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appointed in the hope of diverting my mind,, 

 from the fatigue of unremitted fufpenfe, by 

 reading. Intending to make the trial, I begged 

 of the ftamping, raving captain to fhew me his 

 library— Aye, exclaimed he, with a broad 

 oath, that I can foon do ! And, in truth, fo 

 he might; for it confifted only of an old 

 mouldy copy of the failor's Fade me cum, and 

 the fecond volume of The Tattler y worm -eaten , 

 and held together by a needleful of worfted. 

 As I was not in humour with the fea, nor any 

 thing appertaining thereto, I threw afide the 

 mufty old guide, and fat down to tattle with 

 Mr, BickerftafF, hoping in his fociety to forget 

 the cares of the moment ; but ftill the boat — 

 the boat annoyed me at every page, and I found 

 it impoffible to abftradt my thoughts from the 

 painful apprehenfion of paffing another night 

 on board the execrable Voltigeur. However, 

 with fometimes tattling, fometimes thinking, 

 and fometimes looking out, I contrived to wear 

 away the torpid hours ; and, flow and dilatory 

 as they had feemed, I found that the tedious 

 day had too foon paffed away ; for the cheer- 

 ing god of light again funk into the weftera 

 waves, — and no boat had arrived ! 



