Adieu, my beloved Son; may Success crown all your lawful and honourable Undertakings; and may you be returned fafe and happy, at length, to the embraces of

Your most affectionate and tender Father,

WILLIAM THOMPSON.

I received a great deal of Satisfaction, before my Departure, upon understanding that Mr. Diaper had yielded to the Defires of my Father, Mother, and Mr. and Mrs. Goodwill, to go with his Family to spend some Months in Yorkshire, partly at one House, and partly at the other; and that they were also to set out to go there as foon as they had seen me fafely embarked: Thus I had the Pleasure to contemplate, that all these dear and valuable Perfons would be together, to confole and comfort each other, under the Concern my Abfence, and that of my Friend, would naturally occafion, to two fuch Fathers, of whom we were the only Children, and the Solace of their Age; and Mr. Goodwill was fo taken with Prig, that he promised him the Management of all his Concerns, and gave him a Deputation to act as his Steward, in three or four Manors he poffeffed in the County of Hertford; infifting alfo, he should take a Journey into Yorkshire, at the fame Time, which he readily complied with, as it was now Vacation; and that particularly gave me great Delight, as by him I fent Letters to Mr. and VOL. II.

F

Mrs.

Mrs. Bellair, and Miss Sukey, with an Account of all that had happened; and recommended him to them, as a proper Hand to convey their Letters to, for me and Mr. Diaper, and to tranfmit our Anfwers to them, when they arrived in London.

When Capt. Social informed me he was to fall down to Gravefend, I would have gone on Board; but he very genteelly told me, that he believed he fhould come to in the Downs; or if not, that, if I'd immediately fet out for Dover, he'd fborten Sail till a Boat could bring me on Board from that Place, or Deal. I took him at his Word ; and, all my Friends refolving to accompany me, we arrived, without any remarkable Accident, at the fift-mentioned Place, and found the Haftings had not yet come round; but she did that very Night, and, the Wind dying away, the Captain came to Anchor in the Downs, and came on Shore, with feveral Gentlemen, bound on the Voyage with us, to pay their Compliments to my Friends, and receive their Fellow-paffenger; fo that our Inn was filled with Guefts; and Mr. Goodwill would pursue his Generosity so far, as to entertain us all. We ftrove to keep up our Spirits, as well as we could; but ftill were all very heavy-hearted; tho' my Father put on all the Gaiety that he could pof fibly, to divert the reft: At laft the dreadful Word was given, that we must repair on Board; and, whilft the Captain and the reft went down to the

Boat,

Boat, I prepared, with an heavy Heart, to take a long Adieu of my Friends. Mr. Goodwill himfelf was ftruck a little at the mournful Scene, notwithstanding all his Philofophy; and the big Drops stood in Prig's Eyes, who could not utter a Syllable. Mr. Diaper behaved with as little Compofure as when he parted with his own Son; his Wife and Mrs. Goodwill diffolved into Tears; my Father clasped me in his Arms, with the utmost Fervor, and bestowed ten thoufand Bleffings upon me, and put up his Prayers for my Safety. I embraced my dear Mother, whofe Grief would hardly permit her to return the Careffes I gave her; and, as for myfelf, I was a kind of weeping, inanimate Chorus to every Thing that was faid or done. We parted; and the Separation of the Soul from the Body, methought, could not be more dreadful! Mr. Goodwill and Mr. Diaper could only fee me to the Boat, where, after embracing each other, without faying a Word, I caft myself into it, and a Flood of Tears relieved my anxious Bofom. I really thought I could have flood this Adieu with more Firmness; but I even fobbed, and my Breaft heaved, painfully, with the ftruggling Sorrow; fo that I was incapable of turning my Eyes towards the Shore again, dreading, yet longing ftill to behold, once more, the dear People I had forfaken. When we came on Board, the Captain ordered a Bowl of Punch, to wash down Sorrow; telling F 2

me,

me, at the fame Time, that he had not been more moved himself a great while, than at the Condition he saw me in, and my Friends; adding, that he did not doubt but our Meeting again would be as affecting. I dried my Tears at the Mirth my Companions affumed; began to reason with myfelf, and became calm and fociable, not withou putting up fome filent Petitions to Heaven, for the Health and Safety of those I had left, and my own happy Voyage. Whilft we were weighing Anchor, a Boat came on Board, with fome live Stock, and fome Dozens of Wine, which my Father had fent as an additional Prefent for our Stores, and feveral other Favours of the like Kind from Mr. Diaper, with their kind Love to me, and their Refpects to the reft of the Mefs; and a Servant of Mr. Goodwill's, who came in it, gave me a Letter, which, by the Superscription, I knew to be my dearest Mother's Hand; and, tho' I had been abfent but an Hour, I was ready to kifs the Fellow, as a Perfon whom I had not feen for an Age, and who brought Tidings from the Dead. I perceived there was fomewhat inclosed; and, the Man telling me I was defired not to open it till I got out to Sea, I put it up fecurely in my Pocket, and wrote a few Lines to the dear Woman, and the reft of my Friends, in fuch Terms, as my prefent tender Situation dictated,

An

1

An Eafterly Gale foon after fpringing up, we finished getting up our Anchor, with the Shouts of the Crew, to whom we had given an handsome Quantity of Liquor; and Captain Social faluted the Town with ten Guns, and added as many more, in Compliment to our Friends, who, coming on the Shore, purfued us with eager Eyes, as far as Sight could follow us:

I fhook my Hand at Distance on the Main;
They took the Sign, and fbook their Hands again.

I was charmed in failing along the chalky Coasts, to obferve the Country all befpread with Towns, which had a fine romantic Effect upon the Sight, and could not fail of being highly entertaining to Perfons who had never been at Sea before; and what gave me great Joy was, that, after a little Qualmishness, I felt no more Sickness then, or all the Voyage after. With a Sigh I took Leave of England, as we passed that famous Promontory, the Land's End, which we did the next Morning betimes, extremely glad to have cleared the Chan ́nel; and,

Now dreaded Scilly mocks the Araining Sight,

Whofe ufeful Fires, expiring, faintly gleam;

F

And we are loft, in the vast Atlantic Ocean, to any other Objects than Sky and Water.