a
clap of thunder, that we could not expect two planks of the
ship would have remained together. However, the ship wea-
thered this storm also, but not without much damage, through
the mighty force of the tornado,
I now entered into a new scene of life, and although I had
been brought up to the sea, and had no friends to supply my ne
cessities at home, yet I was resolved, through the help ofthe
Almighty, to have recourse to any employment, be it in never
so menial a calling, rather than abide in the unsuitable state of
life I formerly did, A life attended with all manner ofsuf-
3 H

ferings and wickedness in the highest degree, my case being-
rather diff'f rent from other seamen ; as God never left me vvith-
oiil conviction, which constantly rendered my mind very un
happy, and I ever experienced grievous stings of conscience
for the commission of any discoverable sin. Being now in a
married state, _ and desirous to lead a regular and observant
life, I habituated myself to the church-service ; but finding
the churchmen living as did other people, and having no Chris-
tian friend to converse with, I knew not what step to take,' and.
therefore readily concluded, religion was a mere farce.. At
thesame time, being subjecj. to the weight of many temporal
distresses, a fresh burthen canie upon me ; yet it pleased God
to point me out, in a few months, a school al Staplefooi Tauney,
near Passinglord Bridge, in the county of Essex, erected by
a lady Lulher, who spared no pains in its building; and also
bestowed many donations towards the support and maintenance
thereof. My whole salary amounted to fourteen pounds per
annum, ten pounds whereof was the neat salary from the
school ; two pounds from lady Luther, and the like sum from
Mr. Moot, a wealthy farmer, with as many day-scholars as I-
could acquire for my own account. I soon raised a consider
able school, and senl to London f'or-my wife, and all my goods.
The lady three days in the week invited me with the curate of
the parish to dine with her; aud every other day, if I thought
proper to accompany the servants at their dinner in Knave's-*
Hall, a.s they termed it. I now began to be much delighted
vvith my situation, and reserved no diligence to bring the chil
dren forward in their learning ; indeed the success I met
with caused the school to be recommended throughout the
country. Here tho curate of the parish frequently called upon me, and
decoyed me to his lodgings, about three miles from the school,
to join hirn in smoaking a pipe, drinking a bowl of punch.
with the like carousals. I was also pressed upon to sing him \

59
a sea song, and was generally detained so v^ry late at night
that I could scurcely find my way home ; but this life did no'
answer ray desires, and therefore, as the curate and myself
were going frora lady Luther's over the fields to mv school, I
took upon myself to quote some passages of Scripture, relat
ing to our immoral proceedings. My guide, or pretended
one, laughed heartily, and said, " Told, are you so great a
blockhead as to believe the Scripture ? it is nothing but, a pack
of false tl+eology the whole of it." This surprised me much,
and from thaf^period I separated myself from his company ;
and God, in his providence, disunited me from those dead and
barren christians, by the following simple circumstance.
The wood I had bespoke for firing not coming in, as I ex
pected, 1 acquainted faimer Jlills, on the opposite side ofthe
church-yard, who gave" me leave to send my boys into his
field, where they might be able to collect a quantity sufficient
for rny use until the bespoken fire-wood came in ; and seeing
il was on the farmer's own ground, I had no conceptions of
any impropriety of conduct on my part ; yet this through the
insinuative complaint of an old woman (w-fio ever before ex
prest the sincerest regard for myself and wife) proved the
cause ol my, removal out of the school and country. Sir Ed
ward Smith, then lord ofthe manor, sent for lady Luther, and
desired to know vvhat kind of a school-master she had brought
into the country, and whether he ever taught his children their
catechism. My lady informed me that Sir Erlvvard greatly
surprised her ; but she answered him, that 1 bore the best of cha
racters, and had brouglit the children forward in their educa
tion in an extraordinary manner, and that I taught the children
their catechism every Thursday. Sii^ Edward then asked, how
I came to leave out the eighth commandraehl ; therefore in
sisted upon my dismission from the school, and departure from
the fo,wri immediately ; nor would he hear the circumstance
face to face, so that I was under the necessity of hiring a .vrag-

60
gon to carry all my goods back to London ; and was then at a
loss wh"at method to pursue for the maintenance of my family 5
but in a short time a clerk's place offered at King's-Wharf,
Beaufort's-Buildings, to a dealer in coals and timber. I re
mained there about four months, when my mistress leaving off
business, 1 was necessarily discharged, and was left destitute
of employment for some time 5 nor could 1 obtain any relief,
or procure the least employ, from any quarter thereabouts, so
was'resolved to submit lo any the meanest office lo procure a
subsistence, and accordingly engaged myself to a Mt. Med-
way, a bricklayer, in Walling-sireet, lo keep his book.s, and
al vacant opportunities to attend and wait on the labourers.
Here 1 continued about six or seven years, and afterwards
served Mr. John Pankeman, a bricklayer likewise ; but in the
course of my services with him, God began a diff"erent provi-
dence vvith me/ and ori% day, a^ labouring al my work in Old-
Street Road, a young man, who was likewise a bricklayer,
came and asked me if I could help him to business, I answer-"
ed him rather roughly, which he received with great meek
ness ; this struck me wilh surprise : I then called him back,
and desired him lo wail on a certain master bricklayer, at an
appointed place the next morning, who, I was apt to believe,
could find him employment. He repaired t-hereto accordingly,
and the gentleman, without asking him any questions, admit
ted him into his. service. Tills young man was the instrument
in the band of God of leading me out of darkness into his
marvellous light. Here my readers will permit me to enter
upon my religious life, and therefore I think it prudent to re
vert back lo my earliest days ; and as I have already in the be
ginning set forth the manner and mystery of God's working
upon my soul, to the time of my admission into Edward Col
son's Hospital, so 1 shall occasionally intersperse my changes
of station in this hfe, as well as those of a spiritual nature.
When I first was admitted into school, between two ex
tremes, that of parting with my teijder-hearted nurse, and

61
being driven into a new scene of life, I was brought under
much distress of mind : yet I constantly found the Spirit of
God working powerfully on me: nor could I ever find peace
of rest but when meditating on things divine. My thoughts,
when at prayers in the school three times every day, were car
ried up into heaven, with the most solemn ardent desire ; and
when we assembled in the college church which we regularly
did every Sabbath-day, the service there was to me a heaven
upon earth. Here I drank deep into the bliss and happiness
of the ever-blessed and adorable Jesus, and that without inter
ruption, till I arrived at the age of ten years, by which time
I had made some proficiency in learning, and was approved of
by the minister, who came twice a week to instruct us in reli
gious principles, so that in a short time I was competent (by
readily answering him any questions propounded) lo be inli-
tled a monitor. I then began to read pious book."!, especially
Sherlock on Death. This set me on fire for God and hea
venly bliss, and wrought in me the utmost horror of taking
the Lord's name in vain, or of telling a lye ; and as there
were a few lads in the same order as myself, that vvere pious
ly inclined, so we often read Sherlock's Discourse together.
On a Lord's day in particular, being at the college church,
the reverend Mr. Sutton preached a very alarming discourse
upon the deep things of eternity to a wanton crouded con
gregation. The fashion was then for the women to go naked-
breasled ; nor was there scarce a woman to be found in the
college but appeared in the most indecent manner; yel the
discourse in a great measure effected ils design ; neither do I
ever remember to have seen any thing of that kind in Bristol
afterwards. Many of our boys were deeply affected by the
sermon, so that when we came home lo school, several of us
entered into an agreement to pinch the tongue of himihat told
a lye, or that mentioned the Lord's name in an irreverent
way.

62
X When I was about twelve years of age I was more profound
ly acquainted with divine things, but not w'lth myself as a
sinner. Sitting one day in my order, and reading Sherlock -
on Death. I suddenly laid down the book, leaned my
right elbow on my right knee, with my hand supporting my
head, and meditated in the most solemn thought, upon the
awfulness of eternity : Suddenly I was struck with a hand on
the lop of my head, which aff"ecfed my whole frame ; the
blow was immediately followed by a voice wilh these vvords,
"Dark! dark ! dark !" and although it alarmed me prodigi-
ov Iv, yet, upon the recovery from so sudden a motion, I
found myself broad awake in a world of sin. Nolwithstand-
inpf all my former happiness and bhss, I now found a. dreadful
difference, as nothing could give roe satisfaction, either from
person -or things ; nor could I ever rest satisfied about my sal
vation, as leni[)tation from the vvorld, the flesh and the devil,
¦were ever besetting me.
One day, the boys being permitted to go lo visit their
friends, 1 obtained permission likewise, although I had no re
lation or friend in the city, my mother and two sisters residing
in London, and my two elder brothers residing in the country.
However, several of the boys accompanied me that afternoon
to go to a river called Broad-Stony, near the city, for the pur
pose of learning to swim ; and as I was strongly desirous of
learning that art, several of the smaller boys, vvith myself,
went into a pond adjoining lo that river, which received the
overflowing thereof. It being low water, L ventured rather
beyond the others ; but in attempting lo swim, struck, out of
my depth, and was for some time struggling for life. My
companions, who sat upon the bank on the other side the
rivei', imagined I was taking my, sport and pastime, by reason
of mjr rising above water and diving under again; therefore
had no conceptions that I was on the verge of being drowned,
till they perceived that I gave a dart, sunk, and they could

•63
see me no more. At this they were all terribly affrighted, and
in the uimost consternation, not knowing what lo do ; but
descrying some hay-makers at_the farther end ofthe meadow,
they ran with all possible haste, and informed them that a boy
was drownetj,. Providentially there was a Dutchman among
the hay-makers, who, upon hearing the sad news, threw du'.vn
his hay-fork, ran to the riverside, enquired of the others
where I was perceived lo sink', and upon as near an informa
tion as could possibly be given, he jumped in without pulling
off any of his cloaths. He then searched and groped about
for a considerable time, but I could not be found, as in the
dart, I had shot a great distance from the spot where the
children perceived nie to sink. I was now given up for lost;
but as the Dutchman was swimming to the bahk where a wil
low-bush grew out at the side, in order to haul himself out of
the pond, be felt about wilh one of his legs just before he
came lo the bank, and as my head was covered in the mud
with my heels upright, so he providentially struck his foot
gainst mine, and joyfully gave the signal that I was found.
He then went down, brought me up, and landed nie on the
bank ; but not the least signs of life were discernible in me
The Dutchman held me with my heels upwards for some mi
nute^, and then concluded my life was irretrievably gone ; yet
it entered into his mind lo try another method : Accordingly
he swam acro-35 the river, and went a little way up the hill,
where there was a small ale-house. He got from thence a quar
tern of brandy, and swam over the river back again into the
meadow, holding up the brandy in one hand and swimming
with the other., My jaws weKe firmly set together, nor Was
there any motion or breath to be perceived ; yet he put some
brandy into hia mouth, forcedmy jaw.s open, and blew repeat
edly half a quartern of spirits down my throat? he also blew
some up my nostrils, and into my ears, and in about three
quarters of an hour my left eye flew open, and I gave a loud
9h:iek, They then carried me to Baptist-Mills, where, ia

64
about four hours I recovered my senses, so as lo have a faint
knowledge of one or two ofthe boys : These were the imme*
diate accounts of all transactions as they related them to me.
I was then conveyed home to the school, but with an excru
ciating pain, equal to the being cut through in the middle of
my body ; nor did I enjoy an exemption therefrom for several
years together ; neither do I remember a single twelvemonth,
for a dozen years successively, but that this pain produced
two, three, or more fits of sickness every year, and many of
them brought me near the grave. When I went to school
Mr. Samuel Gardner, the principal master of the hospital
having been informed of^ the circumstance, punished me se-
ver«ly, as a strict charge had been delivered by him that none
of us should go near the water, one of his scholars having
been drowned some time ago, and who never recovered.
I hope my readers will suspend their judgment, in censuring
what I am now about lo relate, although it may appear rather
incredible: I shall then, in the most simple and artless man
ner treat of wha was as real to my sensations, as that I evei
had an existence. The circumstance was this: Although I
was deprived of my natural senses, and had no ideas of the
things of this world, yet my spirit was permitted by God both
to behold and experience that which, 1 believe, no one in the
body ever did. My entrance into this blissful vision, as it ap
peared to me, was, that I itishingly emerged out of thick
darkness into a most glorious city, the lustre of which as far
outshone the brilliancy of the noon-day sun, as the brightness
thereof transcends the glimmering rays of the moon. This
empyreal light shone with a resplendent power on the city,
and illuminated even the darkness, through which 1 seemed to
urge my way, and enforced my entrance into that beatific
state; and notwithstanding we cannot retain a sledfast ey^
upon the sun, when dazzling our earthly cities \vith its meri-

6.5
,dian splendours, jet I -found no impediment to my sight in
Jooking with 3: rapturous ardency on this heavenly flame, the
beams whereof darted from the south-east wilh a refulgence
beyond , the ; highest cqnceptioris. There was also some re
semblance of a bottom, or flopr, like unto gla.ss, neiih|;r
the city onbottom were of any substance. The inhabitants
were all in , the form of men, arcayed in robes of the finest
quality, from their necks down to their feet ; yet they also
appeared to, me of no material substance. What particu
larly courted my attention was, that not one of these cele^tjal
,,bpdies,wcre under any degree of labour to, walk, as they ^11
glided swiftly along, as if carried by the wind. ;This was
my own case, clothed in the finest of linen, and conveyed
.with the like celerity. No speech or language was needful
(there, as they .were all one soul. The solemn sacred joy,
and uninterrppted peace, I ther^ possessed, all language fails
.me, to point. 9ut : I hadnq imaginations of evil, or any tenip-
tati.Qns -thereto, but was completely Ii^ippy without mixtpre.
AnQlhicr point of this vision I would just; remark before I
-close the subject, that is, while those blessed spirits were pei-
forming their qerial course, one of iheni about fi<fty yards off",
on my right-hand, turned round, and looked stedfastly at my
raiment : We boih suddenly , stppt, and the exlaeies avhich
(.proceeded from his countenance, united us together as one.
Oh! who can express, the svveet, plcasa,nt, and serene tran
quillity I then enjoyed ! But, on a sudden, 1 lost all gense/of
. this very desirable state, and clearly apprehended my being
brought again into a sipfu)., w^rld ; the coming into whicli
was as through a d^yo.uring ocean of blood and fire. This
was -Ihp sequel and, conclusion of that awful dispensation of
.th.erighteous God to me, well knowing how he had disposed
-of me for many ytjars past, that I might be made perfect
through (Sufferings, .and dtjnk deep into this cup, and be ban--
3 .1 ' ¦ '

66
tized with his baptism. As to my external suflTerings, ihey
are principally set forth in the foregoing part of this narrative.
I have likewise already hinted at my being particularly con
vinced of sin, by reading Sherlock on' Death, yet the Spirit of
God never left me without conviction: nor do* I remember
ever to have fallen into any outw-ard sin, but I reflected upon
it with guilt and abhorrence ; and being deeply affected with
the consequence of sin in a future judgment, I was also often
terrified with awful dreams. When on my first passage to Ja
maica I was grievously exercised in my mind, as not one of
the mariners had the least concern for God, or the salvation of
their own souls \ but, on the contrary, appeared to be greedy
of eternal death and damnation ; and, as St. Paul intimates,
"Evil communications corrupt good manners," so this, in
process of time, though with much fear and trembling, not
only corrupted my manners, but my rnorals also; and, being
unacquainted with the devices of the devil, I stole into a rea
soning spirit, doubting whether all those persons, who seemed
happy in themselves, could be lost eternally or not, although
they lived such horrid lives. The faialenemy made a fresh
attack upon my mind, and forced me still to doubt whether
God would suffer any of the human species to be' punished
eternally for crimes committed in this their transitory span of
life, although the word of God expressly declares it shall be
so; those and similar leraplalions got considerable advantage
of me.
When we arrived at Jamaica, the inhabitants in every par
ticular,- tjorresponded withtho.se reasonings: nor do'I ever re-
mem i^er to have met with one man, or woman, who had the
fear of God before theireyes in thetown of Kingston, or Port-
Roys', or even the forhT-tif godliness among'ihem. Thev
ufie uiUch addicted to prophane cnrsing, swearing, vvhore-
doiri, lyiii_2. and Sabbath-breaking, exercising the' utmost

67
cruelty on their unhappy negro slaves, which never appeared
to be a burthen upon their untouched consciences, and as I
have been a spectator to multiplied acts of cruelty, exercised
by them, upon their miserable black drudges, I shall briefly
relate oije instance, which, for its n(;)toriety and unheard of
inhumanity, it would be unjust on my part to withhold from
the attention of all lovers of clemency and Christian disci
pline, and from the world in general. As I went on shore at
- Ramsay's- Wharf for certain sugars, at the east end of King
ston, a stout black man, about thirty-six years of age, was
brought down lo the crane, at the end of the wharf, by his
master, and fbr the commission of some almost nameless error,
was delivered up to be punished. The mode of executing this
bloody punishment was as follows : The boatswain lied both
wrists together with a strong cord, then hooked the crane be
tween his vvrisLs, and hoisted his body nearly a foot from the
floor. The boatswain then took a whip, composed of cow.'s- .
skin,, which, when dried hard and twisted lengthways, forms
a kind of cork -.screw, the outward edge thereof from, end to
end b^ing extremely sharp. A negro man, in obedience to
the boatswain's commands,, and at a moment's notice, began
the di/pful action, in presence of his vile master, accompanied
by two others of the same complexion, gazing upon the piti
ably object wilh complaisancy and delight. After the execu
tioner, wilh his piercing weapon, and vvith one hundred re
peated laches, had reduced his body from neck to ancles into
one flagrant wound ; and, human nature was ni) longer able to
support itself under the remorseless stroke, the poor man
hung down his head, and received the remaining cuts like a
stockjOr stone, repeatedly, though faintly uttering "Oh! me
deady,! me deady I" .^ Nor did this move the accursed fiend
(his master) till the poor tortured object appeared in his last
gasps. He then desired the boatswain''s mate • to desist for a
few pioment.s, and. approached the almost expiring slave?
where, taking a more particular survey of his wounds from
I 2

head to foot, and perceiving two or three inch spaces which
had not bet.-n laid open, he instantly ran lo the boatswain's
mate and compelled him lo la.?h' him there also,-- and make
him all alike. When this was executed he was loosed, and as
be had no strength to stand, so he lay as totally dead, while
he was washed Ironi head to foot in a tub of salt-beef pickle,
placed on the wharf for that purpose. Kere I- was greatly
astonished that the excruciating pains and aciite sftiarts, pro
duced by the pickle, did liot put a speedy end to the remain
der ofhis existence. Tbe vile heathen (his master) tarried to
behold this operation also, and aftervvards walked off well sa
tisfied. The efiect this worked upon my mind -(as I ever did,
and humbly hope ever shall abhor the appearance of cruelty,
more especially when I behold such merciless acts thereof as I
then did) heij^htened ray indignation to such a degree, thai I
must acknowledge, had I been possessed of a knife, sword, or
any other cutlery instrument, I should certainly have transfix
ed the body of s6 inferntir a being. This deed was not exe
cuted in a corner, or done privily, but upon the open wharf,
and in a noriiinal Christian Protestant country ; but if the
word " Christian" iniplies (which it unquestionably doth) one
who has the mind that was-in his heavenly Master, or that
pursues his most holy exaniple, then there can be no impropri
ety, or breach of charity, in pronouncing such wretches as
those children of the devil, ralher than Ihe children "Of God,'
by faith in Christ Jesus, The Scripture impartially condemns
all such with this dreadful sentence, " Depart, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, unless thev deeply repeht before they are
called out ofthis life. All this gross ignorance and horrid-
barbarity overspread the island of Jamaica in the year 1727,
ahd I am spared lo the year 1775 ; yet there are too many rea
sons to believe that the sarne, or nearly the same, spirit of
cruelty still predoniinates over those our unfortunate fellow
creatures, the greater part of whom are clandestinely taken
away from their native countries, utterly against the consent of

69:
their parents and- themselves, and enforced, hy, devilish com
pulsion, into slavery and captivity to the latest moments oi
their lives, with their children, and children's children after
them, unto many generations, until God undertakes their
wretched cause, aiid sets them at liberty. Here it may be re-
toiitedi upon me, " Phjisician> heal thyself," as I had been in
the slave trade for some years : I confess and acknowledge this
chargei but my case was diflerent, being at that time an ap
prentice, ahd unacquainted with the consequent evils of that
horrid trade, I conducted myself with the utmost circumspec
tion, according tothe best of my knowledge, in obedience to
my master's interest: But when I arrived at Boston, those
pious and Christian people reasoned the matter with me, and,
notwithstanding mV familiarity with the African -trade, and
the immediate prospect of being made a conspicuous character
in that impious number of Guinea commanders; yet through
the all-wise providence of God, I relinquished every point of
temporal interest and advantage ; nor had I any the leasf.incli-.
nations, or weakest desires, of resuming them any more :
Therefore T am under the highest obligations to the Almighty
for so happy a deliverance from Ihe snare ofthe devil, seeing
that it is one of the most base practices under the sun ; but
had not the Lord's timely interposition manifested itself in
rescuing me therefrom, I probably might (by promotion to the
rank of captain) have proved as eminent a savage as the most
notorious character among them. Surely an imniediate curse
fTOra God attends upon this cruel trade, as few voyages are
made to those parts in which the crews are not thinned by poi
son, snicide, ill usage, and every species of destruction ; this
I have remarked during the slavery under which I laboured
when unhappily linked to that trade. And although I wag
frequently labouring under severe sicknesses myself, yet the
merciful hand of God was ever over me, and followed me with
daily convictions for sins, yet, having an evil president always
he'fore me, and the corruptions of my own evil nature inces-

70
santiy prompting me lo sin, I sometimes "gave way thereto,
aCTain.st the light of conscience, knowing but very little of the
cbrroDt fountain from whence those resistless currents of evil
" prpetually flowed ; ypt this'was alvyays a pajn to my mind,
and ii complete obstacle against my having immediate recourse
lo private devotion. It likewise proved a bariier against my
solemn deprecations for pardon of my past sins, and to guard
against future temptations; but to my greater grief still, I
found that, when the bank was broken, the breach was made
wider; and being al that time between seventeen aud eighteen
years of age, and my carnal passions getting the dominion over
me, I was oftentimes overcome with swearing, drunkennes.s,
and lewdness, as also divers other evil.s ; therefore, what with
my terrified conscience, and cross providences in temporal!!,
my life became compleally miserable ; so that for about ten
years I continued in that unsettled slate, sinning and repent
ing ; nor did the Lord suff'er me to prosper, either in soul or
body ; yet I vvas never without fear of death, hell and judg
ment : This 1 considered a mercy far beyond my deserts.
In the month of July, 17-40, Mr. Charles Casper Greaves'
the young bricklayer, alreadj' spoken of in the foregoinE; ac
count, was made the instrument of my introduction among the
then niuch despised peopleralled Methodists ; apeoplegrievous-
ly contemned, hy reason of the many evil reports raised against
them; oneof which was. That the false prophets referred lo
in Scripture were every Sunday, oral other select opportunities,
in the centre of their congregations. Another report was, that
there were certain subterraneous dens and caves, into which
the men and women frequently resorted, there to commit all,
manner of abominations. Together with similar reports ; all
which I cordially believed, and communicated those fictitious
relations lo my wife, her father and mother,, so that we all
conceived an utter detestation to these Methodists: But God's
thoughts of thera were not as oi»r thoughts, therefore I was.

71
• through his Providence, pointed out, Ip be the hapjDy instru
ment of conversion both to my own and wife's family, which
will more fully appear in the sequel hereof", ^ut, previously
returning to young Mr, Greaves, I l^ope to recount the many
interesting passages of pur intercoprse during his employment
in Goldeh-lahe, by a brewer, to whom I was also a clerk, I
here' descried something in the countenance and behaviour of
this young man, very different from that I^beheld in others as
well as myself. However, to my shame be it spoken, I treated
hiin with ridicule and contempt, he being a Whitfieldite, as it
was termed ; and, to the nearest of my remembrance, I Some-
times cursed and swore at him, and told him the whole frater
nity of them was a mi.xture of false prophets, hypocrites and
plebeians; all which he bore with a caini magnanimity and un
wearied patience; nor did he return me one evil word or look.
His countenance appeared full of holy grief, which greatly
condfmned me, although I concealed it from him ; and at
twelve o'clock, being dinner time, he asked me where I dined,
I answered hirn very; roughly, " In the hay^-loft." He theu
said, " I w'il! go'vvith you ;" ,so we both ascended together,
and as soon as we wore seated on the trusses of hay, he took
a Prayer-Book out ot his pocket, and read a few verses out of
the Psalms ; he then turned round, and asked me what I
thought of thqse words ; and as I .was lond of the Scriplures,
I was the more confounded, well knowing they condemned me
morie abundantly than before. . When he perceived my tongue
was silent, he began rather too hastily upon me, and asked me
to go withhim that evening to hear the Reverend Mr. "U^esley,
at the Foundiy. I begged him, for God's sake, never lo ask
mea question of that kind any more, fori was determined
never to go thither, and that if my wife ever came to the
kiiowledge 'of such proceedings, she would never forgive me ;
seeing me so earnest, he considered it prudent to say no more ;
but in that instant God began to work powei fully upon my
soul. Then the eye of ray niind saw the Son of God sifting on

his throne to judge the world, and a calm peace rested upon
me, such as tongue cannot express. This happy changeabode
with me every moment of that afternoon, and I quickly, though
irnperceptibly, found my s-piritmuch united to Mr. Greaves,
and Iherfore related my experience to him, I then myself
proposed going with him to hear the Reverend Mr, Wesley, to
which he acceded with great satisfaction, and accordingly we
repaired to the Foundry, ' but were disappointed.
The next morning he took me up^ to Short's Gardens, to
hear Mr. Wesley ; but we were disappointed there likewise,
Hovvever, we tarried to hear the sermon, yet the place was
very unpleasant ; but the preacher exceedingly more so, who
proved to be Mr. Maxfield, a lay-preacher, with a thick-head
of curled hair, resembling a mOp, and a clownish disagreeable
voice, stammering out his word.s, as I imagined, without rhyme
or reason. When he had concluded I went out in a pet, and
asked Mr. Greaves for what reasons he broughtme there, whe
ther it was to hear a good sermon, or lo be disgusted by the
grumbling of a fellow who could not deliver half a dozen
words of common sense.
This unkind speech, however, did not appear to affect him
the least in the world ; but, on the contrary, excited his com
passion, -and increased his pity towards me ; so that he very
mildly enquired of me the place 6f my residence, and gave
me to understand, that, without any fear of disappointment, I
might depend upon hearing the Reverend Mr. Wesley next
Sunday morning at five o'clock. I answered him more surly
than ever I did before', but told him he might call at my apart
ments if he thought proper, and gave him directions accord
ingly ; and, notwithstanding his place of abode was at Ken
sington, and that of mine on Church-Hill, near Black-Friar's
church, yet he was at my house precisely at four o'clock in
the morning.'" I then went with him to the Foundry, and as

73
we were passing through Cheapside he commenced a chris- '
tian conversation, and asked me if I ever had an idea of what
was become of all those who walked that street-fourscore or an
hundred years ago. This prepared my inind for hearing the
word, and, as before observed, God had wrought graciously
upon my soul, so I was the better prepared to receive instruc
tions. When we entered the Foundry (as I had heard various
unaccountable reports both of the place and people) I was
much tempted to gaze about me, in order to make a few ob
servations thereon ; and finding it a ruinous place, with an
old pantile covering, a few rough deal boards, put together to
constitute a temporary pulpit, and several other decayed tim
bers, which composed the whole structure, I began to think it
answered Jthe report given of it, as there were, many rooms
and corners similar to those caverns related to me by my former
irreligious acquaintances. In one of these recluse parts. of the
-Foundry sat three or four old women, one of whom appeared
in the attitude of an unmoveable statue, with her apron over
her face, nor was she uncovered during the whole time of di
vine service. The enemy of sonls immediately suggested that
she was an hypocrite. My friend, Mr. Greaves, stood close
behind me, to prevent my going out, as I did at Sbort'.s-Gar-
dens, to which I was strongly tempted; and had it not been
for the multitude of people assembled together, so early in the
morning as between four and five o'clock, and the striking con
sideration of such profound seriousness, which evidently ap
peared in the countenance of almost every person there, I
must certainly have given vyay to the temptation, and thereby
have lost the greatest blessing I ever experienced before. I
tarried there a full half hour before the service began, during
which my mind was sorely disturbed wilh many strange no-,
tions, as I had been so strongly attached to the church of
England. Elsactly at five o'clock a general whisper was ,con-
veyed through the congregation, and " Here he comes I Here'
he comes !" was repeated with the utmost pleasure. I w^'aS

74
filled with curiosity lo see his person, which, when I beheld,
I much despised. The enemy of souls, who is never unpre
pared to hinder the salvation of individuals, suggested, that
he was some farmer's son, who, not able to support himself,
was making a penny in this low and ignoble manner. He
passed through ihe congregation into the temporary pulpit,
and, having his robes on, I expected he would have begun
with the Church service ; but, to my astonishraent, the intro
duction to his preaching was the singing an hymn, with which
I was almost enraptured ; but his extemporary prayer was
quite unpleasant, as 1 thought it savoured too much ofthe Dis
senter's mode of worship, which at that time my prejudice
could not abide. After which he took his text inthe second
chapter, of the first epistle general of St. John, twelve and
thirteen verses. " I write unto you, little children, because
your sins are forgiven you, &c." The enemy struck a deadly
blow at me, and in that moment suggested, that he was a Pa
pist, as he dwelt so much on forgiveness of sins ; and although
I had read this portion of Scripture many times before, yet I
never understood that we,were to know our sins forgiven on
earth ; supposing that it referred only to those to whom the
apostle wasNthen writing, especially as I had never heard this
docfrin? preached in the church. However, my prejudice
quickly abated, through the excellent wisdom wilh which
Mr. Wesley spoke : This clearly elucidated the subject, and
proved the point. I then plainly saw I could never be saved
without knowing my sins were forgiven me ; and in the midst
of his sermon the Spirit of God sealed the truth of every word
npon my heart. At the close of the discourse, however
strange it may appear, a small still voice entered my left ear,
with these words, " This is the truth !" and instantly I felt it
in my heart ; and for five and thirty years I have never once
doubted of those truths and doctrines received amongst us,
viz. " Of salvation by that faith productive of good works."
My worthy friend, Mr, Greaves, observing my attention to

75
the sermon, asked me how I liked Mr. Wesley, I replied,
" As long as I live I will never part from him." Hitherto the
Lord hath kept me, and 1 trust he ever will. With this first
sermon my soul was on fire, assured that it was the truth ; so
that I was filled^with zeal for the righteous cause, and for some
years I ran, as it were through fire and water, to promote the
Redeemer's kingdom, and that not without glorious success.
Here I broke oflFat a stroke with all my old acquaintance in ini
quity, who mocked and derided me exceedingly ; and one of
my most intimate acquaintances said to me, " What ! Told,
are you commenced Whitfieldite? As sure as ever you was
born, if you follow thera, you are damned I" But the heavier
my persecutions were, the more abundantly 1 rejoiced, and
conceived such love and union to my ministers and compani
ons in tribulation, that nought but death could make a separa
tion, IJiad now to encounter with my wife -and family, with
whom for many years I had Jived peaceably and in quiet ; but
they perceiving different raarks of an alteration in my mind
and behaviour, suspected I had been among the Methodists,
My wife, though a worthy, honest woman, yet an entire
stranger to this new light, happened one day to exclaim very
warmly, and said, " What the devil posse,sses you ? I hope
you have nob been among the Methodists ; I will sacrifice my
soul rather than you should go'among those miscreants;" al
though I never before this heard an ill expression drop from
her lips (Oh ! how does the carnal mind rage in the uncon
verted !) However, I gave her for answer, " If you are re
solved to sacrifice your soul, I ara resolved, God willing, to
join them :" At which she said no more, nor even opposed my
going to the word.
After this happened a very unfortunate circumstance. One
evening, as my wife was occasionally at her accustomed chan-
K 2

76
dler's shop (which in a circle of years had taken some hun
dreds of pounds of my wife's family, between whom and th*
proprietor, a spirit of unanimity had invariably subsisted from
the origin of their mutual acquaintance) she discovered! a leg
of pork roasting by the fire, and, being big with her fourth
Child, longed to eat of the joint. Mr. C''^*''''*'* was ever free
with our family in what my house afforded, therefore my wife
naturally imagined a similar degree of freedom on her part
would not be considered as an act of rudeness by Mr. C****"^'
— At this time, however, he seemed unfamiliar ; nor did he
invite my wife to partake of his supper, as usual ! Mrs. Told,
being strictly modest, went home, and informed her mother
of the illiberality of Mr. C'""***''*, who went immediately to
him, and related to him my wife's condition; upon which he
raved, cursed, swore, and, with the hottest censure, ' replied
" What! can I not have a joint of meat but she must long
for it ?" throwing out of his mouth, at the same time, the
most sarcastic and repeated invectives. Her mother, struck
with his behaviour, quickly informed me thereof. I then
went lo him myself, and oflTered him half a guinea for a plate-
full of the pork, which he sharply refused. This broke oflf,
for ever afterwards, our acquaintance ; but I do not imagine
that the disappointment would have affected my vvife, had it
not been principalfy owing to the weakness of her mother,
who informed her of the man's cruel behaviour;' which had so
heavy an eflTect upon her, that the child became emaciated
within her, insomuch that she was never delivered, but lay
eight rhonths under the physician's charge, which was attend
ed with a very great expence. At this time my salary was
but low, having no more than ten shillings per week : Out of
this three-pence was applied to the pay-table every Saturday
evening; nine shillings I lodged in the hands of a friend for
the support of my wife, and the remaining nine-pence was
the whole of my subsistence the/qllowing week.

77
In the year 1744, having been married seven years, my
wife died, leaving only one child, a girl about two years of
age. God now began to bless me in my temporals, and in
creased my outward circumstances. Soon after my wife's
death I was recommended to a Mr. Bembow, at New-Crane,
Wapping, to serve him as a clerk, where I was greatly res
pected, through my diligence in business, and constant assi
duity when employed in a more inferior calling. A few
months of my services to Mr. Bembow were scarcely expired,
before I was visited by a Mr. Hogg, one of the Reverend Mr.
Wesley's stewards, who informed me that the Reverend Mr.
Wesley resquested my undertaking to teach the charity-chil
dren ofthe Foundry-school ; but I being fixed with Mr. Bem
bow, refused it. A few days after Mr. Hogg relumed, and,
together with a repetition of his former message, he said that
Mr. Wesley positively insisted upon it, making mention, that
my calling thereunto was equally clear and evident with Mr.
Wesley's calling lo the ministry, I then believed it was my
duty to comply wilh his desires, and therefore informed Mr.
Bembow of the intended separation. Both Mr. Berabow and
his wife intreated me to continue my services towards them
telling me, at the same time, that no money should part us ;
for that they never had acquired an assistant who executed
their commands with such attention, and promoted their in
terest with such assiduity and pains, as I constantly did ; but
as I considered it the immediate interposition of God, and
dared not, for conscience sake, to reject the undertaking, I
then thought proper to continue stedfastly inexorable to all
their intreaties, though it was the occasion of much grief on
both sides.
The day after our disunion I was established in the Foundry-
school, and, in the space of a few weeks, collected three
score boys and six girls; but the society, though many in
number, yet poor withal, could not grant me more than ten

78
shillings per week. This, however, was sufficient for me, as
they hospitably boarded and clothed my daughter. Being
conscious of my indispensible duty in this important under
taking, and having the children under my care from five in
the morning till five in the evening, both winter and summer,
sparing no diligence to make them complete in the rudiments
of their education, lat length, with the assistance of an usher
and four monitors, brought near forty of thera into writing and
arithmetic. 1 continued in the school seven years and three
months, and discharged two hundred and seventy-five boys,
most of them lo capital trades.
In the year 1744, and as near as I can well remember, in
the month of June, I attended the children one morning at
the five o'clock preaching; when the Rev. Mr. Wesley, took
his text out of the tw-enly-fiflh chapter of St. Matthew, the
forty-first, forty-second, forty-third, and forty-fourth verses,
and I having laboured under sore convictions for a consider
able tirae, was almost distracted in my mind, when he read
these words, •' I was sick, and in prison, and ye visited me
not ;" and as I was sensible of my negligence, in never visit
ing the prisoners during the course of my life, so therefore I
was filled with an horror of mind beyond expression. I then
began to reason vvith myself, that I had obeyed the other in
junctions, but not this one ; therefore I could not be saved, as
I never had 9,mere knowledge of either, prisons or keepers ;
and to increase my then prevailing wretchedness, it w-as sug
gested to me that I should be eternally miserable if I. did not
speedily visit them. This threw me, well nigh, into a state
of despondency and hopelessness, as I was totally unacquaint
ed with the measures requisite to be pursued for that purpose.
However, the good and gracious God, two or three days after,
sent a messenger to me in the school, who informed me of ten
malefactors that were under sentence of death, and would be
glad of any of our friends who could make it convenient to

79
go and pray with them. The messenger, whose name was
Sarah Peters, gave me to understand, that they were all much
awakened, and that one of them (John Lancaster) was con
verted aod full of the love of God. In, consequence of this
reviving information. I committed my school (without an
hour's delay) to the superintendency of my trusty usher, Mr.
Marr, and went with Sarah Peters to Newgate, where we
had admittance into the cell wherein they were confined.
In the first place, I desired* Lancaster to call thera altoge
ther into his cell, and then began to inquire into the state of
their souls. I addressed Mr. Lancaster first, as he appeared
to be all alive to God. He told me he had no doubt but that
God, for Christ's sake, had forgiven him all his sins ; and,
although (as he observed) he was very young, yet he had lived
a very wicked life, and acknowledged, that three others, with
himself, were the persons who robbed the Foundry one morn
ing of ail the brass candlesticks : but he knew that shortly he
would be wilh Jesus in Paradise. He added, "This morning,
about five o'clock, the Sun of Righteousness arose in my dark
cell, and I am now so full of God and heaven, that I am like
a barrel of new wine ready to burst for vent. Oh 1 for words
to express what I now feel !" He then dropt on his knee.s, and
earnestly supplicated the Lord Jesus to endue the Reverends
John and Charles Wesley, with such a profusion ofhis blessed
countenance, that when bis glorious wisdom calls them hence,
they might come to the grave as ripe shocks of corn to the
ground, fitted for their master's pleasure. I then spoke to the
rest, six of whom seemed clear of their acceptance in the
Beloved. While I was speaking to these, one Roberts, a carman, who
lived in Whilecross-street, entered the cell, looking at me
with a sullen shyness, and, wilh a countenance speaking the
very spirit of the old serpent dwelling in him. This immedi-

80
ately struck me, and I endeavoured to speak to him with all
the comfortable words, and use the most pacific exhortations,
I was capable of, inviting him to come to the Lord Jesus as a
poor, helpless, lost, and undone sinner ; that Jesus was the
only sinner's Friend ; told him, that the King of heaven laid
down his life for the chief of sinners, and that he certainly,
died for him : I therefore quoted (for example) David, Mary
Magdalen, Peter, and the thief on the cross. Now, while I
was thus speaking to him, I perceived his countenance to
change into a pleasing smile, and his uncultivated savage be
haviour, happily transformed into a child-like deportment.
Now God instantly made the lion lo lie down wilh the kid ; so
the turbulent man became meek, and continued thus till his
last moments.
The report having been made, and the dead-warrant coming
down, eight of the ten were ordered for execution ; the other
two were respited : Nor did either of these two appear to have
any the least regard or concern for their deathless souls ; there
fore I trust, they were spared for a good .purpose, that they
might have time for repentance and amendment of life.
The day arrived, whereon the other eight malefactors were
to die. Sarah Peters and myself were early at the cell,-in
order to render them all the spiritual service that was within
our power. The keeper having received directions on the
over-night fo lock them all Up in one cell, that they might
pour out their souls together in fervent solemn prayer to Al
mighty God, they paid very circumspect attention thereto,
and a happy night it proved to each of them ; so that when
they vvere led down from their cell, they appeared like giants
refreshed with wine ; nor was the fear of death apparent in
any of their countenances. We then went up tothe chapel,
when my companion and myself conversed with them in the
press-yard room. Upon being called out to have their irons

81
taken off, Lancaster was the first: While they weredisburthening
his legs thereof, the sheriff" being present, Lancaster looked
up to heaven with a pleasant smile, and said, " Glory be to
God for the first moment of my entrance into this place ; for
before I came hither my heart was as hard as my cell wall,
and my sonl was as black as hell ; but Oh ! I am now wash
ed, clearly washed, from all my sins, and by one o'clock
shall be with Jesus in Paradise ;" and, with many strong and
forcible expressions, he exhorted the innumerable spectators,
to flee from the wrath lo come. This caused the sheriff to
shed .tears, and ask Mr. Lancaster if he was really in earnest,
being so greatly affected with his lively and animated spirit.
As their irons were taken off, they were remanded back to
the press-yard room; but by some accident they were a long
time getting off the last man's fetters. When they were
gotten offj Lancaster, beholding him at a short distance, clap
ped his hands together, and joyfully proclaimed. " Here comes
another of our little flock." A gentleman present said (with
an apparent sympathizing spirit) "'I think it is too great a
flock upon such an occasion !" Lancaster, with the greatest
fluency of speech, and with an aspiring voice, said, " Oh !
n6, it is not too great a flock for the Shepherd Jesus ; there is
room enough in heaven for us all." When he exhorted the
populace to forsake their sins, he particularly endeavoured to
press on them to come to the Throne of Grace immediately,
and without fear assuring them, that they would find him a
gracious and merciful God, to forgive them as he had forgiven
him. At length they were ordered into the cart, and I was
prevailed upon to go with them. When we were in the cart
I addressed myself to each of these separately. The first per
son was Mr. Atkins, the son of a glazier, in the city, a youth
of nineteen years of age. I said to him, " My dear, are you
afraid to die ?" He replied, "No, Sir, really I am not, '^ I
then asked him, " Wherefore he was not afraid lo die .¦"' He
again answered me, " Because I have laid my soul at the fee*

82
of Jesus, therefore I am not afraid to die." I then spoke to
Mr. Gardner, a journeyman carpenter, about the age of fifty,
who made a very comfortable report of what the Lord had
done for his soul, through the free remission of all his past
sins, and that he found the true peace of God reigning in his
heart. The last person to whom I spoke was one Thompson,
a very illiterate young man ; but he, agreeable to the others
entertained no fear of death ; assuring me also, that he was
perfectly happy in his Saviour, and continued so till his last
moments. This was the first time of ray visiting the malefac
tors at Newgate, and of my attendance upon them to the place.
of execution ; and then it was not without much shame and
fear, because I clearly perceived the greater part of the popu
lace considered me as one of the suff"erers. When we came
to the fatal tree, Lancaster lifted up his eyes thereto, and
said, " Blessed be God," then prayed extemporary in a very
excellent manner, and the others behaved with great discre
tion. John Lancaster had no friend who could procure for
his body a proper interment; so thai, when they had hung
the usual space of time, and were cut down, the surgeon's
mob secured the body of Lancaster, and carried it over to
Paddmglon. There was a very crouded concourse, among
whom were numberless gin and gingerbread venders, accom
panied by pick pockets and whores, of almost every denomi
nation in London ; in short, the whole scene resembled a prin
cipal fair, rather than an awful execution. Now when the
mob was nearly dispersed, and there remained only a few by
standers, with an old woman who sold gin, a remarkable oc
currence look place, and operated to the following effect ;
A company of eight sailors, with truncheons in their hands,
having come to see the execution, looked up to the gallows
with an angry countenance, the bodies having been cut down
some minutes previous to their arrival. The old woman,
before named, who sold gin, observing these tars to

83
grow violent, by reason of their disappointment, mildly ac
costed them, and said, " Gentiemen, I suppose you want the
man that the surgeons have got." "Ay," replied the sailors,
" where is he ?" The poor affrighted woman gave them to un
derstand, that the surgeon's crew had carried hira over to
Paddington, and she pointed out to them the direct road there
to. They hastened away, and as they entered the town, en
quiry was made by them where the surgeon's mob was lo be
discovered ; and receiving the information they wanted, they
went and demanded the body of John Lancaster. When the
sailors had obtained the body, two of them cast it on their
shoulders, and carried him round by Islington; they being
tired out with its pressure, two others laid themselves under
the weight of the body, and carried it from thence to Shore-
ditch ; then two more carried it from Shoreditcfi to Coverley's-
fields ; at length, after they were all rendered completely
weary, and unable to carry it any farther, the sequel of their
project, and their ultimate contrivance lo rid themselves of
..the body was, an unanimous consent to lay if on the step of
the first door they came lo. They did so, and then went their
way. This gave birth to a great riot in the neighbourhood,
which brought an old woman, who lived in the house, down
stairs. When she saw the corpse lay at the step of the door,
she proclaimed, with an agitated spirit, " Lord, here is my
son John Lancaster !" This being spread abroad, came to the
knowledge of the Methodists, who made a collection, and got
him a shroud and a good strong coffin. I was soon informed
of this event, which was peculiarly singular, as the seamen
had no knowledge of the body, nor to whom he belonged
when living. My second wife went with me to see him, pre
vious to the burial ; but neither of us could perceive the least
alteration in his visage, or features, or any appearance of vio
lence on any part of his body. A pleasant smile appeared in
his countenance, and he lav as in a sweet sleep.
' L 2

84
From the time of this introduction among the prisoners, I
preached frequently tothe felons and debtors in Newgale. Of
the latter I joined about thirty-six in a regular .society; nor
would fhev suffer any individual lo live in any outward sin,
as they never neglected to inform me of every such instance
on my following visitation. At that lime I had so lively a zeal
for the cause qf religion, from my first hearing the Gospel, that
I spared no pains or labour to do all the good that was then in
my power, through the assistance of God, both lo the bodies
and souls of sinners, embracing every opportunity, both in
respect to hearing and speaking ; so that in process of time I
preached in every prison, as well as many workhouses in and
about London ; and frequently travelled to almost every town
within twelve miles around this metropolis ; nor did I ever
doubt, but that God as surely called me to that office of ad
ministering his Holy Word to the unhappy malefactors, as St.
Paul was called tothe ministry.
I still continued in the Foundry-school, and by my second
marriage to the widoW of captain Robert Griffith, who had
five children living, my family was much increased in tempo-
Yal circumstances for the space of a few years, and rr.y soul
was exceedingly delighted ; but when I began to confine my
self to certain regulations, such as rising at four o'clock every
morning, going lo the five o'clock preaching, diligently at
tending the church-service, and strictly observing all the other
ordinances of God, I was then clearly convinced of my unbe
lief, of my lost estate, and of the carnal mind, which is at
enmity with God. No tongue can express the bitterness of
soul I then laboured under, both day and night, and that for
a long time having " no rest in my flesh by reason of my sin ;"
and although my place of abode joined the Foundry, yet,
when I have left the school, to go either to breakfast or dinner,
my agony of mind has been so dreadfully heavy, ihat I have
even forgot to eat my bread, and have oftentimes wandered

85
into Hoxon-Fields, there to pour out my misery before God.
Frequently after I had dismissed my scholars in the evening, I
have, rather than go to my own apartments, taken a solitary
•walk into the fields till nine, ten and eleven o'clock, roaring
for the very disquietude of my soul ; and notwithstanding I
never could accuse myself of inattention to any ordinance,
fasting and praying, and sitting up both early and late, yet
my unbelief prevailed, till I became completely miserable. In
this situation I continued about three years, so that I "chose
strangling rather than life ;" nor could I, with all my hearing
and self-denial, overcome this damning sin of unbelief. Ne
ver was I possessed of so irritable a disposition, and at the time
when people told me I could believe if I would, gladly would
I have given worlds to believe, were they in my power; but
" such power belongeth to God alone," and glory be to him,
he displayed that power in my deliverance. The manner of my
rescue, as it appeared to me, in a manifest reality, I shall
simply and sincerely relate. Taking one morning my melan
choly walk, after five o'clock preaching, in the deepest dis
tress of mind, and as I was passing Ratcliffe-Row, leading to
the Shepherd and Shepherdess (a walk I had taken before
times out of number) I perceived a cow coming towards me.
I really wished in my heart I was that beast, as I considered it
ten thousand times happier than myself. The next thing that
passed me was a dog ; I heartily wished I could metamorphose
my body and mind into that of the dog's. Afterwards I ob
served a man taking his course a few yards off; I then thought
that man would afford me the greatest happiness I ever before
experienced, if he would put an end to so wretched a life. In
these miserable and distracted moments I had no conception of
a deliverance so very near, especially as the enemy of ray soul
had just previously suggested to me, that if I lived five hun
dred years longer in the world I should never receive a trans
formation of spirit by the grace of God ; all which I believed.
However, I continued walking, by a slow gradation, till I

86
came to a lonesome part of a field, by the Shepherd and
Shepherdess, which I imagined was better calculated for re
tirement than any other spot thereabouts. When I had se
cluded myself therein, being alone, on a sudden, in the
twinkling of an eye, " a hand struck me a ¦weighty blow on
the top of my head," which in some measure affected my
senses ; but I instantly found myself crying with a loud voice,
"Praise God, praise God," and, looking up, I beheld the
ethereal universe, replete with Ihe glory of God ; and that
glory of such substance and palpability, I thought I could
have laid hold of it wilh my hand. This attended me for the
space "of a minute; but was succeeded by an uncommon thick
darkness, through which a black dart, as if it was shot from
the hill near Islington, pierced its way, and, with wonderful
swiftness, entered my heart. I did not feel any pain thereby ;
but it was followed with these words, " This is one of your old
delusions.'' Although I was staggered at th's for a few mo
ments, yet I -was quickly enabled to look up to heaven, and to
beseech God in fervent prayer, that I might more fully know
whether this was the remission of my sins, or not, as at the
first I felt unspeakable peace, which far outweighed all my
former misery ; and as I looked up, the heavens were unclosed
about a mile in length, as it appeared to my mortal eyes, and
tapered away to a point at each end. The center of this awful
and sacred avenue was about twelve feet wide, wherein I saw
the Lord Jesus standing in the form of a man, holding both
his inestimably precious hands upright, and from the palms
thereof the blood streaming down ; floods of tears gushed from
my eye^s, and trickled down my cheeks. I said, "Lord, it is
enough !" nor have I once doubted since, but that I was freely
justified at that tirae.
Now, as I had been greatly harrassed when in my wretched
state wilh the doctrine of election, I prayed the Lord ' to ex
plain to me, whether the bbod of Jesus Christ was sufficient

87
to save all the world, or not, and immediately some articulate
voice asked me the following question : " How did you find
yourself an hour ago ?" I then recollected that I was in a
wretched and lost state. The voice again suggested, " All the
world is but as one man, and one man as all the world." The
meanina' of these words were as clear to my intellectual sensa
tions, as the sun performing its diurnal course; therefore one
drop of the blood of Christ was not only sufficient to save the
whole world, but ten thousand worlds of sinners, if there
were so many. This 1 believed as an unquestionable assertion
of verity ; nor, since this, do I ever remember to have experi
enced the slightest temptation to the doctrine of predestina
tion, whereof I cannot, by any means, consider myself a de
fender. Seeing that nothing remarkable has occurred in my spiritual
or temporal aff'airs, from the year 1745 lo 1775, I shall now
confine myself lo give a further account of my elaborate re
searches into the situation of the prisoner's at Newgate, and
into the state of their sopls ! but I purpose not to enter into
a minute history of each, but of such only as were the most
remarkable characters among them, in the course of my seve
ral visitations,
I believe it may be upwards of twenty-one years since I
first attended the prisoners in Newgate, and there chiefly on
the debtors side ; though sometimes I conversed in public
among the felons, and the Lord is witness to the horrible scene,
andthe dreadful emblem of the infernal pit, which was there
in pourlrayed, consisting of swearing, cursing, speaking blas
phemies, and foul conversation, and that continually. The
unfortunate persons confined in that prison found it the nearest
resemblance to the picture of hell of any under<the canopy of
heaven. However, having a constant pressure upon my mind
to stand up for God in the midst of thera, and to defend his

88-
cause against those mighty sinners, vvhile heedlessly -proceed
ing in this destructive path, I therefore prayed lo God for
wisdom and fortitude in the attempt of that disagreeable task
to flesh and blood. I confess I did so many times with fear
and trembling, yet I can conscientiously announce to the world,
I ever found the Lord overcoming all my apprehensive dreads,
and confounding the adversary. Indeed for a few j'ears, I
could not fully perceive my call to attend the malefactors,
meeting with so many and various repulses from the keepers
and ordinary, as also from the prisoners themselves ; but not
withstanding this opposition, I vvas the more vehemently
pressed on in spirit to burst through all ; so that, by the aid
of him who has all power in heaven and earlh, I became (in
the name of God) daringly resolute in that point, and would
conform myself to no denial. The ordinary (Mr, Taylor)
constantly on Sunday mornings stationed himself a few doors
from Newgate, for the space of two hours or more, to obstruct
my entrance, in forbidding all the turnkeys respectively to
give me admittance; yel the God of all compassion to those
souls for whom Christ died, frequently made an entrance for'
me, so that 1 had, an opportunity of preaching every Sunday
morning on the debtors-side, to the number of forty prisoners,
who behaved with much seriousness and attention ; after
which I proposed to them the uniting themselves together in
the nature of a society, and acquainted them also vvith the
manner and restrictive proceedings of Mr. Wesley throughout
his several congregations, I read and left with them the rules
of our society, particularly desiring them to consider seriously
whether they deemed it proper to confine themselves to such
regulations or not. Upon my succeeding visit I understood,
that through the circumspection of two or three prisoners,
who were men of good understandingj and of a liberal educa
tion, that had highly approved of my proposals, an unity had
taken place among thirty or more. For a considerable time
afterwards they paid regular attention to preaching, and to

89
the meeting of the young society, behaving themselves suit
able to what might be reasonably expected from persons in a
situation like theirs. If any ofl'ence was given to the society
in my absence, a report of the person or persons, by whom
such off'ence had been occasioned, was never withheld from
my notice. This desirable oeconomy continued for a consider
able time, when a great tumult was made by the ordinary,
who ever afterwards shut me out from those parts of the pri
son : It may here be observed, there were many intermediate
^workings of God's blessed spirit among the felons ; but more
eminently among the condemned malefactors,
I hope now to give a short account of God's remarkable
working upon the souls of Mr. Holmes and five others, four
of whom were most rancorous and unforgiving Roman Catho
lics. The case of Mr. Holraes nearly corresponded with that
of John Lancaster, already treatecT of in the foregoing rela
tions. This man was excellently useful to the others of his
fellow sufferers; and likewise greatly so to the spectators.
Having no opposition, I joyfully embraced the' opportunity of
visiting these six malefactors, and soon gained my point over
the two Protestants and three of the Papists, who, by force
of my arguments, rejected further advice from the priest, and
closed in with salvation by faith alone.
Here I e.ndeavoured to take such methods of conducting my
self towards these men, as I had usually done with the former
happy departed souls : and as I had an open door into the
cells, which ever pro.ved the most beneficial to the then con
fined prisoners, I went from cell locell, being locked in with
every individual for a longer or shorter time, according to the
situation and state of mind of each prisoner, and was permit
ted by the turnkey to retire without any emolument whatever :
Herein the hand of the Almighty was quite evident. Finding
Mr, Holmes more lively and active than any of the rest, he
4 ""¦ M

90
answered a very useful purpose ; having a clear sense of for
giveness himself, he zealously exerted himself in the means
of brimming the rest of his fellow-sufferers to a true sense of
the necessity of being born again ; and truly the Lord pros
pered his endeavours, so that al every repeated visit, I made
to them (which was very frequent) 1 found the rest of the ma
lefactors either under stronger convictions, or just ready to
step into the pool. For my own part, the advice I gave them
was principally to make them the inore deeply sensible oftheir
lost estate, while I was very cautious of daubing them wilh
untpm;)ered morter ; and hence 1 always perceived their con
versions were more solid, real, and permanent ; so that what
they had received was truly shewn in their conduct. A few
days before their death, 1 came more particularly home to the
point, and exhibitet) both to Protestants and Papists how abso
lutely impossible it was for happiness to be obtained, either in
time or eternity, wiihout the clear knowledge of God being
reconciled to them throuf^h the death and passion of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ, together with a sense of their re
demption through his blood, the forgiveness of their sins.
None of them appeared to be clear in this point, except
Holmes ; all the rest still lay at the pool-side.
Here I was struck with the conduct of one of the young
Roman Catholics, who notwithstanding all that I could force
into his mind, would not be. reconciled to his prosecutor, de
claring that he would maintain that obstinate resolution to his
last moments ! I told him, if he retained and cherished that
dangerous resolution, the Word of God lay flat against him,
quoting this passage of Scripture. " If ye from your heart
forgive not every one his brother's trespasses, neither will your
heavenly Father forgive your trespasses." This greatly alarm
ed his mind, so that he became more teachable. The night
before their execution, I desired the inner keeper, or turnkey,
of their respective cells, to give them the opportunity of as-

91
sembling together in one cell,, to the end they might all pass
their last hours in unitedly poiiring out their souls in fervent
and mighty prayer before God : This was granted agreeable, to
mv desires. I also requested one of the prl.soners, who had
been confined for some years, to attend them diligently, and
read to them. He did so, and they accordingly began their
exercise from out ofthe Prayer Book; but, after spending
two hours in that lifeless frame, and finding their spirits to be
in no wise animated thereby, one of the malefactors was
moved, and said, " Come let us pray extempore, and who
knows but God will open our mouths." They all gladly con
sented thereto, andthe Lord in his mercy did (in compassion
to their infirmities) not only open their mouths, but their hearts
too, and that in an unusual manner, manifesting himself unto
thera, as he does not unto the world ; so that they wrestled
with God in such great fervor of spirit, from nine till twelve
o'clock, that each of them was in a profuse bath of sweat.
Then they laid themselves down to rest from twelve till two,
when everyone of them again joined thpraselves in eager
prayer ; nor did they desist frora their happy exercise till the
time arrived, whenthey were summoned to chapel. I went
that morning before day-light, and availed myself of the joy
ful opportunity of getting admittance just before they were let
down. As they entered the press-yard, 1 saw the happy con
sequence of their last acts of devotion and solemnity. No
tongue or pen is able faintly to represent the solemn joy and
peace which appeared in each countenance ; but particularly
in the young Roman Catholics, whom I could not prevail upon
to forgive his prosecutor : To him I chiefly addressed myself,
saying, '• My dear man, how do you find yourself.'"' He re
plied, with a pleasant voice, and a heavenly countenance,
" Find myself! why, truly Sir, my soul is so filled wilh light,
love and peace, that I am the same as if I had nothing beside
Wittiin me !" In this rapturous spirit he continued to his latter
momenls. After chapel. Holmes, with the others, came
M 2

92
down, and had their irons struck oft. He spoke to all about
him of the unspeakable love of God lo him ; and assured them
that he kiieiv God, for Christ's sake, had forgiven him all his
sins : His vvords were so very powerful, that he drew abun
dance of fears from the spectators. After they were haltered,
they wore put into three carts, and sent for execution. I went
with Holraes in the first, spending our way to the most advan
tage. Upon our arrival at the tree, Holmes first stood up,
and, lifting hi.s eyes to heaven, said, " Lord, didst not thou
die for sinners.' thou didst die for me !" Then turning round
to the multitude, he prayed extempore so very excellently,
that it caused hundreds to be in tears round the gallows. When,
prayers were finished by the ordinary, all of them, agreeable
to my request, went off the stage of mortality, first turning
round, and putting their faces fo each other, their hands being
tied, crying cut, as in the voice of one man, " Lord Jesus re
ceive our spirits."
During the spaces of time which intervened befvveen the
several executions, 1 frequently preached and exhortJed among
the felons and debtors in Newgate, and constantly visited the
sick in all parts of the prison, which 1 have sufficient reason to
believe was blessed, in a great measure, to many of their
souls ; as, in consequence of those nieaus, numbers were pre
pared to receive the glad tidings of salvation when under sen
tence of death.
Some years ago, Messrs, Morgan, Whalley, Brett, and
Dupree, with two more, being then under sentence of death,
were ordered for execution, in the late king's reign ; and not
withstanding they were al) conspicuous characters in life; yet
the highest interest the nation could afford was ineffectual to
obtain an exemption from justice, especially as their fatal de-
linquency was the fruit of an intoxicated project.

93
The circumstance was thus : They all conjunctly agreed
upon a party of pleasure, at the election of a certain member
for Chelmsford, Essex; but after they had glutted themselyes
with an immoderate regalement, they unanimously consented
to divert thpiu3elves by going out upon the roads, and there
endeavour to effect a robbery on the first individual that might
presen', him'self in their way. In the course of these their un
restrained proceedings, a certain farmer chanced to pass them,
who was attacked by these unhappy men, and robbed of all
his money. After this the farmer, having met with assistance,
pursued them all into Chelmsford, where they were every on6
secured, and were removed by a habeas the next day to Lon
don ; they took their trials, were cast, received sentence of
death, and ordered, as before mentioned, for execution. Mr.
Brett was rhe sou of an eminent divine in Dublin ! Mr, Whal
ley a seutleman of a considerable fortune, and was possessed
of three counirv seats of his own ! Mr. Dupree was also the
complete gentleman ! and Mr. Morgan an officer on board one
of his Majesty's ships of war ! The last of these was frequent
ly visited by lady Elizabeth Hamilton (the duke of Hamilton's
daughter) both before and after sentence. I have seldbm fail
ed lo be present with them at their several interviews in New
gate, and thereby understood, that if this lamentable affair
had not taken place, the connubials of Mr, Morgan and lady
Betty were to have been solemnized in a very short time.
This lady, like the importunate widow set forth in the Gos
pel, went daily to his Majesty, as did also others who had
great influence, at her request, and pleaded with his Majesty
for the life of Mr. Morgan : but at the first, his Majesty con
sidering it a point of injustice, as well as partiality, would by'
no means attend to her plaintive petitions.' Another conside
ration was, that they were all persons of dignity and fortune,
and could not plead necessity to palliate the enormity of those
robberies, as many unhappy sufferers could, therefore hic

94

Mfeii

pjesty said, his subjects were not to be put in bodily fear,
and stiffer the loss of their property, merely through a capri
cious, wanton whim : However, the morning prior to the exe
cution lady Betty Hamilton appeared before his Maje.sty, and
fell upon her knees, (1 suppose in tears too.) " My lady,"
said his Majesty, " there is no end to your importunity ; I will
spare his life, upon condition that he be not acquainted there
with till he arrives at the place of execution." These docu
ments were with the utmost precision attended to ; and ac
cordingly Mr. Bielt, Mr. Whalley, and Mr. Dupree, were
tied up to the gallows ; the other cart with Mr. Morgan, and
two other gentlemen, followed ; but the sheriff, upon orfienng
the coach to stop, -produced the respite sent to Mr. Morgan
froni his Majesty. 'Tis hard to express the sudden aianu this
made among the numerous multitude ; and when I mrned
round and saw one of the prisoners out of die cart, with his
halter loose, falling to the ground, he having fainted away at
the sudden news, I was instantly seized with a great terror, as
I thought it was a rescue rather than a reprieve ; but wiien I
beheld Mr, Morgan" put into a coach, and perceiving that lady
Betty Hamilton was seated therein, in order lo receive him,
my fear was at an end, and truly I was very well pleased on
the occasion.
As soon as the coach, wilh Mr, Morgan and the lady, had
drove off for Nevvgale, a venerable gentleman, who carried
the appearance of a courtier, walked up to the first cart, and
addressing himself to Mr. Dupree in a very Christian manner,
begged him to look stedfastly to God, in whose presence he
would shortly appear, and hoped, the mercy his companion
received would have no bad effect upon him. Mr. Dupree,
with the most unimaginable calmness and composure of mind,
said, " Sir, I thank God that he is thus reprieved ; it does not
by any means aflTect me :" This gave the gentleman much sa
tisfaction. Now when prayers were ended, I addressed each.

95
of them in the most awful and striking words I was capable of,
and which I have great reason to. believe, were not to littie
purpose, as they all appeared intirely resigned to their fate.
Mr Brett, the clergyman's son, displayed the conduct of a
gentleman and scholar : In a mild spirit, he earnestly craved
the sincere prayers of the multitude ; and likewise, in his last
piece of exhortation, he conjured them all to take warning by
tti, untimely end of the three objects of their present atten
tion. Whenthey were turiied off, and the mob nearly dis
persed, 1 hastened back lo Newgate, and there seriously con
versed vvith Mr. Morgan, who in cojisequence of the unex
pected change, was scarcely recovered.
In the course of our reciprocal conversation -he told me his
mind, a few minutes previous to and at the arrival of his re
prieve, was in so happy a state, that he could not immediately
tell whether life or death was best ; yet, when about six week)?
were elapsed, it evidently appeared, by Mr. Morgan's tran
sactions, ihat his Majesty's gracious act of lenity was clearly'
worn off his remembrance ; fbr one day as* I chanced lo pay
him a visit (whereof he vvas not previously apprised) I detect
ed him in playingat cards wilh and against a Mr. Barrett, who*
was confined upon the jsupposition of defrauding his creditors.
This man was apparently totally destitute of the fear or know
ledge of God, and was also very prejudicial in his behaviour
to the souls of poor condemned prisoners, ever attempting to
divert their minds from their attention lo that which was truly
good ; likewise selling af nought, and exposing to censure and
ridicule, those who incessantly laboured for their eternal be
nefit ; but the Lord over-ruled him. I then laid before Mr,
Morgan the dangerous folly of such proceedings, and added,
" if such conduct as that (viz. playing at cards) is ofteritimes,
through point of conscience, abolished by men of coraraon
sense, how rauch more then ought such empty and soul des
troying amusement to be despised by one who had so recently

9Q
been rescued from death by his Majesty's great clemency
in so conspicuous a manner as he himself had ! 1 therefore in- '
treated him lo lay the cards aside, and never attempt to resume
such folly any more. By virtue of this remonstrance he be
came very complaisant, and, as an obsequious child conforms
his behaviour to the wishes of his parents, just so Mr, Morgan
renounced the diversion to whic'h his mind was so strongly
inured ; and, in a moment's time, he marked the line of his
conduct with an humble attention to all my sympathizing re
proofs. The before-mentioned Mr. Barrett, finding I had taken the
attention of Mr. Moigan from off' his evil allurements, began
to abuse me very much, and also boasted that it was not in the
power of all the world to hun him; that he defied all the
judges lo bring him in as a culprit upon trial ; but, however,
shortly after, his creditors having a strong suspicion that he
had some effects concealed in a chest, wherewith he was fur
nished in Newgate, obtained a judicial order to search it, aitd
found (as they had been informed) to the amount of five thou
sand pounds in bank notes, cut in halves. Soon after this his
trial came on, and he was deemed guilty by the judges. ^(He
was condemned with Mr. Samuel Lee, a fine young gentle
man, for forgery, and they were both accordingly ordered for
execution ; Mr. Barrett, on the Tuesday, in Smithfield ; Mr.
Lee, on the Wednesday, at Tyburn. Mr. Barrett refused my
company, and the service I might have been to him ; therefore
I cannot give niy readers any account of him, as touching his
behaviour during his latter moments ; yet Mr. Lee, the morn
ing before his execution, was very attentive to instruction, and
just before he was turned off the stage of life, put a letter into
my hand, which I opened, and was deeply affected with the
contents thereof: It began -thus, " Oh, eternity ! eternity !
eternity ! who can fathom the depths of eternity !" The whole
body of the letter expressed the devoutest sentiments ofhis in-

97
mostsoal. His behaviour on the pa.ssage to and at the place of
• execution was altogether serious ; nor did he leave room to
doubt of his eternal salvation,
I shall next speak of what I heard and knew of Mary Ed
monson, who was executed on Kennington-Common, upon the |
supposition of rauidering 11(61- aunt at Rotherhithe. This un
fortunate young woman was under close confinement a great
length of time. The day of her removal arrived; she was
then conveyed fo Kingston, there lo stand trial before judge
Dennison, who some lim,e before tried a Mr. Coleman, a
brewer's clerk, for the supposed personal abuse of a young
woman ; and although the opponents of Mr. Coleman labour
ed lo persuade this young woman that Coleman was the per
son who treated her in that scandalous manner, yet, when they
were in each others presence, she declared he was not the
man. His enemies still pressed upon this young woman lo
change her opinion, assgring ber that hewas the offender;
and as further interrogfatories were put lo her, respecting the
circumstances which had been alledged, she gave a contra
dictory answer, which seemed to imply that he was the man ;
so the poor guileless prisoner was thereby put into immediafa
confinement, and there secured till his trial came on, when he
was condemned, and executed. About three years after this,
Mr. Coleman's innocence was brought lo light, and that as
evident as the noon-day sun, the carman who drove him lo the
place of execution having been proved to be the man, and"
that by his own confession ; he was therefore tried, condemn
ed and executed, and one Mr. Delagourd, who was found per
jured in Coleman's case, was sentenced to stand in the pillory
opposite St. George's church in the Borough. Afterwards he'
with two others, who were concerned in the taking away Mf.
Coleman's life, were transported.
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98
I return now to ?Jary Edmonson, who, as before observed^
was tried by judge Dennison upon mere circurnstances, as no
positive evidence against her could be produced. However, I
understood that the prisoner suffered very severe and rigorous
treatment from the judge, because she insisted upon her inno
cence and integrity, thejudge still laying the murder lo her
charge, calling her a notorious vile wretch, assuring her that
she would be d  d if she denied the fact, as matters were
so evident, particularly seeing that her apron and cap were
found covered with blood in the copper-hole ; yet, as she was
condemned on circumstances only, and as I attended her to
the place of execution, I have every reason to believe she was
condemned innocent of the charge.
Now as I was often prevented embracing the opportunities,
of visiting this woman while in confinement, so therefore I
entertained »io ideas, or even the least intentions, of seeing
hersuff'er; but as I vvas occasionally passing through the Bo
rough, I chanced »w, call on one Mr. Skinner, a cheesemonger,
in that street, who earnestly intreated me to attend the unfor-t
-tunate Mary Edmonson, that, being the morning appointed for
her execution. As he was a man very piously inclined, and
one who seemed deeply aft'ected about the future state of her
soul, I therefore complied with his intreaties, although I was
extremely fatigued by my long journey ; and as he further
observed, that the unhappy woman had been brutally dealt
with in the course of her imprisonment, and also greatly hin
dered in making her peace vvith God, I, immediately (consider
ing it a point of my duty) set out for Kenniiigfon-Conimon,
yet with very slight hopes of coming fo the .speech of her be
fore she entered into her unchangeable state : but the Lord has
his way in the whirlwind. Some minutes, previous to my ar
rival at the Peacock, near the Common whereon she vvas to
suffer, Thomas ToUis, the executioner, espied me in the midst
of the mighty concourse, nnd filled with joy and tears, hurri-

99 s
ed through the croud, and said, " Mr. Told, I thank God you
are come ; pray follow me, and I will lead you to the room
wherein she will shortly be confined ; and, for God's sake,
speak as closely lo her as you can." I followed him intc the
room, and, after having tarried about the space of half an
hour, I heard a violent shout of, " Here she comes I" I then
had recourse to the window which looked into the road, and
there perceived that the turbulent mob were universally com
bined in giving bera shocking reception with e.xtended mouths,
throwing out the most vile, terrible, and blasphemous curses
and oaths, impossible to be penned or set forth ! nay, loo hor
rible for reflection to dwell on ! When the prisoner was
brought into the room, she stood with her back against the
wainscoat; but appeared perfectly resigned to the will of God.
I then addressed myself to her, saying, "My dear, for God's
sake, for Christ's sake, and for-^^he sake of your own precious
soul, do not die with a lie in your mouth I You are, in a few
moraenls, lo appear in the presence of an Holy God, who isof
purer eyes than lo behold iniquity. O consider what an eter
nity of misery must be, and this will be the certain portion of
all who die in their sins; therefore, if you are guilty, openly
confess it; or if you were in any wise concerned in the mur
der, you are not clear before God, if you do not publicly ac
knowledge your guilt." She heard me wilh much meekness
and simplicity; but answered, That she had already advanced
the truth, and hoped she might persevere in the same spirit fo
her last moment. Mr. Hammett, who was then chief keeper
of the New-Prison, Borough, by order of the sheriff, dismis
sed every person from out of the room ; and said to me, " Mr,
Told, I am sensible of the business upon which you came hi
ther ; but must begyou will quit the room, as no person is per
mitted lo attend her without obtaining the sheriff's consent for
that purpose ;" but, upon Mr. Haramett's following me out,
he intimated that the sheriff would grant me permission lo atr
S 2

100
tend her in the cart to the place of execution, if I deemed it
prudent to ask him.
The period of her departure for the gallows having arrived,
I solicited the sheriff to bestow his approbation of my visiting
her as soon as possible. He then asked me " if 1 was a clergy
man ?" I replied, " No, Sir." " Are you a dissenting minis
ter ..'" I answered, " Ko." " What are you then .'" I inform
ed him, that I was one who preached the gospel, and could
wish tobe the means of bringing the prisoner lo a confession.
The sheriff at that bid me lay hold of his horse's bridle, and
told me I should accompany her to the place of execution ;
yet he did not urge me to rush into that dangerous attempt im
mediately, seeing the rioteis were so fiercely exasperated
against her. It vvas observed to me by the sheriff, that a very
great satisfaction would be given to the nation in general, if I
could be instrumental in bringing her lo a confes.sion. Now,
OS we vvere proceeding on the road, the sheriff's horse being
close to the cart, I looked at her from under the horse's bridle,
and said, " My dear, look to Jesus." This salutary advice
quickened her spirit, insomuch that, although she did not look
about her 'b(ifore, yet she then turned herself round to me,
..V- ' J
and joyfully answered, " Sir, 1 bless God, I can look io Jesus
to my comfort." This produced a pleasant smile in her coun
tenance, which, when the sons of violence perceived, the d — d
her in a shameless manner ; this was accompanied with a
vengeful shout, " See how bold she is ! See how the b  h
laughs '" At length we came tothe tree, where many officers
were stationed pn horseback, besides numbers more on foot
furnished wilh constables staves. When the cart was backed
under the gallows, a very big and corpulent man (as I was in
the midst of the hubbub) trod on my left foot with such fury
and weight, that I really thought he had taken it quite off:
However ihe sheriff soon cleared the way, and formed an ar-
rangement of constables round the cait, then directed some of

101
them to put me thereinto, in order that I might be of all the
service to the malefactor which laid in my power ; the sheriff
himself standins behind the cart, the better to avail himself
of my discourse with her. When she was tied up, I began to
address her nearly with the saipe words as I did at the Pea
cock, pressing upon her (at the same time) an acknowledge
ment ofthe perpetration, in the most solemn manner I was
capable of; but she declared her innocence in presence ofthe
sheriff. I then interrogated her thus, " Did you not commit
the fact? Had you uo concern therein } Was you not interest
ed in the murder?" She an.swered, " I am as clear of the whole
affair, as 1 was the dav my mother brougl^it me into the world."
The sheriff, on hearing these words, shed plenty of tears, and
said, " Good God ! it us a second Coleman's case !" The cir
cumstance likewise brought tears from many persons who heard
her. When I was getting oul ofthe carl, the executioner put
the handkerchief over her eyes ; but she quickly moved it
away, and, addressing herself to the multitude, begged them
to pray that God would bring to light, when she was depart
ed, the cause of the assassination, saying, that she had no
doubt that the prayers of such persons would be heard, as she
repeated her innocence, solemnly declaring, tha* she was as
ignorant of the crime for which she was going to suffer, as al^
the day of her birth ; and added also, " I do not lay any thing
to the charge of my Maker, he has an undoubted right lo take
me out of this world as seemeth him good ; and, although I
am clear of this murder, yet I have sinned against hira in many
grievous instances ; but, I bless God, he hath forgiven me all
my sins." Her kinsman then came up into the cart, and would
fain have saluted her; but she mildly turned her face aside,
strongly suspecting him to be the assassin, having frequently
challenged hira therewith at Kingston : This, I believre, will
shortly appear to the satisfaction of my readers, that he was
the very man, and the sole cause of Mary's untimely end,;|bbut
first 1 purpose to finish with Mary.

102
After her kinsman wasgone out of the cart> the executioner,
a second time, vvas puffing the handkerchief over her face,
which she again turned aside, looking at the sheriff, and la
menting thus v.'ith meekness,- " I think it cruel that none is
suflered fo pray by m'e," The sheriff then desired me, for
God's sake, to go a second time into the cart, and renew my
prayers with her, which, when finished, Mary began to pray
extempore, and in a most excellent manner; when she had
concluded her prayer, the executioner performed his part,
and, being turned off, her body dropt against my right shoul
der, nor did she once struggle or move, but was as still as if
she had hung three hours. Upon her trial if was represented,
that she cut all her fingers across on both hands for a decep
tion in order to lay the murder upon some other person ; but
in her defence upon trial, she declared that her fingers were
not cut by a knife ; but, being alarmed, when she entered the
house, at seeing four men, one of whom was in a white frock;
and also seeing her aunt lay weltering in her own blood, she
in consequence thereof, made somewhat of a startling motion,
which, when the felons perceived, they all ran out of doors,
Mary necessarily following them close, caught the door with
both her hands, and called out, " Murder ;" but, by their
pulling the door very hard, her eight fingers were thereby
jammed almost off". When she was executed, I noticed her
fingers, went immediately and took a door, with which I
jammed my fingers also, and found them lo be marked exact
ly like hers.
I now return lo the kinsman of Mary Edmonson, who, upon
the death of his aunt (as Mary and he were cousins) was en
titled to one hundred pounds, left him by way of legacy, and
likewise fo Mary two hundred pounds. The kinsman having
received his, bought himself out of the army, as before he
had been a foot soldier. Some lime after the execution of his
kinswoman, he, with another man, hired a post-chaise in the

103^
Borough, to go on a parly of pleasure lo Croydon-Fair ; Upon
their return in the evening, Mary Edmonson's kinsman said to
his friend in the chaise, as passing Kennington gallows, " There
is the place where my kinswoman (Mary Edmonson) was hung
wrongfully !" The other (struck by the assertion) said, "Wrong
fully ! How do you know she was hung wrongfully ?" " Be
cause," replied the kinsman, " I should have gone in her
room." His companion, after a short conversation, and among
other questions, asked him where was the place ofhis abode?
He answered, " In Hedge-Lane, Charing-Cross. Now when
they had put up the chaise, the supposed friend of Mary's
kinsman, went that moment to justice Hammond, in the Bo-
roucrh, who, being informed of what had passed, granted a
warrant fo apprehend him. He was accordingly apprehended,
and committed to Newgate, where, at his request, I visited
him. He then desired me to render him all the spiritual as
sistance I was able ; but my instructions were lost in the in
structions which he received at Newgale from his fellow cri
minals, having speedily learnt how lo act, and also the art of
denying the confession he had made to his companion in the
chaise. Notwithstanding he was removed by a habeas from
Newgate lo^ Kingston in Surry, and when the assizes com-
menced, he was tried before judge Dennison, who tried his
kinswoman, Mary Edmonson ; but, as he so artfully denied
the charge, the judge frankly acquitted him : However, he
soon went on the highway, and committed a robbery, and was
taken, for which he was tried, cast and condemned ; but, I
have been informed, judge Dennison, to prevent clamours,
got him a reprieve for transportation ; so that I never heard of
the villain since, which is now many years ago.
•1 shall next give an account of Mr. Harris, who was report
ed lo be the flying highwayman. During his confinement,
after sentence, he was'both stupid and hardened, inattentive
to instruction from the ordinary or myself. The morning of

04

his execution, whenhe cabie out of his cell, he behaved as i
man deprived of his senses ; but, upon his entering thi- cha
pel, he became violent ; so tJ|^ the Rev. Mr. Rowe was ler-
riblv affrighted, and thereii^on ran for his life : However, I
wi nt to hini, and endeavouring to create a calmness in his
temper, I solemnly set before hirn the awful elernty he was
just going lo enter into; yel all the counsel 1 gave him was as
water spilt on the ground; nor was the least glimpse of repent
ance to he seen in his counienance or behaviour. The others
thai ivfre sentenced to suffer with him, by direction of the
sheriffs, vvere ordered into Ihe cart ; yet the same dulness and
stupidity of mind was not rendpved from Mr. Harris ; nor did
he give the least attention to what nas spoke concerning him,,
Bntil we had passed a little beyond Hation-Garden : I then
pressed upon him to be silent and still for the space of ten mi
nutes, during which lo be very cautious of speaking a single
•word; but to be fully observant in keeping the eye of his
mind stedfastly fi.-sed upon the ever-blessed and adorable
Jesus, and to beseech of him the for. iveness of all his sins.
Hanging back his head on the copse of the cart, he shut his
eyes, and was profoundly silent for the said space of ten mi
nutes, when, upon raising himself up, the tears pouring down
his cheeks, he clapped his hands together, and said, " Now I
know the Lord Jesus has forgiven me all my sins, audi have
nothing to do but to die,'' He then burst into an extempore
prayer, that the assembled populace might more distinctly
hear hira on both sides, and continued happy to his last mo
ments ; but solemnly denied the charge of his being the flying
highwayman, as he never leaped a turnpike-gate in his life,
though it vvas acknowledged by hira that he had committed se
veral highway robberies in his life-time.
The next person, of whom I shall give a particular account,
was one Ander.son, a poor abject labouring nian, whose cha
racter, before the following unfortunate affair happened, was

105
unimpeachable, touching his industry, sobriet}', and honestyj
This poor man had a wife far gone with child, and a daughter
about seven years old ; but was totally destitute of money,
clothes, and a spot where fo lay their heads, having been by
one of their rigid creditors dispossessed of the mean habitation
they formerley held, and necessitated fo lay on the ffoorin such
persons apartments as the goodness of God had actuated with
principles of humanity.
^One morning Mr. Anderson, haying been along time with
out employment, said to his wife, " My dear, 1 have a strong
inclination to go down upon fhe Quays, it may be the Lord
will provide for me a loaf of bread, or some employment,
whereby we may sustain ourselves a little longer, or else we
shall perish with hunger." He accordingly went out, and that
speedily ; but as the many attempts he had hitherto made were
entirely fruitless, and finding that all resources had failed, a
temptation entered into his mind to commence robber. In or
der to raise himself and family from that deepest stale of pe
nury and distress, he gave way lo the temptation, and accord
ingly turned back, and went into Hoxon Fields, vvherecasual-
]y meeting two washerwomen, who were bringing home their
clean linen, he without bidding them stop, said to one, "Mis
tress, I want money." She replied, " I have only two-pence."
Then, said he, " Give me that." After this exaction of two
pence, he addressed the other, saying, " You have got money
I know you have." The woman answered, " I have but four-
pence." He exacted that likewise, and insensible of what
might follow, scarce knowing what he didj he walked before
them into town. When they arrived in Old-Street, the two
women charged him with a constable, and both declared that
he slopped them in Hoxon-Fields, and formally robbed them
of their money. Hewas, by reason of this information, com
mitted to prison, tried, and cast at the Old-Bailey for death,
with several others, who lay a considerable time under sen-
5 ' Q

106
tence before the leport was made to his Majesty, In the in
terim poor Mrs. Anderson, though big with her third child,
made frequent visits to her husband, and, through the consi
derate intervention of some beneficial friends, she was ena
bled to sQpply him with sufficien-t food, the prison allowance
not being more than one pennyworth of bread per day. During
the many years I attended the prisoners, it is scarce within my
remembrance to have seen such an instance of such meek, loving,
and lender spirits, conjugally subsisting, as that which ap
peared so admirably conspicuous in the countenance and de
portment of this poor man and his wife ; indeed they were
naturally inclined to few words ; but the woman, frequently
seating herself by her husband's side, and there throwing her
arms around his neck, they would shed mutual and sympathe
tic floods of tears, to mitigate the great anguish which, at their
several interviews, regularly overwhelmed their united hearts;
But it is impossible to do justice to their exquisite sensibility
and tender affection. When I called all the prisoners into the
press-yard room, they behaved wilh the deepest attention,; nor
do 1 remember lo have made them one visit, but I ever found
their souls to be greatly profited by my exhortations. I may
further observe, this was the case wilh all the others- then un
der confinement, in some measure.
JulMr. Anderson some time before the death warrant came
down, was both convinced of sin, and also clearly sensible of
the remission of his sins. The morning of his execution hav
ing arrived, I attended him a little past six o'clock, and, upon
his being let down from his cell, found him to be exceedingly
happy in his mind, telling me he had no doubt ofhis salvation,
and that he should shortly be with Jesus, whora his soul loved";
and added, " This is the happiest day I ever saw ,in my life ;
Oh ! who can express the joy and peace I now feel ; if I could
have all the world 1 would not wish to live another day ?" Not-
vyithstanding the minister, churchwardens and overseers, with

107
several others of St. Luke's parish, presented various petitions
to his Majesty on his behalf, and though he had received an
honourable character from tbe captain of the man of vvar,
whereto he formerly belonged, and from which he was regu
larly discharged, yet, when his case was under the consider
ation of the Privy council, by a wrong information which
they received, that he was the Anderson, who was, an audaci
ous highwayman at that time onthe roads, he was included in
the dead-warrant.
Now as I was going in the cart with him tothe place of execu
tion, well knowing the miserablesiluationof his wife, I enquired
of him where she was to be found ; to which he answered, " I
can give you no kind of intelligence where, seeing she has no
place of abode ; but lays on the floor in some poor person's dwel
ling-house, moving from house to house, as she is compelled by
necessity ; therefore I am uncertain where she may be found or
heard of," I then asked him where there might be a probability
of discovering her residence. He told me in Lamb-Alley,
Bishopgale-street, Now finding that the Lord had strengthened
my wishes to assist her, I spenttherefore three days in grovelling
through almost every dirty alley in that neighbourhood ; and,
after having almost resigned every hope of coming to the
knowledge of her then place of abode, I at the last received
information of her, whereby it was ascertained that she dwelt
in Holywell-Lane, I went there accordingly, and found her
in a melancholy situation, sifting wilh a poor old woman ;
when, looking into the room, I saw no other furniturS than a
piece of an old rug, whereon they both laid themselves to
sleep; the room also was, I verily believe, more nauseous than
the cells of Newgate, When I had spoken a few words, 1
gave Mrs. Anderson strict directions to call at ray house, in
Christopher's- Alley. She came, but not without much fear,
imagining I had somewhat to say against her. As I was en
gaged in other employment when she came to my house, my
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108
wife happened to converse with heV, and as Mrs. Told always
had a very lender heart towards the poor, she put two shillings
into the poor woman's hand, bidding her come in and lake a
dinner. In the course oftheir conversation, my wife observed
to Mrs. Anderson that I only wanted to do her all the good
that was in my power. The next night I was appointed to
preach at our chapel in Old-Gravel-Lane, where, in my dis
course, I represented to the congregation the unfortunate case
of Mr. Anderson, who died for six-pence, being the first
crime, if criminal,, which I think not, were circumstances
considered. I also set forth the afflicted and deplorable situa-
ation of his wife. Now, although the congregation that even
ing was but small, and those chiefly poor people, yet they
¦BOntributed to her relief six and twenty shillings ; and, by
'laying her case before others, I got as much as clothed her de-
cently.V As she continued with me 1 perceived she began to
grow near her tirhe ; I therelore asked her if she could give
me an account of the parish she properly belonged to, telling
her I would get a petition signed by Doctor Wathen, one of
the governors of the London lying-in-hospital, to provide some
kind of an asylum for her reception ; but the poor woman, not
having any knowledge of her husband's parish, I was on that
accouni obliged lo commit her as one of the casual poor on the
parish of Shoreditch, doctor Wathen informing me she could
not be admitted into the London lying-in-hospital without a se
curity from the parish, to receive the child in case of her
death. I waited on the principal churchwarden ; but, he be
ing ab^nt, I repaired lo the dwelling-house ofthe other, who
ridiculed and abused me in a most scandalous manner, indeed,
although I had already represented to him the lamentable state
pf Mrs. Anderson, assuring him that her life would be lost for
¦want ot attention, being left intirely destitute of money or
clothing. The savage replied, " I suppose it is some woman
you have got with child, and you want to father it upon the
parish :" For this I paid him a compliraeat, andtold him, " I

109
lived but a few doors fi'om*him, that my character was well
known, and that if he chose to inquire thereinto, he would,
in my opinion, find himself mistaken." He then said, in a
surly manner, " Then I suppose it is some hanged man's widow
or other." I quickly took my leave ofhim, assuring him,, that
I should seek no further relief from one whose unhandsome
behaviour rendered him incompetent to give any. I hastened
then immediately to a gentleman of my own correspouden«%
who maintained a close acquaintance with the upper church
warden, and informed him of the unkind, and also ungenteel
behaviour of the other, with the distressed sifuation of poor
Mrs. Anderson. Now the upper churchwarden, who seemed
to be of a most excellent, polite and benevolent spirit, and de-
-sired my friend to send her to his apartments the next morning
by eight o'clock. She waited on him accordingly, and made
herself known. He ordered her in, and gave her a good
breakfast, while he signed her petition : When he had done so,
he ordered her lo carry if fo the under churchwarden to sigri it
also, at whose peril if would be fo refuse her, seeing the upper
churchwarden had previously signed it. As soon as her peti
tion was signed, she attended af the hospital in Aldersgate-
slreet, and was accordingly admitted, where in a few days she
vvas delivered of a fine girl. When her month was elapsed
my wife received her into her own house, with the child, and
she continued there for many months, performing her daily
business industriously, with all the sobriety and cleanliness
imaginable ; nay much more than could be expected or de
sired from a woman in her misery of mind. This exertion of
her ability vvas manifested by way of a requital of our former
kindnessess. Some time after her child died, and as my wife
was able to transact her daily occasions without Mrs. Ander
son's immediate assistance, I did at Mrs. Told's request, pro
cure a housekeeper's place for her, where she gave great satis
faction, and soon became a creditable, respected woman. I

110
also bound her daughter an apprentice to a weaver, and have
never seen her since but twice, which is some years ago.
Some time after Mr. Anderson's execution, I attended Mr.
Powell, who was cast for forgery : He was rauch of the gen
tleman, as well as a very personable man. The only observa
tion I have to make on his behaviour is, that during his con-
fineraent, seriousness and devotion were truly conspicuous in
him.' He never feared to instruct his brethren under his un
happy situation : so that, by his upright walking in the fear of
God, a splemn awe was laid on the minds of those his fellow
sufferers. \When they day appointed for execution arrived, the
sheriff indulged him with a coach, and bade me get therein,
that I might dispense my spiritual labour tohis invaluable soul.
I accordingly exerted myself fo the utmost in giving him this
kind of help ; and afterwards went to the other malefactors,
who were conveyed in carts, and there attended them also,
imparting similar passages of scriptural assistance to them.
Mr. Powell's mind was staid upon God in sostedfast a manner,
that after we had sung an hymn, and concluded our prayers,
he closed his eyes, and earnestly intreated me to decline my
discourse with him, in order that hq might be the better ena
bled to meditate on God and an awful eternity. At the place
of execution they all behaved with that penitence and solem
nity, naturally expected of men going into an unchangeable
state, therefore, I humbly hope, they are all lodged in Imma-
nuel!s breast.
In the next place I shall speak of a Mr. Gibson, an attorney,
who was sentenced to death for forgery. He was an eminent
character in his profession, portly and handsome in his person.
In respect to religious principles he had been very wavering
and irresolute, ever learning, but never coming to the perfect
knowledge of the truth ; .sometimes he inclined to the Romish
church, at other times he would conform to the established

Ill
church of England ; tben hfe would go to the Methodists ; and
sometimes he held with the Dissenters of various denomina
tions ; but I soon became acquainted with his motives for this
kind of doctrine hunting, viz. that it arose from pecuniary
views, and lucrative desires ; this I learnt by his own acknow
ledgement. He frequentiy attended my exhortations with the
rest under sentence, always expressing rauch satisfaction there
by ; I also made him repeated visits to his own room, onthe
master's side, where he always readily received me, and that
with expressions of great pleasure.
Upon his trial his cause had been referred to the twelve
judges. After fifteen month confinement he dispatched his
wife to one ofthe judges to know if a determination of his
cause was nearly on the carpet. The judge answered, " If
Mr. Gibson is in so great a hurry to know this, you may ac
quaint him/ that his cause has been, after mature considera
tion and weight, finally determined, and he will not find it
altogether satisfactory." His wife went back without loss of
tiran, and acquainted him with the information given her by
the judge ; yet he still possessed a kind of inattentive careless
ness : However, the ensuing sessions he was sumraoned to the
bar there to plead to his sentence, in presence of four judges
on the bench. ^Permission was granted him to make his own
defence, and, as I was present during the whole time, it was
a mafter of astonishment on my part to hear his learned and
rhetorical arguments ; also the many disputable points of law
referred to from various books and acts of parliament : Indeed,
I really believe it was the universal opinion of the assembly
that he would be immediately cleared, as none of the judge's
were able lo confute him. At length judge Parrot rose,cfrom
his seat, and, addressing Mr. Gibson with a lofty air, told him
(and begged he would lake notice) that his crime had been
well considered by the twelve judges, and thatthey had unani
mously considered hira guilty, adding, " My brelhrtjn here
present maintain the same opinions." Mr, Gibson, on hearing

112
this, turned as pale as death, and Was scarcely able to stand.
He was then committed to his cell, and closely confined there
in, where he soon shook off the Roman Catholic priest, and
by turns adhered to other different sects, who often visited
him. Here I may venture to observe, his attention to my ex
hortations vvas serious and constant, although he vvas almost
incessantly busied wilh other gentlemen, who attended him
in his cell, drawing up some writing or other lo those whom he
or they thought most expedient, in order lo obtain a respite or a
pardon from his Majesty. \ When the report came down that
Mr. Gibson was included in the dead warrant, he vvas shock
ingly alarmed, and began to be more in earnest, inquiring of
me in an agony of spirit, what he must do to be saved. I
applied those passages of Scripture at first which were the
most awakening lo his conscience, and I believe they were
not utterly in vain : When I perceived his soul was in extreme
anguish and bitterness, then, andnot till then, I pointed him
tothe Lamb of God, who was ever wailing lo be gracious lo
eyery returning prodigal: I also applied those, healing por
tions of God's most Holy Word, which were most conducive
to his present and eternal happiness. The awful day came
whereon he was appointed to die; nor did I perceive any
mark or token of a change in his soul. On going tothe place of
execution his mind was greatly agitated, as life is precious and
eternity awful beyond conception, especially when both are so
very near ; yet no one could be more diligent in making se
rious inquiries of what might be most beneficial lo his im
mortal spirit. When we arrived at the fatal spot, he turned
to me (being greatly terrified) and said, " Oh ! Mr. Told, I
beseech you give me all the assistance you possibly can,"
which, through the enlivening guidance of Almighty God, I
was enabled to do, and in consequence whereof, he appeared
fo be much more composed and resigned to his fate. I hope
Our Lord and Saviour was propitious to his never-dying soul.
I endeavoured to be equally serviceable to all the rest, who

113
were apparently in a better state to leave this world than Mr.
Gisbon. "Vj shall now speak of a few of the cutters among the weavers ;
thTeeofthem I shall mention in particular, viz. Doyle, Vahne,
and Messman. The night Messman was brought to Newgate,
in order to be fettered, he discovered rae at some distance,
and approaching me he said, " Mr. Told, I know you very
well," and added, crying, " I ara afraid I shall suffer, there
fore hoped I would attend him both before and after his trial,
and give him all the instruction I was capable of." I accord
ingly imparted to him such pieces of instruction as he seemed
, to stand in the most need of; and, although he was a man of
an undaunted spirit, handsome, and of a tolerable good under-
t standing, yet he was soon brought into subjection to the Fa
ther of spirits ; and every visit I afterwards paid him, he gave
fresh evidence of deeper conviction of sin, a clearer knowledge
of himself, his deep fall from God, and his lost stale. His
conversion was very singular, being quickly changed frOm '
darkness to light, and from the power of sin and satan unto
God, which was evidently perceived by all around him. Be
fore I conclude with Mr. Messman and' his calm and peace
able exit, I judge it no wise improper, but rather necessary
to render an exact account of Doyle and Valine, who were
executed on Bethnal -Green, by the decree of government, and
in the sheriffalty of aldsrmen Townsend andSawbridge,
I have but two remarks to make concerning them, nor can 1
represent any thing considerable respecting their attention 16
things of eternity. It is true a few favourable circumstances
were manifested in their behaviour; and, af Mr. Doyle's re
quest, I wrote two or three petitions Ib his Majesty, and twice
obtained a respite ; but, unfortunately for them, an order af
terwards appeared to send them away for execution. Here I
endeavoured to persuade Mrs, Doyle to carry another petition J
5 ~ f

114
but she replied, with ridiculous unconcern, "There is no oc
casion for it, I am very clear he will not die." By what I ga
thered after this, the woman's meaning was, he would assured
ly be rescued by the weavers upon their arrival at Bethnal-
Green ; and, without doubt, these were the secret intentions
ofthe riotous mob, as was realized by a watch word, which,
on a sudden, was diffused all over the Green ! Stones then be
gan to fly from every quarter. Now, as I vvas with the oflaci-
afing ordinary in a coach, a messenger was dispatched from
the sheriff giving my companion in the coach to understand,
that no time for prayers or devotion would be allotted them,
neither would there be any occasion for either of us ; that as
soon as the gibbet, which was in the cart with thera, was come
to the place appointed, they were to be launched off immedi
ately. Mr. Valine, greatly terrified, begged heartily that one
prayer might be offered up to God, for them ; but that not
being granted, they were turned off in the utmost hurry and
confusion, Mr. Messraan, and others of the cutters, were shortly after
executed at Tyburn ; but Messman, apprehensive that the
combination of weavers purposed a rescue, and he being very
happy in his soul, addressed himself, when in the cart, to the
spectators, saying, with a strong voice, "Gentlemen, I hum
bly intreat you to keep as much silence as is possible ; we
could wish to go to our everlasting home in peace and quiet
ness, being happy enough lo leave this world without the least
desire of living any longer herein; nor did we endure any
tumult any part of the way, or at the place of execution.
Their behaviour was all seriousness and devotion, for which I
have strong hopes that they are af rest from sin and sorrow,
and become partakers of everlasting glory,
I shall next give a brief account of Mr. Bolland, a sheriff's
officer, who had frequently attended the malefactors at Ty-

115
burn ; he was condemned for forging an endorsement on the
back of a promissory note : His character was also, in many
other instances, sadly stained, so that the consideration of the
latter, added to the former offence, together with an observa
tion made by one of the judges on the frequency thereof in
the mercantile world, proved the transaction too weighty to
keep him upon sufficient grounds for self vindication ; other
wise (as I have been informed) the mere forgery itself would
not have been altogether heavy enough to bring him, by im
partial justice, to so awful a situation. '
•\When Bolland first found that his life was closely pursued,
he immediately refunded the money; yet his prosecutors
would by no means deliver up the note : He then informed
rae that his pro.secutois exacted of him a second payment of
the money, and finding his life still in danger, he paid that
also, upon their giving him an indemnification under their
hands, obliging themselves fo cancel the endorsement ; and,
as he was persuaded they would act with principles of honour,
ne therefore paid no further attention fo their proceedings ;
however they refused al lastlo efface the endorsement.
His trial came on, and he was cast, and then committed to
his cell, where he lay. a longtime, but gave very little atten
tion to his spiritual concerns. His poor wife took every oppor
tunity to make all the interest she^ possibly could. When the
dead-warrant corae down, and Mr. Bolland included therein,
he was so engaged in writing petitions, &c. that he could not,
neither would he, set apart a few moments for the endeavours
to secure his soul, which gave me great uneasiness. I fre
quently told him, how dreadfully dangerous it was to be so
anxious concerning his body, while his soul was entirely
neglected : He made many promises, but performed very few
of them, A day or two previous to his execution, his wife
r 2

116

waited on their Majesties at the play-house, where she gave a
petition into each of their hands. His Majesty, in conse
quence of the petition, sent for the recorder, and told him
that he had a great inclination to spare Bolland's life. The
jecorder replied to his Majesty, that if he spared his life,
whose character was truly infamous and baneful, he would
spare as great a villain as any in the nation. It must be ob
served, I speak this only from the information which I re
ceived. Onthe morning of his execution I went early to the cell,
and laboured very much with Mr. Bolland, who betrayed a
violent agitation of mind. When he had entered the chapel
he exhibited the most serious attention, and was well pleased
lo hear instruction. As he had very little knowledge of the
way lo eternal life, so he was the more intent upon, and ear
nest in searching after, those passages of Scripture, which
might (furnish hira with any hopes of being saved. The ordi
nary, myself, and other spiritual friends, used our uimost en
deavours to assist him in that road to eternal life. When he
was in the cart, going lo the place of execution, he scarcely
ceased a single minute in asking me what he must do to be
saved'; and, at the crisis of his dissolution, he repeated the
same. I can only leave him to a merciful Redeemer, hoping
he is safely lodged in the arms of his Love.
The next of whom I would speak, was a young gentleman,
Mr. Slocomb, who was executed for defrauding his father of
three hundred pounds in the slock of the South-Sea-House ;
much ofthe gentleman and scholar was evident in the beha
viour of this youth. Upon his father's coming up to London to
receive his interest-money, he. was informed that his son
brought his draft for three hundred pounds, which money he
received, and the sum debited to his father's account, Mr,
Slocomb, senior, declared he never gave his son any such

117
draft, and therefore insisted upon the receipt of his whole in
terest. The gentleman at the office perceiving the young
man'slifein danger, acquainted his fatherofthe circumstances;
telling him also, if he would not abide the loss, they must be
under the necessity of apprehending his son, who would most
as.suredly suffer death. The father would by no means suffer
the loss, accordingly the youth was apprehended. He was
afterwards brought upon his trial, where he was condemned,
and received sentence of death : The lurap of adaraant (his
father) then retired to his own country, nor would he after
that, see or hear frora his son ; neither did he once write to him,
or give him any kind of advice, or remit him any degree of
relief, notwithstanding he lay a long time under sentence be
fore he was ordered for execution. Something remarkably
amiable I perceived in his conduct, viz. In the first place, an
intire resignation to the will of God, which kept down every
murmuring thought, and intirely prevented his making any
complaint against the severity of his father, who deviated so
cruelly from paternal duly.
x^And secondly, in his behaviour, during his confinement;
this also was admirable, he being filled with perfect seriousness
and devotion, occasioned (I may venture to say) by the closc
attention he duly gave to my instructions and repeated exhor
tations. In short, he never neglected to attend on the means
of grace at every opportunity. Mr. Powell, a fine young
gentleman, who was sentenced at the same time for forgery,
became a companion of Mr, Slocomb's : they constantly con
versed together about the awful things of eternity, and were
both truly instructive to other malefactors: They were both
much lamented by all who knew them, even the most distant of
their acquaintance. As their whole demeanour was grounded
on the basis of godliness, they, on the awful ho"'", mutually
exhibited so excellent a measure of that happy spirit, that I

118
am firmly persuaded in my mind, those, who closely examined
their conduct whenon the brink of eternity, could entertain no
doubt of their eternal acceptance with God.
The next account which I shall give, is that of Mary Pyner,
who was sentenced to death for setting fire lo her master's
house. At the same lime three or four men were cast for death,
wilh whom Mary endeavoured to contract a very wanton inter
course ; but they appeared fo be on their important guard
every moment of their confinement, behaving with much pe
nitence and contrition of spirit ; therefore the enemy of their
souls could not inject his fatal poison into the mind of those,
by the meansof Mary's ungovernable folly. I strove lo make
this young woman the greatest and first object of my visit ;
but experienced various repulses from herself, as well as others;
I vvas grieved to behold this heedlessness in her conduct, espe
cially as the dead-warrant had just arrived, wherein she was
included. However, at length, I took her aside info the press-
yard-room, and said to her, " Mary, how is it that you in par
ticular, above all the other malefactors, are so regardless about
your precious and immortal soul ? Do not you very well know^
that God's all-seeing eye penetrates your rude behaviour to
wards the men ? Are you not afraid of going lo hell, seeing
you are in a short time to appear before the great Jehovah,
against vvhom you are now sinning with an high hand ? Are
you determinedlo destroy your own soul, your everlasting hap
piness, and your a4l ; What, are you in love with eternalper-
dition, and God's wrath, that you so madly pursue it ? And
do you long fo be involved in the bottomless pit, and the lake
that burns with fire and brimstone, which will never be
quenched ! Oh ! remember, ifyoudiein your present con
dition, you will die eternally under the w^-ath of an offended
Saviour ; and all these miseries, attended with greater plagues,
will be your portion for ever !" Mary lent a particular and

119
calm aflention to what I said concerning her, and replied,
" Mr. Told, I have had some knowledge qf you, having many
times heard you preach at West-Street chapel." At this I was
greatly astonished, and asked her what could be her reasons,
when she had heard the Gospel preached, to be guilty of so
heinous a crime as setting fire to her master's house, and after
wards to rob him of his property. She answered, the devil
was too powerful for her in the temptation. Now I perceived
that a change in her countenance and behaviour commenced
from that moment ; nor did I hear one unbecoming expression,
or observe an indiscreet action, to her last moment; and, as her
lime was .short in this transitory world, I was the more intent
on her future happiness.
\The night prior to her execution, I importunely besought
her lo spend every moment in wrestling mightily with God for
pardon, through his dearly beloved Son, that, for his sake, ^11
her sins might be blotted out as a cloud, and her manifold
transgressions as a thick cloud ; lo which she answered, " God
being my helper, I am determined not lo close my eyes the
whole night." Similar advice I gave to alL the rest of the
malefactors, one of whora espoused the like resolution. I then
desired the inner keepers fo lock them all up in one cell, that
they might pour out their joint supplications fo the awful and
tremendous Judge of quick and dead, in whose presence they
must all unavoidably appear in a few fleeting moments ! This
was readily granted, so they accordingly devoted that night to
an inexpressible advantage, by praying, singing hymns, and
rejoicing, the Lord God himself being evidently in the midst
of them. When I returned lo them the next morning, and
after having received this soul-reviving information, I begged
the keepers to unlock the cells, and lead thera down into the
press-yard. The first that came out was Mary Pyner. I was
struck with joy and delight when I beheld the happy change
in her counienance. As she came out of the cell door, which

120
led into the press-yard, she appeared t^o be filled with the
peace and love of God, when, clapping her hands together with
pleasant energy, she gave a triumphant shout with these words,
" This night God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven rae all my
sins ; I know that I have passed from death unto life, and by
twelve o'clock I shall be with my redeemer in the world of
glory." When the service and Sacrament was concluded,
they all came down frora chapel, and were ordered into the
press-yard room, where I continued praying for, and exhort
ing them all nearly the space of forty minutes, when direc
tions were given to bring them out, and place them in two
carts, Mary Pyner, accompanied by two other malefactors
and myself, went in the first cart. While we were on our
passage lo the place of execution, I frequently exhorted them
to keep the eye of their mind stedfastly looking up to Jesus,
¦using many repetitions of some passages of Scripture, which
I considered best adapted to their awful situation. Here I am
strongly persuaded my labour was not in vain, particularly so
in the soul of Mary, ¦who abided in the happy spirit of faith,
singing, praising, and giving glory fo God without intermis
sion, frora the moment I addressed them till they arrived at
the tree. Mary then accosted one of her companions in suf
fering, who cried vehe,mently, and in great anguish of soul,
saying, " Lord Jesus forgive me my sins ! God be merciful to
me a sinner ;" and she said to him, " Do you believe Jesus
Christ died for you?" He replied, "truly I do," Then said
Mary, " There is no room left for a doubt of your salvation."
This produced a glorious revival of his spirit, which continued
with him till his last breath.
When the cart was put under the gallows, Mary was the
first that bore the rope : As soon as this was done, she turned
round to an in innnmerable assembly of people on both sides,
saying, " Good people, I doubt not that many of you are
greatly affected at beholding so young a creature as I ara.

121
brought to this unhappy and shameful end ; but. Oh ! I am as
happy as I can bear tobe, having full assurance that I shall
live with him, who died forme, and there commence an ever
lasting banquet of greater happiness at his right-hand, in the
region of endless Paradise." She then began to strengthen
her fellowTSufferers, beseeching them not to doubt ofthe readi
ness of God fo save them. I rejoiced, in hope that they all
received that gjeat salvation, purchased by the blood of the
everlasting covenant. When duty was closed, they were all
turned off crying for mercy ofthe Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
>I shall now give, a plain simple relation of the unfortunate
Mrs. Brownrigg, in order to furnish my readers with a view
of her disquietudes, and her shocking situation during her im
prisonment. The Rt. Hon. the Lord Mayor having been
pleased to favor me with an order to Mr. Akerman (the keeper
of Newgate) for granting me permission to attend her while
confined therein, for'the cruel and wilful murder of her ap
prentice girl, Mary Clifford, September 4th, l767.
... "7
4'''V-"'
I went ther^ acboVdingly, on the evening subsequent to the
above direction, and was conducted lo the room where Mrs-.
Brownrigg was sitting on her bedside, accompanied by a poor
woman. I addressed her in the most awful and striking man
ner I was capable of, and withal told her, that I came by order
of the Lord Mayor, and in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ; therefore pbserved, if she would accept of my ser
vices as a spiritual visitor, I should consider if as my duty to
speak my mind on this occasion, as fully and closely as possi
ble, especially as I had heard very dreadful accounts of her
conduct. She replied, " Mr. Told, I an^very glad to see^you,
and shall not esteem you my friend, if you do not deal with
plainness towards me, and speak as home and close as j'oti
can." Happy was I to hear her speak thus, and said to her,
"Mrs, Brownrigg, you are in an awful situation before man
^ Q.

122
'but more especially before the Almighty God ; your most se^
cret sins are within his immediate view, so that you can hidp
nothing from his all-seeing eye : Your character also, in the
eye of the world, is rendered loathed and horrible, as you are
charged with crimes of the deepest dye, to many of which I
can scarcely allow any degree of credibility : However, mat
ters appear too evident in regard to the fact for which you are
convicted." I likewise told her, " I very much feared she
had but little mercy upon her late fellow-creature ; that she
had cruelly used the deceased repeatedly, and for some length
of time !" Her answer was, "I acknowledge this accusation,
so far -as lo have given the girl repeated corrections, hnt no
farther; my intentions being directly opposite to any kind of
violence." I then observed to her, that I did not believe she
was stimulated by so fierce a spirit of anger, as to be driven
tothe immediate perpetration of murder ; but I added aLso,
" What were your ideas of the dreadful consequences, which
must jssue, from such shocking acts of cruelty, too shocking
to nature ?" She seplied, " Sir, if I h,ad any consideration
of the danger thereof, I could not have done the deed ; the
devil reigned wilh a fatal mastery over irf^^ I then told her,
the Word of God expressly declares, " Whoso sheddetBinan's
blood, by man shall his blood be shed ;" therefore I had no -
doubt that her life would go for the life ofthe poor child. She
replied, " I have no doubt of it neither." Here I began to'
address her with a more pointed conversation, and said to her,
"If you are thus conscious of your guilt, there is no time to
lose jlimmediately then lay your dreadful case before God,
under a deep sense of the sin you have committed, and not for
that only, but for all and every of your actual sins, from the
earliest period of your life to the present moment, pr you can
have no just hopes Oi" mercy ^t the hand of God, through the
merits of a crucified Redeemer, as we are confidently assured"*.
he came into the world to save us/roro our sins, not in thera :"
Therefore I continued to insist upon it, unless she humbled

123
herself under the mighty hand of God by a heart-feit repen
tance, and an open acknowledgement of those flagrant crimes
she had been guilty 6f, no favor could be afforded to her un
happy soul by the hand of God in the day of judgment, nor
would she con.sequently have peace of mind while on earth.
"This," said Mrs. Brownrigg, "I firmly believe." I then
further added, " that I did not come to extort any confession
from her, and begged she would confess nothing fo me ;" but
1 observed to her, " You vvill in a few days, be brought upon
your trial, when you will not only be'in the presence ofthe
judge and jury, but also in the more immediate presence of
the all-seeing God ; and' witnesses will be called for to give
eyidence against you ; then more especially will be the time
when it behoves you to speak the truth ; and I charge you
therefore, at the peril of your soul,, not lo advance any thing
against the dictates of your own conscience, in covering your
crimes, the guilt of which you know" before God you are not
exempt from ; but ,1 pray you adhere firmly to the truth,
should death be the consequence." She replied, " I intend
it," I again advised her to reject, as much as possibly she
could, the suggestions of the enemy, in covering her crimes ;
but to be frankly ingenuous in the acknowledgement thereof
before proper magistrates : Iihen^closed my first visit with
prayer, after having given her, agreeable to her solicitation!;,
all the spiritual assistance within the limits of my capacity.
When finished, I parted with her, and the next day (being
Sunday) I visited her again, about twelve o'clock, asking her
how she found herself, as I perceived her spirits to be greatly
depressed. She replied, "Mr. Told, since you was with me
yesterday. I have deeply weighed your kind instruction.s,
which has occasioned great uneasiness and distress in my mind ;
and notwithstanding I vvas somewhat easy and composed at
certain periods before, I am, alas ! quite otherwise now, for I
am horribly afraid, my grievous sins have been set in array
before rae ? and I am dreadfully intimidated and fearful, lest
«'2'

124

God should never shew me his mercy V' I told her, I was'
happier with this report, and much more satisfied with her
present state, than at my former visit, as I then perceived
some hopes of her unhappy state, as her condition wa,s, because
her conscience vvas now convinced of her crime. I applied at
this time many threatening, as well as healing, passages of
Scripture fo her conscience, which she very willingly, and
with much thankfulness, received. I concluded this visit also
with prayer and then parted. Upon my third visit (which
was on Monday) I found her in a very bad and dangerous
spirit : Here I exerted my every faculty, in order to settle her
mind, and strengthen her confidence in God ; but, to ray sor
rowful disappointment, I observed the enemy had so buffeted
her soul, that she strongly endeavoured to conceal her guilt,
telling me with bitterness of spirit, she never intended mur
der ; and that she was assured, the rigid, partial jury, who
sat upon the body of the deceased. Would, through their en
venomed prejudice, treat her with a degree of rigour and se
verity much heavier than her deserts ; this she spake with
much warmth.
I then told her this perverseness of spirit, also her present
temper and disposition of mind, would prove exceedingly
hurtful fo her precious, never-dying soul, andthat if betrayed
in her an absolute blindness and hardness of heart ; so that no
signs of repentance appeared, or Ihe least concern for such
repeated acts of violence : I likewise gave her lo understand,
that 1 considered it a grand point of my duty to defend the
characters of those gentlemen who were on the coroner's in
quest ; adding, " Can you (Mrs. Brownrigg) entertain a thought
that those gentlemen, who are under an oath, and in no wise
interested in giving false evidence against yop, would endea
vour to take away your life, wiihout substantial reasons and
good grounds in their evidence ?" I insisted upon her laying
aside all siich vain pretences, which were the mere artifices of

125
the devil to destroy her soul : telling her withal, if she would
stand open to conviction, and behave in her short moments as
became one who was thus confined to a few hours only for the
working out her salvation with fear and trembling, probably
God would shew her favour at the last, and the blood of Jesus
Christ, which speaketh better things than the blood of Abel,
would wash away the stain of that blood she had so cruelly
and unrestrainedly shed ; I likewise pointed out to her, the
loving spirit of a dying Saviour, who, when he was expiring
on the accursed tree for man's redemption, prayed with his
last breath, saying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not
what th^y do." His prayer was heard and answered. When
Peter was preaching to a great number of thera, they were
cut to the heart, and cried out, in an agony of spirit, " Men
and brethren, what must we do to be saved ?'¦" Peter answered
them, "Repent every one of you, and be baptized in the
name of the Lord Jesus, for the remission of your sins, and.
you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost ; for the promise
is unto you, and to your children, and to all those that are afar
off, even to as many as the Lord pur God shall call^ There
fore," I observed, " if the melfcy of God extended itself to
the very raurderers of his only begotten Son, there can be no
doubt that it will reach your poor guilty conscience also ! If
you, like them are pricked at the heart, and cry earnestly to
God for mercy through thcSon of his Love, you likewise shall
obtain the rem.ission of your sins, and your name shall be writ
ten in the Lamb's book of life. Then you shall sing the new
songto'God and the Lambr who hath redeemed us vvith his
blood, and saves the vilest and chief of sinners." These,
with many similar exhortations, having been given her, she
began to recover her former composedness of spirit, never
more attempting to justify herself, or even to extenuate her
guilt. I ternyilated this visit with fervency of prayer also, and
had pot an opportunity of seeing her again until the day prior
to tne awful day of her exit.

126
On the 13th of September, being the Lord's-Day, I cams
lo Newgate about tv^'elve o'clock, and met her as she was
coming down stairs from tbe chapel. The keepers informed
rae of the strict orders they had received to lock her up imme
diately in her cell, and desired me to be particularly vigilant
in my remarks on ber behaviour. Mrs. Brownrigg then went
into her cell, and I followed her thereinto, and, at her re
quest, the turnkey and woman who attended her were both
dismissed. The cell doors vvere then locked and bolted upon
us, when she began to express the extreme anguish of her
soul, saying, "Mr. Told, God for ever bless you, sit down by
me." When we were seated, she began to wring her hands
in, vehement agitation of spirit, praying most earnestly that
God, for Christ's sake, would have mercy upon her poor guil
ty soul, expressing herself, with floods of tears, to this effect,
" O Lord Jesus ! wash away the guilt oTthe blood which I
have shed, in thy most precious blood ! O Lord, I am the
vilest and chief of sinners ; be gracious, be merciful lo me,
O heavenly Jesus, for nonesuch a sinner as myself ever ex
isted I O save, save and deliver frora eternal burnings, my
poor, guilty, wretched, and hell-descvving soul ! Oh ! Lord
what must I do to be saved ? Gracious God, what must I do ?
Now, heavenly Jesus, cleanse thou my stains, or I am undone
forever!" Thus she coutinued for some minutes, then turned
fome, and said, " Mr. Told what must I do ? My soul is in
bitterness and heavy distress." She added also, "I wrestled
all the last night with God in prayer, except the space of an
honr, dui-ing which I soundly slept, and had many very com
fortable visits from the Lord. During rhy interval of sleep I
dreamed a dream, in which I beheld a man coming towards
rae with a glass of wine in his hand', who bade me drink it; I
took particular notice of the wine that it was red, so that when
I awoke I was much refreshed; but all my comforts are gone
again, therefore I am now more distressed than ever."

127
I replied, " Mrs, Brownrigg, I am afraid you donotsnffici-
ently permit the spirit of God to convince you of the enormity
of the crime for which you are condemned. Are you con
demned in your own conscience? Do you judg? yourself, that
you may not be judged of God ? Condemn yourself, that you
may not be condemned in the day of judgment, when the se
crets pf all hearts will be open to God, angels and m«n ? Do
you call to remembrance the sins of your whole life ? And are
you fully convinced that you deserve tp be punished eternally
for your impiety aud transgression?" She replied, "I do."
"Then," said I, " if it be so, you are not far from the king
dom of God," Wringing her hands, in an agony of spirit,
she said, " Oh ! that I may know this. Oh ! that I may be
assured of this. Great God ! enable me to depend on ihis."
She continued to use several repetitions hereof. I then asked
her whether she was never tempted to destroy herself. She
answered, " Mr, Told, I am glad you have asked me this
question, and I will answer it wiihout reserve," Beginning
^he relation she said, " When I was first taken at Wands
worth, the constable compelled my landlady lo search my
pockets, to know whether I fiad a knife, or any other instru
ment, whereby I might have committed the shocking act of
suiiride, I was searched accordingly, and although I had a
knife secreted, yet it was not found. This threw me into a
violent temptation, so shat I cut a little hole about the bigness
of a silver gvoaf,, in the peak of these my stays," shewing me
the place, "Herein," continued, she, "I put the knife; it
being a clasped one, I conveyed it round my hip through the
covering of my slays," She then presented to me the very
place where it lay undiscovered during her confinement in the
Poultry compter. After that she added, " Now as !t have ad-
yance,d thus far, I should be lo blame were I lo be so very dis
ingenuous as to conceal the rest, therefore I shall acknowledge
to you Mr, Told, that many times I used to consider where,
and on what part of my body it would be the most expedient

128
to stab myself, that by so doing I might effect the business at
once ; yet the Lord, in his infinite mercy, led me safe through
this templation."
I then asked her if she had ever seriously considered the
consequence of so rash an attempt, and what would have be
come 6f her soul if she had died in an act of self-murder»
seeing it would be utterly impossible for her to be saved, not
having time for repentance ? She answered, " I never was in
clined to think on, or consider, any thing of that nature ; for
Xhe consideration of that shame, ignominy and reproach, that
are always consequent on Tyburn executions, suppressed every
other serious and calm idea whereon ray contemplations should
have rationally dwelt." I told her I had a few questions more
to ask her, and begged she would return rae the plain, siraple
truth, so that her veracity might be unsullied and spotless.
She replied, " Mr. Told, I can open my heart to you, like as
to myself; ask what you judge proper, and I will, by open
ness and simplicity, endeavour to afford you satisfaction." I
then informed her, it was currently reported, and well nigh
in every one's mouth, that, in the course of her practice in
midwifry, she had been guilty of destroying several children
in the birth, and feeding her swine with them. I added, " Is
this true, or not ;" She replied, " I was asked the same ques
tion some time ago by an eminent physician ; but truly, Mr.
Told, I never had any misfortune during the tirae of ray prac
tice, except wilh three, and I now desire you to take down, in
writing, the names of those three gentjewomen, I then laid,
and they will give you a satisfactory account, viz. whether the
fault lay at my door or not, as they were all three brought inlp
the world putrified. I have had," said she, "as good success
in general as, most women in my calling, and was equally es
teemed by my employers ; neither were they ever so wonder
fully astonished as at the time this unfortunate affair came to
light." The names of the three gentlewomen, who had the

129
dead children, were Mrs. Gore, atCamberwell ; Mrs. Fludc,
at the workhouse, in Grub-street; and Mrs,  , at the Bell
Inn, Holborn.
The second question I asked her, arose from an information I
had received touching her secret transactions with seventeen
apprentice girls, whom she had at several times acquired from
various parishes iri and about London, as it was said, that
when she was requested to give an account of them, she could
produce but three. I demanded, "Is this true or not?" To
which she answered, " I never in my life had more than three
apprentices, viz. the deceased, the evidence, and one that is
gone back to the Foundling-Hospilal.
Thirdly, I asked her, if she, could say, in the presence of
Almighty God, that she never practised any of those cruelties
before. Her answer to this was, " I never did." I asked her
again, what could induce her to commit so dreadful an act of
barbarity now. She said, " I can give you very substantial
reasons for so doing." " Pray," said I, " vvhat may they be?"
She replied, "About ten years ago, when I had six small chiU
dren about me, I walked closely in the ways of God, never
being able to accuse myself of negligence^ or inattention,
rising af fiveo'clock in the morning, and being aiBow Church
yard, in Cheapside, at six o'clock prayers: Then, Mr. Told, I
was very happy in my God, who manifested himself tome,
so that I walked stedfastly in the light of his blessed counte
nance fora considerable time : But, Oh ! unhappily for nie, I
grew slack in ray duly, forsook my God, and he forsook me ;
so that I fell into the spirit of pride and anger, then by de
grees, into the crime for which I ara to die ! I can give you,
Mr. Told, no other reason : but I begyou will help my dis
tressed soul all that you can." I replied, "I hurabjy hope
God will be your helper, protector, and defender." As I
still hoped that she had not committed the unpardonable sin

130
against the Holy Ghost, I trusted there was yet room for mercy;
therefore I pressed upon her lo understaiid, that Christ him"
self declared, that every other sin, of what nature or kind so
ever, shall be forgiven unto men, upon true repentance and
deep humiliation, under a sense of guilt before God, Herel
strongly exhorted her to come lo the throne of grace, and to
trust fully in the blood of the everlasting covenant ; and that
God, for Christ's sake, would, upon no consideration, reject,
or cast out those who came to him through the Son of his
Love; but would blot out all their iniquities as a cloud, and
their transgressions as a thick cloud ; and that God was in
Christ reconciling the world unto himself, I also told her,
that the Lord Jesus, even while he hung upon the accursed
tree, bore all and every one of our sins on his own body, say
ing, "It is finished," having made a full sufficient sacrifice,
oblation and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world, and
for her's, and mine in particular, I also begged her to ob
serve, that we were not damned so much for particular or
weighty crimes committed, but for not believing in our inmost
souls the great truths of the Gospel, which speaks in this
manner, " God sent his Son into the world, not lo condemn the
world, but that the world through him might be saved."
Again, 1 informed her, that when the Lord Jesus sent forth
lii^ twelve disciples, he gave them this command, " Go ye into
allthe world, preach the Gospel to every creature," " By the
Gospel you are to understand," said I, " the g)ad tidings of
salvation, through a crucified Redeemer; whosoever therefore
believes, and is baptized, shall be saved, but he that believeth
not shall be damned. My dear woman," added I, " venture
your All in time and eternity on this great Saviour ofthe world,
and then, though your sins should be as scarlet, God will make
ihem white as snow, and, although they be as crimson, they
.shall be as wool : You see then that God's thoughts towards us
are net as our thoughts towards him and one another, < See

131
then that you lay fast hold on this hope of eternal life set be
fore you ; and, though you will assuredly to-morrow before
this time, pay the debt of your natural life, for the life you
have destroyed ; yet be of good .comfort, the Son of God hath
given body for body, and soul for soul, that we may be made
partakers of eternal life, and be for ever where the wicked
cease from troubling, and the weary spirits are at rest." Thus
I continued to press the doctrines of salvation by faith wilh
weight upon her conscience, and found my labour was not in
vain in the Lord, She then began to be much comforted, tel
ling me before we parted, she found she could now trust body
and soul in the hands of her dear unerring Saviour. Her
countenance was much altered, and that languid gloom, which
rested upon her at our first entrance into the, cell, I easily per
ceived to terminate in pleasant serenity. Composure of mind
and resignation of spirit, was expressed strongly in all her
looks. I then went lo prayer, and parted wilh her for
this time, commending her into the hands of a merciful Re
deemer. Monday the 14th instant, being the day of her execution, I
repaired to Newgate about a quarter past six o'clock in the
morning, where I found Mrs. Brownrigg vvith the Rev. Mr.
Moor, the ordinary, inthe press-yard-room. We went imme
diately up to chapel, endeavouring lo comfort her in the best
manner we could, and found her spirit fully prepared lo re
ceive instrBction, ber mind greatly composed, and her heart
filled with prayer. When we came to chapel, we tarried some
time before prayers began, in the course of which interim the
turnkey had introduced Mr. Brownrigg and their' son. They
addressed each other in a very striking manner ;. then the ordi
nary prayed extempore wilh them, after which we sang an
hymn ; he then exhorted, and prayed again ; when he had
done, he desired me to piay : I did so, and we sang another
hymn, very applicable to the dying malefactors case. Now
R a,

132

when we were ready to communicate, the others were admit
ted up to chapel, among vvhom were three clergymen, who
joined us in the sacred supper of our Lord ; and truly a bles
sed time it was, especially with the malefactor, her husband
and son ; at the closc of which solemnity, it was considered
prudent to dismiss every person from the chapel, in order lo
give them the fairer opportunity of taking their last farewel
of one another ; so we all retired accordingly, but I had not
reached the bottom of the steps before the keeper beckoned lo
me, saying, Mrs. Brownrigg desired lo speak a few words
with me. I speedily returned to her ; upon which she .said,
" Mr, Told, we want you to employ a little more of your time
with us; pray give my husband and son a word of advice." I
did so, agreeable lo her desires, and imparted (I may venture
to say) no small share of instruction, for which they all return
ed me many thanks. I then addressed myself lo Mrs. Brown
rigg, as she vvas in the spirit of prayer. While I wa^ speaking
^ to her, the son fell down on both his knees, and, bursting into
a flood of tears, with his head against his mother's side, said
" I beseech you, my dear mother, lay both your hands upon
my head, and bless me." She replied, " I hope God will
bless my dear son.'' Almost frantic, he added, " My dear
mother, put both your hands upon my head, arid, bless me.
yourself." His mother then put both her hands upon his head,
saying, " My blessing be upon thee, my dear child." The
husband then fell down on both his knees on the other side,
saying, " The Lord bless you ; God be wilh you, my dear
wife," being scarce able fo speak for weeping : he assured her
that all the care that vvas possible should be taken of her off
spring, that they might be trained up to serve God. They
then parted, when the keeper and myself led her down stairs
(as she was, through extreme debility, unable to walk alone)
and carried her into the press-yard-room. The sheriff not
having arrived, we caught another opportunity of being useful
to her, apylying our short time tothe most advantage, A cler-

133
gyman, belonging to St, Paul's, was likewise of excellent ser
vice, giving her, without any narrowness of heart, good and
wholesome advice ; the Lord reward hira seven-fold in his own
bosora. The time came, when Mrs, Brownrigg was ordered
into the cart, when the Rev. Mr. James and myself stationed
ourselves by each side of her, Mr. James on the right hand,
and myself on the left. When we had fixed ourselves, I per
ceived the whole powers of darkness were ready to give her a
reception. Beckoning tothe mnltitude, I desired them to pray
for her, at which they were ralher silent, until the cart began
to move. Then Ihey triumphed over her with three huzzas ;
this was followed by a combination of hellish curses. When
we had passed through the gate, carts were placed on each side
of the street, filled principally with women. Here I may say,
with the greatest truth, nothing could have equalled them, but
the damned spirits let loose from the infernal pit ; and to be
brief, this was the spirit of the wicked multitude entirely to the
place of execution ; and, notwithstanding her crime was horri
ble, yet God, in his infinite wisdom and mercy, supported-her
mind ; seeing her time was short, so that she never made one
complaint of such trealriient ; neither did she drop one mur
muring expre.ssion frora her lips in any part of her passage. I
repeatedly asked her, if the dreadful tumult did not draw the
attention of her mind from off the Lord Jesus. She replied,
" Not in the least, I bless God." Then some of the common
cries, from the thoughtless concourse, accompanied wilh
dreadful imprecations, were, pull her hat off, pull off her hat,
that we may see the b  's face : However, I withstood this
cutting claraour all the way, till we came to the place of exe
cution, and that for two reasons ; first, I was conscious it
would too much expose her to the censure of the inexorable
mob, and, which was abundantly worse, it would discompose
her mind, and hinder her meditating with God ; the second
consideration was, that, as the incensed mob thought it not
enough to rejoice over her by common rage and defamatory

134

abuse, but were altogether cruel to cast stones, diit, &c. there
fore, if I, through endeavouring to pacify them by virtue of a
friendly address, should, on the contrary, excite their madness
and exasperation, they would not only disturb her mind, but
endanger her life before the law had executed its office. I
roust observe here, I never in the course of my life, beheld
so much the absolute necessity, whcih all ministers of the
Gospel of every denomination amongst us, lay under, in
plucking those brands out ofthe jaws of eternal death and des
truction, or a dreadful account will be given one day by such
preachers. When we came to the place of execution, the
outcries of the mob were not so violent ; yet notwithstanding,
when she was tied up to the fatal tree, and exposed lo God,
angels and men, (an awful spectacle) little or no compassion
¦was drawn from the hearts of the populace, for the behaviour
of thousands was such, as, I am persuaded, no part of the
habitable vvorld would be guilty of, except the inhabitants of
Great-Britaip. Immediately after the executioner had tied
her up, I discovered an horrible dread in her countenance :
Fftring that some violent temptation had assaulted her, 1 beg
ged lo know the cause of her being so distressed. She said,
"Mr. Told, I have many times passed by this place, and al
ways experienced, when near this spot of ground, a dreadful
horror seized me, for fear that one day or other I should come
to be hanged. This," said she, " enters afresh upon my mind,
and greatly terrifies me !" I said, " Your mind all the way was
very composed, and repeatedly you told me, you could put
your full trust and confidence in your blessed Redeemer, and
that you had no doubt but that you should be happy with hira ;
do not you find it so still ?" She replied, "I still retain my
confidence, but this powerfully cccurs to my mind of what I
frequently imagined whenever I passed this piece of ground,
and therefore I am terrified exceedingly." I then told her, it
was by no means a point of her busines.s, or duty, to pay any
attention to that ; but her whole infire duty and attention was

135
to look stedfastly to the Lord Jesus, and that would be suffici
ent to subdue every other opposition, and enable her to resign
her spirit into the hands of Almighty God. Sorhe time before
she was turned off, the Rev. Mr. Moov came into the cart,
spake to her, and prayed vvith her. We sang two hymns, and
continued to exhort her for three-quarters of an hour. She
was very devout, crying vehemently for mercy. Just as the
cart was ready to draw off, the ministers all having gone out,
I turned to her, and advised her, in her last moment, to keep
her mind stedfastly fixed upon Christ. She said, " I hope I
shall." The cart then drew off, and, I humbly trust, God has
received her departed spirit. Amen.
Thus, Christian Reader, concludes the narrative of the life
of Mr. Silas Told, written by himself some time before his de
parture from this vale of tears, after having passed through a
troublespme and laborious life with greac^ fortitude and pati
ence ; being continually anxious for the good of his fellow
creatures, particularly the condemned malefactors in the seve
ral prisons in and about the metropolis ; striving ardently by
allthe means in his power, to promote their everlasting wel
fare; submitting^meekly, for Christ's sake, lo the ill-treatment
which he too often experienced, not only from prisoners and
keepers, &c. but even to reproach and censure from those
who ought rather to have encouraged and applauded him.
After having done all the good in his power, he chearfully re
signed his soul into the hands of his Heavenly Father, in De
cember, 1779, in the 6Sth year of his age, and hath, no doubt,
received this blessed welcome, "Well done, good and faithful
servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,"

COMPARATIVE VIEW

BLESSED S:[ CURSED AT THE LAST DAY,
AND THE
INFERENCE TO BE DRAWN FROM IT.
By Mrs. Chapone.
VV HAT a tremendous scene of the last day does the gospel
place before our eyes ! — of that day, when you, and every one
of us, shall awake from the grave, and behold the Son of God,
on his glorious tribunal, attended by millions of celestial be
ings, of whose superior excellence we can now form no ade
quate idea — when, in presence of all mankind, of those holy
angels, and ofthe great Judge himself, you must give an ac
count of your past life, and hear your final doom, from which
there can be no appeal, ana which must determine your fate
to all eternity ; then think. ..if for a moment you can bear the
thought.,, what will be the desolation, shame, and anguish of
those wretched souls, who shall hear these dreadful words ;.,,,
" Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared
for the devil andhis angels. ".. .Oh !.,.! cannot support even
the idea of your becoming one of those undone, lost creatures !
I trust in God's mercy, that you will make a belter use of
that knowledge of his will, which he has vouchsafed you, and
of those amiable dispositions he has given you. Let us there
fore turn frora this horrid, this insupportable view,,, and rather
endeavour to imagine, as far as is possible, what will be the

137
sensations of your soul, if you shall hear our Heavenly Judge
address you in these transporting word^ — " Come thou blessed
of ray Father, inherit the kingdora prepared for you, from the
foundation of the world." — Think, what it must be, to become
an object ofthe esteem and applause — not only of all mankind
assembled together — but of all tbe host of heaven, of our
blessed Lord himsetf — nay, of his and our Almighty Father :
— To fiad your frail flesh changed, in a moment, into a glori
ous celestial body, endowed with perfect beauty, health, and
agility :,,,Tofind your soul cleansed from all its faults and in
firmities ; exalted to the purest and noblest affections ; over
flowing with divine love and rapturous gratitude" !  To have
your understanding enlightened and refined ; your heart en
larged and purified ; and every power and disposition of mind
and body adapted to the highest relish of virtue and happiness !
,,,Thus accomplished, to be admitted into the society of ami
able and happy beings, all united in the most perfect peace
and friendship, all breathing nothing but love to God, and to
each other;  with them to dwell in scenes more delightful
than the richest imagination can paint  free from every pain
and care, and from all possibility of change or satiety :... But,
above all, to enjoy the more immediate presence of God him
self.., to be able to comprehend and admire his adorable per
fections in a high degree, though still far short of their infi
nity,,, to be conscious ofhis love and favour, and to rejoice in
the light of his countenance !,..But here all imagination fails :
,.,We can form no idea of that bliss, which may be communi
cated to us by such a near approach to the source of all beauty
and all good :  We must content ourselves with believing,
"that it is what mortal eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nei
ther hath it entered into the heart of man lo conceive." The
crown of all our joys will be, to know ihat we are secure of
possessing them for ever. ..what a transporting idea ! * ,

138
 ?>
Can you reflect on all these things, and not feel the most
earnest longings after imraortality ?  Do not all other views
and desires seem mean and trifling, when compared with this ?
...And does not your inmost heart resolve, that this shall be the
chief and constant object of its wishes and pursuit, through
the whole course of your life ?  If you are not insensible to
that desire of happiness which seems wo'wn irito our nature,
you cannot surely be unmoved by the prospect of such a tran-
scendant degree of it ; and that continued to all eternity,,, per
haps continually increasing. You cannot but dread the for
feiture of such an inheritance, as the most insupportable evil !
...Remember then,,, remember the conditions on which alone it
can be obtained. God will not give to vice, to carelessness, or
sloth, the prize he has proposed to virtue. You have every
help that can animate your endeavours :  You have written
laws to direct you,,, the example of Christ and his disciples to
encourage you. ..the most awakening motives to engage you,,.
and you have, besides, the comfortable promise of constant
assistance frora the Holy Spirit, if you diligently and sincerely
pray for it,,,0 ! lei not all this mercy be lost upon you  but
give your attention to this your only important concern, and
-accept, with profound gratitude, the inestimabje advantages
that are thus affectionately offered you.
Though the four gospels are each of them a narration ofthe
life, sayings, and death of Christ ; yet as they are not exactly
alike, but some circumstances and sayings, omitted in one, are
recorded in another, you must make yourself perfectly master
of them all.
The Acts of the Holy Apostles, endowed with the Holy
Ghost, and authorized by their divine Master, come next in
order lo be read,,, Nothing can be more interesting and edify
ing, than the history of their actions, ,,ef the piety, zeal, and
courage, with which they preached the glad tidings of salva-

139
tion ; and of the various exertions of the wonderful powers
conferred on them by the Holy Spirit, for the confirmation of
their mission.

OF THE

EXAMPLE SET BY OUR SAVIOUR,
AND His
CHARACTER.
By the same.

VV HAT an example is set before us in our blessed Master ?
How is his whole life, from earliest youth dedicated to the
pursuit of true wisdom, and to the practice of the most exalted
virtue ! When you see him, at twelve years of age, in the
temple amongst the doctors, hearing them, and asking them
questions on the subject of religion, and astonishing them all
with his understanding and answers  .you will say, perhaps
 " Well might the Son of God, gven at those years, be far
wiser than the aged ; but, can a mortal child emulate such
heavenly wisdora ? Can such a pattern bp proposed to ray imi
tation ?"  Yes, certainly;. ..remember thatbe has bequeath
ed to you his heavenly wisdora, as far as concerns your own
good. He has left you such declarations of his will, and of
the consequences of your actions, as you are, even now fully
able to under.stand, if you will but attend to them. If, then,
you will imitate his zeal for knowledge, if you vvill delight in.
gaining information and improvement ; you may even no\v fee-
cpme "wise unto salvation.".,, Unmoved by the praise he ac-

140
quired amongst these learned raen, you see him meekly return
lo the subjection of a child, under those who appeared to be
his parents, though he was in reality their Lord ! you see him
return to live with them, to work for them, and to be the joy
and solace of their lives ; till the tirae came, when he was to
enter on that scene of public action, for which his heavenly
Father had sent him from his own right hand, to take upon
him the form of a poor carpenter's son. What a lessqn of hu
mility is this, and of obedience to parents !,. , When, having
received the glorious testimony from heaven, of his being the
beloved Son of the Most High, he enters on his public minis
try, what an example does he give us, ofthe most extensive
and constant benevolence !...how are all his hours spent in do
ing good to the souls and bodies of men!  not the meanest
sinner is below his notice :  Tp reclaim and save them, he
condescends to converse familiarly with the most corrupt, as
well as the most abject. All his miracles are wrought to bene
fit mankind ; not one to punish and afflict them. Instead of
using tbe almighty power, which accompanied him, to the
purpose of exalting himself, and treading down his enemies,
he makes no other use of it than to heal and to save.
When you come to read of his sufferings and death, the ig
nominy and reproach, the sorrow of mind, and torraent of
body, which he submitted to,. .when you consider, that it was.
all for our sakes..." that by his sripes we are healed". ..and by
h\» death we are raised from destruction to everlasting life 

what can I say, that can add any thing to the sensations yon
must then feel?. ..No power of language can make the scene
more touching than it appears in ihe plain and simple narra
tions of the evangelists. The heart that is unmoved by it, can
be scarcely huraan ;...but the emotions of tenderness and com
punction, which almost every one feels in reading this ac
count, will be of no avail, unless applied to the true end,,, un
less it inspires you with a sincere and warm affection -towards

141
your blessed Lord... ...with a firm resolution to obey his com
mands ;,,,to be his faithful disciple,,, and ever to renounce and
abhor those sins, which brought mankind un'der divine con
demnation, and from which we have been redeemed at so dear
a rate. Remember thai the title of Christian, or follower of
Christ, implies a more than ordinary degree of holiness and
goodness. As our motives to virtue are stronger than those
which are afforded to the rest of mankind, our guilt will be
porportionably greater, if we depart from it.
Our Saviour appears lo have had three great purposes, in de
scending from his glory, and dwelling amongst men. The
first, lo teach them true virtue, both by his example and pre -
cepts. The second, to give them the most forcible motives to
the practice of it, by " bringing life and immortality to light;"
by shewing them the certainty of a resurrection and judgment,
and the absolute necessity of obedience to God's laws. The
third, to sacrifice himself for us, to obtain, by his death, the
remission of our sins, upon our repentance and reformation,
and the power of bestowing on his sincere followers the ines
timable gift of immortal happiness.

NEW TESTAMENT,
WHICH M
CONSTANTLY TO BE REFERRED TO,
AS THE
KULE AND DIRECTION OF OUR MORAL CONDUCT,
By the same.
— »'«*%i«j»"-
W E come now to that part of scripture, which is the most
important of all, and which you mu.st make your constant
study, not onlv till you are thoroughly acquainted with it, but
all your life long ; because, bow often soever repeated, it is
impossible to read the life and death of our blessed Saviour,
without renewing and increasing in our hearts that love and
reverence, and gratitude towards him, which is so justly due
for all he did and suffered for us ! Every word that fell from
his lips is more precious than all the treasures ofthe earth ; for
his "are the words of eternal life !" They must therefore be
laid up in your heart, and constantly referred to, on all occa
sions, as the rule and direction of all your actions ; particular
ly those very comprehensive moral precepts he has graciously
left with us, which can never fail to direct us aright, if fairly
and honestly applied : Such as, " whatsoever ye would that
meik should do unto you, even So do unto them.",, .There is no
occasion, great or small, on which you may not safely apply
this rule for the direction of your conduct : And, whilst your
heart honestly adheres to it, you can never be guilty of any
sort of injustice or unkindness. The two great commandments,

I4S
which contain the summary of our duty to God and man, are
no less easily retained, and made a standard by which to judge
own own hearts  " To love the Lord our God, wilh all our
hearts, wilh all our minds, with all our strength ; and our
neighbour (or fellow-creature) as ourselves." "Love worketh
no ill to his neighbour." Therefore if you have the true benevo
lence, you will never do any thing injurious to individuals, or
to society. Now, all crimes whatever are (in their remoter
consequences at least, if not immediately and apparently) in-
.jurious to the society in which we live. It is impossible to
love God without desiring to please him, and, as far as we are
able, to resemble him ; therefore, the love of God must lead
to every virtue in the highest degree ; and, we may be sure,
we do not truly love him, if we content ourselves with avoid
ing flagrant sins, and do not strive, in good earnest, to reach
the greatest degree of perfection we are capable of. Thus do
those few words direct us to the highest Christian virtue. In
deed the whole tenor of the Gospel is to offer us every help,
direction, and motive, that can enable us to attain that degree
of perfection on which depends our eternal good.

W, Cowdroy, Jun. Priuter,

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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