usual: many of the passengers were very seasick; as for my part, I thought, if the Almighty was but with me, that would make up for all difficulties; for in him was, and is my life and chiefest joy and, as an answer of peace in my tossed condition, I sometimes had comfortable times; being inwardly refreshed with the love and presence of God, not only in the day but also in the night, in my sleep; out of which I was awakened one morning, in the morning watch, with these comfortable words, He took me to his "banqueting house, and his banner over me was love." These expressions were so fresh in my mind, for some days, that I could not forbear, but bless the holy name of the living Lord secretly in my soul. The 16th of the Sixth month we arrived at Barbadoes. The 17th there arose, about midnight, a hard gale of wind, which the Barbadians call a hurricane, or tornado, and blew more than ten vessels ashore, great and small, which were wholly lost; and our ship was very near the rocks, people looking every minute when she would come on shore; but through Divine favour, we escaped, with only the boat stove against the rocks. I would have got on board, but that was impracticable; but I got on the highest place I could, from which I could see them in the ship, and they me on shore; for we could not, for the violence of the wind, hear one another; yet they were so near the fort, where I stood, that I could discern them one from another, and they me from the multitude of people, many being in the fort with me. I seeing the chief mate look towards me, I waved my hat to him, and he, in answer, his to me; then I made a signal to him to go to sea, which they immediately did, letting slip their cables, and went to sea without either boat, anchor, or cables, and came in the next day, and got their cables and anchors again, to the great joy of many of the inhabitants, whose hearty prayers were for our safety, as many of them told me. This, among many others, I put in my calendar of deliverances, and preservations from imminent dangers, by the hand of Divine Providence. We staid this time in Barbadoes about five weeks, leaving the island the 27th of the Seventh month; and there I met with Robert Jordan, my friend and brother in the work and fellowship of the gospel of Christ, who took his passage with us for Philadelphia, whose company was. pleasant and comfortable. One evening he was repeating some verses of the excellent Addison's, which I willingly transcribed, as well in memory of that great author, as also that they answered my state and condition in my watery travels, and in the extremes of heat and cold, and some poisonous. airs I have often breathed in. They are as follow: "How are thy servants blest, O Lord! Their help, Omnipotence. "In foreign realms, and lands remote, Through burning climes I pass'd unhurt, "Thy mercy sweeten'd ev'ry soil, The hoary Alpine hills it warm'd, "Think, O my soul! devoutly think, "Confusion dwelt in ev'ry face, And fear in ev'ry heart, When waves on waves, and gulphs on gulphs, "Yet, then, from all my griefs, O Lord! My soul took hold on thee. "For though in dreadful whirls we hung, High on the broken wave, I knew thou wert not slow to hear, Nor impotent to save. "The storm was laid, the winds retir'd, Obedient to thy will; The sea, that roar'd at thy command, At thy command was still. "In midst of dangers, fears, and death, And praise thee for thy mercies past, "My life, if thou preserv'st my life, And death, if death must be my doom, The 4th of the Eighth month, we met with a hard gale of wind, which broke the tiller of our rudder, and split our bowsprit and mainsail, and overset many of our chests. Robert Jordan narrowly missed his chest falling on him from one side of the ship to the other, which we looked on as a merciful providence, and spoke of it to one another, remembering Addison's verses, which the night before were repeated. In this passage we saw three vessels only; it was a blustering time, but the shortest from land to land that ever I had, being but fourteen days and fourteen hours from the sight of Barbadoes to the sight of the main land: we arrived at Philadelphia the 16th of the Eighth month. In the Ninth month I proceeded on a fifth voyage, as master, to Barbadoes, and went down the river Delaware on the seventh-day, and on First-day was at Chester meeting, at which time there was a burial of a child, and a large meeting: our friends at Chester were glad to see me, and I them, and after meeting we set sail, and went down the river to Elsenborough, where we came to and landed Robert Worthington, whose son Ezra was on board, and went to Barbadoes for his health, being in a deep consumption. This voyage we were on our passage about thirty-three days before we arrived at Barbadoes, when after doing my business, and visiting our Friends' meetings, in about five weeks, we put to sea the 10th of the Twelfth month, and sailed along to leeward of divers islands, till we came to Anguilla, where we landed in expectation to get salt, but at this time was not any to be had there. We came to an anchor here in the night, hoping to get to an harbour before it was dark; but it soon being very dark, and coming into shoal water, we saw a large rock, and came to by the side of it, in about five or six fathom water, taking it to be a ship, and when it was day we saw our mistake, and that instead of a vessel, we were too nigh a rock, and the wind coming about, tailed our ship towards it so near, that we were sensible of touching twice; I ordered the men to heave a little further a-head, and so we lay clear till morning. When morning came, of which we were glad, several boats, with a cable, came to us, and the people advised us to put a spring on our cable, . |