from a wound in my tongue, which I suppose I had bitten in my fall. Looking at my watch, (it was ten minutes past four,) and getting up, I surveyed my limbs, and to my inexpressible joy found that not one was broken. I was soon reconciled to my situation, having from my childhood thought that something very extraordinary was to happen to me in the course of my life; and I had not the least doubt of being relieved in the morning; for, the wood being but small, and situated near a populous city, it is much frequented, especially in the nutting season, and there are several foot-paths leading through it.

"Night now approached, when it began to rain, not in gentle showers, but in torrents of water, such as are generally experienced at the autumnal equinox. The pit I had fallen into was about five feet in diameter; but, not having been worked for several years, the subterranean passages were choked up, so that I was exposed to the rain, which continued with very small intermissions, till the day of my release; and, indeed, in a short time I was completely wet through. In this comfortless condition I endeavoured to take some repose. A forked stick that I found in the pit, and which I placed diagonally to the side of it, served alternately to support my head as a pillow, or my body occasionally, which was much bruised; but, in the whole time I remained here, I do not think I ever slept one hour together. Having passed a very disagreeable and tedious night, I was somewhat cheered by the appearance of day-light, and the melody of a robin-redbreast that had perched directly over the mouth of the pit; and this pretty little warbler continued to visit my quarters every morning during my confinement, which I construed into a

happy omen of my future deliverance; and I sincerely believe the trust I had in Providence, and the company of this little bird, contributed much to that serenity of mind which I constantly enjoyed to the last. At the distance of about 100 yards, in a direct line from the pit, there was a water-mill. The miller's house was nearer to me, and the road to the mill was still nearer. I could frequently hear the horses going this road to and from the mill; frequently I heard human voices; and I could distinctly hear the ducks and hens about the mill. I made the best use of my voice on every occasion; but it was to no manner of purpose; for the wind, which was constantly high, blew in a line from the mill to the pit, which easily accounts for what I heard; and, at the same time, my voice was carried the contrary way. I cannot say I suffered much from hunger. After two or three days my appetite ceased; but my thirst was intolerable; and, though it almost constantly rained, yet I could not till the third or fourth day preserve a drop of it, as the earth at the bottom of the pit sucked it up as fast as it ran down. In this distress I sucked my clothes; but from them I could extract but little moisture. The shock I received in the fall, together with the dislocation of one of my ribs, kept me, I imagine, in a continual fever; I cannot otherwise account for my suffering so much more from thirst than I did from hunger. At last I discovered the thigh-bone of a bull, (which, I afterwards heard, had fallen into the pit about eighteen years before me,) almost covered with the earth. I dug it up; and the large end of it left a cavity that, I suppose, might contain a quart. This the water gradually drained into, but so very slowly, that it was a considerable

time before I could dip a nut-shell full at a time; which I emptied into the palm of my hand, and so drank it. The water now began to increase pretty fast, so that I was glad to enlarge my reservoir, insomuch that, on the fourth or fifth day, I had a sufficient supply; and this water was certainly the preservation of my life.

"At the bottom of the pit there were great quantities of reptiles, such as frogs, toads, large black snails, or slugs, &c. These noxious creatures would frequently crawl about me, and often got into my reservoir; nevertheless, I thought it the sweetest water I had ever tasted; and at this distance of time the remembrance of it is so sweet, that, were it now possible to obtain any of it, I am sure I could swallow it with avidity. I have frequently taken both frogs and toads out of my neck, where I suppose they took shelter while I slept. The toads I always destroyed, but the frogs I carefully preserved, as I did not know but I might be under the necessity of eating them, which I should not have scrupled to have done had I been very hungry.

"Saturday, the 16th, there fell but little rain, and I had the satisfaction to hear the voices of some boys in the wood. Immediately I called out with all my might, but it was all in vain, though I afterwards learned that they actually heard me; but, being prepossessed with an idle story of a wild man being in the wood, they ran away affrighted.

"Sunday, the 17th, was, my birth-day, when I completed my forty-first year; and I think it was the next day that some of my acquaintance, having accidentally heard that I had gone the way I did, sent two or three porters out purposely to search the pits

for me. These men went to the miller's house, and made inquiry for me; but, on account of the very great rain at the time, they never entered the wood, but cruelly returned to their employers, telling them they had searched the pit, and that I was not to be found. Many people in my dismal situation would, no doubt, have died with despair; but, I thank God, I enjoyed a perfect serenity of mind; so much so, that on the Tuesday afternoon, and when I had been six nights in the pit, I very composedly (by way of amusement) combed my wig on my knee, humming

a tune.

"At length, the morning, Sept. 20, the happy morning for my deliverance, came; a day that, while my memory lasts, I will always celebrate with gra titude to Heaven! Through the brambles and bushes that covered the mouth of the pit, I could discover the sun shining bright, and my pretty warbler was chanting his melodious strains, when my attention. was roused by a confused noise of human voices, which seemed to be approaching fast towards the pit. Immediately I called out, and most agreeably surprised several of my acquaintance, who were in search of me. Many of them are still living in Glasgow ; and it is not long since I had the very great satisfaction of entertaining one of them at my apartments. They told me that they had not the most distant hope of finding me alive; but wished to give my body a decent burial, should they be so fortunate as to find it. As soon as they heard my voice, they all ran towards the pit, and I could distinguish a well-known voice exclaiming," He is still living!" Another of them, though a very honest North-Briton, betwixt his sur.prise and joy, could not help asking me, in the Hi

bernian style, "if I were still living?" I told him, "I was, and hearty too;" and then gave them particular directions how to proceed in getting me out. Fortunately, at this juncture, a collier, from a working pit in the neighbourhood, was passing along the road, and hearing an unusual noise in the wood, his curiosity prompted him to learn the occasion. By his assistance, and a rope from the mill, I was soon safely landed on terra firma. The miller's wife had very kindly brought some milk warm from the cow; but, on my coming into the fresh air, I grew rather faint, and could not taste it. Need I be ashamed to acknowledge, that the first dictates of my heart prompted me to fall on my knees, and ejaculate a silent thanks. giving to the GoD of my deliverance; since, at this distant time, I never think of it but the tear of gra titude starts from my eye.

(To be concluded in our next.)

AN ACCOUNT OF DAMASCUS.

DAMASCUS is a very ancient city of Syria, in Asia, in East Long. 37° 20', North Lat. 33° 45', at the distance of 112 miles south of Antioch, 130 N. N. E. of Jerusalem, and about fifty miles from the sea. It is washed by two rivers, Abana, now called Barrady, which runs through it, and Pharpar, « called by the Greeks, the Golden Stream, which runs on the outside of its walls. It is generally believed that this city was built by Uz, the eldest son of ARAM. It is certain from Gen. xiv. 15, that it was built before the time of ABRAHAM, and consequently is one of the most ancient cities in the world. It must have been a place of considerable strength in the reign