was alive; inviting me very passionately to come over and
take possession of my own; and in the mean time to give him orders to
whom he should deliver my effects, if I did not come my self; concluding
with a hearty tender of his friendship, and that of his family, and sent
me, as a present, seven fine leopard's skins, which he had it seems
received from Africa, by some other ship which he had sent thither, and
who it seems had made a better voyage than I: he sent me also five
chests of excellent sweetmeats, and an hundred pieces of gold uncoined,
not quite so large as moidores.

By the same fleet, my two merchant trustees shipped me 1,200 chests of
sugar, 800 rolls of tobacco, and the rest of the whole Account in gold.

I might well say, now indeed, that the latter end of Job was better than
the beginning. It is impossible to express here the flutterings of my
very heart, when I looked over these letters, and especially when I
found all my wealth about me; for as the Brasil ships come all in
fleets, the same ships which brought my letters, brought my goods; and
the effects were safe in the river before the letters came to my hand.
In a word, I turned pale, and grew sick; and had not the old man run and
fetched me a cordial, I believe the sudden surprize of joy had overset
nature, and I had died upon the spot.

Nay after that, I continued very ill, and was so some hours, 'till a
physician being sent for, and something of the real cause of my illness
being known, he ordered me to be let blood; after which, I had relief,
and grew well: but I verily believe, if it had not been eased by a vent
given in that manner, to the spirits, I should have died.

I was now master, all on a sudden, of above 5000_l_. sterling in money,
and had an estate, as I might well call it, in the Brasils, of above a
thousand pounds a year, as sure as an estate of lands in England: and in
a word, I was in a condition which I scarce knew how to understand, or
how to compose my self, for the enjoyment of it.

The first thing I did, was to recompense my original benefactor, my good
old captain, who had been first charitable to me in my distress, kind to
me in my beginning, and honest to me at the end: I shewed him all that
was sent me, I told him, that next to the Providence of Heaven, which
disposes all things, it was owing to him; and that it now lay on me to
reward him, which I would do a hundred fold: so I first returned to him
the hundred moid