felf fafe, though he faw his conforts every moment finking round him; and no fooner had the waves clofed over them, than their fate and their mifconduct were forgotten; the voyage was pursued with the fame jocund confidence; every man congratulated himself upon the foundness of his veffel, and believed himself able to ftem the whirlpool in which his friend was fwallowed, or glide over the rocks on which he was dafhed: nor was it often obferved that the fight of a wreck made any man change his courfe; if he turned afide for a moment, he foon forgot the rudder, and left himself again to the difpofal of chance.

This negligence did not proceed from indifference, or from weariness of their prefent condition; for not one of those who thus rufhed upon deftruction, failed, when he was finking, to call loudly upon his affociates for that help which could not now be given him; and many spent their last moments in cautioning others against the folly by which they were intercepted in the midst of their course. Their benevolence was fometimes praised, but their admonitions were unregarded.

The veffels in which we had embarked being confeffedly unequal to the turbulence of the ftream of life, were vifibly impaired in the courfe of the

voyage; fo that every paffenger was certain, that how long foever he might, by favourable accidents, or by inceffant vigilance, be preserved, he must fink at laft.

This neceffity of perifhing might have been expected to fadden the gay, and intimidate the daring, at least to keep the melancholy and timorous in perpetual torments, and hinder them from any enjoyment of the varieties and gratifications which nature offered them as the folace of their labours; yet in effect none feemed lefs to expect deftruction than those to whom it was moft dreadful; they all had the art of concealing their danger from themfelves; and thofe who knew their inability to bear the fight of the terrors that embarraffed their way, took care never to look for ward, but found some amusement for the present moment, and generally entertained themselves by playing with Hope, who was the conftant affociate on the voyage of life.

Yet all that Hope ventured to promise, even to thofe whom fhe favoured moft, was, not that they fhould escape, but that they fhould fink laft; and with this promise every one was fatisfied, though he laughed at the reft for feeming to believe it. Hope, indeed, apparently mocked the credulity

of

of her companions; for in proportion as their veffels grew leaky, fhe redoubled her affurances of fafety; and none were more bufy in making provifions for a long voyage, than they whom all but themselves faw likely to perifh foon by irreparable decay.

In the midft of the current of life was the Gulph of Intemperance, a dreadful whirlpool, interspersed with rocks, of which the pointed crags were concealed under water, and the tops covered with herbage on which Eafe fpread couches of repofe, and with fhades where Pleafure warbled the fong of invitation. Within fight of these rocks all who failed on the ocean of life muft neceffarily pass. Reason, indeed, was always at hand to fteer the paffengers through a narrow outlet by which they might efcape; but very few could, by her intreaties or remonftrances, be induced to put the rudder into her hand, without ftipulating that she should approach fo near unto the rocks of Pleasure, that they might folace themfelves with a short enjoyment of that delicious region, after which they always determined to purfue their courfe without any other deviation.

Reafon was too often prevailed upon fo far by thefe promifes, as to venture her charge within the

eddy

eddy of the Gulph of Intemperance, where, indeed, the circumlocution was weak, but yet interrupted the course of the veffel, and drew it by infenfible rotations towards the centre. She then repented her temerity, and with all her force endeavoured to retreat, but the draught of the gulph was generally too ftrong to be overcome; and the paffenger, having danced in circles with a pleafing and giddy velocity, was at laft overwhelmed and loft. Thofe few whom Reafon was able to extricate, generally fuffered fo many fhocks upon the points which shot out from the rocks of Pleasure, that they were unable to continue their course with the fame ftrength and facility as before, but floated along timorously and feebly, endangered by every breeze, and fhattered by every ruffle of the water, till they funk by flow degrees, after long ftruggles and innumerable expedients, always repining at their own folly, and warning others against the firft approach of the Gulph of Intemperance.

There were artifts who profeffed to repair the breaches and flop the leaks of the veffels which had been fhattered on the rocks of Pleasure.Many appeared to have great confidence in their fkill, and fome, indeed, were preferved by it from finking, who had received only a fingle blow; but I remarked that few veffels lafted long which had

been

been much repaired, nor was it found that the artists themselves continued afloat longer than those who had leaft of their affiftance.

The only advantage which, in the voyage of life, the cautious had above the negligent, was, that they funk later, and more fuddenly; for they paffed forward till they had fometimes feen all those in whose company they had iffued from the ftreights of infancy, perish in the way, and at last were overset by a cross breeze, without the toil of refiftance, or the anguifh of expectation. But fuch as had often fallen against the rocks of Pleafure, commonly fubfided by fenfible degrees, contended long with the incroaching waters, and harraffed themselves by labours that scarce Hope herself could flatter with fuccefs.

As I was looking upon the various fate of the multitude about me, I was fuddenly alarmed with an admonition from fome unknown Power, " Gaze not idly upon others, when thou thy felf art finking. Whence is this thoughtlefs tranquillity, when thou and they are equally endangered?" I looked, and feeing the Gulph of Intemperance before me, ftarted and awaked.

ANEC