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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 (illegible text)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- (illegible text)ning, or wickedly arraigning the divine justice, (illegible text)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, (illegible text)en surrounding and buring his aged limbs, (illegible text)uld soon send him to the blessful mansions of (illegible text)e just, to be a partaker of the blessings there. (illegible text)d during such his pious ejaculations, his in- (illegible text)nal plages would come round him, mimicking
