left him thus sound asleep till the evening, when the lustres were lighted, and several friends assembled, curious to hear the story of his miserable captivity. When he awoke and saw the glare of light and the persons around him, he could scarce recover his recollection, and for a moment seemed as if he had dropped into some enchanted abode. The welcome and kind treatment of his friends who supplied all his wants, soon restored him to his former life and spirits; and he began to think of new service, as he had yet obtained but a scanty provision, which his long captivity had not much increased, though he received the arrears of his pay. He accordingly shipped himself as first mate of the Intelligence, Captain Pennington for Bencoolen and Batavia. In his passage they were surrounded with water spouts, one of which was very near, and they fired to disperse it. The roaring was tremendous, and presently a torrent poured on the ship, which brought down with it many fish and sea weeds, yet the wa ter was perfectly fresh, a phenomenon singularly curious.

During this voyage, the white ants and cockroaches with other insects multiplied in the most prodigious manner, so that it was resolved to run the ship down from Bencoolen to Puley Bay, and Jay her completely under water to get rid of the vermin. After a fortnight, they pumped her dry, and the quantity destroyed of these creatures, with centipedes, three or four inches long, was incredible. Bencoolen was a most unhealthy place, but Puley Bay, is the region of the shadow of death; from thence none escape without the putrid fever. Perhaps the wetness of the ship added not a little to the cause of mortality. Before they left the bay every man of the crew who was a European, except Wilson, died. The Captain came down well on Christmas day and only dined on board, and returned the

same night; the very next day he sickened and died. A recruit of black men was sent from Bencoolen to navigate the vessel. The very day they sailed out of the harbor, Captain Wilson who had hitherto resisted the intemperature of the climate, and then commanded the vessel, was attacked with a fever. One Swede yet remained. He had always. accounted for the death of his companions, and imputed it to their imprudence. He had confidence he should escape. He was then at the helm going out of the harbor. The Captain, who though ill, kept the deck, observed the ship very badly steered, and called out. The Swede quitted the helm and sat down on the hen-coops. The Captain himself ran to the wheel to rectify the course, storming at the man who had left the helm. He made no reply, but how great was his surprise when on going up to him he found him a corpse. The ship, however, visited Batavia, and arrived in Bengal; and though his health continued to suffer, the Captain made a very profitable voyage.

During a year and a half he had repeated and dangerous relapses, and more than once approached the gates of death. He continued, however, to improve his fortune, and became himself a sharer in the vessel as well as commander.

It is worthy of remark how much the most important circumstances of Captain Wilson's life turned upon apparently trivial occurrences. The last events attending his mercantile engagements were such as show the control of Providence over us and our affairs by an hand which we cannot see. The Captain was lying at anchor in port, with his vessel freighted, and ready for sea, but where he and many others had been for some time wind-bound. Being on shore, spending the evening with a number of the merchants and captains of the vessels in the harbor, he met with something which greatly displeased

him; he silently withdrew from the company, and instead of sleeping on shore as others did, and as he intended to have done, he called a boat, and went to his ship designing to sleep on board; but soon after he was there, about midnight, the wind shifted nearly to the opposite point of the compass. He immediately weighed anchor and sailed out of the harbor, and had the advantage of a fair wind and sufficient time to get down the river and get a good offing. Before the other ships could get out of the river, the wind resumed its position and forced them back to their former anchorage, and though directly foul to those in port, was tolerably fair for Wilson. When he reached the port to which he was destined, the markets were much in want of the articles with which his ship was freighted, and there being no merchant to share the market with him, he obtained his own price for the greater part of his goods. For the same reason, the articles with which he freighted his vessel back, were cheap. With them he returned to the port from whence he first sailed after a month's absence, and found the vessels wind-bound as before. Here also he obtained a ready and advantageous sale for his goods; some congratulated, whilst others envied him, but all united in saying that Wilson was a fortunate man. By the double advantages of this favorable voyage, with what he had gained before, he obtained a sufficient sum to induce him to retire from business, and from the toils and dangers of the sea; he resolved therefore to return to England, sit down content with what he had, and endeavor to recover his health, and enjoy himself.

With this view, he embarked as passenger, in the same ship in which that good man, Mr. Thomas, one of the Baptist missionaries, was returning from Bengal to England. With him he had frequent disputes about religion; and being as infidel in

principle, as careless in conduct, he could not but grieve this minister, who observed one day to the chief mate, that be should have much more hope of converting the Lascars to Christianity, than Captain Wilson; so deeply mysterious are the ways of Providence. The things impossible to man, are possible with God; but the time was not yet.

Being safe arrived at Portsmouth, he looked around him for an agrecable abode, and having soon discovered such a one at Horndean, in Hampshire, he purchased it, and determined to sit down contented with the very moderate fortune which he had brought from India, and amuse himself with gardening and the sports of the country. Being unmarried, he considered of a proper person to have the conduct of his house and family. He had a sen

sible and agreeable niece, whom he particularly desired to take this care upon her; she was a truly religious woman, and when pressed by him to come and live with him, she informed him of her sentiments, and her wish to attend the worship of God at the congregation of Portsea, to which she belonged. He very carelessly observed that to him this would be no objection; he should not disturb her about her religion; and provided she did not trouble him with it, he should leave her to herself.

About two years he continued to live at Horndean, in the same careless unconcern about eternal things; decent in his conduct, and perfectly sober; amused with his garden, the sports, and company around him; but an utter stranger to the principles of the Gospel, and unacquainted with the power of

them.

PART II.

From his conversion to Christianity, to his becoming the Captain of the Missionary ship Duff.

THE methods of Providence are inscrutable, but while they are directed by wisdom, they are characterized by benevolence. It was a merciful event for Captain Wilson, that the mind of his niece had been enlightened and imbued with the spirit of truth, previous to his return from India. This was to her a situation of many comforts, but as Horndean was ten miles from the place of worship she used to attend, and where she had received her first serious impressions, she felt it a great disadvantage to be deprived of the public ordinances of God's house, and this made her appear to him as though not happy. He was also associated with the fashionable persons in the neighborhood, whose conversation and habits were not congenial to her state of mind: he perceived this, and though he never made it the source of uneasiness to her, yet it rather marred his pleasures, and excited his surprise, that what he then considered as innocent amusements and gaieties, could afford her no pleasure. Her predilections, love of religious books, anxiety for divine worship, and evident solicitude for his spiritual welfare, bad a preparatory influence on his mind; he pitied her weakness, as be considered it, but admired her integrity; he perceived that she had her felicities, though they were not from his paradise.