change, but I confefs that nature shrunk at the frightful manner of my-going off, which I expected every moment the fecond night. At laft however we got into Whitehaven. It pleafed the great King of all the earth to bid the ftorm, Have done. The cafe of ley. . Four remarkable things I noticed while the tempeft lasted. One was that the Dean of Derry, Dr. Whaley, whom we had on board, (who had nineteen hundred a year from the church, for teaching the people to be Chriftians) was vaftly more afraid than one young lady of the company, who appeared quite ferene. The Dean, tho' a fine Orator at land, was ridiculous in his fears at fea. He fcreamed as loud as any of the people: But this young lady behaved, like an angel in a storm. She was calm and refigned, and fat with the mate and me, the fecond night, difcourfing of the divine power, and the laws of nature, in fuch uproars. By the way, neither mate, nor master, nor hand, could keep the deck. The fhip was left to the mercy of the winds and waves. The Cafe of moth. The fecond remarkable thing. is, that as this young lady went into naked bed in her cabbin, the the first night, before the tempeft began to ftir, it was not many hours till a sea struck us upon the quarter, and drove in one of our quarter, and one of our stern dead lights, where we fhipped great quantities of water, that put us under great apprehenfions of foundering, and filled fo fuddenly the close wooden bed in which Mifs Melmoth lay, that had not I chanced to be then leaning against the partition, and fnatched her out, the moment I found myfelf all over wet, and half covered with the breaking fea, fhe muft inevitably have perifhed. I ran up on deck with her in my arms, and laid her almoft fenseless and naked there and as there was no staying many minutes in that place, I threw my great coat over her, and then brought her down to my own birth, which I gave her, and got her dry cloaths from her trunk, and made her drink a large glafs of brandy, which faved her life. She got no cold, which I thought very strange, but was hurt a little in the remove. When all was over, The protested she would never go into naked bed, on board fhip, again. The third particular is, that there were fome officers on The cafe of the ftorm. board, most monstrously wick- Jome officers in ed men, and when we were given over by the captain, and no hope he thought thought of being faved, thefe warriors lamented like young children, and were the most dismal, disturbing howlers on board : yet, when we got to land, they had done with O Lord, O Lord, and began again their obfcene talk, and to damn themselves at every word to the center of hell. The cafes of The fourth thing was this. There was on board with us a young gentleman of my acquaintance, one Pierce Gavan, who had been a fellow-commoner in my time of Trinity, Dublin. The first day of the ftorm, he was carried over-board by a rolling fea, and fairly lodged in the ocean, at above twenty yards diftance from the fhip; but the next tumbling billow brought him back again. He was laid on the deck without any hurt. On the contrary, one Charles Henley, a young merchant, was beat over, and we never faw him more. Henley's character. Henley, was not only a man of fenfe and prudence, who had an honeft mind, and a cultivated understanding, but by fearch and enquiries into the doctrines, inftitutions and: motives of revealed religion, had the higheft regards for the truths of genuine Christianity, and chofe the best means in his power to make himself acceptable to God. Gavan's cha racter. Gavan, on the contrary, had no sense of religion, nor did he ever think of the power and goodness of God. He was a most profane swearer, drank exceffively, and had the heart to debauch every pretty woman he faw, if it had been poffible for him to do fo much mischief.-Yet this man, who never reformed that I heard, and whofe impieties have shocked even young fellows who were no faints, was aftonishingly preferved; and Henley, who had the justest natural notions, and liftened to Revelation, perished miferably? How shall we account for fuch things? By faying, that the world that now is, and the world that is to come, are in the hands of God, and every tranfaction in them is quite right, tho' the reafon of the procedure may be beyond our view. We cannot judge certainly of the ends and purposes of Providence, and therefore to pafs judgment on the ways of God, is not only impious, but ridiculous to the last degree. This we know for certain, that whenever, or however, a good man falls, he falls into the hand of God, and fince we must all die, the difference as to time and manner, fignifies very little, when there is an infinite wisdom to VOL. I. distinguish F distinguish every cafe, and an infinite goodnefs to compenfate all our miseries. This is enough for a chriftian. Happy is the man, and for ever safe, let what will happen, who ats a rational part, and has the fear and love of God in his thoughts. With pleafure he looks into all the scenes of futurity. When storms and earthquakes threaten calamity, diftrefs, and death, he maintains an inward peace. The pallen gers land, and divide into Jeveral companies, May 10, 1729. 4 The 17. When we had obtained the wifhed for fhore, the paffengers all divided. Dean and his lady, and fome other ladies, went one, way, to an inn recommended to them by a gentleman on board; the warriors and Gavan marched to another houfe; and the young lady whofe life was by me preferved, and I, went to the Talbot, which the mate informed me had the best things and lodging, though the smallest inn in the town. This mate, Mr. Whitwell, deferves to be particularly mentioned, as he was remarkable for good breeding, good fense, and a confiderable share of learning, tho' a failor; as remarkable this way, as the captain of the ship was the other way, that is, for being the roughest and most brutal old tar that ever commanded a veffel. 18. Whitwell |