ing abfolute dominion in his little wooden world, rules by his own laws and by his own discretion. I do not, indeed, know fo pregnant an instance of the dangerous confequences of abfolute power, and its aptnefs to intoxicate the mind, as that of those petty tyrants, who become fuch in a moment, from very well-difpofed and focial mem bers of that communion, in which they affect no fuperiority, but live in an orderly state of legal fubjection with their fellow-citizens. Saturday, July 6. This morning our commander, declaring he was of opinion that the wind would change, he took the advantage of an ebbing tide, and weighed his anchor, His hopes, however, had the fame completion, and his endeavours the fame fuccefs, with his former trial; and he was foon obliged to return once more to his old quarters. Just before we let go our anchor, a small floop, rather than fubmit to yield us an inch of way, ran foul of our fhip, and carried off her bowfprit. This obftinate frolic would have cost thofe on board the floop very dear, if our steerfman had not been too generous to exert his fuperiority, the certain confequence of which would have been the immediate finking of the other. This contention of the inferior, with a might capable of crushing it in an initant, may feem to argue no fmall share of folly or madness, as well as of impudence; but I am convinced there is very little danger in it: contempt is a port to which the pride of man fubmits to fly with reluctance, but those who are within it are always in a place of the most affured fecurity, for whofoeverthrows away his fword, prefers, indeed, a less honour C able, but much fafer means of avoiding danger, than he who defends himself with it. And here we fhall offer another diftinction, of the truth of which much reading and experience have well convinced us, that as in the most abfolute governments, there is a regular progreffion of lavery downwards, from the top to the bottom, the mifchief of which is feldom felt with any great force and bitterness, but by the next im mediate degree; fo in the moft diffolute and anarchical ftates, there is as regular an afcent of what is called rank or condition, which is always laying hold of the head of him who is advanced but one step higher on the ladder, who might, if he did not too much defpife fuch efforts, kick his purfuer headlong to the bottom. We will conclude this digreffion with one ge neral and fhort obfervation, which will, perhaps, fet the whole matter in a clearer light than the longest and most laboured harangue. Whereas envy of all things muft exposes us to danger from others; fo, contempt of all things beft fecures us from them. And thus, while the dung-cart and the floop are always medita ting mifchief against the coach and the hip, and throwing themfelves defignedly in their way, the latter confider only their own fecurity, and are not ashamed to break the road, and let the other pafs by them. Monday, July 8. Having paft our Sunday without any thing remarkable, unless the catching a great number of whitings in the afternoon may be thought fo; we now fet fail on Monday at fix o'clock, with a little variation of wind; but this was fo very little, and the breeze itfelf fmall, that the tide was our best, and, indeed, almoft our only friend. This conducted us along the fhort remainder of the Kentifh fhore. Here we paft that cliff of Dover, which makes fo tremendous a figure in Shakespear, and which whoever reads without being giddy, must, according to Mr. Addifon's obfervation, have either a very good head, or a very bad one; but which whoever contracts any fuch ideas from the fight of, muft have, at least, a poetic, if not a Shakespearian genius. In truth, mountains, rivers, heroes, and gods, owe great part of their exiftence to the poets; and Greece and Italy do fo plentifully abound in the former, because they furnished fo glorious a number of the lat ter; who while they bestowed immortality on every little hillock and blind fiream, left the nobleft rivers and mountains in the world to fhare the fame obfcurity with the eastern and western poets, in which they are celebrated. This evening we beat the fea off Suffex, in fight of Dungenefs, with much more pleasure than progrefs; for the weather was almost a perfect calm, and the moon, which was almost at the full, fcarce fuffered a fingle cloud to veil her from our fight. These two Tuesday, Wednesday, July 9, 10. days we had much the fame fine weather, and made much the fame way; but, in the evening of the latter day, a pretty fresh gale fprung up, at N. N. W. which brought us by the morning in fight of the Ifle of Wight. Thursday, July 11. This gale continued till towards noon; when the eaft end of the island bore but a little a-head of us. The captain, being unwilling to come to anchor, declared he would keep the fea; but the wind got the better of A VOYAGE ઠરે A moft tragical incident fell out this day at fea. While the fhip was under fail, but making, as will appear, no great way, a kitten, one of four of the feline inhabitants of the cabin, fell from the window into the water: an alarm was immediately given to the captain, who was then upon deck, and received it with the utmost concern. He immediately gave orders to the steerfman in favour of the poor thing, as he called it ; the fails were inftantly flackened, and all hands, as the phrafe is, employed to recover the poor animal. I was, I own, extremely furprised at all this; lefs, indeed, at the captain's extreme tenderness, than at his conceiving any poffibility of fuccefs; for, if pufs had had nine thousand, inftead of nine lives, I concluded they had been all loft. The boatfwain, however, had more fanguine hopes; for, having ftript himself of his jacket, breeches, and fhirt, he leapt boldly into the water, and, to my great aftonishment, in a few minutes, returned to the ship, bearing the motionless animal in his mouth. Nor was this, I observed, a matter of such great difficulty as it appeared to my ignorance, and poffibly may feem to that of my fresh-water reader: the kit ten was now exposed to air and fun on the deck, where its life, of which it retained no symptoms, was defpaired of by all. The captain's humanity, if I may fo call it, did not fo totally deftroy his philofophy, as to make him yield himself up to affliction on this melancholy occafion. Having felt his lofs like a great man, he refolved to fhew he could bear it like one; and, having declared, he had rather have lost a cask of rum or brandy, betook himself to threshing at back-gammon with the Portuguese friar, in which innocent amusement they paffed their leifure hours. But as I have, perhaps, a little too wantonly endeavoured to raise the tender paffions of my readers, in this narrative, I thould think myself unpardonable if I conclude it, without giving them the fatisfaction of hearing that the kitten at laît recovered, to the great joy of the good captain; but to the great difappointment of fome of the failors, who afferted, that the drowning a cat was the very fureft way of raising a fa vorable wind: a fuppofition of which, tho' we have heard feveral plaufible accounts, we will not prefume to affign the true original reafon. Friday, July 12. This day our ladies went a fhore at Ryde, and drank their afternoon tea at an alehouse there with great fatisfaction: here they were regaled with frefl cream, to which they had been ftrangers fince they left the Downs. Saturday, July 13. The wind feeming likely to continue in the fame corner, where it had been almost constantly for two months together, I was perfuaded by my wife to go a-fhore, and stay at Ryde till we failed. I approved the motion, much; for, though I am a great lover of the fea, I now fancied there was more pleasure |