Now we began exceedingly to bewail the want of a compass, without which (the weather so continuing) our labour was in vain; and now to shew to what degree hunger, fear, and cold, had stupified and benumbed the limbs not only, but brains ; a poor, seaman hearing the lamentations that were made for want of a compass, very seriously directing his speech to the master, said, Why, sir, cannot you make a compass ? The master replied, where- with shall I make one? Why, quoth he, with a piece of chalk upon a board. Yes, replied the master, such a one may be made ; but how shall we make it work ? Nay, quoth he, that I cannot tell.
Had such an occasion of mirth offered in a season when our fan- cies had been in a condition to sport themselves with it, it might have been an innocent and pleasant entertainment to them, but now it had little more power to refresh them than the lumps of ice had to warm and refresh our stomachs : Our fancies were out of tune to be pleasant with any thing ; nothing but the sight of shore, could make us smile, but that was out of sight, and almost out of hope, and in this deplorable state we spent the following night, which, indeed proved calm, but exceeding dark, so that we could make little or no progress.
Thursday the 8th of May.
Having sustained the burthens of cold, hunger, and fear, one night more, by the supporting and preserving power of God, we had this morning a little refreshment by the most welcome sight of the sun, a little after his rising, which though our religion forbad us to adore, as the heathens do, yet it taught us to bless God for the guiding usefulness of it to us in such a bewildered state as it looked that morning upon us in : And as an additional providence to the former, the wind sprang up at N. E. and we rowed away due west, as we judged, in some hopes that we might that day see, if not get the land ; but the sight of the sun was soon cut off from us by a close and lowering sky, which threatened more danger and distress ; however we had the benefit of information from the sight we had of it, to guide our course, which was a great mercy. Upon this little encouragement, Ave put to it with ail our might, and made what way possible Ave could, keeping the wind on our starboard- quarter, hoping that it still stood upon the same point it did when. yfe saw the sun.
WONDERFUL SEA-DELIVERAXCES. SOS
But all this while we had no sight either of ship or land, and towards night we had much wind and rain, and the sea began to make great, so that our flattering hopes began to vanish, our strength almost quite spent, a dismal night at hand, which then we feared would be our last night in this world. We had rowed, by estimation, about eight or nine leagues, and passed by several islands of ice, and at last met with a great island, whose magnitude above water was fai- greater than any cathedral we had ever seen ; and night being at hand, we resolved to shelter ourselves under it that night from the rage and fury of the seas, which were ver>' great ; and, indeed, it pleased God to make it somewhat useful to us upon that account.
O the wisdom and goodness of God ; to make a greater island our shelter in a boat, when one far less had been the occasion of our danger and misery in the ship. In this cold harbour we floated that niglit, a night for ever to be remembered by us. I think never poor creatures encountered more miseries together in one night ; the seas raged, the rain poured down incessantly, the cold was so extreme, that we sat all the night gnashing our teeth, our strength spent with famine and continual labour, a bit of ice dissolved in our mouths was all we had to allay our thirst ; ever and anon a great piece of the island would fall oft' into the sea with a most dreadful noise, which frequently caused us to put farther off, and then we were ready to be devoured by the sea, so that we durst neither come near, nor stand far off*. In a word, death and ruin were before us, Avhich way soever we looked ; if we came too near, the falls of those rocks of ice threatened our death, and be- side, the cold was insufferable: if we stood far off, the sea threat- ened to swallow us up every minute, and that middle distance we kept from both, seemed only to lengthen our miserable lives a few hours, to die, as it were, by inch-meal.
O how little do others, nay, how little have we ourselves been fcensible of those comfortable providences which provide fire, food, warm houses, and beds to rest in ! Never does the value of those <;ommon mercies appear as it does in such extremities. The ac- commodation of a beggar in a barn, was a princely entertainment to what we fo.und, and yet there was much mercy mingled with all these judgments; our breath was yet in our nostrils, and there was yet further space to repent and prepare. God also wonder- fully supported nature, that it utterly failed not under these over- whelming calamities ; though, we were all ready to perish, none yet actually perished ; we yet continued our full number, though soon after it was lessened, as will appear hereafter. This doleful, com- fortless night we also passed, by the care of God over us, a night of short fare, but long hoiu^s.
506 WONDERFUL SEAtDFXIVEUANCES.
And now the Friday morning was come, which was so long and earnestly desired, and to make it the more welcome, it proved pretty fair, the weather somewhat clear, and the wind fresh in the eastern-board ; yea, we had also a sight of the sun again, which, though it were far less than that of a shore, yet it deservedly had its value with us; then we rowed away west as due as we could judge, and fed ourselves still with a little hope, though we had nothing else left to feed upon.
But after noon, a very close sky and thick weather again, and about that time we met with abundance of rock-weed, or oar-weed, which we took up and fed upon. This was but an unsavoury pick- led sallad, but hunger made it sweet ; it verified that observation experimentally.
In time of famine coarsest fare contents. The harking stomach strains no compliments.
But towards night, we were much more refreshed and cheered with the sight of land, as we all supposed. So it represented itself to our view about half-an-hour, at which we were all transported with joy ; it put fresh spirits into our tired bodies, and every man's countenance seemed to be enlightened by it. When the Italians, after a long and tiresome voyage, got the first sight of their own country, the Poet describes the transports and ecstasies of joy into which that sight cast them ; for with loud and united voices they cried out, Italy ! Italy ! like men in rapture,
Italiam, Italiam, Iceto clam^re vocahant.