He was a brand plucked from the very heart of the burning.

We have a memoir of his life, partly written by himself, in the form of letters, and completed under his superintendence.

It is a monument of the age of Smollett and Wesley, not less characteristic than is Cellini's memoir of the times in which he lived.

His father was master of a vessel, and took him to sea when he was eleven.

His mother was a pious Dissenter, who was at great pains to store his mind with religious thoughts and pieces.