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208 REGNARD’s JOURNEY TO LAPLAND.
them to return tohim. We fet out next day, being Sunday, at day-break, with a
favourable wind, which changed immediately after, and obliged us to go for fafety to
Landfor, near to the place from which we had fet fail. We had confiderable difficulty
in retiring between two rocks, which ferved us asa fhelter from the tempeft which was
extremely violent, and we expected a hundred times to be driven among the ftones, with
which this fea is crowded. The fourth day of OGober is celebrated for being unfavour-
able to us: it is juft three years fince, on this day, dedicated to Saint Francis, my
patron, we were taken prifoners by the Turks, in the Mediterranean, within fight of
Nice. It is difficult to forget thefe days, when they are drawn in our memory with fuch
{trong and vivid colours. We remained three days in this place; and the wind be-
coming a little more favourable, we fet fail, and came within fight of Wilby, the capital
of the ifland of Gothland. Thisifland, which is the moft fertile in all Sweden, was given
as an appenage to Queen Chriftina, who has exchanged it-and that of Oéland for the
city and lordfhip of Norkopin, in — —. ‘There is a book of the laws of Witby,
which is made ufe of to compile the regulations of naval commerce.
Fortune, which appeared only to be favourable to us, that we might feel more acutely
our difappointments, was not long in making us experience her ufuai caprice : there
arofe during the night fuch a dreadful tempelft, that, after remaining a long time in con-
tinual terror, we were obliged, as foon as day-light appeared, to fet fail with all our
canvas, to {top for fafety once more in Sweden, at Wefterwick, in the province of
Smaland. In this place, we faw two objects deferving of pity ; the firft was, the general
deftruction of the city, which the Danes had burned in the late wars, and which was
{till full of defolation: they were now beginning to rebuild it: The other was more
recent, and made us reflect {till more upon the danger we had been expofed to; we
faw the fad remains of an Englifh veffel, loaded with falt, which had been wrecked,
and the crew of which had been with confiderable difficulty faved.
We remained in this wretched place fix days, during which the wind prevented us
from leaving it; I went every day, for fome hours to the {teep rocks, where the height
of the precipices and the view of the fea, accorded very well with my reveries. I
have written fome of them in my journey to Sweden. At length we failed; but our
favourable weather continued no longer, than was neceffary to carry us out to the
open fea, and to put it out of our power to go to any place for fhelter. The tempeft
became now fo violent, that our captain, one of the moft ignorant that ever was at fea,
had fifty times a defire to fuffer himfelf to be wrecked upon fome bank of fand.
We remained in continual apprehenfions during more than eight days, that a thick
mift prevented us from diftinguifhing day from night; and at length, we arrived within
fight of the light-houfe at Dantzic, where our captain came foolifhly to anchor,
and which he approached fo near, that two hours afterwards, a dreadful north-weft
wind having arifen, he gave us one of the moft ferious alarms that we ever had in our
lives. He entered the cabin, in which we were afleep, weeping and crying like one in
defpair, and affuring us of our approaching deftruction, and that nothing but God
could deliver us from the imminent danger in which we were placed. It is vexatious
to awaken thofe who fleep foundly, to give them information of this kind ; but it was
to us till more horrible, when having run upon deck, we beheld the fea in fury, the
noife of which together with that of the wind foreboded to us nothing but danger; but
we were at the height of mifery, when, our cable breaking, we felt the veflel, in a
dreadfully dark night, {trike on a bank of fand. No words can paint the wretchednefs
of a man who finds himfelf in this horrible fituation; for my part, Sir, I remember
nothing elfe, except, that during the whole remaining part of the night, I began more
than five hundred Pater No/ters, and was never able to finifh one.
At
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