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be reading the contents. I imagined then that I looked over his shoulder, and perceived that the letter was closely written; but a pen had been drawn through every line, and had obliterated all the words. Wondering what this could mean, I was going to take hold of the letter, when a large black seal presented itself to my sight, and so startled me that forthwith I awoke, with this sentence upon my mind, 'You shall not go!' Though I had never been in any way superstitious regarding dreams, this so affected me, and the words, 'You shall not go,' seemed so perpetually sounding in my ears, and haunting my imagination, that I determined to be obedient and not go-persuaded that some evil would befall me if I did. I spent that day and the two following in great anguish and anxiety, expecting hourly to hear something that would explain this singular presentiment. No tidings, however, arrived till Tuesday morning, when I read in a newspaper the following paragraph :-'Last Sunday, in the afternoon, as a boat, with four young gentlemen, a waterman, and a boy, belonging to Mr., of Wapping, was coming up the river, in Bugsby's Hole, a little below Blackwall, a gust of wind upset the boat, and all on

board perished.' That was the identical boat on which I was to have embarked. I could scarcely believe my eyes; I read the paragraph again and again. There it was, and there it remained, speaking the same words. I cannot express the horror and consternation of my mind; I was constrained to exclaim, 'This is the finger of God! Who am I, that God should in so wonderful a manner interpose for my deliverance? What a warning against sabbathbreaking! What a call to devote myself to the Lord and his service!'-A warning which I took, and a call which I humbly hope I was thenceforward enabled to obey."

In the cases already adduced, when many deliverances have happened to the same individual, they have been spread over several years, and intervals unmarked by any striking event have elapsed between the various occurWe now come to some in which the most extraordinary perils were encountered in close and rapid succession, in a manner which, were they not so well attested, would appear incredible.

rences.

In the annals of Christian missions, the name of captain James Wilson will ever hold an honourable place. His Christian devotedness

and nautical skill in the command of the missionary ship, the "Duff," largely aided in the introduction of the gospel to the South Sea Islands. Yet though, in his latter days, so eminent a servant of Christ, he was in his earlier years deeply tainted with infidelity. During this period of his history he underwent a long-continued series of sufferings and dangers, some of which we now lay before our readers.

In the year 1782, he had been employed in conveying naval stores to sir Edward Hughes, when he was captured, with his vessel, by admiral Suffrein, and carried into Cuddalore, then held by the French. Hyder Ally, who was at that time at war with the English, and unusually exasperated against them, was anxious to get as many prisoners as possible into his power, in order either to allure them into his service, or gratify his brutal ferocity by putting them to a painful death. He therefore offered to Suffrein the bribe of three hundred thousand rupees if he would give up his prisoners to him. To the disgrace of the French flag, Suffrein consented to this infamous proposal. Wilson, aware of what he might expect if he fell into the hands of "the Tiger

of the Carnatic," as the ferocious savage was called, determined, if possible, to make his escape. He communicated his resolution to a brother officer, imprisoned with him, and to a Bengalee servant-boy named Toby. The heart of the former failed him when the time came. Wilson and his servant, therefore, made the attempt alone they crept softly up to the ramparts as soon as it grew dusk, and leaped down, uncertain of the depth into which they plunged, or of the nature of the soil which would receive them. The fall, which proved to be about forty feet, somewhat stunned Wilson; but he soon recovered, called to the boy to follow his example, and catching him in his arms when he made the leap. They set out together for Tranquebar, the nearest neutral settlement, ignorant of the distance they would have to travel, the nature of the country they must pass over, and the number, depth, and width of the rivers they must cross ; knowing only the general direction of the route to be taken, and guiding their course by the stars. The whole of that district is intersected by streams, which are tributary to, or branch from, the great Coleroon; some of them being of considerable magnitude, and very rapid.

On reaching the first of these streams, Wilson found that the boy could not swim. Generously resolving not to leave him, he took him upon his back and swam over with him. Thus they passed three rivers. At Porto Nuovo, incautiously approaching too near a military post, they were heard by a sentinel, who challenged them; but by stealthily shrinking back into the jungle, they escaped detection. The river being at that point near the sea, is very deep and wide; and the tide, when Wilson and his companion reached the spot, was running with great rapidity. Not daring to wait for its ebb he plunged in, but the stream proved too powerful, and the boy, who clung to his back, becoming terrified at the breakers, clasped him so tightly that they both began to sink. After great effort he succeeded in disentangling himself, and returned to the shore. Finding that it was quite impossible for them both to cross, he gave the boy directions to proceed to a place where he might be safe, (which the youth, however, never reached,) and plunging into the stream, again endeavoured to push over. But the current was too powerful even for his unencumbered efforts; he was borne down by it, and again cast upon the bank he had so fruit

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