The religion of the author's family.

Y ouwarkee and I having fixed ourselves, by degrees, into a settled rota of action, began to live like Christians, having so great a quantity of most sorts of necessaries about us. But I say we lived like Christians on another account, for you must not think, after what I have said before, that I and my family lived like heathens; no, I will assure you, they by degrees knew all I knew, and that, with a little artificial improvement, and a well-regulated disposition, I hoped, and did not doubt, would carry them all to heaven. I would many a time have given all my interest in the ship's cargo for a Bible; and a hundred times grieved that I was not master of a pocket one, which I might have carried everywhere about me. I never imagined there was one aboard, and if there were, and You-warkee should find it, I supposed it would be in Portuguese, which I knew little of, so it would be of small service to me if I had it.

Since I am on the topic of religion, it may not be amiss, once for all, to give you a small sketch of my religious proceedings after coming into my new dominions. I have already told you that from my first stop at the rock I had prayed constantly morning and evening, but I cannot say I did it always with the same efficacy. However, my imperfect devotions were not without good effect; and I am confident, wherever this course is pursued with a right view, sooner or later the issue will prove the same to others as I found it to myself; I mean, that mercies will be remembered with more gratitude, and evils be more disregarded, and become less burdensome; and surely the person whose case this is, must necessarily enjoy the truest relish of life. As daily prayer was my practice, in answer to it I obtained the greatest blessing and comfort my solitude was capable of receiving; I mean my wife, whose character I need not farther attempt to blazon in any faint colours of my own after what has been already said, her acts having spoken her virtues beyond all verbal description.

After we were married, as I call it—that is, after we had agreed to become man and wife—I frequently prayed before her, and with her (for by this time she understood a good deal of my language); at which, though contrary to my expectation, she did not seem surprised, but readily kneeled by and joined with me. This I liked very well; and upon my asking her one day after prayer if she understood what I had been doing (for I had a notion she did not)—"Yes, verily," says she, "you have been making petitions to the image of the great Collwar."*—"Pray," says I (willing gently to lead her into a just sense of a Supreme Being), "who is this Collwar? and where does He dwell?"—"He it is," says she, "that does all good and evil to us."—"Right," says I, "it is in some measure so; but He cannot of Himself do evil, absolutely and properly, as His own act"—"Yes," says she, "He can; for He can do all that can be done; and as evil can be done, He can do it."—So quick a reply startled me. Thinks I, she will run me aground presently; and from being a doctor, as I fancied myself, I shall become but a pupil to my own scholar. I then asked her where the great Collwar dwelt? She told me in heaven, in a charming place.—"And can He know what we do?" says I.—"Yes," replied she, "His image tells Him everything; and I have prayed to His image, which I have often seen, and it is filled with so much virtue that it is His second self; for there is only one of them in the world who is so good: He gives several virtues to other images of Himself, which are brought to Him, and put into His arms to breathe upon; and the only thing I have ever regretted since I knew you is, that I have not one of them here to comfort and bless us and our children."

* God.

Though I was sorry for the oddity of her conceptions, I was almost glad to find her so ignorant, and pleased myself with thinking that as she had already a confused notion of a Supreme Power, I should soon have the satisfaction of bringing her to a more rational knowledge of Him.

"Pray, Youwee," says I, "what is your God made of?"—"Why of clay," says she, "finely painted, and looks so terrible he would make you tremble to behold him."—"Do you think," says I, "that is the true Collwar's real shape, if you could see Himself?" She told me yes, for that some of His best servants had seen him, and took the representation from Himself. "And pray, do you think He loves His best servants, as you call them, and is kind to them?"—"You need not doubt it," says she.—"Why, then," replied I, "how came He to look so terrible upon them when they saw Him, as you say they did? for I can see no reason, how terrible soever He looks to others, why He should show Himself so to those He loves. I should rather think, as you say He is kind to them, that He should have two images, a placid one for His good, and a terrible one for His bad servants; or else, who by seeing Him can tell whether He is pleased or angry? for even you yourself, Youwee, when anything pleases you, have a different look from that you have when you are angry, and little Pedro can tell whether he does well or ill by your countenance; whereas, if you made no distinction, but looked with the same face on all his actions, he would as readily think he did well as ill in committing a bad action." Youwarkee could not tell what to say to this, the fact seeming against her.

I then asked her if she thought the image itself could hear her petitions. She replied, "Yes."—"And can he," says I, "return you an answer?"—She told me he only did that to his best servants.—"Did you ever hear him do it?" says I. "For unless he can speak too, I should much suspect his hearing; and you being one of his best servants, seeing you love him, and pray heartily to him, why should you not hear him as soon as others?"—"No," says she, "there are a great number of glumms on purpose to serve him, pray for us to him, and receive his answers."—"But to what purpose then," says I, "is your praying to him, if their prayers will serve your turn?"—"Oh," says she, "the image hears them sooner than us, and sends the petitions up to the great Collwar, and lets Him know who makes them, and desires Him to let them have what they want."—"But suppose," says I, for argument sake, "that you could see the great Collwar, or know where He was, and should pray to Himself, without going about to His image first, do you think He could not hear you?"—"I cannot tell that," says she.—"But how then," says I, "can He tell what (if it could speak) His image says, which is as far from Him and then her own zealous application, with God's grace, soon brought her to a firm belief in it, and a suitable temper and conduct with respect to God and man."

After I had begun with my children, I frequently referred their further instruction to their mother; for I have always experienced that a superficial knowledge, with a desire of becoming a teacher, is in some measure equivalent to better knowledge; for it not only excites every principle one has to the utmost, but makes matters more clear and conspicuous even to one's self.

By these means, and the Divine blessing thereon, in a few years, I may fairly say, I had a little Christian church in my own house, and in a flourishing way too, without a schismatic or heretic amongst us.