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attorney; that I was sure if I did, I should never serve out my time, and I should certainly run away from my master before my time was out, and go to. sea; and if she would speak to my father to let me make but one voyage abroad, if I came home again, and did not like it, I would go no more; and I would promise, by a double diligence, to recover the time I had lost.

This put my mother into a great passion: she told me, she knew it would be to no purpose to speak to my father upon any such a subject; that he knew too well what was my interest to give his consent to any thing so much for my hurt; and that she wondered how I could think of any such thing, after such a dis course as I had from my father, and such kind and tender expressions as she knew my father had used to me: and that, in short, if I would ruin myself, there was no help for me; but I might depend, I should never have their consent to it; that, for her part, she would not have so much hand in my destruction; and I should never have it to say, that "my mother was willing, when my father was not." Though my mother refused to move it to my father, yet, as I afterwards heard, she reported all the discourse to him; and that my father, after shewing a great concern at it, said to her with a sigh, "That boy might be happy, if he would stay at home; but, if he goes abroad, he will be the most miserable wretch that ever was born: I can give no consent to it."

It was not till almost a year after this, that I broke loose; though, in the mean tine, I continued obstinately deaf to all proposals of settling to business, and frequently expostulated with my father and mother about their being so positively determined against what they knew my inclinations prompted me to. But, being one day at full, where I went casually, and without any purpose of making an elopement at that time, and one of my companions then going to London by sea in his father's ship, and prompting me to go with them by the common allurement of seafaring men," that it should cost me nothing for my passage," I consulted neither father nor mother any more, nor- so much as sent them word of it; but left them to hear of it as they might, without asking even my father's blessing, without any consideration of circumstances, or consequen ees, and in an ill hour, God knows.

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The true name of this place is Kingston-upon-Hull, meaning the King's town on the river Hull, upon the banks of which, at its confluence with the river Humber,

1651. On the first of September, I went on board a ship bound for London." Never any adventurer's misfortunes, I believe, began younger, or continued longer, than mine. The ship had no sooner got out of the Humber, than the wind began to blow, and the waves to rise, in a frightful manner; and, as I had never been at sea before, I was most inexpressibly sick in body, and terrified in mind: I began now seriously to reflect upon what I had done, and how justly I was overtaken by the judgment of heaven, for wickedly leaving my father's house. All the good counsel of my parents, my father's tears, and my mother's entreaties, came now fresh into my mind; and my conscience, which was not yet come to the pitch of hardiness to which it has since, reproached me with the contempt of advice, and the abandonment of my duty.

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All this while, the storm encreased, and the sea, which I had never been upon before, went very high, though nothing like what I have seen many times Kingston was built by King Edward I. It is a large maritime borough-town in the east riding of Yorkshire, with the most considerable trade, both domestic and foreign, of any sea-port upon this coast of our island. The two principal branches of its foreign navigation are the Baltic, and Groenland; in support of which, they have a guild or fraternity, established upon a plan and for purposes, similar to that of the celebrated "Brotherhood of the most glorious and undivided Trinity, and of Saint Clement in the parish of Deptford-strond." The population of Kingston-upon-Hull, amounted to 26700 persons of every age and sex, according to the latest parliamentary report (1813). The latitude of King Henry VIIIth's tower in this town, has been observed to be 53 degrees 45 minutes North; and that of the south-end battery about 20 seconds less. The spring-tides flow here from 17 to 18 feet; the neap-tides only from 11 to 12 feet; and the time of high water on the full and change days of the is at 6 o'clock. The variation of the magnetic needle, from the north towards the west, was observed in 1752, to be 17 degrees 33 minutes, which, in 1760, had encreased to 19 degrees 52 minutes westward. The great importance and extent of the whale-fishery, prosecuted from this port, is described in the Babal Chronicle, published in London by Mr. J. GOLD, vol. ii. (for the year 1799), page 121; xxiv. (1810) 235; xxxi, (1814) 185.

The Humber is a large river which forms the boundary between Yorkshire and Lincolnshire; in fact, it is rather the common aestuary of the rivers Ouse (a Gaelic word, signifying water in general), Trent, and Hull. It possesses two good anchorages, namely: Grimsby, and the Hawke roads; of which the former, on the Lincoln side, is preferable with southerly and westerly winds, while the latter, on that of York, is best in northerly and easterly. The entrance to this inlet is denoted by a headland on the York shore, called the Spuin, on which stands a light-house of great utility to mariners, in latitude 53 deg. 55 min. N. longitude 19 deg. E. At the Spurn, on springtide days, the time of high water is past 5 o'clock; but, in the offing, at the distance of 7 or 8 miles, the tide flows till past 7. Of the Humber, it has been said, by competent judges, that it is a good harbour for merchant vessels of any size, and has suffi cient depth of water for ships of war; but that the tides render its ingress and egress somewhat too uncertain for it to be an advantageous station for a fleet. Fifty-six miles

since; no, nor what I saw a few days after; but, such as it was, enough to affect me then, who was but a young sailor, and had never known any thing of the matter. I expected every wave would have swallowed us up, and that every time the ship fell down, as I thought, in the trough* or hollow of the sea, we should never rise more; and in this agony of mind, I made many vows and resolutions, that, if it would please God to spare my life this voyage, if ever I got my foot once on dry land, I would go directly home to my father, and never set it into a ship again while I lived; that I would take his advice, and never run myself into such miseries as these any more. Now I saw plainly the goodness of his observations about the middle station of life; how easy, how comfortable he had lived all his days, and never had been exposed to tempests at sea, or troubles on shore; and I resolved that I would, like a true repenting prodigal, go home to my father.

These wise and sober thoughts continued during the storin, and indeed some time after; but, the next day, as the wind was abated, and the sea calmer, I began to be a little inured to it. However, I was very grave that day, being also a little sea-sick still; but, towards night, the weather cleared up, the wind was quite over, and a charming fine evening followed; the sun went down perfectly clear, and rose so the next morning; and having little or no wind, and a smooth sea, the sun shining upon it, the sight was, as I thought, the most delightful that I ever saw. I had slept well in the night, and was now no more sea-sick, but very cheerful, looking with wonder upon the sea that was so rough and terrible the day before, and could be so calm and pleasant in a little time after.

northward of the Spurn is the bold promontory called Flamborough-head; from whence the Texel island on the coast of Holland is distant 181 nautical miles, in a south-easterly direction; and the Naes of Norway, 336, north-easterly.

* But, see! in confluence borne before the blast,
Clouds roll'd on clouds the dusky noon o'ercast;
The blackening ocean curls, the winds arise,
And the dark scud, in swift succession, flies;
While the swol'n canvas bends the masts on high,
Low in the wave the lee-ward cannon lie.

Still in the yawning trough the vessel reels,
Ingulphed between two fluctuating hills;
On either side they rise, tremendous scene!
A long, dark, melancholy, vale between :
The balanc'd ship now forward, now behind,
Still felt the impression of the waves and wind.

FALCONER.-Shipwreck. Canto ii. The gradual rising of a stormy wind is clearly, faithfully, and poetically described in the foregoing lines. A preceding calm, treacherous; a watery sunset, alarming; an agitation of the sea, gradually encreasing; until, at length-it comes, resistless, upon the anxious mariner. Waves are soon formed, like immense ridges; they slowly move along in dreadful grandeur; threatening instant destruction, as the magnitude of the billow becomes more apparent by its approach to the ship; when, suddenly, the immense mass sinks beneath her keel whilst the ship, falling into a trough of the sea, seems almost thrown upon her side; as she regains her balance, the sea rushes from under her with incredible rapidity and force, and with the diffusion of its curling ridge, covers the adjacent surface with foam. The scud is a name given by seamen to the lighter clouds which are swiftly driven along the atmosphere by the winds. When the wind crosses a ship's course either obliquely or directly, that side of the ship upon which it acts is termed the weather side; and the opposite one which is then pressed downwards is termed the lee side: consequently, all on one side of her is called "to windward," and all on the other side is called "to leeward :" hence are also derived the lee cannon of the preceding lines, &c. The same term is used by MILTON :"The pilot of some small night-founded skiff,

With fixed anchor,

Moors by his side under the lee"

And now, lest my good resolutions should continue, my companion, who had, indeed, enticed me away, came to me, and said, "Well Bob !" clapping me on the shoulder," how do you do after it? I warrant you were frightened, wa'n't you, last night, when it blew a capfull of wind ?"-"A capfull, do you call it ?" said I, "twas a terrible storm."" A storm, you fool!" replies he, " do you call that a storm? why, it was nothing at all; give us but a good ship and searoom, and we think nothing of such a squall as that; you are but a fresh water sailor, Bob, come, let us make a bowl of punch, and we'll forget all that. D'ye see what charming weather 'tis now?" To make short this sad part of my story, we went the way of all sailors; the punch was made, and I was made drunk with it; and, in that one night's debauch, I drowned all my repentance, all my reflections upon past conduct, and all my resolutions for the future. In a word, as the sea was returned to its smoothness of surface and settled calmness by the abatement of the storm, so the hurry of my thoughts being over, my fears and apprehensions of being swallowed up by the sea, forgotten, and the current of my former desires returned, I entirely forgot the vows and promises I had made in my distress. I found, indeed, some intervals of reflection; and serious thoughts did, as it were, endeavour to return again sometimes; but I shook them off, and roused myself from them, as it were from a distemper, and, applying myself to drink and company, soon mastered the return of those fits, for so I called them; and I had, in five or six days, got as complete a victory over conscience as any young sinner, that resolved not to be troubled with it, could desire. But I was to have another trial for it still; and providence, as, in such cases, generally it does, resolved to leave me without excuse; for, if I would not take this for a deliverance, the next was to be such a one as the most hardened wretch would confess both the danger and the mercy of. The sixth day of our being at sea, we came into Yarmouth road; the wind having been contrary, and the weather calm, we had made but little way since the storm. Here we were obliged to come to an anchor, and here we lay, the wind continuing adverse, that is, south-westerly, for seven or eight days, during which time a great many ships from Newcastle came into the same road as the common shelter where the ships might await a wind for the river Thames.

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We had not, however, rid here so long, and should have tided up the river, but that the wind blew too fresh; and, after we had lain four or five days blew

Yarmouth is a large maritime town on the coast of Norfolk, situated at the mouth of the river Yare, in lat. 52° 55' N. and long. 1° 35' E. it has high water on full and change days of (at & before 10 o'clock. It has a population of 17970 persons according to the late census; and it had more than 1100 vessels belonging to it. 60 years ago, besides ships that its merchants were owners of or concerned m, at other ports. It is 6

very hard: However, the road being reckoned as good as a harbour, the anchorage good, and our ground-tackle* very strong, our men were unconcerned, and not in the least apprehensive of danger, but spent the time in rest and mirth, after the manner of the sea. But the eighth day, in the morning, the wind encreased, and we had all hands at work to strike our top-masts, and make every thing snug and close, that the ship might ride as easy as possible. By noon, the sea went very high indeed, and our ship rode forecastle-in,† shipped several seas, and we thought, once or twice, our anchor had come home; upon which, our master ordered out the sheet-anchor; so that we rode with two anchors a-head, and the cables veered out to their end.

By this time it blew a terrible storm indeed; and now I began to see terror and amazement in the faces of even the seamen themselves. The master was vigilant in the business of preserving the ship; but, as he went in and out of his cabin by me, I could hear him softly say to himself several times, “Lord! be merciful to us; we shall be all lost; we shall be all undone," and the like. During these first hurries, I was stupid, lying still in my berth, which was in the leagues to the N. of Southwold (vulgarly Sole) bay, and is the chief rendezvous of the colliery navigation between London and the North of England. Its road, E. of the town, within the dangerous sands and banks of the offing, is much frequented, although ships have been frequently cast away upon those sands. Near 3000l. a-year is expended to keep the harbour clear from silt and mud. It has the principal herringfishery of the coast, and employs 150 vessels, besides 40 and 50 in the exportation; the numbers taken and cured here being almost incredible. The sea-coast, for two miles each way, from the town, is nearly a level waste, elevated about two or three yards above high water mark, and, from the edge of the verdure to the sea is a gentle slope, being a deep fine sand with shingles. The tides are uncommonly low, not rising more than 5 or 6 feet, and the distance from high to low water-mark, the shore being steep, is but a few yards; but from high water to the turf of the country, it is somewhat farther. Though the river will not admit ships of large burthen, it is extremely convenient, as the vessels lie in the river, along one of the handsomest and most spacious quays in the world, perhaps, except those of Seville and Bordeaux; on to which persons may step directly from ship-board, and walk from one end to the other, for a quarter of a muile. To sail into the haven, which is a mile or more southward of the town, run into the river's mouth between the two pier heads near high water, when the strength of the flood is spent, along by the S. head where is the deepest water. The reader can consult the Baval Chronicle, vol. xxvi, 404; xxix, 218. 303; xxx, 331. for the hydrography of this portion of the eastern coast of England, which the number of shoals and shifting overfalls, together with the strength of the tides, render very unsafe for the navigation of large ships, especially in the winter season. This coast has recently been the theatre of some very interesting experiments, towards establishing a preservative system for shipwrecked persons, by Geo. Wm. Manby, Esq. Honorary Member of the Royal Humane Society. Although the means employed cannot strictly claim the title of an original invention (inasmuch as they are founded upon prior projects for the preservation of human life from the perils of shipwreck; by Lieutenant Bell, of the royal artillery, recorded in the transactions of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. volume x. (1808); yet the improvement upon the means employed, and their more extensive application, entitle their author to the highest praise and credit for the philanthropy of his design, and the ingenuity of its execution. Upon this subject, see also M.C. i. 417; ii. 428; iii. 64′; xx. 360 ; xxi. 398; xxiii 188, 292; xxiv. 288, 452; xxv. 457; xxvii, 310; xxviii. 295, 298. The wood-cut presents a general view of Yarmouth seen from the south.

GROUND-TACKLE:-is a ship's anchors, cables, &c. and, in general, whatever is necessary to confine her securely at an anchorage.

+ FORECASTLE:-a short deck or floor on the head most part of the ship, which, in time of old, was castellated or fortified for defensive purpose; and has thence retamed the latter portion of its compound name.

SHEET-ANCHOR :-The largest and heaviest of those a ship is provided with, which are usually from 3 to 5 in number, of graduated dimensions for different purposes, according to which they are classed and named.

A-HEAD-Before the ship's head externally, as its corresponding term " forward,” signifies towards the ship's head internally.

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