committed one another to the Protection of the Al- 1729. mighty. We had a comfortable Paffage, and arrived

at Philadelphia, where I was lovingly received by my Philadel Wife and Friends.

.

In this Voyage a great and weighty Concern came on my Mind, on Account of the young and rifing Generation, defiring they might be happy in this World, and in that which is to come. And first, as to this World, I have taken Notice, that divers of the Youth are too apt to wafte their outward Subftance, which often is given to them (for when they get it themselves, they are for the most part more faving of it) and this wafting and fpending, those Sparks call Generofity, Liberality, Good nature, Gentility, fine Breeding, and abundance of other fine Names, not confidering the Labour and Industry, Frugality, Care and Watchings, of their Parents or Ancestors, to get what they have. May Parents note this well, and not be anxiously concerned to get much Wealth, which may be a Means to ruin. their Pofterity! And truly most of thefe fpending, drinking, Company-keeping, gaming,chatting, tippling Youngsters, take a great deal more Care, how they may get Money from others, that they may spend it, than how to earn it, or faithfully labour for it themfelves; they will beg or borrow, and run in. Debt, but take little or no folid Thoughts to pay; by which Means divers of thofe topping, beggarly Beaus, and Spenders, have brought both themselves and, Relations, Parents and Friends, to Shame and Difgrace, and fometimes to Poverty, where their Relations and Parents have been too liberal. Let all indulgent Parents note this alfo.

And if any concerned Perfon fhould advise those inconfiderate Youths of their Evils, 'tis much if they gain not their lafting Ill-will, and the Epithets of Niggards and Covetous, ill-natured, cenforious, four, morofe, &c. However I fhall venture to ftand the

Shock

phia.

1729. Shock of their Difpleasure, and in as moving Terms as I can, confiftent with the Matter on my Mind, entreat them to confider the End of their spending, flothful, idle Life (which if continued in) must needs end in their Ruin, and they may repent when it is too late, crying out, Ob! that I had hearkened to the Advice of my Father, and my indulgent Mother! Oh! that I had taken the Counsel of my good Friends in Time, then I bad not been in this Condition, nor in those Straits I am now in. This, or worse, muft at last inevitably be the Condition of thofe unthinking Timewafting and Money-fpending, evil Company-keeping young People, of both Sexes. Some of whom, if they can get it, will spend more in a few Hours, than their Parents can get in fo many Days, which is very unreasonable, as well as unthinking; for if the indulgent Parents do not hold their Hands, truly they muft all fink together; and where the Parents have been, what these forts of Youths call liberal, whole Families have by fuch Liberality been undone, which is a Cafe to be lamented by all fober People.

I pray our spending Youths to confider, how many brave, fine young Men and Women, whofe Parents have left them Eftates and handfome Incomes, have by fuch Extravagancies foon fpent all, and fometimes more than all, and Difgrace and a Goal have been their Portion; and how many, by living too faft, have died too foon, much fooner than might be expected, according to the Course of Nature.

Wherefore I would advise them to regard what the wife King Solomon faid, Go to the Ant thou Sluggard, confider ber Ways, and be wife; he gathereth her Food in the Summer (i. e. fhe prepares against the Winter) Though this may be despicable in the Eyes of our fine Gentlemen, and learned 1pending Wits, yet there appears more Wisdom in thefe little induftrious Animals, than in those great Spenders, who, in the Spring and Summer of their Years, take fo little Thought of

faving what hath been with fo much Care gotten for 1729: them, or of getting more against the Winter or Old. Age, which, if they live, will certainly overtake them, when their Youth or Summer is gone.

But many Youths object against this Advice, crying out, as I have often heard, The Aged give this Advice when they are old, but did as we do when they were young as we are; although this may be true in fome, yet it will not hold good in the general, and if it do in fome, is not that Maxim good? Let others Harms learn us to beware, before it be too late, that we fall not into the fame Snare, which hath entangled or caught Thoufands, to their great Shame and Reproach. Again, those who have been fo overtaken in their Youth, and are escaped out of the Snare, are more fit to caution or advise how to escape it, or to fhew thofe Paths which led them into that Labyrinth of Woe and Mifery.

The Author of all Evil ufeth his utmoft Skill and Power to promote the Practices of exceffive Drinking, &c. among Mankind, it being a mighty Support to his Kingdom; for when the Nobility of the Understanding is clouded thereby, then Oh! how many wicked Oaths, Oh! what corrupt Language, what unhandfome, unbecoming Words and Actions, are brought forth! How is good Manners corrupted! How is the fober, chafte Soul offended, and above all other Con fiderations, how is God difhonoured, and the End of our Creation fruftrated, and Man condemned!

When People are in thofe Exceffes, how do they* take the facred Name in vain, and fo bring themselves in guilty before God, and Man; for he has pofitively faid, He will not hold them guiltlefs, who take his Name in vain; fo that let him plead never fo many Excufes, he is pronounced guilty by the Judge of Heaven and Earth: Therefore let me perfwade the Youth to remember what the Lord by his Servants faid concerning drinking to Excefs, Woe to the Drunkards; and that no

Drunkard

1729.

In this Voyage we had feveral Meetings on board, the firft of which was at the Requeft of my fecond Mate, to call the Sailors together in the Cabbin; I not being forward to propofe it to them, left they fhould fufpect me of fome Vanity, in defiring to preach to them; they not knowing the Crofs of Chrift in that Exercise.

On the 24th Day of the Seventh Month, at Noon, our Ship, by Obfervation, being exactly in the Latitude of Barbadoes, we fteer'd away Weft for the Island, and on the 26th we faw it, after five Weeks and one Day leaving Sight of Cape Henlopen; we having, after the first few Days, light Winds, Calms, and Head Winds, which made our Paffage long, and our Sea Stores al moft fpent; but now the Sight of Land made the People forget all Uneafinefs, and, for this Favour, my Heart was thankful to the great Preferver of Men.

This Time we came to a tolerable Market with our Provifions, which made our Stay but short, yet I was Barbadoes. divers times at the Bridge Meeting of Friends, as alfo at Speight's-Town (where my Concerns chiefly lay) and once at Pumkin-Hill Meeting, in which Meeting it was observed to the People, That the Salvation of the Soul is precious, and that true Religion is a folid Thing, a Thing of the greatest Moment to both Body and Soul, and that People ought to be very serious and folidly concern'd about it, taking fpecial Care to lay, or build, their Religion on a fure Foundation; it was fhewed them, that Chrift Jefus was the fure Rock and Foundation of all the Righteous, in all Ages; he was the Rock that followed Ifrael, which they drank of; any other Foundation than him, no Man can lay ; who is, in the truly Religious, and the true Believers, the Hope of their Glory.-Many other precious Truths were manifefted to us, in that Meeting, for which we praised the Lord.

Bridge

Town.

Soon after I went to Bridge Town to clear out the Veffel, and was at their Week-day Meeting: The Subject-matter I had to treat of in that Meeting, was,

That

N

That the Lord bringeth low, and he raiseth up again; 1729. and that, in divers Refpects, as to Kingdoms, Families, and particular Perfons; and as to Health, Wealth, Honour, &c. Divers in that Meeting were appealed to as Witneffes of it.After this Meeting I went to vifit the Governor who was courteous to me, and took my Vifit kindly, and defired to be remembred to our Governor, and several others, and wifhed me a profperous Voyage, and well back again, which he hoped would be in about three Months. He faid, Whoever lived to fee it, Penfylvania would be the Metropolis of America, in fome Hundreds of Years.He faid, He loved down-right, boneft Men; but he hated Deceit and Hypocrify. A great Man, and a great Expreffion!

At Sea.

The 21ft of the Eighth Month 1729, we, having done our Bufinefs, weigh'd Anchor, and went to Sea: And on the 26th we had a good Meeting with the Ship's Company, for the Service and Worship of ***** God; in which the Gofpel of Chrift was declared without Partiality, and the reigning Sins of Sailors openly expofed, according to the Doctrine of the Gofpel, and the most high Lord entreated to carry on in the Earth the great Work of Reformation.-Hitherto we had fine, pleasant Weather.

The Beginning of the Ninth Month we had a very bluftering, ftormy Time, for many Days, fo that we could not carry Sail, but fometimes lay by, and fometimes went with a reeff'd Main-fail and Fore-fail; the Ship had fuch a violent Motion, that it broke our Glaffes, and about a Dozen Bottles of Wine, and our Earthen-ware, and ftrained our Hogfheads and Cafks, fo that we pump'd out Molaffes into the Sea, and beat us back many Leagues, and blew our Sails out of the Bolt-ropes.

After thofe Storms we had a Calm, and the Wind fprung up wefterly; our Courfe being North-weft, or thereabouts, we could bearly lay our Courfe; yet, it being moderate, we had Caufe to be thankful.

Q 2

The