I thought at first to return home; but shame opposed that good motion, as thinking I should be laughed at by my neighbours and acquaintance.  So strange is the nature of youth, who are not ashamed to sin, but yet ashamed to repent; and so far from being ashamed of those actions for which they may be acounted fools, they think it folly to return to their duty, which is the principal mark of wisdom.  In short I travelled up to London, resolving upon a voyage, and a voyage I soon heard of, by my acquaintance with a captain who took a fancy to me, to go to the coast of Guinea.  Having some money, and appearing like a gentleman, I went on board, not as a common sailor or foremast man; nay, the commander agreed I should go that voyage with him without any expence; that I should be his messmate and companion, and I was very welcome to carry any thing with me, and make the best merchandise I could.

I blessed my happy fortune, and humbly thanked my captain for this offer; and acquainting my friends in Yorkshire, forty pounds were sent me, the greatest part of which my dear father and mother contributed to, with which I bought toys and trifles, as the captain directed me.  My captain also taught me navigation, how to keep an account of the ship’s course, take an observation, and led me into the knowledge of several useful branches of the mathematics.  And indeed this voyage made me both a sailor and a merchant; for I brought home five pounds nine ounces of gold-dust for my adventure which produced, at my return to London, almost three hundred pounds.  But in this voyage I was extremely sick, being thrown into a violent calenture through the excessive heat, trading upon the coast from the latitude of fifteen degrees north, even to the line itself.

But alas! my dear friend the captain soon departed this life after his arrival.  This was a sensible grief to me; yet I resolved to go another with his mate, who had now got command of the ship.  This proved a very unsuccessful one; for though I did not carry quite a hundred pounds of my late acquired wealth, (so that I had two hundred pounds left, which I reposed with the captain’s widow, who was an honest gentlewoman) yet my misfortunes in this unhappy voyage were very great.  For our ship sailing towards the Canary islands, we were chased by a Salee rover; and in spite of all the haste we could make by crowding as much canvas as our yards could spread, or our masts carry, the pirate gained upon us, to that we prepared ourselves to fight.  They had eighteen guns, and we had but twelve.  About three in the afternoon there was a desperate engagement, wherein many were killed and wounded on both sides; but finding ourselves overpowered with numbers, our ship disabled and ourselves too impotent to have the least hopes of success, we were forced to surrender; and accordingly were all carried prisoners into the port of Salee.  Our men were sent to the Emperor’s court to be sold there, but the pirate captain taking notice of me, kept me to be his own slave.