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gazine of powder blew up, and did no more harm; the ship Swift-sure, being then ready to careen, had most of her best guns there on board, which were all afterwards, by industry and art, taken up, notwithstanding that they lay in above three fathom water.

June the first, Colonel Bullard, after a long march to little purpose, returned with his party to the town, bringing with him some cattle, and giving notice of great abundance that are in the more remote parts of the country; since which time there have gone forth divers parties, who have also brought in droves of cattle, and, amongst the rest, a Spanish lady, with some attendants, who, were she but as good as great, as virtuous as ponderous, and as fair as fat, certainly she would far exceed any three ladies in Engiand, in worth, weight, and beauty.

June the sixth, the ship Cardiff set sail for England, as the harbinger of the rest of the fleet, which were to follow after.

And, the ninth following, a general muster was taken of the land army, whose number was found to be so much diminished of late, not so much by any pestilential or violent disease, as for mere want of natural sustenance, which, in common reason, may seem strange, that, of all men, soldiers should starve in a cook's shop, as the saying is, or perish for want of food in a country so abounding with flesh, fish, and other vital provisions; but it is to be hoped, that, for the future, they may have an allowance of better and more wholsome diet than yet they have had, if the tyranny of their commanders, or slothfulness of themselves, or both, prevent not.

There lately arrived at Jamaica divers victuallers with provisions for the fleet, also arms and ammunition for the army; but hoes and hatchets were fitter for them.

June the twentieth, there came in hither three small vessels, prizes, which were taken by the Selby and Grantham frigates, who were ordered to lie plying to and again off the island of Hispaniola; some Spaniards, in them taken, reported, that, at the first appearance of the English fleet before the town of Domingo, the inhabitants deserted the place, and went all into the woods, where they continued for three days, leaving their magazine of powder behind, which they had once intended to have blown up; but, perceiving that, in that time, neither the ships approached the harbour, which they much dreaded, nor any else came to molest them, they re-entered the town; and being much encouraged and strengthened by those of the country, who daily came in thither, fortified what they might, and, blocking up the mouth of their harbour with some vessels which they there sunk, resolved to use their uttermost endeavours to maintain the place.

Oristano, June 24. There was this day a rumour that General Venables was departed this life, which was but a rumour, not real; but his excellency hath not been current, since his being at Hispaniola. The grand business, that the army is now upon, is to settle each regiment in the several quarters, where they have parcels of land, equally proportioned unto them, which being subdivided amongst the officers according to their respective places, some small share is like to fall unto the common soldiers; but what improvement may be made thereof, or how it will please Almighty God farther to deal with this army, let

time and truth manifest; the good hand of providence having taken me from amongst them, that so, according to my earnest desires, I might no longer be a spectator or recorder of their actions. I shall therefore now conclude, only including a brief description of the island of Jamaica, by comparing it, in divers respects, with Hispaniola, together with some few passages by the way homeward.

The island of Jamaica is situated betwixt the main and the isle of Cuba, distant from the one 96 leagues,-and from the other 20, the center whereof lieth directly in the same lat. with the town of Sancta Domingo, in Hispaniola, already described, and hath, longitude west from thence, 2 deg. 18 min. Its magnitude is scarcely one third of the said island, being in length 46, and breadth 14 leagues. Notwithstanding, for the quality and quantity of land, it is no less fruitful, and altogether as plentiful in fish, fowl, and cattle of all sorts; it is more mountainous and less woody; rivers there are divers, but the spring heads of some arising from copper mines, the water is somewhat unwholsome, and unsavoury, unless corrected by boiling, which the Spaniards used. Its chiefest defects and impediments are these: it produceth not any mines of gold and silver, as doth Hispaniola, and other parts of the Indies. It is also ill situated for traffick, lying such a distance to leeward, that it is a most difficult thing for vessels to turn up so far to windward as to get clear of the islands and rocks, which are therefore necessitated to make their passage through the Gulf of Florida, which is accounted dangerous, except at some seasons of the year.

June 25. The fleet, bound for England, set sail from Jamaica, viceadmiral Goodson, in the Torrington frigate, being left admiral of that squadron, ordered to remain in the Indies, they consisting of all the English frigates of this fleet, also three of the best sailing Flemish ships, which compleated the number of twelve sail, besides victuallers and prizes there remaining.

July 8. The fleet gained the length of Cape St. Antonio, being the westermost cape of the isle of Cuba, and the thirteenth following, they plying to windward, having a fresh gale easterly, came near under the tropick, and short of the Cape of Florida, about thirty leagues, where there happened another sad disaster. The Paragon Navy, a ship of the second rank, and, at that time rear-admiral, took fire, and consumed to her powder-room, and 'so blew up; the rear-admiral Dakins, and some others, with much danger and difficulty escaped, divers ships boats, which were nearest, coming in to their assistance, notwithstanding there perished about one hundred and forty men. By what means this lamentable accident was first occasioned, is not yet certainly known; but too certain it is, that the chief neglect was in the steward's room, from whence the fire broke forth, violently increasing, past remedy, as the people were assembled together at divine exercise in the forenoon.

July 19. Having hitherto had the weather variously inclined, many calms, aud some storms, with diversity of winds, but all of short continuance, the fleet now entered the Gulf of Florida, and the twentysecond following, passed forth of the same, the extent thereof being, in length, from the Cape of Florida, to the uttermost islands north of

,

Cuba sixty-eight leagues, and in breadth, from those islands to the main, twenty leagues, the current there setting N. N. E. the swiftness or slackness whereof dependeth on the falling of the rains, which about the month of August, are constantly very great; many exceeding large. American rivers being augmented thereby, the spacious Bay of Mexico becomes their receptacle, and so disburtheneth its swelling floods, through this narrow streight, into the Virgivian Ocean; it is therefore of some called the Gulf of Mexico.

August 4. The fleet gained the length of the Bermudas, since when, for the generality, being favoured with fair winds and seasonable weather, the twenty-second of this instant, they had also the length of the Western islands.

August 30. They descried the English shore, near the Lizard, and having a strong gale, S. S. W. the day following the fleet anchored at Spithead, near Portsmouth; three sail, having been separated from the rest by obscure weather in the night, before their entrance into the gulf, came in hither also this day, some few hours before the other.

And now for ever blessed be the divine Creator, who hath dealt thus mercifully with us, the unworthiest of his servants, giving us so large experience of his abundant goodness towards us, and bringing us once more unto the land of our nativity. The Lord in mercy so incline the hearts of this nation, that those grand sins of presumption and covetousness may no longer reign amongst them, lest, seeking after shadows, they lose the real substance; or coveting the good, or gold of others they incur the high displeasure of Almighty God upon themselves, and so become the scorn and derision of their enemies, and a by-word to other nations. Avertat Deus.

THE ENGLISH HERMIT*,

OR

WONDER OF THIS AGE.

Being a relation of the life of Roger Crab, living near Uxbridge; taken from his own mouth; shewing his strange, reserved, and unparalleled kind of life, who counteth it a sin against his body and soul, to eat any sort of flesh, fish, or living creature, or to drink any wine, ale, or beer. He can live with three farthings a week. His constant food is roots and herbs; as cabbage, turneps, carrots, dock-leaves, and grass; also bread and bran, without butter or cheese: his cloathing

• This is the 125th Number in the Catalogue of Pamphlets in the Harleian Library.

is sack-cloth. He left the army, and kept a shop at Chesham, and hath now left off that, and sold a considerable estate to give to the poor, shewing his reasons from the Scripture, Mark x. 21. Jer.

XXXV.

Wherefore if meat make my brother to offend, I will never eat flesh while the world stands, 1 Cor. viii. 13.

London, printed, and are to be sold in Pope's-Head Alley, and at the Ex-change, 1655. Quarto, containing twenty-two pages.

Honest reader,

The Publisher to the Reader.

Before you come to the author's own epistle, and narration, I shall mention some remarkable passages, which I had from his own mouth, and find them not mentioned in his writing; and, I can assure thee, this relation is no feigned story, or fable, but thou hast it presented to thy view, as I received it from the author himself, with all the verses of his own composing.

This Roger Crab is well known to many in this city, and the county; and, while this book was printing, he staid purposely here, in the city, till it was published, and, I think, is in town still; he lodged at the Golden Anchor, in Whitecross-street, at one Mr. Carter's house, a glover, where divers people resorted to see him, where such, as doubt of it, may be satisfied. I am informed by himself, and others, how that, three years since, he was a haberdasher of hats, and kept a shop at Chesham, in Buckinghamshire; and hath since given over his trade, and sold his estate, and given it to the poor, reserving a small matter to himself, being a single man; and now liveth at Icknam, near Uxbridge, on a small rood of ground, for which he payeth fifty shillings a year, and hath a mean cottage, of his own building, to it; but that which is most strange, and most to be admired, is his strange, reserved, and hermetical kind of life, in refusing to eat any sort of flesh, who saith it is a sin, against his body and soul, to eat flesh, or to drink any beer, ale, or wine; his diet is only such poor homely food, as his own rood of ground beareth, as corn, bread, and bran, herbs, roots, dockleaves, mallows, and grass; his drink is water; his apparel is as mean also; he wears a sackcloth frock, and no band on his neck; and this, he saith, is out of conscience, and in obedience to that command of Christ to the young man in the gospel, and in imitation of the prophets, and the Rechabites in Jer. xxxv. who neither planted vineyards, nor built houses, nor drank wine, and were highly commended by the Lord for it. I reasoned the case with him, and told him, that I conceived Christ's meaning, when he bad the young man sell all he had, and give to the poor, was, that he should part with all his dearest sins, that were as dear to him as his possessions, or else to try him for his covetousness; he answered, how can a man give that money to the poor, which he selleth his sins for? I perceive he is well read in the Scrip

island, where they had allowed such diet as the country afforded, which was none of the worst. The carpenters of each ship were ordered to set up those shallops, with expedition, which were brought over in quarters out of England; and all the coopers were busied in trimming and fitting of water-casks. In the mean season, two frigates, with a commissioner and others, were dispatched to the islands of Christophers and Meaves,, for the raising of as many voluntiers there, as were thought convenient; neither were the colonels and other officers at Barbadoes negligent in compleating their regiments and companies, and raising new; the islanders likewise contributed, of free-cost, to set forth a troop of gallant horse, for the furtherance of this service, the carcases whereof were afterwards, at the island of Hispaniola, either eaten, for want of other food, or there left behind, for the use of the enemy. During the abode of the fleet at Barbadoes, divers Dutch vessels (near twenty in number) were made prizes; whereof some were there found at anchor; others the frigates, that were a cruising at sea, brought in, and that in regard they presumed to traffick thither with such commodities, as were prohibited by the late articles of peace concluded betwixt both nations. The victuallers taken were employed to the use of the navy, and the vessels for transportation of soldiers.

It is also remarkable, that, in the mean time, there was an order for all boys, belonging to the fleet, although not supernumeraries, to be cancelled out of the states books, and, for the future, not to have allowance of diet, or wages, notwithstanding there was no care taken for their transportation homewards, or disposal otherwise; they, still remaining in the ships, became burthensome to those, on whom they had dependency, in participating of such victuals, as they had sparingly allowed for themselves. But the hand of providence, as it should seem, willing, in part, to ease them of their burthen, a shark-fish devoured at one time two youths, belonging to a States ship, as they were swimming near the vessel. All, that may be attributed to the good intent of this rigorous order, was for the better husbanding of vital provisions, and to prolong the time of victualling. But this, with other matters, if it be not treason to speak it, might have been more seasonably performed at home.

The new shallops being launched, and the fleet furnished with fresh water, and other necessaries, were in a readiness to depart; the fieldarmy was also drawn down and shipped, they being now so numerous, that each ship's share was as many as they could well carry.

March the thirty-first, they set sail from that island, and, within two days, passed betwixt the islands of Martinico and Sancta-Lucia, where they anchored that night; the day following, they weighed from thence, and, passing by the small islands of Dominico, Guardaloupe, Monserat, and Meaves, the sixth of April, came by the lee under Christophers, where those voluntary soldiers, that came off from that island and the next adjacent, were already shipped in prizes there taken, and waited only the motion of the fleet. The number of these were about thirteen-hundred, which, together with the other barbarians (viz. men of Barbadoes) compleated five thousand, besides women and children, whom, out of ill-grounded confidence and high presumption, they had

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