:: The next was over the River again, about twenty 1717. Barbadoes. In the Tenth Month 1717, divers Confiderations Takes a moving me thereto, I took a Voyage to Barbadoes, Voyage to in the Snow Hope, J. Curtis Maiter, and from thence to Great Britain and London; partly on account of Bufinefs, and hoping once more, if it pleaf ed God, to see my aged Father, my Brother, Relations, and Friends; which Voyage I undertook in the folid Fear of God. I defired the Concurrence of my Wife, and my Friends and Brethren of the Meeting to which I did belong, in this Undertaking, the which I had in a general Way, and the good Wishes and Prayers of many Particulars, with a Certificate from our Monthly-meeting, fignifying their Unity with my Converfation and Miniftry, and prefent Undertaking: And felt the Love and Goodness of God therein, but in many Refpects it was a great Crofs to me, as the leaving my beloved Wife and Children, and many of my dear Friends, whom I loved well in Chrift: And the Croffing of the Seas always was troublesome to me, being fickly at Sea, efpecially in windy or ftormy Weather; and the Confinement was worse to me for the Time than a Prison; for it would be much eafier to me to 1717. At Sea: be in Prison on Land, upon a good Account, than in Prifon at Sea, I always looking on a Ship to be a perilous Prison, though my Lot was to be much therein : And as for my natural Life, I always gave it up when ever I went to Sea; and I thought that was the leaft Part of the Hardship, never putting much Value thereon; and I think I had rather die at any Time, than go to Sea, it being fo contrary to my Nature and Difpofition, as well as Inclination: But to Sea I went, for the Reasons mentioned, and got from Philadelphia to Newcastle the firft Night in the faid Veffel, and to Elfingburgh next Day, where we lay for a fair Wind about two Days; and when the Wind was fair, we fail'd to Bombay-book, where we met with two other Veffels bound out to Sea, who waited also for the Wind. We lay there two Nights, and then on the First Day Morning fet Sail, the Weather being bitter cold, and the Ice very thick on the Sides of our Veffel, and on our Ropes. The fame Day that we left Bombaybook, we got out to Sea, took in our Boat, and went on our Way; and in four or five Days we got into warmer Weather. In this Voyage I wrote fomething on the Common Prayer, ufed by fome of the Church of England, whofe Converfations were very loofe and corrupt, which I entitled, One truly tender Scruple of Confcience, about that Form of Prayer called the Common Prayer, as used by the Church of England and ber Members, &c. In this our Voyage we faw feveral Ships but spoke with none; and in twenty-feven Days from our Capes, Barbadost. we arrived at Barbadoes, and came to an Anchor in Carlisle-Bay. I had been twice in Barbadoes before, but this was the quickest Paffage by one Day. Here I was lovingly and tenderly received by my Friends. I took my good Friend, Jofeph Gamble's Houfe, for my Quarters, most of the Time whilft I ftay'd on the Ifland; and I vifited Friends Meeetings feveral Times over, there there being five of Friends Meeting-houses in the 1717. Inland, and our Meetings were fometimes large and open. Our Stay was longer here than we at firft expected, by Reason of a great Drought, they having no Rain for more than a Quarter of a Year, which was a great Hindrance to Trade on the Ifland. While I was thisTime in Barbadoes, our ancient Friend George Gray died. I was at his Funeral, at which there were many People; and on this Occafion we had a large Meeting at our Meeting-house at Speights-Town, where I had a feasonable Opportunity with the People, opening to them the Neceffity of preparing for, and thinking of their latter End; and preffed them earnestly. thereto. They were generally attentive and fober, and fome were broken into Tenderness. While we were burying the Friend, there appeared a difmal Cloud hanging over the Island, fuch an one as I never faw before: It was to my thinking, of the Colour of the Flame of Brimftone, and I expected there would have been a great Storm, or fome mighty Guft, and much Rain, they having had very little for many Weeks, or fome Months; but it went over, and there was no Rain, nor Wind, as I remember. Soon after fome People came in from Sea, and they faid, that from that Cloud it rained Afhes; and they brought fome of the fame to the Island, fome of which Afhes I have now before me: The Tafte of them feems to me to be a little fulphurous, and have fome glittering Particles in them, in Colour and Smell I think they differed little from common Afhes. Herein the Almighty and Infinite Being fignally fhewed his Mercy and Favour to poor Mortals; for had not his Mercy prevented, he could as eafily have rained down the Fire as the Ashes, who rained down Fire and Brimftone on the Cities and Inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrab, for their Pride and Idlenefs, much of which abounds among the Inhabitants of Barbadoes, the Peo 1717. ple being very luxurious. Oh! may the luxurious Inhabitants of that Ifle, as alfo all others, confider their Ways and Doings, and not provoke the great Lord, the Sovereign of Heaven and Earth, as many of them do by their evil Lives, and voluptuous Converfations; and that they would kifs the Son, though not with a Judas's Kifs, of Profeffion, or fpeaking well or fair of him only, but with divine Love manifefted through Obedience, while his Wrath is but a little kindled against them, before it break out into a Flame. After this Funeral I was fent for to Bridge Town, to the Burial of a Master of a Ship, a young Man, who was very fresh and well a few Days before. There was a great Appearance of People, and I was pretty largely opened in the Meeting, on the Words of the Prophet, where he fays, All Flesh is Grass, and all the Goodliness thereof, is as the Flower of the Field. The Grafs withereth, the Flower fadeth, because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: Surely the People is Grafs. The Grafs withereth, the Flower fadeth; but the Word of our God ball ftand for ever, Ifaiah xl. 6, 7, 8. And I treated of this Word, its Wonderfulness, its Duration, and its Work in Man: As alfo of the fading Conftitution of mortal Man, though young and ftrong, as that young Man was a few Days before, whofe Corpfe was then before us. I was at divers other Burials on this Ifland, which indeed doth prove a Grave to many New-comers, it being a hot Climate, makes those who are not accuftomed to it, very thirsty, and by Reafon of the extream Heat, it is not eafy to quench their Thirft; fo that what is called moderate Drinking, throws many Strangers into a violent Fever, and oftentimes is the Caufe of their Death. I note this as a Caution to any who may tranfport themselves there (that may fee this) that they may fhun that Danger, which might be avoided by drinking cool Drinks, of which they have many Sorts very pleafant, viz. Cane, Sugar-reed, and White Sorrel, Pine, Orange, and divers others: And I 1717: advite fuch, as they love their Health, to refrain from drinking much hot Drinks or Spirits. I faw feveral Curiofities in Nature in this Island, which among the great Numbers of the Works of God, do fhew forth his Praise and Glory. One to the Leeward Part of the Inland, which is called the Spout, fends up a vaft Body of Water into the Air, occafioned by a great Cavity in the Rocks under the Water, which may be feen in calm Weather, when the Sea is low; but when the Wind blows (a great Body of Water being pent in a large hollow Place) it forces it up into the Air, fometimes ten, fifteen, and twenty Yards high, according as the Strength of the Wind is more or lefs, and makes a Report like a Cannon, or Thunder a great Way off. I believe I have feen it ten or twelve Miles out at Sea. I was alfo at a Place called Oliver's Cave, which we got to with some Difficulty, in going down the steep and craggy Rocks. There is on the outward Part next the Sea, a very large vaulted Place, in the Form of a Half-circle, about one hundred Feet high, as near as I could guefs. In this large Vault, behind a Rock, is the Mouth of the Cave, not the Heighth of a Man at the firft Entrance; after one is in, a few Yards, one may walk upright comfortably, the Bottom being pretty plain and smooth for about a hundred Yards, and then we come into a large Cave which is form'd archwife, and about ten or fifteen Yards high, as we thought, being much higher in the Middle than the Sides, but almost as regular as if it had been done by Art, which we beheld with Admiration, by the Help of Wax Candles, and other Lights, that we made and carried for that Purpose. When I had done my Bufinefs in Barbadoes, having been about thirteen Weeks there, our Veffel being loaded, we failed from thence the 10th of the Second Month 1718, for London. |