from being feen: but how feeble a barrier was this to all powerful love! The Turk was extremely rich, and mafter of a beautiful villa in the neighbourhood of Rofetta. He had a moft magnificent garden about a quarter of a mile from that city, where he permitted the young Gemilé (this was the name of his wife) to walk of an evening, in order to enjoy the fresh air. Several flaves of both fexes always attended her. The men were placed as centinels at the gates and along the walls, the women attended her within the garden. -The delightful walks of orangetrees had no charms for her; the foft murmuring ftreams, the fresh verdure of the fields, the tender notes of the nightingale, only added to her melancholy, The flowers feemed to be deprived of their fragrance, and without relifh fhe tafted of the most delicious fruits The pleasures the enjoyed in the company of her women ferved only to increase her pain. One evening as fhe was walking, veiled, and attended by her flaves, flowly along the banks of the river in her way to the garden, the perceived an European, who had lately come to Rofetta. His drefs*, fo different from that of the Turks, made her foon particularly remark him. His countenance, adorned with the florid complexion of youth, as yet untarnished by the heat of the fun, made a deep impreffion on her heart; fhe paffed him flowly and dropped her fant, that he might have a pretence to stop for a moment. She attracted his attention, and his tender glances penetrated her heart. The air, the figure, the whole appearance of the stranger, made a deep impreffion on her mind. The impoffibility of speaking to

77

him, and the fear of never again feeing him, now opened to her eyes the mifery of her fituation, and rendered her fenfible of a paffion, which, from the constraint in which the li ved, was the more likely to become ungovernable. As foon as the entered the fhady grove the quitted the troublesome crowd; and taking afide one of her women in whom fhe could place confidence, Did you observe,' faid fhe, the young ftranger? what vivacity in his eyes! what looks did he direct towards me! O my friend, my dear Zefté, I befeech you go and find him; tell him that he muft come to-morrow evening under the orange-trees which border the garden on the fide of the wood where the wall is leaft high; tell him I want to fee him, to converse with him; only let him be careful to avoid the notice of my unrelenting guards.' The meffage was punctually delivered. The European rafhly promised; but the dangers to which he would be expofed prevented him. The flave, disguised like a merchant's wife, went in search of him a fecond time, and demanded of him why he had broken his promise. He made a thousand excuses, and fixed upon a diftant day, in order that he might have time maturely to confider the matter. Reflection got the better of his inclination; the dread of being empaled damped his courage; he came not to the appointment. Zefté again returned to him; and after many reproaches, told him of the paffion her miftrefs entertained for him, and the disguft fhe had conceived at the old Hassan. She described to him the charms, the beauty, and the misfortunes of a young woman torn from her parents, and fold to a Barbarian. The young

man,

man, delighted with her defcription, fwore that the next day he would be in the arbour an hour after the fet ting of the fun.

The beautiful Gemilé, always fanguine though always deceived, had just come from the bath. Her long black hair, interfperfed with pearls, flowed down her back in graceful and luxuriant ringlets. She was perfumed with the moft precious effences. A rich embroidered girdle furrounded her waift, and ferved to faften her fingle veltment; which, being of the fineft and thinneft texture, accommodated itself eafily to her fhape, and marked every contour with precifion. She had laid afide her veil, and wore a light Indian turban adorned with brilliants. Thus equipt, and blooming in all the gra ces of youth, fhe yet feared that fhe was not fufficiently beautiful. She waited with impatience; one while fhe walked on with a quick ftepthen he would fuddenly ftop, or wantonly ftretch herfelf among the flowers. At the leaft. noife the ftarted, and caft a wifhful eye all around. The fun had now difap peared, the ftars began to sparkle; the night, fo beautiful in that climate, the night, whofe delicious coolnefs repairs the enervated ftrength, and reftores to the foul all its energy, had fpread its fable curtain over the creation, and deeply fhaded the bower of the love-fick Gemilé. Every breath of wind that fhook the leaves of the trees extinguished or reanimated in her breast hope and fear alternately. Uncertainty, the torment of lovers, made her fuffer at once a thousand ills.

The time for returning to the city was now comc. She faw herfelf deceived for the third time. Fury took place of the fentiments of affection-fhe breathed nothing but vengeance; he was upon the point of ordering the deftruction of a per

jured wretch; but her feelings prevailed over her vanity, and hope and de fire foon extinguifhed her rage. No,' faid fhe, that he may not dic, go my dear Zefté, go and carry to him the words of peace. Remove his fears, paint to him my love, that he may yet come and know the value of it.'

Zefté returned to the European : fhe calmed his alarms, reprefented in ftrong colours the affection of her miftrefs, and the happiness fhe offered him. The imprudent young man, incapable of refifting their feducing defcription, again made new promifes; but was fcarcely left to himself when the image of an ignominious death again made him violate his rafh oaths. Patience itfelf has its limits; that of Gemilé lafted long. For nine months had fhe folicited an interview with a man whom he had only feen for a moment; he had often excused him, although he little deferved it; her unfuccefsful attempts only gave rife to new ones; and the could not bear to lose the fruit of fo much pains. One evening which she had spent in tears, and in which he had forgotten herself in the bower in thinking of him the loved, and whofe image for ever haunted her, the old Haffan became tired of waiting for her, and treated her harfhly. The charm was broken; fhe retired in a rage to her apartmentDespairing love at firft dictated nothing but vengeance against the European, but afterwards foftened the rigour of the fentence which Gemilé pronounced. Liften,' faid she to her faithful Zefté; repair to-morrow by the rifing of the fun to the perfidious European, and tell him from me these laft words: Stranger, when I faw you, I thought you poffeffed of fenfibility, and wished to bestow my heart upon you. For nine months you have deceived me; you

have

placed in this humble ftation, he gave his fon a common fchool-education, and at an early age placed him apprentice with one Mr Saunderfon a fhopkeeper at Staith (always pronounced Steers), a fmall fishing town on the Yorkshire coaft, about nine miles to the northward of Whitby. The bufinefs is now carried on by the fon of Mr Saunderfon in the fame fhop, which I had the curiofity to vifit about a year and a half ago. In that fituation young Cook did not continue long before he quitted it in difguft; and, as of ten happens in the like cafes, betook himfelf to the fea.-Whitby being a neighbouring fea-port, readily of fered him an opportunity to purfue his inclination; and there we find he bound himself apprentice for nine years, in the coal trade, to one Mr John Walker, now living in South Whitby. In this employ he afterwards became mate of a fhip; in which ftation having continued fome time, he had the offer of being mafter, which he refused, as it seems he had at that time turned his thoughts towards the navy. Accordingly, at the breaking out of the war in 1755, he entered on board the Eagle of fixty-four guns; and in a fhort time after Sir Hugh Pallifer was appointed to the command of that ship; a circumstance that must not be paffed unnoticed, as it proved the foundation of the future fame and for tune of Captain Cook. His uncommon merit did not long efcape the obfervation of that difcerning officer, who promoted him to the quarter deck, and ever after patronized him with such zeal and attention, as must reflect the highest honour upon his character. To Sir Hugh Pallifer is the world indebted, for having first noticed, in an obfcure fituation, and afterwards brought forward in life, the greateft nautical genius that ever any age or country has produced. In the year 1758,

we find him mafter of the Northum berland, then in America, under the command of Lord Colville. It was. there, he has been heard to fay, that during a hard winter he firft read Euclid, and applied himfelf to the tudy of aftronomy and the mathematics; in which he made no incon fiderable progrefs, affifted only by his own ingenuity and industry. At the time he thus found means to oultivate and improve his mind, and to fupply the deficiency of an early e-, ducation, he was conftantly engaged in the most bufy and active fcenes of the war in America. At the fiege of Quebec, Sir Hugh Pallifer made him known to Sir Charles Saunders, who committed to his charge the conducting of the boats to the attack of Mount Morenci, and the embarkation that fcaled the heights of Abraham. He was also employed to examine the paffage of the river St Laurence, and to lay buoys for the direction of the men of war. In fhort, in whatever related to the reduction of that place in the naval department, he had a principal share; and conducted himself fo well throughout the whole, as to recommend himself to the commander in chief, At the conclufion of the war, Sir Hugh Pallifer having the command of the Newfoundland ftation, he appointed him to furvey that island and the coaft of Labradore, and gave him the Grenville brig for that purpofe. How well he performed that fervice, the charts he has published afford a fufficient teftimony. In that employment he continued till the year 1767, when the well-known voyage to the South Sea, for obferving the tranfit of Venus, and making discoveries in that valt ocean, was planned. Lord Hawke, who then prefided at the admiralty, was ftrongly folicited to give the com mand of that expedition to Mr Alexander Dalrymple; but through the intereft of his friend Sir Hugh

Pal