of the negro, Campbell, the midfhipman, who had devoured his liver raw, died raving mad. This the crew imputed to his impatient voracity; and as their hunger was now kept under, and they had ftill fome food in store, they were more under the government of reafon, and more impressed by the appre. henfion of danger, yet nearer than that of perishing for want of food: Dreading, therefore, the confequence of eating Campbell's body, they, with whatever reluctance, threw it overboard. On the next day, the 17th of January, as they were preparing their dinner, by frying or boiling fome of the body, they faid of the captain, "D-n him, though he would not consent to our having any meat, let us give him fome ;' and immediately one of them came into the cabin, and offered him a fteak. This offer he rejected with refentment and menaces, which certainly it did not deferve; for they offered him nothing, but what they thought neceffity juftified the acceptance of, as the only condition of life: if he had rejected the offer with grief and abhorrence, the paffion would have fuited the occafion. The food, he fays, he held in horror, but he honeftly confeffes, that ficknefs had then taken away his defire to eat, and that therefore there was not much merit in his abftinence. As the negro's carcafe was hufbanded with fevere economy, it lafted the crew, now confifting of fix perfons, from the 13th to the 26th of January; when they were again reduced to tot 1 abftinence, except their wine; this they endured till the 29th, and then the mate came again to the captain, at the head of the people, and told him that the negro's body having been totally confumed fome days, and no fhip having appeared, it was now become neceffary that they fhould caft lots a fecond time. It was better to die feparately, they faid, than all at once, as fome might poffibly furvive by the expedient they propofed, till a fhip might take them up. The captain endeavoured again to reafon them out of their purpose, but without fuccefs; and therefore, confidering that if they managed the lot without him, as they had done before, he might not have fair play, he confented to manage it himself; he therefore called them all into his cabin, where he was in bed, and having with great difficulty raised himself up, he caufed the lots to be drawn in the fame manner that the lottery tickets are drawn at Guildhall. The lot fell upon one David Flat, a foremast man. The fhock of the decifion was fo great, that the whole company remained motionlefs and filent for a confiderable time, and probably would have done fo much longer, if the victim himself, who appeared perfectly refigned, had not expreffed himself to this effect: "My dear friends, messmates, and fellow fufferers, all I have to beg of you, is to dispatch me as foon as you did the negro, and to put me to as little torture as poffible." Then turning to one Doud, the man who fhot the negro; "It is my defire," fays he, that you fhould fhoot me." Doud readily, yet reluctantly, confented. The victim then begged a fhort time to prepare himself for death, to which his companions moft willingly agreed. Flat was greatly refpected by the whole fhip's com pany, and, during this interval, they feemed inclined not to infift upon his life; yet finding no alternative but to perish with him, and having in some measure lulled their fense of horror at the approaching fcene by a few draughts of wine, they prepared for the execution; and a fire was kindled in the steerage to dress their first meal as foon as their companion should become their food. Yet ftill, as the dreadful moment approached, their compunction increafed, and friendship and humanity at length became ftronger than hunger and death. They deter mined that Flat fhould live, at least, till eleven o'clock the next morning, hoping, as they faid, that the divine goodnefs would in the mean time open fome other fource of relief; at the fame time they begged the captain to read prayers, a tak, which, with the utmost effort of his collected ftrength, he was just able to perform. As foon as prayers were over, he lay down ready to faint, and the company went immediately to their unfortunate friend Flat. The captain could hear them talk to him with great earneftnefs and affection, expreffing their hopes that God would interpofe for his prefervation, and affuring him, that though they never yet could catch, or even fee a fifh, yet they would put out all their hooks again to try if any relief could be procured. Poor Flat, however, could derive little comfort from the concern they expreffed, and it is not improbable that their expreffions of friendship and affection increased the agitation of his mind fuch, however, it was as he could not fuftain; for before midnight he grew almoft totally deaf, and by four o'clock in the morning was raving mad. His meffmates who difcovered the alteration, debated whether it would not be an act of humanity to difpatch him immediately, but the first refolution of fparing him till eleven prevailed. About eight in the morning, as the captain was ruminating in his cabin on the fate of this unhappy wretch who had but three hours to live, two of his people came hastily down with uncommon ardour in their looks, and feizing both his hands, fixed their eyes upon him without faying a fyllable. The captain, who recollected that they had thrown Campbell's body overboard, notwithstanding their neceffities, for fear of catching his madness, now apprehending that fearing to eat Flat for the fame reafon, they were come to facrifice him in his flead; he therefore difengaged himself by a fudden effort, and fnatching up a pistol, flood upon his defence. The poor men guelling his mistake, made fhift to tell him, that their behaviour was merely the effect of furprise and joy, that they had discovered a fail, and that the fight had fo overcome them, they were unable to speak. They faid, that the fail appeared to be a large veffel, that it was to the leeward, and ftood for them in as fair a direction as could be withed. The rest of the crew came down immediately afterwards, and confirmed the report of a fail, but faid that fhe feemed to bear away from them upon a contrary course. The account of a veffel being in fight of fignals, on whatever courte fhe ftcered, truck the captain with fuch exceffive and tumul tuous tuous joy, that he was very near expiring under it. As foon as he could speak, he directed his people to make every poffible fignal of diftrefs; the ship itself indeed was a ignal of the most ftriking kind, but he was apprehenfive the people at a diftance might conclude there was nothing alive on board, and fo ftand away without coming near it. His orders were obeyed with the utmost alacrity; and as he lay in his cabin, he had the inexpreffible happiness of hearing them jumping upon deck, and crying out," She nighs us ! the nighs us! she is ftanding this way!" 66 The approach of the fhip being more and more manifeft every moment, their hope naturally increafed; but in the midst of this joy, they remembered their unfortunate fhipmate Flat, and regretted that he could not be made fenfible of his approaching deliverance. Their paffions, however, were ftill characteristic, and they propofed a can of joy to be taken immediately. This the captain with great prudence ftrenuously oppofed, and at length, though with fome difficulty, convinced them that their deliverance in a great measure depended upon the regularity of that moment's behaviour. ed at two miles diftance; they did not, however, fuffer long by this accident, for iu a few minutes they faw the boat put out from the ship's ftern, and row towards them full manned, and with vigorous difpatch. As they had been twice before confident of deliverance, and difappointed, and as they still confidered themselves tottering on the verge of eternity, the conflict between their hopes and fears, during the approach of the boat, may eafily be conceived by a reader of imagination. At length, however, the came along-fide; but the appearance of the crew was fo ghaftly, that the men rested upon their oars, and, with looks of inconceivable aftonifhment, afked what they were. Being at length fatisfied, they came on board, and begged the people to use the utmost expedition in quitting their wreck, left they fhould be overtaken by a gale of wind, that would prevent their getting back to their ship. The captain being unable to flir, they lifted him out of his cabin, and let him down into the boat by ropes, and his people followed him, with poor Flat ftill raving; and they were juft putting off, when one of them obferved that the mate was wanting; he was immediately called to, and the can of joy had just left him power to crawl to the gunnel with a look of idiot astonishment, having, to all appearance, forgot every thing that had happened. Having with fome difficulty got the poor drunken creature on board, they rowed away, and, in about an hour, reached the ship. She was the Sufannah of London, in the Virginia trade, commanded by Captain Thomas Evers, and was retur..ing returning from Virginia to London. The captain received them with the greatest tenderness and humanity; promifed to lie by the wreck till the next morning, that he might, if poffible, fave fome of Captain, Harrison's cloaths; the wind how ever blowing very hard before night, he was obliged to quit her; and the probably with her cargo went to the bottom before morning. The Sufannah proceeded on her voyage; and though he was herfelf in a fhattered condition, and fo fhort of provifions, as to be obliged to reduce her people to fhort allow ance, she reached the Land's End about the fecond of March; from the Land's End the proceeded to the Downs, and Captain Harrison, a day or two afterwards, proceeded to London by land. The mate, James Doud, who fhot the negro, and one Warner, a feaman, died during the paffage; Lemuel Afhley, Samuel Wentworth, and David Flat, who was, to have been shot for food, arrived alive; Flat continued mad during the voyage, and whether he afterwards recovered, we are not told. When Captain Harrison came on fhore, he made the proper atteftation of the facts related in this narrative upon oath, in order to fecure his infurers. And the whole is fo authenticated, that it would be folly to doubt of its truth. A circumftantial and authentic account of the memorable cafe of Richard Parfons, as tranfmitted in a letter from William Dallaway, Efq; High Sheriff of Gloucefterhire, to his friend in London. N the 20th of February last, ON Richard Parfons and three more met at a private house in Chalford, in order to play at cards, about fix o'clock in the evening. They played at loo till about eleven or twelve that night, when they changed their game for whift: after a few deals, a difpute arose about the ftate of the game. Parfons afferted with oaths, that they were fix, which the others denied: : upon which he wifhed, that he might never enter the kingdom of heaven, and that his flesh might rot upon his bones, if they were not fix in game.' These wishes were feveral times repeated, both then and afterwards. Upon this the candle was put out by one James Young, a ftander-by, who fays, he was fhocked with the oaths and expreffions he heard; and that he put out the candle with a defign to put an end to the game. Presently, upon this, they adjourned to another house, and there began a fresh game, when Parfons and his partner had great fuccefs. Then they played at loo again till four in the morning. During this fecond playing, Parfons complained to one Rolles, his partner, of a bad pain in his leg, which from that time increased.-There was an appearance of a fwelling, and afterwards the colour changed to that of a mortified ftate. On the following Sunday he rode to Minchin Hampton, to get the advice of Mr. Pegler, Pegler, the furgeon in that town, who attended him from the Thurfday after February 27. Notwithftanding all the applications that were made, the mortification increased, and fhewed itself in different parts of the body. On Monday, March 3, at the request of fome of his female relations, the clergyman at Bifley attended him, and adminiftered the facrament, without any knowledge of what had happened before, and which he continued a ftranger to till he faw the account in the Gloucester Journal. Parfons appeared to be extremely ignorant of religion, having been accustomed to fwear, to drink, (though he was not in liquor when he uttered the above execrable wish) to game, and to profane the Sabbath, though he was only in his 19th year; after he had received the facrament, he apppeared to have some sense of the ordinance; for he faid, "Now muft never fin again; he hoped God would forgive him, having been wicked not above fix years, and that whatever should happen, he would not play at cards again. After this he was in great agony, chiefly delirious, fpoke of his companions by name, and feemed as if his imagination was engaged at cards. He started, had distracted looks and gestures, and in a dreadful fit of fhaking and trembling, died on Tuesday morning, the 4th of March last; and was buried the next day at the parish-church of Bifley. His eyes were open when he died, and could not be closed by the common methods; fo that they remained open when he was put into the coffin: from this circumftance arofe a report, that he wifhed his eyes might never close; but this was a mistake; for, from the moft credible witneffes, I am fully convinced no fuch with was uttered; and the fact is, that he did close his eyes after he was taken with the mortification, and either dosed or flept feveral times. When the body came to be laid out, it appeared all over difcoloured or fpotted; and it might, in the most literal fenfe, be faid, that his flesh rotted on his bones before he died. Mr. Dallaway, having defired Mr. Pegler, the furgeon, to fend him his thoughts of Parfon's case, received from him the following account: "SIR, "You defire me to acquaint you, in writing, with what I know relating to the melancholy cafe of the late Richard Parfons; a request I readily comply with, hoping that his fad catastrophe will ferve to admonish all thofe who profane the facred name of God. "February 27 laft, I visited Richard Parfons, who I found had an inflamed leg, ftretching from the foot almoft to the knee, tending to a gangrene. The tenseness and redness of the fkin was almost gone off, and became of a duskish and livid colour, and felt very lax and flabby. Symptoms being fo dangerous, fome incifions were made down to the quick, fome fpirituous fomentations made use of, and the whole limb dreffed up with fuch applications as are most approved in fuch desperate circumstances, joined with proper internal medicines. The next day he feemed much the fame; but on March 1, he was worfe, the incifions difcharging a fharp foetid ichor, (which is gene |