befall me. Nothing occurred to
my thought, to contradict any of these conclusions: and therefore it
rested upon me with the greatest force, that it must needs be that God
had appointed all this to befall me; that I was brought to this
miserable circumstance by his direction, he having the sole power, not
of me only, but of every thing that happens in the world. Immediately it
followed, Why has God done this to me? What have I done to be thus used?
My conscience presently checked me in that inquiry, as if I had
blasphemed; and methought it spoke to me like a voice, "Wretch! dost
_thou_ ask what thou hast done? Look back upon a dreadful misspent life,
and ask thyself, what thou hast _not_ done? Ask, why is it that thou
wert not long ago destroyed? Why wert thou not drowned in Yarmouth
Roads; killed in the fight when the ship was taken by the Sallee man of
war; devoured by the wild beasts on the coast of Africa; or drowned
_here_, when all the crew perished but thyself? Dost _thou_ ask what
thou hast done?" I was struck dumb with these reflections, as one
astonished, and had not a word to say; no, not to answer to myself; and,
rising up pensive and sad, walked back to my retreat, and went over my
wall, as if I bad been going to bed: but my thoughts were sadly
disturbed, and I had no inclination to sleep; so I sat down in the
chair, and lighted my lamp, for it began to be dark. Now, as the
apprehension of the return of my distemper terrified me very much, it
occurred to my thought, that the Brazilians take no physic but their
tobacco for almost all distempers; and I had a piece of a roll of
tobacco in one of the chests, which was quite cured; and some also that
was green, and not quite cured.

I went, directed by Heaven no doubt: for in this chest I found a cure
both for soul and body. I opened the chest, and found what I looked for,
viz. the tobacco; and as the few books I had saved lay there too, I took
out one of the Bibles which I mentioned before, and which to this time I
had not found leisure, or so much as inclination, to look into. I say, I
took it out, and brought both that and the tobacco with me to the table.
What use to make of the tobacco I knew not, as to my distemper, nor
whether it was good for it or not; but I tried several experiments with
it, as if I was resolved it should hit one way or other. I first took a
piece of a leaf, and chewed it in my mouth; which, indeed, at first,
almost stupified my brain; t