Are the dearest friends and relations, now rendered more dear by their separation from their kindred, still to be parted from each other, and thus prevented from cheering the gloom of slavery with the small comfort of being together and mingling their sufferings and sorrows?  Why are parents to lose their children, brothers their sisters, or husbands their wives?  Surely this is a new refinement in cruelty, which, while it has no advantage to atone for it, thus aggravates distress, and adds fresh horrors even to the wretchedness of slavery.

CHAP.  III.

The author is carried to Virginia—­His distress—­Surprise at seeing a picture and a watch—­Is bought by Captain Pascal, and sets out for England—­His terror during the voyage—­Arrives in England—­His wonder at a fall of snow—­Is sent to Guernsey, and in some time goes on board a ship of war with his master—­Some account of the expedition against Louisbourg under the command of Admiral Boscawen, in 1758.

I now totally lost the small remains of comfort I had enjoyed in conversing with my countrymen; the women too, who used to wash and take care of me, were all gone different ways, and I never saw one of them afterwards.

I stayed in this island for a few days; I believe it could not be above a fortnight; when I and some few more slaves, that were not saleable amongst the rest, from very much fretting, were shipped off in a sloop for North America.  On the passage we were better treated than when we were coming from Africa, and we had plenty of rice and fat pork.  We were landed up a river a good way from the sea, about Virginia county, where we saw few or none of our native Africans, and not one soul who could talk to me.  I was a few weeks weeding grass, and gathering stones in a plantation; and at last all my companions were distributed different ways, and only myself was left.  I was now exceedingly miserable, and thought myself worse off than any of the rest of my companions; for they could talk to each other, but I had no person to speak to that I could understand.  In this state I was constantly grieving and pining, and wishing for death rather than any thing else.  While I was in this plantation the gentleman, to whom I suppose the estate belonged, being unwell, I was one day sent for to his dwelling house to fan him; when I came into the room where he was I was very much affrighted at some things I saw, and the more so as I had seen a black woman slave as I came through the house, who was cooking the dinner, and the poor creature was cruelly loaded with various kinds of iron machines; she had one particularly on her head, which locked her mouth so fast that she could scarcely speak; and could not eat nor drink.  I was much astonished and shocked at this contrivance, which I afterwards learned was called the iron muzzle.  Soon after I had a fan put into my hand, to fan the gentleman while he slept; and so I did indeed with