and by day! After we had been almost seven weeks at sea, we thought that we were near the land, but we sounded several days and found no bottom, although we let out abundance of line, I think above three hundred yards.

About this time our doctor dreamed a dream, which he related to me, to this effect: he said "He dreamed that he went on shore at a great and spacious town, the buildings whereof were high, and the streets broad; and as he went up the street he saw a large sign, on which was written, in great golden letters, SHAME. At the door of the house to which the sign belonged, stood a woman with a can in her hand, who said to him, 'Doctor, will you drink?' He replied, With all my heart, for I have not drank anything but water a great while,' (our wine and cider being all spent, having had a long passage;) and he drank a hearty draught, which he said made him merry. He went up the street reeling to and fro, when a grim fellow coming behind him, clapped him on the shoulder, and told him that he arrested him in the name of the governor of the place. He asked him for what; and said, 'What have I done?' He answered, 'For stealing the woman's can.' The can he had indeed, and so he was had before the governor, which was a mighty -black dog, the biggest and grimmest that ever he saw in his life; and witness was brought in against him by an old companion of his, and he was found guilty, and his sentence was to go to prison, and there lay forever."

He told me this dream so punctually, and with such an emphasis, that it affected me with serious sadness, and caused my heart to move within me; for to me the dream seemed true, and the interpretation sure. I then told him he was an ingenious man, and might clearly see the interpretation of that dream, which exactly answered to his state and condition, which I thus interpreted to him: "This great and spacious place, wherein the buildings were high and the streets broad, is thy great and high profession. The sign, on which was written shame, which thou sawest, and the woman at the door, with the can in her hand, truly represent that great, crying, and shameful sin of drunkenness, which thou knowest to be thy great weakness, which the woman with the can did truly represent to thee. The grim fellow who arrested thee in the devil's territories, is Death, who will assuredly arrest all mortals; the governor whom thou sawest, representing a great black dog, is certainly the devil, who after his servants have served him to the full, will torment them eternally in hell." So he got up, as it were in haste, and said, "God forbid! it is nothing but a dream." But I told him it was a very significant one, and a warning to him from the Almighty, who sometimes speaks to men by dreams.

In seven weeks after we left sight of the land of America, we saw the Scilly Islands, and next day the land of England, which was a comfortable sight to us; in that God Almighty had preserved us hitherto, and that we were so far on our way. We drove about

the Channel's mouth for several days for want of wind; after which the wind came up, and we got as far up the Channel as Lime bay, and then an easterly wind blew fresh for several days, and we turned to windward, but rather lost than got on our way, which was tiresome and tedious to some of us.

About this time, being some days after the doctor's dream, a grievous accident happened to us. Meeting with a Dutch vessel in Lime bay, a little above the Start, we hailed her, and she us. They said they came from Lisbon, and were bound for Holland. She was loaded with wine, brandy, fruit, and such like commodities, and we having little but water to drink, by reason our passage was longer than we expected, we sent our boat on board in order to buy a little wine to drink with our water. Our doctor, and a merchant who was a passenger, and one sailor, went on board, where they stayed until some of them were overcome with wine, although they were desired to beware thereof. When they came back, a rope was handed to them, but they being filled with wine to excess, were not capable of using it dexterously, insomuch that they overset the boat, and she turned bottom upwards, having the doctor under her. The merchant caught hold of a rope called the main-sheet, whereby his life was saved. The sailor not getting so much drink as the other two, got nimbly on the bottom of the boat, and floated on the water till our other boat was hoisted out, which was done with great speed, and we took him in; but the doctor was drowned before

upon the boat

This was the

the boat came. The seaman who sat saw him sink, but could not help him. greatest exercise that we met with in all our voyage; and the more so, because the doctor was of an evil life and conversation, and much given to excess in drinking. When he got on board the aforesaid ship, the master sent for a can of wine, and said, "Doctor, will you drink?" He replied, "Yes, with all my heart, for I have drank no wine a great while." Upon which he drank a hearty draught, that made him merry, as he said in his dream; and notwithstanding the admonition which was so clearly manifested to him but three days before, and the many promises he had made to Almighty God, some of which I was a witness of, when strong convictions were upon him, yet now he was unhappily overcome, and in drink when he was drowned. This is, I think, a lively representation of the tender mercy and just judgment of the Almighty to poor mortals; and I thought it worthy to be recorded for posterity, as a warning to all great lovers of wine and strong liquors. This exercise was so great to me, that I could not for several days get over it; and one day, while I was musing in my mind on those things relating to the doctor, it was opened to me that God and his servants were clear, and his blood was on his own head; for he had been faithfully warned of his evil ways.

We were obliged by contrary winds to put into Plymouth harbor, and from Plymouth I went by coach to London, where I was gladly received by my rela

tions and friends. I got to the Yearly Meeting of Friends in London, in the year 1699, which was large, and was at divers public meetings for the worship of Almighty God. I may truly say, the Holy Ghost was amongst us, blessed be God our Saviour, for evermore.

In this year I thought it my place to enter into a married state, and I acquainted my father of my design, and that I inclined to make choice of Martha Betterton, a religious young woman, whom I entirely loved for the piety, virtue, and modesty which I beheld in her. I was in the twenty-fourth year of my age, and she in her twenty-first. I likewise acquainted her father and mother with my intentions, to which both our parents consented; her father saying, when I spoke to him, the Lord bless you together. And my father said, if I was worth my weight in gold, she deserved me. The heartiness of both our fathers in this matter was more to me than a portion of silver or gold of which we had but very little; but our love to each other was very great, and being honorably grounded, it was not easily shaken. We proposed our intentions of marriage to the Monthly Meetings to which we belonged; and because I had been travelling in America, I had certificates from my brethren there, not only of my industry and labor in the ministry, with the good effects thereof, but also of my clearness in relation to marriage. After having twice published our intentions, we had liberty of the said meeting to proceed to the solemnization of our marriage, which was accomplished at Devonshire House, in London, at