Oldalképek
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expires?

livery?

Century?

embarked?

friars?

favourable.

charts?

Latitude?

intelligence?

flucken. portuguese.

6. The little vivacity that remains of day, decays every moment. It can no longer hold its flation. While I fpeak, it expires, and refigns the filent world to night.

-Now twilight grey

Has in her fober liv'ry all things clad.

I

The two Brothers.

N the beginning of the fixteenth centu ry, the Portuguese galleons fet fail from Lisbon to Goa, a rich and flourishing colony which that nation poffefs in the Ealtindies. In one of the largeft veffels, no lefs than twelve hundred perfons had embarked, confifting ef mariners, foldiers, priefts, friars and other pallengers.

2. They met with a good & favourable wind till they had doubled the Cape of Good Hope; but as they were bearing from thence northeaft towards the Indian ocean, fome gentlemen on board who understood geography and navigation, & who had gone the voyage before, on viewing their charts, were confirmed in their opinion that a large ridge of rocks lay in the very latitude in which they were then failing, and could not be far diftant.

3. This piece of ferious intelligence they communicated to the captain of the fhip, who of courfe informed the pilot of it, with orders for him to lay by in the night, and flacken fail by day, till they fhould be paffed the danger.

4. It was in thefe times the cultom of the Portuguefe to commit the navigation of the veffel entirely to the pilot, who was anfwera. ble, with his life, for the fafe conduct of the answerable. Ring's fhips, and of fuch as belong to private traders; but he was not bound by any advice or direction of the captain, though the latter was absolute commander in every other refpect.

The

3. The pilot, of whom we are fpeaking be- Wretches. ing one of thote felf fufficient wretches, who look upon every hint that is fuggested by another in the way of their profeflion, as an infult offered to their capacity, was fo far from complying with the captains's request, that crowding. he actually gave orders for crowding more fail than the vessel carried before, and in a few hours they came fuddenly close to the rocks; but as it was then day break the fhip might

have escaped, but the pofitive and brutish pi- peremptorily? lot peremptorily refuted to let her lie by, the confequence of which was, that the ship struck upon the ridge.

6. The fcene of horror which this dreadful act of rashness must have produced among twelve hundred perfons, who had nothing before them but inevitable death, may be cafily imagined. The captain ordered out the pinnace, into which having put a quantity of bifeuit, and a few boxes of marmalade, he jumped in firft himself, followed by nineteen others, who with their drawn fwords prevented any more from following them, least the pinnace fhould be overfet.

inevitable?

bifcuit.

frieks,

launched?

7. In this fituation they parted from the fhip, in the midst of the fhrieks and cries of thofe they left behind, and launched into the wide ocean, without a compafs to feer by, or any fresh water but what heaven in its mercy compass ? might fend them from the clouds.

8. After they had failed four days, without knowing their courfe, the eaptain, who for fome time pat had been very weak and fickly, expired before their eyes-a melancholy circum weak. ftance which confiderably increased their mif ery: For as they now fell into confufion for want of a commander, every one was defirous to govern and none willing to obey.

9. This forced them to the neceffity of elect- ereding ? ing one of their company to the command, each

prom

Implicit ?

exhaufted?

repair.

leak.

promifing to pay implicit obedience to his directions. And foon after, their fmall ftock of provifions being fo far exhaufted as not to be fufficient, at a very fhort allowance, to fubfift them above three days longer, their new cap. tain propofed to the company to draw lots and throw every fourth man over board.

ter;

10. The company confifted of nineteen perfons, among these were a friar and a carpentboth of whom they agreed to exempt, as the one might abfolve and comfort them in their last moments; and the other repair the pinnace in cafe of a leak or other accident.

11. The fame.compliment they paid to the indulgence? captain, he being an old man, and his life of much confequence; he, however, fpiritedly and generously refused their indulgence for a confiderable time, but at laft they obliged him to acquiefce, fo that there were four to die out of the fixteen that remained.

acquiefce?

abfolution?

12. The three first, after having confeffed their fins and received abfolution from the friar, fubmitted to their fate with refignation, But the fourth was a Portuguese gentleman, who had a younger brother in the boat, who refignation? feeing him about to be thrown over board, embraced him with great tenderness and befought him with tears in his eyes to permit him to die in his room; urging that he was a married man and had a wife and children at batchelor. Goa, befides the protection of three fifters, who abfolutely depended on his generofity! but that as to himfelf he was a batchelor and his life of very little importance.

13.The elder brother who was aftonished unexampled. and melted at fuch unexampled tenderness, replied, that fince the providence of Heaven had appointed him to fuffer, it would be crimcriminal? inal & unjuft to permit any other to die for him, and efpecially a brother to whom he was fo infinitely obliged. The younger, perfifting

in his generous purpofe, would take no deni- Knees.
al; but throwing himself upon his knees, held
his brother fo faft that the company could
not difengage them.

14. Thus they difputed for a while, the elder brother enjoining the younger to be a father to his children, and recommending his perfuade. wife to his protection, and requefting he would take care of their fifters; but all he could fay was infufficient to perfuade him from perfifling and at last, the conftancy of the elder brother yielding to the tendernefs of the other, he ac- acquiefied? quiefced, fuffering the generous youth to fupply his place, and he was accordingly throw into the fea.

15. Being a good fwimmer he foon overtook

the pinnace, and geting up to the ftern eager rudder.
ly caught hold of the rudder with his right
hand; upon which one of the failors, who fat
abaft, immediately ftruck it off with an axe,
or fword, and the gentleman again funk into failors.
the water, but recovering inftantaneoufly, he
feized the rudder with his left hand, which ex-
perienced the fame fate as the other.

16. Though deprived of both his hands, alternat:ly ? he made fhift to keep himself above the water

with his feet and the aliftance of miferable ftumps, which he held up alternately ftrean- implored? ing with blood, while he implored the com

paffion of the company.

17. This produced the defired effect--thofe

in the boat all cried out, he is but a man, let us endearosur. endeavour to fave him. He was accordingly tak

en in, and his bleeding wrifts dreffed and
bound up as well as the circumftances of the wrifts.
moment would permit.

18. The next morning, foon after fun-rife, as if heaven was determined to reward the courage and affection of this worthy young gentleman, land was difcovered. It proved to be the mountains of Mazambique in Africa, R

and

Colony?

conveyed.

Weck.

perplexed.

afraid.

crucified.

apofiles.

and not far from a portuguese colony. At this colony they arrived, and continued there for fome months, when a fhip from Lisbon conveyed them all to Goa, where both brothers lived for many years.

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Nvery early in the morning, they

TOW, upon the first day of the week,

came unto the fepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the fepulchre. And they entered in and found not the body of the Lord Jefus.

2. And it came to pafs, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in thining garments: And as they were afraid and bowed down their faces to the earth, they faid unto them, why feek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is rifen.

3. Remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,faying, the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of finful men, and be crucified, and the third day rife again. And they remembered his words; and returned from the fepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the relt.

4. It was Mary Magdelene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, who told thefe things unto the apoftles. And their words feemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. Then arofe Peter, and ran unto the fepulchre; and, ftooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themfelves, and dopasted wondering in himself at that which was come to pais.

And

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