came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return: the
Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the
Lord." I asked him whether he would read. He told me he
earnestly desired it, I gave him my Bible, and he lighted upon
that comfortable Scripture "I shall not die but live, and
declare the works of the Lord: the Lord hath chastened me sore
yet he hath not given me over to death" (Psalm 118.17-18).
"Look here, mother," says he, "did you read this?" And here I
may take occasion to mention one principal ground of my setting
forth these lines: even as the psalmist says, to declare the
works of the Lord, and His wonderful power in carrying us along,
preserving us in the wilderness, while under the enemy's hand,
and returning of us in safety again. And His goodness in
bringing to my hand so many comfortable and suitable scriptures
in my distress. But to return, we traveled on till night; and
in the morning, we must go over the river to Philip's crew.
When I was in the canoe I could not but be amazed at the
numerous crew of pagans that were on the bank on the other side.
When I came ashore, they gathered all about me, I sitting alone
in the midst. I observed they asked one another questions, and
laughed, and rejoiced over their gains and victories. Then my
heart began to fail: and I fell aweeping, which was the first
time to my remembrance, that I wept before them. Although I had
met with so much affliction, and my heart was many times ready
to break, yet could I not shed one tear in their sight; but
rather had been all this while in a maze, and like one
astonished. But now I may say as Psalm 137.1, "By the Rivers of
Babylon, there we sate down: yea, we wept when we remembered
Zion." There one of them asked me why I wept. I could hardly
tell what to say: Yet I answered, they would kill me. "No,"