ous, they lashed the rudder of the ship, resolved to let her drive, and steer herself, since it was past their skill to steer her. This was our way of sojourning most part of that tedious night; driven where the winds and waves thought fit to drive us, with all our sails quite lowered and flat upon the deck. If Ovid, in the little Archipelagian sea, could whine out his jam jam jacturus, &c. in this more dismal scene, and much more dangerous sea, (the pitchlike darkness of the night adding to all our sad variety of woes,) what words in verse or prose could serve to paint our passions, or our expectations? Alas! our only expectation was in the return of morning: it came at last; yet even slowly as it came, when come, we thought it come too soon, a new scene of sudden death being all the advantage of its first appearance. Our ship was driving full speed towards the breakers on the Cabritton shore, between Bourdeaux and Bayonne; which filled us with

ideas more terrible than all before, since those were past, and these seemingly as certain. Beside, to add to our distress, the tide was driving in, and consequently must drive us fast to visible destruction. A state so evident, that one of our sailors, whom great experience had rendered more sensible of our present danger, was preparing to save one, by lashing himself to the main mast, against the expected minute of desolation. He was about that melancholy work, in utter despair of any better fortune, when, as loud as ever he could bawl, he cried out," a point, a point of wind!" To me, who had had too much of it, it appeared like the sound of the last trump; but to the more intelligent crew, it had a different sound. With vigour and alacrity they started from their prayers, or their despair, and with all imaginable speed unlashed the rudder, and hoisted all their sails. Never sure in nature did one minute produce a greater scene of contraries.

The more skilful sailors took courage at this happy presage of deliverance. And according to their expectation did it happen; that heavenly point of wind delivered us from the jaws of those breakers, ready open to devour us; and carrying us out to the much more welcome wide sea, furnished every one in the ship with thoughts as distant as we thought our danger.

We endeavoured to make Port Passage; but our ship became unruly, and would not answer her helm; for which reason we were glad to go before the wind, and make for the harbour of Saint Jean de Luz. This we attained without any great difficulty; and to the satisfaction of all, sailors as well as passengers, we there cast anchor, after the most terrible storm, (as all the oldest sailors agreed,) and as much danger as ever people escaped.

ed

Here I took notice, that the sailors buoy

up their cables with hogsheads; enquiring into the reason of which, they told me,

that the rocks at the bottom of the har

bour were by experience found to be so very sharp, that they would otherwise cut their cables asunder. Our ship was obliged to be drawn up into the dock to be refitted; during which, I lay in the town, where nothing of moment or worth reciting happened.

I beg pardon for my error; the very movements of princes must always be considerable, and consequently worth recital. While the ship lay in the dock, I was one evening walking upon the bridge, with the little island near it, (which I have before spoke of,) and had a little Spanish dog along with me, when at the further end I spied a lady, and three or four gentlemen in company. I kept on my pace of leisure, and so did they; but when I came nearer, I found they as much out-numbered me in the dog, as they did in the human kind; and I soon experienced to my sorrow, that their dogs, by their fierceness and ill-humour, were dogs of quality; having, without warning, or the least declaration of war,

fallen upon my little dog, according to pristine custom, without any honourable regard to size, interest, or number. However, the good lady, who, by the privilege of her sex, must be allowed the most competent judge of inequalities, out of an excess of condescension and goodness, came running to the relief of oppressed poor Tony; and, in courtly language, rated her own oppressive dogs for their great incivility to strangers. The dogs, in the middle of their insulting wrath, obeyed the lady with a vast deal of profound submission; which I could not much wonder at, when I understood, that it was a Queen-dowager of Spain who had chid them.

Our ship being now repaired, and made fit to go out again to sea, we left the harbour of Saint Jean de Luz, and, with a much better passage, as the last tempest was still dancing in my imagination, in ten days sail we reached Dover. Here I landed on the last day of March 1713, having