wood, which we but now lost, could not defend it self, nor preserve us from the insolency of the imperious waves? We were many leagues from any shore, having neither Compass to guide us, nor provision to sustain us, being as well starv’d with cold as hunger. Several bags of mony we had with us; but what good could that do us, where there is no exchange? We could neither eat nor drink it; neither would it keep us warm, nor purchase our deliverance. Therefore we may justly esteem of money in its own nature, as an impotent creature, a very cripple, _inutile pondus_, an useless burden. I could not now imagine anything could preserve us, less than a miracle: and as we were all sinful creatures, especially my self, we could not expect that nature should go out of her ordinary way to save us. The waves indeed carried us up to Heaven, _Jam jam tacturos sidera summa putes._ _Neptune_ sure at this time was very _gamesome_, for he play’d at _Tennis_ with us poor mortals, making a _wave_ his _Racket_ to bandie us up and down like _Balls_: Sometimes he seem’d so proud and _lofty_, being raised so _high_, as if he had been about to _scale Heaven_; which the incensed Deity perceiving, seemed again to throw us down headlong to Hell, for too much ambition & presumption: yet I could not see, but that the extremity of our condition pleaded for us, crying aloud for pity and compassion. I was now silent, committing my self into the hands of providence; yet verily believing, that the inversion of the old Proverb appertained to me, that being not born to be hang’d, I should be drown’d. Commonly we are not so much mov’d with a clamourous and importunate beggar, who hunts after our Alms with open mouth, and makes _Hue_ and _Cry_ after our Charity (as if we had rob’d him who begs of us) as with the silence of impotent and diseased _Lazaro’s_: their sores speak loudest to our affections; _Quot vulnera, tot ora_; each wound is a gaping mouth strenuously imploring mercy; the sight whereof, cannot but melt the most obdurate spectator into a charitable compassion. This was our case, our misery was louder than our prayers, and our deplorable condition, certainly was more prevalent then our imperfect devotions. In this moment of death, when we were without the least expectation of any deliverance, the wind chopt about, and drove back one Ship that had over-run us: this was unquestionably _Digitus Dei_. This Ship made towards us, and we, what in us lay, towards it: The wind blew hard, and the insulting Sea, that will not admit of pity, rose high upon us: so that we were forced to lave the water out of the boat with our hats. It was my chance to sit on the weather side; fain would I have exchanged my place, but such complements are useless in a storm; so that I was constrained to endure patiently the indignation of my raging enemy. But now began another despair; for with all our endeavours we could not