re but myself; so that for two
years, though I often pleased myself with the imagination, yet I never
had the least encouraging prospect of putting it in practice.

After about two years an odd circumstance presented itself, which put
the old thought of making some attempt for my liberty again in my head.
My patron lying at home longer than usual without fitting out his ship,
which, as I heard, was for want of money, he used constantly, once or
twice a week, sometimes oftener, if the weather was fair, to take the
ship's pinnace, and go out into the road a-fishing; and as he always
took me and a young Moresco with him to row the boat, we made him very
merry, and I proved very dexterous in catching fish; insomuch that
sometimes he would send me with a Moor, one of his kinsmen, and the
youth of Moresco, as they called him, to catch a dish of fish for him.

It happened one time, that going a-fishing in a stark calm morning, a
fog rose so thick, that though we were not half a league from the shore
we lost sight of it; and rowing we knew not whither or which way, we
laboured all day, and all the next night, and when the morning came we
found we had pulled off to sea instead of pulling in for the shore; and
that we were at least two leagues from the shore: however, we got well
in again, though with a great deal of labour and some danger; for the
wind began to blow pretty fresh in the morning; but particularly we were
all very hungry.

But our patron, warned by this disaster, resolved to take more care of
himself for the future; and having lying by him the long-boat of our
English ship he had taken, he resolved he would not go a-fishing any
more without a compass and some provision; so he ordered the carpenter
of his ship, who also was an English slave, to build a little
state-room, or cabin, in the middle of the long-boat, like that of a
barge, with a place to stand behind it to steer and haul home the
main-sheet; and room before for a hand or two to stand and work the
sails: she sailed with what we call a shoulder of mutton sail; and the
boom gibbed over the top of the cabin, which lay very snug and low, and
had in it room for him to lie, with a slave or two, and a table to eat
on, with some small lockers to put in some bottles of such liquor as he
thought fit to drink; and particularly his bread, rice, and coffee.

We went frequently out with this boat a-fishing, and as I was most
dexterous to catch fish for him, he never