Page:Life and astonishing adventures of Peter Williamson (2).pdf/17

17 their unhappy victim, the old man ; sometimes they would strip him naked, and paint him all over with various sorts of colours, which they extracted, or made from herbs and roots ; at other times, they would pluck the white hairs from his venerable beard, and tauntingly tell him, he was a fool for living so long, and that they would shew him kindness in putting him out of the world ; to all which the poor creature could but ent his sighs, his tcars, his moans, and entreaties, that, to my affrighted imagination, were enough to penetrate a heart of adamant, and soften the most obdurate savage. In vain, alas ! were all his tears, for daily did they tire themselves with the various means they tried to torment him—- sometimes tying him to a tree, and whipping at others, scorching his furrowed cheeks with red-hot coals, and burning his legs, quite to the knees ; but the good old man, instead of re- ning, or wickedly arraigning the divine justice, e many others in such cases, even in the great- est agonies, incessantly offered up his prayers to the Almighty, with the most fervent thanksgiv- ings for his former mercies, and hoping the flames, en surrounding and buring his aged limbs, uld soon send him to the blessful mansions of e just, to be a partaker of the blessings there. d during such his pious ejaculations, his in- nal plages would come round him, mimicking