man, the parishioners were not able to tell to what parish I belonged, or where I was born; so they 'sent me to another parish, and that parish sent me 'to a third; till at last it was thought I belonged to no parish at all. At length, however, they fixed 'me. I had some disposition to be a scholar, and ' had actually learned my letters; but the master of 'the workhouse put me to business as soon as I was ' able to handle a mallet.

Here I lived an easy kind of a life for five years. I only wrought ten hours in the day, and had my 'meat and drink provided for my labour. It is true, I was not suffered to stir far from the house, ' for fear I should run away: but what of that, I had 'the liberty of the whole house, and the yard before the door, and that was enough for me.

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up

'I was next bound out to a farmer, where I was both early and late, but I ate and drank well, and liked my business well enough, till he died. 'Being then obliged to provide for myself, was re⚫solved to go and seek my fortune. Thus I lived, ' and went from town to town, working when I could get employment, and starving when I could get none, and might have lived so still; but happening one day to go through a field belonging to a magistrate, I spied a hare crossing the path just 'before me. I believe the devil put it in my head 'to fling my stick at it: well, what will you have on it? 1 killed the hare, and was bringing it away in triumph, when the Justice himself met 'me: he called me a villain, and collaring me, desired I would give an account of myself. I began 'immediately to give a full account of all that I knew of my breed, seed, and generation: but though I gave a very long account, the Justice 'said, I could give no account of myself; so I was indicted, and found guilty of being poor, and

6

'sent

'sent to Newgate, in order to be transported to the 'plantations.

People may say this and that of being in gaol; but for my part, I found Newgate as agreeable a place as ever I was in, in all my life. I had my 'belly-full to eat and drink, and did no work; but ' alas, this kind of life was too good to last for ever! 'I was taken out of prison, after five months, put 'on-board of a ship, and sent off with two hundred more. Our passage was but indifferent, for we 'were all confined in the hold, and died very fast, for want of sweet air and provisions; but for my part, I did not want meat, because I had a fever all the way: Providence was kind, when provisions grew short, it took away my desire of eating. 'When we came ashore, we were sold to the plantC ers. I was bound for seven years, and as I was no scholar, for I had forgot my letters, I was obliged 'to work among the negroes; and served out my 'time, as in duty bound to do.

When my time was expired, I worked my passage home, and glad I was to see Old England again, because I loved my country. O liberty, liberty, liberty! that is the property of every Englishman, and I will die in its defence: I was afraid, however, that I should be indicted for a vagabond once more, so did not much care to go into the country, but kept about town, and did little jobs when I could get them. I was very happy in this manner for some time; till one 'evening, coming home from work, two men 'knocked me down, and then desired me to stand

still. They belonged to a press-gang; I was carried before the Justice, and as I could give no ac'count of myself (that was the thing that always hobbled me) I had my choice left, whether to go ' on-board a man of war, or list for a soldier. I

⚫ chose

chose to be a soldier; and in this post of a gentleman I served two campaigns, was at the battles in Flanders, and received but one wound through the breast, which is troublesome to this day.

When the peace came on, I was discharged; ' and as I could not work, because my wound was 'sometimes painful, I listed for a landman in the East India Company's service. I here fought the French in six pitched battles; and verily believe, that if I could read or write, our captain would have given me promotion, and made me a corpo'ral. But that was not my good fortune, I soon fell sick, and when I became good for nothing, got leave to return home again with forty pounds in my pocket, which I saved in the service. This was at the beginning of the present war, so I hoped 'to be set on shore, and to have the pleasure of spending my money; but the governmentwanted men, and I was pressed again, before ever I could 'set foot on shore.

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'The boatswain found me, as he said, an obsti"nate fellow he swore that I understood my busi'ness perfectly well, but that I pretended sickness

merely to be idle: God knows, I knew nothing of 'sea-business; he beat me without considering what he was about. But still my forty pounds was some comfort to me under every beating: the money "was my comfort, and the money I might have had "to this day; but that our ship was taken by the French, and so I lost it all.

Our crew was carried into a French prison, and many of them died, because they were not used to live in a gaol but for my part it was nothing to 'me, for I was seasoned. One night, however, as 'I was sleeping on the bed of boards, with a warm blankét about me (for I always loved to lie well) "I was awaked by the boatswain, who had a dark 'lantern

lantern in his hand. 'Jack,' says he to me, 6 will you knock out the French sentrys brains?' ‘I 'don't care,' says I, 'striving to keep myself awake, if I lend a hand.' Then follow me,' says he, and 'I hope we shall do business,' so up I got, and tied 'my blanket, which was all the cloaths I had, about 'my middle, and went with him to fight the Frenchmen: we had no arms; but one Englishman is able to beat five French at any time; so we went down to the door, where both the sentries were posted, and rushing upon them, seized their arms in a mo'ment and knocked them down. From thence, nine of us ran together to the key, and seizing the first 'boat we met, got out of the harbour, and put to 'sea: we had not been here three days before we 'were taken up by an English privateer, who was glad of so many good hands; and we consented to run our chance. However, we had not so much luck as we expected. In three days we fell-in with a French man of war, of forty guns, while 'we had but twenty-three; so to it we went. The fight lasted for three hours, and I verily believe we 'should have taken the Frenchman, but unfortunately, we lost almost all our men, just as we were going to get the victory. I was once more in the power of the French, and I believe it would have gone hard with me, had I been brought 'back to my old gaol in Brest: but by good for'tune, we were re-taken, and carried to England

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་ once more.

'I had almost forgot to tell you, that in this last engagement I was wounded in two places; I lost four fingers of the left hand, and my leg was shot off. Had I the good-fortune to have lost my leg and use of my hand on-board a king's ship, and not a privateer, I should have been entitled to cloathing and maintenance during the rest of my

• life,

life, but that was not my chance; one man is born 'with a silver spoon in his mouth, and another with 'a wooden ladle. However, blessed be God, I en 'joy good health, and have no enemy in this world. that I know of, but the French, and the Justice ' of Peace.'

Thus saying, he limped off, leaving my friend and mein admiration of his intrepidity and content; nor could we avoid acknowledging, that an habitual acquaintance with misery, is the truest school of fortitude and philosophy. Adieu

LETTER CXIX.

FROM THE SAME.

THE titles of Europeans princes are rather more numerous than ours of Asia, but by no means so sublime. The king of Visapour or Pegu, not satisfied with claiming the globe and all its apurtenances to him and his heirs, asserts a property even in the firmament, and extends his orders to the milky way. The monarchs of Europe, with more modesty, confine their titles to earth, but make up by number in what is wanting in their sublimity. Such is their passion for a long list of these splendid trifles, that I have known a German prince with more titles than subjects, and a Spanish nobleman with more names than shirts,

Contrary to this, "the English monarchs," says a writer of the last century, "disdain to accept of "such titles, which tend only to increase their