186 THERE ARE MORE ROSES THAN THORNS.

joyed—such as my escape from Sallee, my being taken up by the
Portuguese master of the ship, my being planted so well in the
Brazils, my receiving the cargo from England, and the like—I
never had once the word “ Thank God” so much as on my mind,
or in my mouth; nor in the greatest distress had I so much as a
thought to pray to him, or so much as to say, ‘“‘ Lord, have mercy
upon me;” no, nor to mention the name of God, unless it was to
swear by and blaspheme it.

J had terrible reflections upon my mind for many months, as I
have already observed, on the account of my wicked and hardened
life past ; and when I looked about me, and considered what par-
ticular providences had attended me since my coming into this
place, and how God had dealt bountifully with me—had not only
punished me less than my iniquity had deserved, but had so plenti-
fully provided for me; this gave me great hopes that my repentance
was accepted, and that God had yet mercy in store for me.

With these reflections I worked my mind up not only to resig-
nation to the will of God in the present disposition of my circum-
stances, but even to a sincere thankfulness for my condition; and
that I, who was yet a living man, ought not to complain, seeing I
had not the due punishment of my sins; that I enjoyed so many
mercies which I had no reason to have expected in that place; that
I ought never more to repine at my condition, but to rejoice, and
to give daily thanks for that daily bread which nothing but a
crowd of wonders could have brought: that I ought to consider
Thad been fed even by miracle, even as great as that of feeding
Elijah by ravens; nay, by a long series of miracles: and that I
could hardly have named a place in the uninhabited part of the
world where I could have been cast more to my advantage—a place
where, as I had no society, which was my affliction on one hand, so
I found no ravenous beasts, no furious wolves or tigers, to threaten
my life, no venomous creatures or poisonous, which I might feed
on to my hurt, no savages to murder and devour me.

Jn a word, as my life was a life of sorrow one way, so it was a
life of mercy another; and I wanted nothing to make it a life of
comfort but to be able to make my sense of God’s goodness to me
and care over me in this condition be my daily consolation. And