MY HUSBAND'S SURPRISE ON MY RETURN. 279 This I accepted of, and so after the utmost expressions both of duty and affection, he let me come away, and I arrived safe in two days at my friend's the quaker's. I brought over with me for the use of our plantation, three horses, with harness and saddles; some hogs, two cows, and a thousand other things, the gift of the kindest and tenderest child that ever woman had. I related to my husband all the particulars of this voyage, except that I called my son, my cousin; and first I told him, that I had lost my watch, which he seemed to take as a misfortune; but then I told him how kind my cousin had been, that my mother had left me such a plantation, and that he had preserved it for me, in hopes some time or other he should hear from me; then I told him that I had left it to his management, that he would render me a faithful account of its produce; and then I pulled him out the 1007. in silver, as the first year's produce; and then pulling out the deer-skin purse with the pistoles, And here my dear, says I, is the gold watch. Says my husband, So is heaven's goodness sure to work the same effects, in all sensible minds, where mercies touch the heart! lifted up both his hands, and with an ecstacy of joy, What is God a doing, says he, for such an ungrateful dog as I am! Then I let him know, what I had brought over in the sloop, besides all this; I mean the horses, hogs, and cows, and other stores for our plantation; all which added to his surprise, and filled his heart with thankfulness; and from this time forward I believe he was as sincere a penitent, and as thoroughly a reformed man, as ever God's goodness brought back from a profligate, a highwayman, and a robber. I could fill a larger history than this, with the evidences of this truth, and but that I doubt that part of the story will not be equally diverting as the wicked part. But this is to be my own story, not my husband's: I return therefore to my own part. We went on with our own plantation, and managed it with the help and direction of such friends as we got there, and especially the honest quaker, who proved a faithful, generous, and steady friend to us; and we had very good success; for having a flourishing stock to begin with, as I have said, and this being now increased by the addition of 150l. sterling in money, we enlarged our number of servants, built us a very good house, and cured every year a great deal of land. The second year I wrote to my old governess, giving her part with us of the joy of our success, and ordered her how to lay out the money I had left with her, which was 250l. as above, and to send it to us in goods, which she performed with her usual kindness and fidelity, and all this arrived safe to us. Here we had a supply of all sorts of clothes, as well for my husband as for myself; and I took especial care to buy for him all those things that I knew he delighted to have; as two good long wigs, two silver-hilted swords, three or four fine fowling pieces, a fine saddle with holsters and pistols very handsome, with a scarlet cloak; and in a word, everything I could think of to oblige him, and to make him appear, as he really was, a very fine gentleman: I ordered a good quantity of such household-stuff as we wanted, with linen for us both; as for myself, I wanted very little of clothes, or linen, being very well furnished before. The rest of my cargo consisted in iron-work of all sorts, harness for horses, tools, clothes for servants, and woollen-cloth, stuffs, serges, stockings, shoes, hats, and the like, such as servants wear; and whole pieces also, to make up for servants, all by direction of the quaker; and all this cargo arrived safe, and in good condition, with three women-servants, lusty wenches, which my old governess had picked up for me, suitable enough to the place, and to the work we had for them to do, one of which happened to come double, having been got with child by one of the seamen in the ship, as she owned afterwards, before the ship got so far as Gravesend; so she brought us out a stout boy, about seven months after our landing. My husband, you may suppose, was a little surprised at the arriving of this cargo from England; and talking with me one day after he saw the particulars, My dear, says he, what is the meaning of all this? I fear you will run us too deep in debt: when shall we be able to make returns for it all? I smiled, and told him that it was all paid for; and then I told him, that not knowing what might befall us in the voyage, and considering what our circumstances might expose us to, I had not taken my whole stock with me, that I had reserved so much in my friend's hands, which now we were come over safe, and settled in a way to live, I had sent for as he might see. He was amazed, and stood awhile telling upon his fingers, but said nothing: at last he began thus; Hold, let's see, says MY BROTHER (HUSBAND) DIES. 281 he, telling upon his fingers still; and first on his thumb, there's 2467. in money at first, then two gold watches, diamond rings; and plate, says he, upon the forefinger: then upon the next finger, Here's a plantation on York River, a 100%. a year, then 150l. in money, then a sloop load of horses, cows, hogs, and stores; and so on to the thumb again; And now, says he, a cargo cost 250l. in England, and worth here twice the money. Well, says I, what do you make of all that? Make of it, says he, why who says I was deceived when I married a wife in Lancashire? I think I have married a fortune, and a very good fortune too, says he. In a word, we were now in very considerable circumstances, and every year increasing; for our new plantation grew upon our hands insensibly, and in eight years which we lived upon it, we brought it to such a pitch that the produce was at least 3007. sterling a year: I mean, worth so much in England. After I had been a year at home again, I went over the bay to see my son, and to receive another year's income of my plantation; and I was surprised to hear, just at my landing there, that my old husband was dead, and had not been buried, above a fortnight. This, I confess, was not disagreeable news, because, now I could appear as I was, in a married condition: so I told my son before I came from him, that I believed I should marry a gentleman who had a plantation near mine; and though I was legally free to marry, as to any obligation that was on me before, yet that I was shy of it lest the plot should some time or other be revived, and it might make a husband uneasy. My son, the same kind, dutiful, and obliging creature as ever, treated me now at his own house, paid me my hundred pounds, and sent me home again loaded with presents. Some time after this, I let my son know I was married, and invited him over to see us, and my husband wrote a very obliging letter to him also, inviting him to come and see him; and he came accordingly some months after, and happened to be there just when my cargo from England came in, which I let him believe belonged all to my husband's estate, and not to me. It must be observed that when the old wretch, my brother (husband) was dead, I then freely gave my husband an account of all that affair, and of this cousin, as I called him before, being my own son by that mistaken match. He was perfectly easy in the account, and told me he should have been easy if the old man, as we called him, had been alive. For, said he, it was no fault of yours, nor of his; it was a mistake impossible to be prevented. He only reproached him with desiring me to conceal it, and to live with him as a wife, after I knew that he was my brother; that, he said, was a vile part. Thus all these little difficulties were made easy, and we lived together with the greatest kindness and comfort imaginable; we are now grown old, I am come back to England, being almost seventy years of age, my husband sixtyeight, having performed much more than the limited terms of my transportation; and now, notwithstanding all the fatigues, and all the miseries we have both gone through, we are both in good heart and health. My husband remained there some time after me to settle our affairs, and at first I had intended to go back to him, but at his desire I altered that resolution, and he is come over to England also, where we resolve to spend the remainder of our years in sincere penitence for the wicked lives we have lived. WRITTEN IN THE YEAR 1683. THE END. THE HISTORY OF THE DEVIL, AS WELL ANCIENT AS MODERN: IN TWO PARTS. PART I. Containing a State of the Devil's Circumstances, and the various Turns of his Affairs, from his Expulsion out of Heaven, to the Creation of Man; with Remarks on the several Mistakes concerning the Reason and Manner of his Fall. Also his Proceedings with Mankind ever since Adam, to the first planting of the Christian Religion in the world. PART II. Containing his more private Conduct, down to the present times: His Government, his Appearances, his Manner of Working, and the Tools he works with. Bad as he is, the Devil may be abus'd, Shift off those Crimes on Him which are their Own. LONDON: Printed for T. WARNER, at the Black Boy, in |