This was the only voyage which I may fay was fuccessful in all my adventures, and which I owe to the integrity and honefty of my friend, the captain; under whom I got a competent knowledge of the mathematics, and the rules of navigation; learned how to keep an account of the fhip's courfe, take an obfervation, and in fhort, to understand some things that were needful to be understood by a failor; for, as he took delight to introduce me, I took delight to learn; and, in a word, this voyage made me both a failor and a merchant for 1 brought home five pounds nine ounces of gold-dust for my adventure, which yielded me in London, at my return, almost 300l. and this filled me with those aspiring houghts which have fince fo compleated my ruin. Yet, even in this voyage, I had misfortunes tco; particularly that I was continually fick, being thrown into a violent calenture by the exceffive heat of the climate; our principal trading being upon the coaft, from the lat. of 15 degrees N. even to the line itself. I was now fet up for a Guinea trader; and my friend, to my great misfortune, dying foon after his arrival, I refolved to go the fame voyage again; and I embarked in the fame veffel with one who was his mate in the former voyage, and had now got the command of the fhip This was the unhappiest voyage that ever man made; for though I did not carry quite 100l. of my new gained wealth, fo that I had 20cl. left, and which I lodged with my friend's widow, who was very just to me, yet I fell into terrible misfortunes in this voyage; and the first was this; viz. Our ship, making her courfe towards the Canary islands, or rather between those islands and the African fhore, was furprised in the grey of the morning by a Moorish rover of Sallee, who gave chace to us with all the fail fhe could make. We crouded alfo as much canvas as our yards would spread, or our mafts carry, to have got clear; but finding the pirate gained upon us, and would certainly come up with us in a few hours, we prepared to fight; our fhip. having twelve guns and the rover eighteen. About three in the afternoon he came up with us, and, bringing to, by mistake, just athwart our quarter, instead of athwart our ftern, as he intended, we brought eight of Our our guns to bear on that fide, and poured in a broadfide upon him, which made him fheer off again, after returning our fire, and pouring in alfo his fmall fhot from near 200 men which he had on board. However, we had not a man touched, all our men keeping clofe: he prepared to attack us again, and we to defend ourselves; but, laying us on board the next time upon our other quarter, he entered go men upon our decks, who immediately fell to cutting and hacking the decks and rigging. We plied them with fmall fhot, half pikes, powder chefts, and fuch like, and cleared our deck of them twice. ever, to cut fhort this melancholy part of our story, our fhip being disabled, and three ofour men killed and eight wounded, we were obliged to yield; and were carried all prifoners to Sallee, a port belonging to the Moors. How The usage I had there was not fo dreadful as at first I apprehended; nor was I carried up the country, to the emperor's court, as the reft of our men were, but was kept by the captain of the rover, as his proper prize, and made his flave, being young and nimble, and fit for his business. At this furprising change of my circumftances, from a merchant to a miferable flave, I was perfectly overwhelmed; and now I looked back upon my father's prophetic difcourfe to me, that I should be miferable, and have none to relieve me; which I thought was now fo effectually brought to pass, that I could not be worfe; that now the hand of Heaven had overtaken me, and I was undone without redemption. But alas! this was but a taste of the mifery Fwas to go through, as will appear in the fequel of this story. As my new patron or master had taken me home to his houfe, fo I was in hopes, that he would take me with him when he went to fea again, believing that it would' be fome time or other his fate to be taken by a Spanish or Portugal man of war, and that then I fhould be fet at liberty. But this hope of mine was foon taken away; for when he went to fea, he left me on fhore to look after his little garden, and do the drudgery of flaves about his houfe; and when he came home again from his cruize, he ordered me to lie in the cabin, to look after the ship. Here I meditated nothing but my escape, and what method I might take to effect it; but found no way that had had the leaft probability in it; nothing prefented to make the fuppofition of it rational; for I had nobody to communicate it to, that would embark with me, no fellow flave, no Englishman, Irishman, or Scotfman there, but myfelf; fo that for two years, though I often pleafed myself with the imagination, yet I never had the leaft encouraging profpect of putting it in practice. After about two years, an odd circumftance prefented itself, which put the old thoughts of making fome aitempt for my liberty again in my head: my patron lying at home longer than ufual, without fitting out his fhip, which, as I heard, was for want of money, he used conftantly once or twice a week, fometimes oftener, if the weather was fair, to take the fhip's pinnace, and go out into the road a fishing; and as he always took me and a young Marefco with him to row the boat, we inade him very merry, and I proved very dextrous in catching fish; infomuch, that fometimes he would fend me with a Moor, one of his kinfmen, and the youth the Marefco, as they called him, to catch a difh of fish for him. It happened one time, that going a fifhing with him in a calm morning, a fog rofe fo thick, that though we were not half a league from the fhore, we loft fight of it; and, rowing we knew not wither, or which way, we laboured all day, and all the next night; and when the morning came, we found we had pulled off to fea, inftead of pulling in for the fhore; and that we were at leaft two leagues from the land: however, we got well in again, though with a great deal of labour, and fome danger; for the wind began to blow pretty fresh in the morning; but particularly we were all very hungry. But our patron,warned by this difafter, refolved to take more care of himself for the future; and having lying by him the long-boat of our English fhip which he had taken, he refolved he would not go a fishing any more without a compafs and fome provifion; fo he ordered the carpenter of his fhip, who alfo was an English flave, to build a little state-room or cabin in the middle of the long-boat, like that of a barge, with a place to stand behind it to fteer, and haul home the main (heet; and room before for an hand or two to ftand and work the fails. She failed with what we call a fhoulder of mutton fail; and the boom jibbed over the top of the cabin, which lay very fnug and low, and had in it room for him to lie, with a flave or two, and a table to eat on, with fome fmall lockers to put in fome bottles of fuch liquor as he thought fit to drink; particularly his bread, rice, and coffee. We were frequently out with this boat a fishing, and as I was most dextrous to catch fish for him, he never went without me. It happened one day, that he had appointed to go out in this boat, either for pleasure or for fish, with two or three Moors of fome diftinction, and for whom he had provided extraordinarily; and had therefore fent on board the boat over night a larger store of provifions than ufual; and had ordered me to get ready three fufils with powder and fhot, which were on board his fhip; for that they defigned fome sport of fowling as well as fishing. I got all things ready as he had directed; and waited the next morning with the boat washed clean, her ancients and pendants out, and every thing to accommodate his guests; when by and bye my patron came on board alone, and told me his guests had put off going, upon fome business that fell out; and ordered me, with the man and boy, as ufual, to go out with the boat, and catch them fome fish, for that his friends were to fup at his houfe; he commanded me too, that as soon as I had got fome fish, I fhould bring it home to his house: all which I prepared to do. This moment my former notions of deliverance darted into my thoughts, for now I found I was like to have a little ship at my command; and my mafter being gone, I prepared to furnish myfelf, not for fifhing buffefs, but for a voyage; though I knew not, neither did I so much as confider, whither I would fteer; for, any where to get out of that place was my way. My first contrivance was to make a pretence to speak to this Moor, to get fomething for our fubfiftence on board; for I told him we must not prefume to eat of our patron's bread; he faid, that was true; fo he brought a large basket of rufk, or bifcuit of their kind, and three jars with fresh water, into the boat: I knew where my patron's cafe of bottles ftood, which it was evident by the make, were taken out of fome English prize, and I con veyed them into the boat while the Moor was on shore, as if they had been there before, for our mafter I conveyed also a great lump of bees wax into the boat, which weighed about half an hundred weight, with a parcel of twine or thread, a hatchet, a faw, and a hammer, all which were of great ufe to us afterwards; especially the wax to make candles. Another trick I tried upon him, which he innocently came into alfo: his name was Ifmael, whom they call Muley, or Moloy; fo I called to him, Moloy, faid I, our patron's guns are all on board the boat, can you not get a little powder and fhot? it may be we may kill fome aleamies (a fowl like our curlews) for ourfelves; for I know he keeps the gunner's ftores in the fhip. Yes, fays he, I'll bring fome; accordingly he brought a great leather pouch, which held about a pound and a half of powder, or rather more; and another with shot, that had five or fix pounds, with some bullets, and put all into the boat; at the fame time I had found fome powder of my master's, in the great cabin, with which I filled one of the large bottles in the cafe, which was almost empty; pouring what was in it into another and thus furnished with every thing need. ful, we failed out of the port to fish. The caftle, which was at the entrance of the port, knew who we were, and took no notice of us, and we were not above a mile out of the port, before we hauled in our fail, and fat us down to fish The wind blew from the N. N. E. which was contrary to my defire; for had it blown foutherly, I had been fure to have made the coaft of Spain, and at least reached to the bay of Cadiz; but my refolutions were, blow which way it would, I would be gone from that horrid place where I was, and leave the reft to fate. : After we had fifhed fome time, and catched nothing (for when I had fish on my hook, I would not pull them up, that he might not fee them) I faid to the Moor, This will not do, our master will not be thus ferved; we must stand farther off: he, thinking no harm, agreed; and being in the head of the boat, fet the fails; and as I had the helm, I ran the boat out near à league farther, and then brought her to, as if I would fish; when, giving the boy the helm, I ftept forward to where the Moor was; and, making as if I ftooped for fomething behind. him, |