OF

CAPTAIN GEORGE ROBERTS.

UMEROUS are the difafters to which mariners are expofed, and the fortitude with which many of them have undergone the most mournful reverses of fortune, teaches an useful leffon of patience or refignation, and fhews what man is capable of acting or fuffering.

Captain Roberts, who had been bred to the fea, in the year 1721, entered into a contract with feveral merchants of London to fail to Virginia, and there to load with a cargo for the Guinea trade. Having purchased slaves to the amount of his investments, he was to proceed with them either to Barbadoes or Virginia, as he found moft likely to be conducive to the intereft of his employers; and having difpofed of his live freight, he was to load with the produce of the country, for the London market. This was a complex and tedious enterprife, and fortune forbade that it fhould be more than partially accomplished. Captain Roberts indeed reached Virginia, and purchased a floop and fuitable cargo, with which he fteered towards the Cape de Verd Islands; but here calamities and diftrefs overtook him.

Near St. Nicholas, one of those iflands, he fell into the hands of pirates, and finding him a man of fpirit and intredity, they anxiously ftrove to

him in the fame nefarious confederacy. Thefe attempts he fteadily refifted; but his unhappy fituation rendered it neceffary to conform more than he feems to have done with their humours and prejudices. One of the commanders among the pirates treated him with much indulgence, probably from a wifh to draw him into his lure. By the intereft of this perfon he was to be allowed to go on board his own fhip, and to be supplied with fome neceffaries; but unfortunately refafing to drink the pretender's health, which furely had been a very venial offence, circumftanced as he was, one of the piratical captains threatened to fhoot him through the head; and after having infulted him in the moft inhuman manner, barbaroufly forced him on board his own veffel at midnight, without provifions, water, or fails, and with only two boys to aflift in the navigation, one of whom was not more than eight years of age.

He was not even allowed a light, and his fhip being leaky, darkness was doubly horrible.

That men of the most abandoned characters, fhould fo far forget what humanity is due to their fellow men, as to expofe any one to al most certain destruction, merely on account of a foolish toaft, may excite the aftonishment of the reflecting; nor perhaps fhall we wonder much lefs at the romantic refolution of Captain Roberts, who braved death rather than fubmit to an infignificant form. Sullen obftinacy is fometimes dignified with the title of heroic conftancy, and many have been efteemed martyrs in a good caufe, who only fell facrifices to their own perverfe difpofition or unfubmitting tempers. We wish to eftablish the diftinction between effentials and forms,

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forms; between voluntary and compulfive deeds. No external compliances can change the mind: religion and loyalty enthroned in the heart, may defy the malice of man.

Thus abandoned to his fate, and with a mind compofed and refigned, Captain Roberts firft fet about pumping his veffel, by the affiftance of the elder boy. Having pretty well gained on the water, day-light appeared, when he faw the full extent of his miferable fituation. The unfeeling wretches, who had turned him adrift, had left him fcarcely any thing to fupport life. On rummaging the veffel, he found only a few crumbs of bread, ten gallons of rum, a little rice, and fome flour, with two gallons of water.

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With much labour he patched up a kind of fail in three days time, during which space himfelf and his two youthful companions fed on raw flour and rice, drinking nothing but rum. the heat of the climate and the fatigues to which they were expofed, rendering this kind of food unwholesome, they made cakes of dough with the little water they had left; but this operation exhaufting their flock, they foon felt the extremes of drought, which spirits could not affuage.

Providence now favoured them with a plentiful shower of rain, with which they quenched their thirit, and faved about a gallon over.

Small as their stock of provifions was, they hufbanded it with fo much care, that with the addition of a fhark which they caught, it lafted them for three weeks. When famine began to ftare them in the face, they had the good fortune to difcover the Ifle of St. Anthony; but before they could reach the landing place, darkness had set in, and they determined to wait in anxious expecta

tion of the day. Thirst, however, was so preffing, that the elder boy folicited permission to go on fhore for a little water in a fmall boat, and to return directly.

No fooner was he gone, than Captain Roberts, worn out with fatigue, was taken ill, and retiring to his cabin, infenfibly dropped asleep. At midnight he waked, and running on deck, to his extreme distress, found the fhip almoft out of fight of land. Aftonished and afflicted at this misfortune, he began to lofe all hopes of recovering the fhore without the afliftance of his companion; and to aggravate his mifery, the ship was making water very faft, and the anchor was out, which he had not strength to haul up.

The danger of finking being most imminent, he applied himself to the pump, and in a few hours fucked it dry. His next labour was to heave the anchor on board, and in this too he fucceeded beyond his first hopes. Parched with thirst, and without a drop of water, he now endeavoured to regain the island, and at last cast anchor in a fandy bay.

Same evening fome negroes came to his affiftance, bringing with them a very seasonable fupply of water. This raifed his drooping fpirits; and by the help of these poor people, who had been engaged by the boy on fhore, he attempted to fteer the fhip into the port of Paraghefi. In the night, the main-fail fplit, which fo daunted the negroes, that they inftantly took to their boat, leaving Mr. Roberts in a more forlorn fituation than ever.

Next day, while he was exerting himself to fteer the veffel to land, he heard the voices of fome people in the hold, and found three of the ne

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groes, who had been left dead drunk by their companions, from applying themfelves too freely to the rum, and were now juft recovering their fenfes. These people giving themfelves up for loft, when they difcovered their fituation, at first would render him no affiftance; but on a little reflection, and finding they were near St. John's, they began to labour for their preservation. One of them pretended to know the harbour; but when he approached the fhore, he was utterly at a lofs, and infifted on running the veffel on the rocks.

In this dilemma Captain Roberts threatened to dispatch the first person who should attempt this defperate deed, on which the pretended pilot leaped overboard and fwam to land. Soon after the captain hauled in fo close to Punto de Sal, that he could almost leap on fhore, and in this fi tuation the other negroes left him.

That night feveral of the natives made their appearance on the rocks, and next morning fwam to the fhip, and congratulated Captain Roberts on his arrival, and offered him any affiftance in their power, if he would go on fhore. Unfortunately he could not fwim, and for the prefent was obliged to remain on board; but the natives made his fituation more comfortable, by bringing him fish and other provifions.

The fucceeding day the weather looked threatening, and Mr. Roberts was juftly afraid of being driven out to fea. The negroes kindly interested themselves in his preservation, and after trying in vain to faften a rope to the rocks, offered to fwim with him and his boy to land. Unwilling, however, to quit the fhip, while a hope remained of faving her, he refolved to perfevere;

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