Sworn before me this 27th Day
of June, 1750, at Goldsmith’s
Hall, London,
J. Blachford, Mayor.
Witness
Susannah Gray,
Sister of the said Hannah Snell.
T. Edwards.
Her
Hannah x Snell,
Mark.
THE
LIFE
AND
ADVENTURES
OF
Hannah Snell, &c.
n this dastardly Age of the World, when Effeminacy and Debauchery have taken Place of the Love of Glory, and that noble Ardor after warlike Exploits, which flowed in the Bosoms of our Ancestors, genuine Heroism, or rather an extraordinary Degree of Courage, are Prodigies among Men. What Age, for Instance, produces a Charles of Sweden, a Marlborough, or a Prince Eugene? These are Rara Aves in Terris, and when they appear, they seem to be particularly designed by Heaven, for protecting the Rights of injured Nations, against foreign Oppression, securing the Privileges of Innocence from the dire Assault of Prey and Rapine; and, in a Word, vindicating the common Prerogatives of human Nature, from the fatal Effects of brutal Rage, the love of Conquest, and an insatiable Lust after Power. The amazing Benefit arising to Mankind from such illustrious and exalted Characters, is, perhaps, the principal Reason why they attract the Eyes, and command the Attention of all who hear of them, even in Quarters of the World far remote from their Influence and Sphere of Action: Why they are the Subjects of the Poets Song, the Founders of the Historian Narration, and the Objects of the Painters Pencil; all which have a Tendency to transmit their Names with immortal Glory to latest Ages, and eternize their Memories, when their Bodies are mouldred into Dust, and mingled with their Parent Earth. Perhaps their Rarity may also contribute, in a great Measure, to that Esteem and Veneration, which the World thinks fit to pay them: But sure if Heroism, Fortitude, and a Soul equal to all the glorious Acts of War and Conquest, are Things so rare, and so much admired among Men; how much rarer, and consequently how much more are they to be admired among Women? In short, we may on this Occasion, without any Hyperbole, use the Words of Solomon, and say, One Man among a thousand have I found, but among Women not so. However, tho’ Courage and warlike Expeditions, are not the Provinces by the World allotted to Women since the Days of the Amazons, yet the female Sex is far from being destitute of Heroinism. Cleopatra headed a noble Army against Mark Anthony, the greatest Warrior of his Time. Semiramis was not inferior to her in Courage. The Arcadian Shepherdesses are as memorable for their Contempt of Danger as their darling and beloved Swains. But among all our Heroines, none comes more immediately under our Cognizance, nor, perhaps, more merits our Attention than the remarkable Hannah Snell, whose History is highly interesting, both on Account of the Variety of amazing Incidents, and the untainted Veracity with which it is attended. Some People guided rather by the Suggestions of Caprice, than the Dictates of Reason and a sound Understanding, have foolishly imagin’d, that Persons of low and undistinguished Births, hardly ever rais’d themselves to the Summit of Glory and Renown; but they will find themselves widely mistaken, when they reflect on a Kauli-Kan, a Cromwell, and many others I could mention. But if this Observation had the smallest Foundation either in Nature or the Course of human Experience, from the most remote, to the present Age, yet its Force does by no Means extend to Hannah Snell, the Heroine of the subsequent Narrative: For though her immediate Progenitors were but low in the World, when compared with Dukes, Earls and Generals, yet she had the Seeds of Heroism, Courage and Patriotism transferr’d to her from her Ancestors, as will appear from the following Account of her Genealogy.