Page:Eventful life, and curious adventures of Peter Williamson.pdf/23

 41 The Life of Peter Williamson. 42

alabaster arms and hands, a cold rough tree whereto she was bound with cords so straitly pulled, that the blood trickled from her finger ends! Her lovely tender body, and delicate limbs, cut, bruised, and torn with stones, and boughs of trees, as she had been dragged along, and all besmeared with blood ! What heart can even now, un- moved, think of her distress, in such a deplorable condition ; having no creature, with the least sensations of humanity, near to succour or relieve her, or even pity or regard her flow- ing tears, and lamentable wail- ings! The very remembrance of the sight has, at this instant, such an effect upon me, that I almost want words to go on.— Such then was the condition in which we found this wretched fair, but faint and speechless with the shock our firing had given her tender frame. The captain for a long time could do nothing but gaze upon and clasp her to his bosom, crying, raving, and tearing his hair, like one bereft of his senses; nor did he for some time perceive the lifeless condition she was in, until one of the men had unti- ed her lovely mangledarms, and she fell to the ground. Find- ing among the plunder of these villains the unhappy lady’s clothes, he gently put some of them about her; and after various trials, and much time spent, recovered her dissipated spirits, the repossession of which she first manifested, by eagerly fixing her eyes on her deliverer,

and smiling with the most plaisant joy, blessed the Al- mighty, and him, for her mira- culous deliverance. The work being done, we thought of steering homewards, but how to get the lady for- wards, who was in such a con- dition as rendered her incapable of walking further, gave us some pain and retarded us a little, until we made a sort of carriage to seat her on ; and then, with the greatest readiness we took our turns, four at a time, and carried her along. This, in some mea- sure, made the captain chearful, who all the way endeavoured to comfort and revive his despond- ing afficted mistress: but alas! in vain, for the miseries they had lately felt, and the terrible fate of her poor brother, of whom I doubt not but the tender heart- ed reader is anxious to hear, rendered even her most pleas- ing thoughts, notwithstanding his soothing words, corroding and insufferable. The account she gave of their disastrous fate and dire ca tastrophe, besides what I have already mentioned, was, that the savages had no sooner seen all consumed but they hurried off with her and her brother, pushing, and sometimes drag ging them on, for four or five miles, when they stopt; and striping her naked, treated her in a shocking manner, whilst others were stripping and cru- elly whipping her unhappy bro- ther. After which, they, in the same manner pursued their journey, regardless of the tears, prayers, or entreaties of this