Power, who is banished from his blissful Presence, and condemned to the Company of Devils and damned Spirits to endlefs Ages. What a powerful Incentive ought this to be to all confiderate Perfons, to live in a conftant Obedience to a Command which has fuch a Reward annexed to the Obfervance thereof here, and gives room to hope for a fo much greater hereafter?

But though this Example of the Rechabites is fo fingular, as a Principle of Obedience feems to have run through the Family, and to have defcended from Father to Son, as if by Inheritance; and that to Injunctions apparently inconvenient, and even unreasonable, unless prefcribed by Divine Authority, (which does not appear to us) that it was for this Reafon chiefly we have inlarged fo much upon it; being but too fenfible how little Impreffion any Inftances quoted from Scripture, make upon the Generality of Readers, yet was it not for want of feveral very remarkable Examples of the fame laudable Virtue in prophane Hiftory. Amongst the foremost of thefe, we fhall relate two, which, we think, deferve the Preference on many Accounts, especially as they exhibit to us at one and the fame Time, in a ftrong Light, the good Effects of filial Piery, and paternal Tenderness. The first is of a Turk (but fuch a one, as many Chriftians might be proud to imitate) a Man in good Circumftances, and married to a beautiful Woman, whom he tenderly loved with a moft generous Paffion, which met with an equal and reciprocal Return from her. Thus bleffed in each other, they defired no greater Happiness than to fpend the Remainder of their Days together in Tranquility; and as he formed no impracticable Schemes with a View of adding thereto, either by accumulating Riches, or courting Preferment, they had a tolerable Profpect of fo doing; when, by a fad Reverse of Fortune, or rather, to fpeak as a Chriftian, by a fudden, unfore

feen,

feen, and most heart-wounding Stroke of Divine Providence, he was not only torn at once from the Arms of her he doated on, but precipitated into the deepest Abyss of Mifery.

His Father, who was a Merchant, and traded between Aleppo and Grand Cairo, being obliged to take a Voyage from one to the other, to fettle his Affairs, the Veffel on board whereof he was, fell in with a Maltese Man of War, fo that he not only loft all his Effects, to a great Value, but was himfelf made a Captive, and carried to Malta, there to remain in Slavery, till he could either redeem himfelf, or find fome other who would pay his Ranfom. Of this his Misfortune and Diftrefs, the poor old Man, who had always been a tender Father, informs his Son, who was in England, by Letter; as alfo of his utter Inability to pay the Sum demanded for his Redemption, having loft beft Part of his Substance at the fame Time with his Liberty.

The End of the poor Wretch in acquainting his Son with his Mifery, was, that he might relieve him from it, by paying his Ranfom, not doubting of his Affection, and Willingness fo to do, in cafe it should be in his Power: This, however, was no fmall Trial, the Price demanded being fo grear, that he could not raife it any other Way, than by the Sa e of all his Effects, and leaving himself without any other Subfitence, than what he could procure by his Labour and Induftry. How few Sons would be ready to pay fo dearly for the Liberty of an aged Parent! But even this was not the worst Part of his Trial; the generous and dutiful Turk valued not his Money, nor yet the being reduced to toil for a poor Suftenance for the Remainder of his Days, in comparison to what he owed to one of the best of Fathers; but there was another, who was far dearer to him than himself, whom he was not willing to make a Companion in his Sufferings

K 3

and

and Misfortunes, and to part from whom, the only Remedy he could think of, was yet worse than Death itself.

Our Reader will eafily conceive, this was the Wife he fo much doated on; by whom he was mutually and tenderly beloved, and who must neceffarily be involved in his Diftrefs, unless he prevented it by providing her fome other Support and Protector, and transferring his Right in her to another Man, according to the Power allowed him by the Law of Mahomet. In effect, there was no other Way, but either to make her a Partner in his Calamities, to be divorced from her in favour of another who would maintain her handfomely, or to leave his aged Parent in Slavery. Each of there were fevere Trials to a Man who was both ridly obfervant of his Duty, and infinitely fond of a beauteous, affectionate, and deferving Spouse; though we are afraid they would not have been fo to many amongst us, who, nevertheless, maintain a fair Character in the World.

The generous Turk, however, never hesitated a Moment, but equally refolved to perform what Duty required of him, and to confult the Welfare of her whom he could not bear to fee expofed to Want though fhe, with equal Tendernefs and Magnanimity, begged to fhare in all his Misfortunes, affigned her over to a faithful Friend, who offered to accept and provide for her; affuring him nevertheless, for his Confolation, that he would look on her only as a precious Depofit, intrufted to his Care for a while, and to be again restored by him whenever demanded.

Having thus fettled the main Affair, and what touched him most nearly, the Turk difpofed of his Effects, determined to go where Duty, Gratitude, and Honour called him, and set fail for the Levant,

in

in order to redeem h's Father: On his Arrival at Malta, he found him juft worn out with Age and Sufferings, and labouring under a dangerous Illness, which threatened him with fpeedy Death. As he had been abfent from him for fome Years, the old Man with Difficulty recollected him; however, having at laft made himfelf known, and acquainted him with the Intent of his coming, the fudden Joy was too great for Nature to fupport, and he expired in the Embraces of his Son. Thus was the. Tenderness of the Father recompenced, by what is the greatest Bleffing to a well spent Life, a fudden and happy Tranfition from a World of Sorrows to Eternity, and that in the Arms of a most dutiful and affectionate Child.

Nor was the filial Piety of the Son unrewarded; for meeting at Malta with a Sifter of his Wife, who had likewife been taken Captive, and forced into the Arms of the Grand Mafter, who had bestowed on her Prefents to an immenfe Value; fhe conjured him to facilitate her Efcape, being defirous to return into the Eaft, where the had left a Husband and two Children, offering him on that Account to divide her Riches with him: This he happily effected, and conducted her fafe home; where, foon after, both her Hushand and fhe were carried off by a peftilential Difeafe; leaving him in Pofeffion of immenfe Wealth, which the bequeathed equally between him and her Children, over whom the appointed him Guardian.

It may well be imagined, after what has been premifed, that, finding himself thus unexpectedly rettored to Affluence, he was not long before he flew back to England, to reclaim a Wife so tenderly beloved, especially when he had been affured by a faithful Friend, of his Readiness to return her on Demand. Accordingly he did fo, and found. her as fair as ever, being only afflicted with a Lan. K 4 guor,

guor, proceeding from her Concern for his Abfence, which heightened her Charms, and received her untouched from the Hands of him, to whofe Cuf tody he had committed fo valuable a Treafure; whofe Honour, as he had been fo long abfolute Poffeffor of fo much Beauty, was as much to be admired, as the other's Generofity and filial Affiction, or the Lady's Tenderness and Fidelity. Such was the confummate Virtue of thefe Infidels, not eafily to be paralelled among Chriftians: However, for the Honour of our Nation, we can match it in one respect, namely, as far as relates to filial Piety and Affection, in one of our own Country. men, who was of no higher Rank than a downright Jack Tar.

This generous and gallant Sailor, whofe Name ought to be written and tranfmitted down to Pofterity in Letters of Gold, had the ill Fortune to be taken Prifoner when very young by the Algerines who carrying him into Algiers, obliged him to undergo a hard Servitude for fome Years. At length however, by fome Means or other, he was enabled to raise a fufficient Sum to pay his Ranfom; just as he had done which, and was about joyfully to return home to his native Country, an Algerine Rover enters the Harbour, and the firft Perfon he faw on board was his own Father, who had been a tender Paient, and who being likewife a Sailor, was alfo fallen into Captivity.

Words cannot exprefs, neither will it be eafy for our Readers to conceive, the Confternation and Sorrow of the excellent young Man, at fo mournful and fhocking a Sight! Suffice it therefore to fay, that going up to the old Man, and asking fome Queftions, whereby he was convinced he was not deceived (for having been taken Prisoner himself when a Boy, he was fo much grown and altered, that his Father knew him not) he refolved immediately