The FARTHER ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE, &c.

THAT homely Proverb uſed on ſo many Occaſions in England, viz. That what is bred in the Bone will not go out of the Fleſh, was never more verify'd, than in the Story of my Life. Any one would think, that after thirty-five Years Affliction, and a Va⯑riety of unhappy Circumſtances, which few Men, if any ever, went thro' before, and after near ſe⯑ven Years of Peace and Enjoyment in the Fulneſs of all Things; grown old, and when, if ever, it might be allowed me to have had experience of every State of middle Life, and to know which was moſt adapted to make a Man compleat⯑ly happy: I ſay, after all this, any one would have thought that the native Propenſity to ramb⯑ling, [2] which I gave an Account of in my firſt Setting out into the World, to have been ſo pre dominate in my Thoughts, ſhould be worn out the volatile Part be fully evacuated, or at leaſt condens'd, and I might at 61 Years of Age have been a little enclin'd to ſtay at Home, and have done venturing Life and Fortune any more

Nay farther, the common Motive of foreign Adventures was taken away in me; for I had no Fortune to make, I had nothing to ſeek: If I had gain'd ten thouſand Pound, I had been no richer; for I had already ſufficient for me, and for thoſe I had to leave it to; and that I had was viſibly encreaſing; for having no great Family, I could not ſpend the Income of what I had, unleſs I would ſet up for an expenſive Way of Living, ſuch as a great Family, Servants, Equipage, Gayety, and the like, which were Things I had no Notion of, or Inclination to; ſo that I had nothing indeed to do, but to ſit ſtill, and fully enjoy what I had got, and ſee it encreaſe daily upon my Hands.

Yet all theſe Things had no Effect upon me, or at leaſt, not enough to reſiſt the ſtrong Inclination I had to go Abroad again, which hung about me like a chronical Diſtemper; particularly the De⯑ſire of ſeeing my new Plantation in the Iſland, and the Colony I left there, run in my Head con⯑tinually. I dream'd of it all Night, and my Ima⯑gination run upon it all Day; it was uppermoſt in all my Thoughts, and my Fancy work'd ſo ſteadi⯑ly and ſtrongly upon it, that I talk'd of it out of Sleep; in ſhort, nothing could remove it out of my Mind; it even broke ſo violently into all my Diſcourſes, that it made my Converſation tire⯑ſome; [3] for I could talk of nothing elſe, all my Diſcourſe run into it, even to Impertinence, and I ſaw it my ſelf.

I have often heard Perſons of good Judgment ſay, That all the Stir People make in the World about Ghoſts and Apparitions, is owing to the Strength of Imagination, and the powerful Ope⯑ration of Fancy in their Minds; that there is no ſuch Thing as a Spirit appearing, or a Ghoſt wal⯑king, and the like: That Peoples poring affectio⯑nately upon the paſt Converſation of their deceas'd Friends, ſo realizes it to them, that they are capa⯑ble of fancying upon ſome extraordinary Circum⯑ſtances, that they ſee them; talk to them, and are anſwered by them, when, in Truth, there is no⯑thing but Shadow and Vapour in the Thing; and they really know nothing of the Matter.

For my Part, I know not to this Hour, whe⯑ther there are any ſuch Things as real Apparitions, Spectres, or walking of People after they are dead, or whether there is any Thing in the Stories they tell us of that Kind, more than the Product of Vapours, ſick Minds, and wandring Fancies; But this I know, that my Imagination work'd up to ſuch a Height, and brought me into ſuch Exta⯑ſies of Vapours, or what elſe I may call it, that I actually ſuppos'd my ſelf, often times upon the Spot, at my old Caſtle behind the Trees; ſaw my old Spaniard, Friday's Father, and the reprobate Sai⯑lors I left upon the Iſland; nay, I fancy'd I talk'd with them, and look'd at them ſo ſteadily, tho' I was broad awake, as at Perſons juſt before me; and this I did till I often frighted my ſelf with the Images my Fancy repreſented to me: One Time in my Sleep I had the Villany of the 3 Pyrate Sai⯑lors [4] ſo lively related to me by the firſt Spaniard and Friday's Father, that it was ſurprizing; they told me how they barbarouſly attempted to murder all the Spaniards, and that they ſet Fire to the Proviſions they had laid up, on Purpoſe to diſtreſs and ſtarve them, Things that I had never heard of, and that indeed were never all of them true in Fact: But it was ſo warm in my Imagination, and ſo realiz'd to me, that to the Hour I ſaw them, I could not be perſuaded, but that it was or would be true; alſo how I reſented it, when the Spaniard com⯑plain'd to me, and how I brought them to Juſtice, try'd them before me, and order'd them all three to be hang'd: What there was really in this, ſhall be ſeen in its Place: For however, I came to form ſuch Things in my Dream, and what ſecret Con⯑verſe of Spirits injected it, yet there was very much of it true. I ſay, I own, that this Dream had no⯑thing in it literally and ſpecifically true: But the general Part was ſo true, the baſe villanious Beha⯑viour of theſe three harden'd Rogues was ſuch, and had been ſo much worſe than all I can deſcribe, that the Dream had too much Similitude of the Fact, and as I would afterwards have puniſhed them ſeverely; ſo if I had hang'd them all, I had been much in the Right, and ſhould ha' been ju⯑ſtifiable both by the Laws of God and Man.

But to return to my Story; in this Kind of Temper I had liv'd ſome Years, I had no Enjoy⯑ment of my Life, no pleaſant Hours, no agreeable Diverſion but what had ſome Thing or other of this in it; ſo that my Wife, who ſaw my Mind ſo wholly bent upon it, told me very ſeriouſly one Night, That ſhe believ'd there was ſome ſecret powerful Impulſe of Providence upon me, which had determin'd me to go thither again; and that [5] ſhe found nothing hindred my going, but my being engag'd to a Wife and Children. She told me that it was true ſhe could not think of parting with me; but as ſhe was aſſur'd, that if ſhe was dead, it would be the firſt Thing I would do: So as it ſeem'd to her, that the Thing was determin'd above, ſhe would not be the only Obſtruction: for if I thought fit, and roſolv'd to go—here ſhe found me very intent upon her Words, and that I look'd very earneſtly at her; ſo that it a lit⯑tle diſorder'd her, and ſhe ſtopp'd. I ask'd her, Why ſhe did not go on, and ſay out what ſhe was going to ſay? But I perceiv'd her Heart was too full, and ſome Tears ſtood in her Eyes: Speak out my Dear, ſaid I, Are you willing I ſhould go? No, ſays ſhe very affectionately, I am far from willing: But if you are reſolv'd to go, ſays ſhe, and rather than I will be the only Hindrance, I will go with you; for tho' I think it a moſt prepoſterous Thing for one of your Years, and in your Condition, yet if it muſt be, ſaid ſhe again weeping, I won't leave you; for if it be of Heaven, you muſt do it. There is no reſiſting it; and if Heaven makes it your Duty to go, he will alſo make it mine to go with you, or otherwiſe diſpoſe of me, that I may not obſtruct it.

This affectionate Behaviour of my Wife's brought me a little out of the Vapours, and I be⯑gan to conſider what I was a doing; I corrected my wandring Fancy, and began to argue with my ſelf ſedately, what Buſineſs I had after threeſcore Years, and after ſuch a Life of tedious Sufferings and Diſaſters, and cloſed in ſo happy and eaſy a Manner, I ſay, what Buſineſs I had to ruſh into new Hazards. and put my ſelf upon Adven⯑tures, fit only for Youth and Poverty to run into.

[6] With thoſe Thoughts, I conſidered my new En⯑gagement, that I had a Wife, one Child born, and my Wife then great with Child of another; that I had all the World could give me, and had no Need to ſeek Hazards for Gain; that I was de⯑clining in Years, and ought to think rather of lea⯑ving what I had gain'd, than of ſeeking to en⯑creaſe it; that as to what my Wife had ſaid, of its being an Impulſe from Heaven, and that it ſhould be my Duty to go, I had no Notion of that; ſo after many of theſe Cogitations, I ſtruggled with the Power of my Imagination, reaſon'd my ſelf out of it, as I believe People may always do in like Caſes, if they will; and, in a Word, I conquer'd it; com⯑pos'd my ſelf with ſuch Arguments as occur'd to my Thought, and which my preſent Condition furniſh'd me plentifully with, and particularly, as the moſt effectual Method, I reſolv'd to divert my ſelf with other Things, and to engage in ſome Bu⯑ſineſs that might effectually tye me up from any more Excurſions of this Kind; for I found that Thing return upon me chiefly when I was idle, had nothing to do, or any Thing of Moment im⯑mediately before me.

To this Purpoſe I bought a little Farm in the Country of Bedford, and reſolv'd to remove my ſelf thither. I had a little convenient Houſe upon it, and the Land about it I found was capable of great Improvement, and that it was many Ways ſuited to my Inclination, which delighted in Cul⯑tivating, Managing, Planting and Improving of Land; and particularly, being an Inland Country, I was remov'd from converſing among Ships, Sai⯑lors, and Things relating to the remote Part of the World.

[7] In a Word, I went down to my Farm, ſettled my Family, bought me Ploughs, Harrows, a Cart, Wagon, Horſes, Cows, Sheep; and ſetting ſe⯑riouſly to Work, became in one half Year, a meer Country Gentleman; my Thoughts were entire⯑ly taken up in managing my Servants, cultivating the Ground, Encloſing, Planting, &c. and I liv'd, as I thought, the moſt agreeable Life that Nature was capable of directing, or that a Man always bred to Misfortunes was capable of being retrea⯑ted to.

I farm'd upon my own Land, I had no Rent to pay, was limited by no Articles; I could pull up or cut down as I pleaſed: What I planted, was for my ſelf, and what I improved, was for my Family; and having thus left off the Thoughts of Wand⯑ring, I had not the leaſt Diſcomfort in any Part of Life, as to this World. Now I thought indeed, that I enjoy'd the middle State of Life, that my Father ſo earneſtly recommended to me, and liv'd a kind of heavenly Life, ſomething like what is deſcribed by the Poet upon the Subject of a Country Life.

But in the Middle of all this Felicity, one Blow from unforeſeen Providence unhing'd me at once; and not only made a Breach upon me inevitable and incurable, but drove me, by its Conſequences, in⯑to a deep Relapſe into the wandring Diſpoſition, which, as I may ſay, being born in my very Blood, ſoon recover'd its hold of me, and like the Returns of a violent Diſtemper, came on with an [8] irreſiſtible Force upon me; ſo that nothing could make any more Impreſſion upon me. This Blow was the Loſs of my Wife.

It is not my Buſineſs here to write an Elegy upon my Wife, give a Character of her particular Vir⯑tues, and make my Court to the Sex by the Flat⯑tery of a Funeral Sermon. She was, in a few Words, the Stay of all my Affairs, the Center of all my Enterprizes, the Engine, that by her Pru⯑dence reduc'd me to that happy Compaſs I was in, from the moſt extravagant and ruinous Project that flutter'd in my Head, as above; and did more to guide my rambling Genius, than a Mo⯑ther's Tears, a Father's Inſtructions, a Friend's Counſel, or all my own reaſoning Powers could do. I was happy in liſtening to her Tears, and in be⯑ing mov'd by her Entreaties, and to the laſt De⯑gree deſolate and diſlocated in the World by the Loſs of her.

When ſhe was gone, the World look'd aukwardly round me; I was as much a Stranger in it, in my Thoughts, as I was in the Braſils, when I went firſt on Shore there; and as much alone, except as to the Aſſiſtance of Servants, as I was in my Iſland. I knew neither what to do, or what not to do. I ſaw the World buſy round me, one Part labouring for Bread, and the other Part ſquan⯑dring in vile Exceſſes or empty Pleaſures, equally miſerable, becauſe the End they propos'd ſtill fled from them; for the Man of Pleaſure every Day ſurfeited of his Vice, and heap'd up Work for Sorrow and Repentance; and the Man of Labour ſpent their Strength in daily Strugglings for Breadto maintain the vital Strength they labour'd with, ſo living in a daily Circulation of Sorrow, living but [9] to work, and working but to live, as if daily Bread where the only End of weariſome Life, and a weariſome Life the only Occaſion of daily Bread.

This put me in Mind of the Life I liv'd in my Kingdom, the Iſland; where I ſuffer'd no more Corn to grow, becauſe I did not want it; and bred no more Goats, becauſe I had no more Uſe for them: Where the Money lay in the Drawer 'till it grew mouldy, and had ſcarce the Favour to be look'd upon in 20 Years.

All theſe Things, had I improv'd them as I ought to have done, and as Reaſon and Religion had dictated to me, would have taught me to ſearch farther than human Enjoyments for a full Felicity, and that there was ſomething which cer⯑tainly was the Reaſon and End of Life, ſuperiour to all theſe Things, and which was either to be poſſeſs'd, or at leaſt hop'd for on this Side the Grave.

But my Sage Counſellor was gone, I was like a Ship without a Pilot, that could only run afore the Wind: My Thoughts run all away again into the old Affair, my Head quite was turn'd with the Whimſies of foreign Adventures, and all the plea⯑ſant innocent Amuſements of my Farm, and my Garden, my Cattle, and my Family, which be⯑fore entirely poſſeſt me, were nothing to me, had no Reliſh, and were like Muſick to one that has no Ear, or Food to one that has no Taſte: In a Word, I reſolv'd to leave off Houſe-keeping, lett my Farm, and return to London; and in a few Months after, I did ſo.

[10] When I came to London, I was ſtill as uneaſy as I was before, I had no Reliſh to the Place, no Employment in it, nothing to do but to ſaunter about like an idle Perſon, of whom it may be ſaid, he is perfectly uſeleſs in God's Creation; and it is not one Farthing Matter to the reſt of his Kind, whether he be dead or alive. This alſo was the Life which of all Circumſtances of Life was the moſt my Averſion, who had been all my Days u⯑ſed to an active Life; and I would often ſay to my ſelf, A State of Idleneſs is the very Dregs of Life; and indeed I thought I was much more ſuitably employ'd, when I was 26 Days a making me a Deal Board.

It was now the Beginning of the Year 1693, when my Nephew, who as I had obſerv'd before I had brought up to the Sea, and had made him Commander of a Ship, was come Home from a ſhort Voyage to Bilboa, being the firſt he had made; and he came to me, and told me, that ſome Merchants of his Acquaintance had been propoſing to him to go a Voyage for them to the Eaſt Indies and to China, as private Traders: And now Uncle, ſays he, if you will go to Sea with me, I'll engage to land you upon your old Habitation in the Iſland, for we are to touch at the Braſils.

Nothing can be a greater Demonſtration of a future State, and of the Exiſtence of an inviſible World, than the Concurence of ſecond Cauſes, with the Ideas of Things, which we form in our Minds, perfectly reſerv'd, and not communicated to any in the World.

[11] My Nephew knew nothing how far my Di⯑ſtemper of wandring was return'd upon me, and I knew nothing of what he had in his Thoughts to ſay, when that very Morning before he came to me, I had in a great deal of Confuſion of Thought, and revolving every Part of my Circumſtances in my Mind, come to this Reſolution, viz. That I would go to Lisbon, and conſult with my old Sea-Captain; and ſo if it was rational and practi⯑cable, I would go and ſee the Iſland again, and ſee what was become of my People there. I had pleas'd my ſelf with the Thoughts of peopling the Place, and carrying Inhabitants from hence, getting a Patent for the Poſſeſſion, and I know not what; when in the Middle of all this, in comes my Nephew, as I have ſaid, with his Pro⯑ject of carrying me thither, in his Way to the Eaſt Indies.

I paus'd a while at his Words, and looking ſteadily at him, What Devil, ſaid I, ſent you of this unlucky Errand? My Nephew ſtartl'd as if he had been frighted at firſt; but perceiving I was not much diſpleas'd with the Propoſal, he recover'd himſelf. I hope it may not be an unlucky Propo⯑ſal, Sir, ſays he, I dare ſay you would be pleas'd to ſee your new Colony there, where you once reigned with more Felicity, than moſt of your Brother Monarchs in the World.

In a Word, the Scheme hit ſo exactly with my Temper, that is to ſay, the Prepoſſeſſion I was under, and of which I have ſaid ſo much, that I told him in few Words, if he agreed with the Merchants, I would go with him: But I told him, I would not promiſe to go any farther than my [12] own Iſland. Why Sir, ſays he, you don't want to be left there again, I hope? Why, ſaid I, can you not take me up again in your Return? He told me, it could not be poſſible, that the Mer⯑chants would allow him to come that Way with a loaden Ship of ſuch value, it being a Month's Sail out of his Way, and might be three or four: Beſides, Sir, if I ſhould miſcarry, ſaid he, and not return at all, then you would be juſt reduced to the Condition you were in before.

This was very rational; but we both found out a Remedy for it, which was to carry a framed Sloop on board the Ship, which being taken in Pie⯑ces, and ſhipp'd on board the Ship, might by the Help of ſome Carpenters, who we agreed to carry with us, be ſet up again in the Iſland, and finiſh'd, fit to go to Sea in a few Days.

I was not long reſolving; for indeed the Impor⯑tunities of my Nephew join'd in ſo effectually with my Inclination, that nothing could oppoſe me: On the other hand, my Wife being dead, I had no Body concern'd themſelves ſo much for me, as to perſuade me one way or other, except my ancient good Friend the Widow, who earneſtly ſtruggled with me to conſider my Years, my eaſy Circumſtances, and the needleſs Hazards of a long Voyage; and above all, my young Children: But it was all to no Purpoſe, I had an irreſiſtible De⯑ſire to the Voyage; and I told her, I thought there was ſomething ſo uncommon in the Impreſſions I had upon my Mind for the Voyage, that it would be a kind of reſiſting Providence, if I ſhould attempt to ſtay at Home; after which, ſhe ceas'd her Expoſtulations, and join'd with me, not only in making Proviſion for my Voyage, but [13] alſo in ſettling my Family Affairs for my Ab⯑ſence, and providing for the Education of my Chil⯑dren.

In Order to this, I made my Will, and ſettled the Eſtate I had, in ſuch a Manner for my Chil⯑dren, and placed in ſuch Hands, that I was per⯑fectly eaſy and ſatisfy'd they would have Juſtice done them, whatever might befal me; and for their Education, I left it wholly to my Widow, with a ſufficient Maintenence to her ſelf for her Care: All which ſhe richly deſerv'd; for no Mo⯑ther could have taken more Care in their Edu⯑cation, or underſtand it better; and as ſhe liv'd 'till I came Home, I alſo liv'd to thank her for it.

My Nephew was ready to ſail about the Be⯑ginning of January 1694-5, and I with my Man Friday went on board in the Downs the 8th, hav⯑ing beſides that Sloop which I mention'd above, a very conſiderable Cargo of all Kinds of neceſ⯑ſary Things for my Colony, which if I did not find in good Condition, I reſolv'd to leave ſo.

Firſt, I carry'd with me ſome Servants, who I purpos'd to place there, as Inhabitants, or at leaſt to ſet on Work there upon my own Account while I ſtay'd, and either to leave them there, or carry them forward as they ſhould appear wil⯑ling; particularly, I carry'd two Carpenters, a Smith, and a very handy ingenious Fellow, who was a Cooper by Trade but was alſo a gene⯑ral Mechanick; for he was dextrous at making Wheels, and Hand-Mills to grind Corn, was a good Turner, and a good Pot-Maker; he alſo made any Thing that was proper to make of [14] Earth, or of Wood; in a Word, we call'd him Our Jack of all Trades.

With theſe I carry'd a Taylor, who had offer'd himſelf to go Paſſenger to the Eaſt Indies with my Nephew, but afterwards conſented to ſtay on our New Plantation, and prov'd a moſt neceſſary handy Fellow, as could be deſir'd, in many other Buſineſſes, beſides that of this Trade; for as I ob⯑ſerv'd formerly, Neceſſity arms us for all Employ⯑ments.

My Cargo, as near as I can collect, for I have not kept an Account of the Particulars, conſiſted of a ſufficient Quantity of Linnen, and ſome thin Engliſh Stuffs for cloathing the Spaniards that I ex⯑pected to find there, and enough of them, as by my Calculation might comfortably ſupply them for ſeven Years; if I remember right, the Mate⯑rials I carry'd for cloathing them with, Gloves, Hats, Shoes, Stockings, and all ſuch Things as they could want for wearing, amounted to above 200 Pounds, including ſome Beds, Bedding, and Houſhold-Stuff, particularly Kitchen-Uten⯑ſils, with Pots, Kettles, Peuter, Braſs, &c. and near a hundred Pound more in Iron-Work, Nails, Tools of every Kind, Staples, Hooks, Hinges, and every neceſſary Thing I could think of.

I carry'd alſo an hundred ſpare Arms, Muskets, and Fuzees, beſides ſome Piſtols, a conſiderable Quantity of Shot of all Sizes, and two Pieces of Braſs Cannon; and becauſe I knew not what Time, and what Extremities I was providing for, I car⯑ry'd an hundred Barrels of Powder, beſides Swords, Cutlaſſes, and the Iron Part of ſome Pikes, and Halberts; ſo that in ſhort we had a large Maga⯑zine [15] of all Sorts of Stores; and I made my Ne⯑phew carry two ſmall Quarter-Deck Guns more than he wanted for his Ship, to leave behind, if their was Occaſion; that when we came there, we might build a Fort, and man it againſt all Sorts of Enemies: And indeed, I at firſt thought there was Need enough for it all, and much more, if we hop'd to maintain our Poſſeſſion of the Iſland, as ſhall be ſeen in the Courſe of that Story.

I had not ſuch bad Luck in this Voyage as I had been uſed to meet with; and therefore ſhall have the leſs Occaſion to interrupt the Reader, who perhaps may be impatient to hear how Mat⯑ters went with my Colony; yet ſome odd Acci⯑dents, croſs Winds, and bad Weather happen'd, on this firſt ſetting out, which made the Voyage longer than I expected it at firſt; and I who had never made but one Voyage, (viz.) my firſt Voyage to Guinea, in which I might be ſaid to come back again, as the Voyage was at firſt deſign'd, began to think the ſame ill Fate ſtill attended me; and that I was born to be never contented with being on Shore, and yet to be always unfortunate at Sea.

Contrary Winds firſt put us to the Northward, and we were oblig'd to put in at Galway in Ire⯑land, where we lay Wind-bound two and twen⯑ty Days; but we had this Satisfaction with the Diſaſter, that Proviſions where here exceeding cheap, and in the utmoſt Plenty; ſo that while we lay here, never touch'd the Ship's Stores, but rather added to them; here alſo I took in ſe⯑veral live Hogs, and two Cows, and Calves, which I reſolv'd, if I had a good Paſſage, to put on Shore in my Iſland, but we found Occaſion to diſpoſe otherwiſe of them.

[16] We ſat out the 5th of February from Ireland and had a very fair Gale of Wind for ſome Days, as I remember, it might be about the 20th of Febru⯑ary in the Evening late, when the Mate having the Watch, came into the Round-houſe, and told us, he ſaw a Flaſh of Fire, and heard a Gunfir'd, and while he was telling us of it, a Boy came in, and told us the Boatſwain heard another. This made us all run out upon the Quarter-Deck, where for a while we heard nothing, but in a few Minutes we ſaw a very great Light, and found that there was ſome very terrible Fire at a Di⯑ſtance; immediately we had Recourſe to our Rec⯑konings, in which we all agreed, that there could be no Land that Way, in which the Fire ſhew'd it ſelf, no not for 500 Leagues, for it appear'd at W.N.W. Upon this we concluded it muſt be ſome Ship on Fire at Sea; and as by our hearing the Noiſe of Guns juſt before, we concluded it could not be far off: We ſtood directly towards it, and were preſently ſatisfy'd we ſhould diſcover it, becauſe the farther we ſail'd, the greater the Light appear'd tho' the Weather being haizy, we could not perceive any Thing but the Light for a while; in about half an Hour's Sailing, the Wind being fair for us, tho' not much of it, and the Weather clearing up a little, we could plainly diſcern that it was a great Ship on fire in the Middle of the Sea.

I was moſt ſenſible touch'd with this Diſaſter tho' not at all acquainted with the Perſons engag'd in it; I preſently recollected my former Circum⯑ſtances, and in what Condition I was in, when taken up by the Portugal Captain; and how much [17] more deplorable the Circumſtances of the poor Creatures belonging to this Ship muſt be, if they had no other Ship in Company with them: Upon this, I immediately order'd, that five Guns ſhould be fir'd, one ſoon after another, that, if poſſible, we might give Notice to them, that there was Help for them at hand, and that they might en⯑deavour to ſave themſelves in their Boat; for tho' we could ſee the Flame of the Ship, yet they, it being Night, could ſee nothing of us.

We lay by ſome Time upon this, only driving as the burning Ship drove, waiting for Day-Light; when, on a ſudden, to our great Terror, tho' we had Reaſon to expect it, the Ship blew up in the Air; and immediately, that is to ſay, in a few Minutes, all the Fire was out, that is to ſay, the reſt of the Ship ſunk: This was a terrible, and indeed an afflicting Sight, for the Sake of the poor Men, who, I concluded, muſt be either all deſtroy'd in the Ship, or be in the utmoſt Diſtreſs in their Boat in the Middle of the Ocean, which at preſent, by Reaſon it was dark, I could not ſee: However, to direct them as well as I could, I cauſed Lights to be hung out in all the Parts of the Ship where we could, and which we had Lanthorns for, and kept firing Guns all the Night long, letting them know by this, that there was a Ship not far off.

About 8 Clock in the Morning we diſcover'd the Ship's Boats by the Help of our Perſpective Glaſ⯑ſes, found there were two of them, both throng'd with People, and deep in the Water: We percei⯑ved they row'd, the Wind being againſt them, that they ſaw our Ship, and did their utmoſt to make us ſee them.

[18] We immediately ſpread our Antient to let them know we ſaw them, and hung a Waft out as a Sig⯑nal for them to come on Board, and then made more Sail, ſtanding directly to them. In little more than half an Hour we came up with them, and, in a word, took them all in, being no leſs than ſixty four Men, Women, and Children; for there were a great many Paſſengers.

Upon the whole, we found it was a French Mer⯑chant Ship of 300 Tun, homeward bound from Quebeck, in the River of Canada. The Maſter gave us a long Account of the Diſtreſs of his Ship, how the Fire began in the Steerage by the Negli⯑gence of the Steerſman; but on his crying out for Help, was, as every Body thought, entirely put out, when they found that ſome Sparks of the firſt Fire had gotten into ſome Part of the Ship, ſo dif⯑ficult to come at, that they could not effectually quench it, till getting in between the Timbers, and within the Ceiling of the Ship, it proceeded into the Hold, and maſter'd all the Skill, and all the Application they were able to exert.

They had no more to do then, but to get into their Boats, which to their great Comfort were pretty large, being their Long-Boat, and a great Shalloup, beſides a ſmall Skiff which was of no great Service to them, other than to get ſome freſh Water and Proviſions into her, after they had ſecur'd their Lives from the Fire. They had in⯑deed ſmall Hope of their Lives by getting into theſe Boats at that Diſtance from any Land, only as they ſaid well, that they were eſcap'd from the Fire, and had a Poſſibility that ſome Ship might happen to be at Sea, and might take them in. [19] They had Sails, Oars, and a Compaſs, and were preparing to make the beſt of their Way back to Newfound-Land, the Wind blowing pretty fair, for it blew an eaſy Gale at S.E. by E. They had as much Proviſions and Water, as with ſparing it ſo as to be next door to ſtarving, might ſupport them about 12 Days; in which, if they had no bad Weather, and no contrary Winds, the Cap⯑tain ſaid, he hop'd he might get the Banks of Newfound-Land, and might perhaps take ſome Fiſh to ſuſtain them till they might go on Shore. But there were ſo many Chances againſt them in all theſe Caſes; ſuch as, Storms to overſet and foun⯑der them, Rains and Cold to benumb and periſh their Limbs, contrary Winds to keep them out and ſtarve them, that it muſt have been next to mira⯑culous if they had eſcap'd.

In the midſt of their Conſultations, every one being hopeleſs, and ready to deſpair, the Captain with Tears in his Eyes told me, they were on a ſudden ſurpriz'd with the Joy of hearing a Gun fire, and after that four more; theſe were the five Guns which I cauſed to be fired at firſt ſeeing the Light: This reviv'd their Hearts, and gave them the Notice, which, as above, I deſir'd it ſhould, (viz.) that there was a Ship at hand for their Help.

It was upon the hearing theſe Guns, that they took down their Maſts and Sails; the Sound com⯑ing from the Windward, they reſolv'd to lie by till Morning. Some Time after this, hearing no more Guns, they fir'd three Muskets, one a con⯑ſiderable While after another; but theſe, the Wind being contrary, we never heard.

[20] Some Time after that again, they were ſtill more agreeably ſurpriz'd with ſeeing our Lights, and hearing the Guns, which, as I have ſaid, I caus'd to be fir'd all the reſt of the Night; this ſet them to work with their Oars to keep their Boats a-head, at leaſt, that we might the ſooner come up with them; and at laſt, to their inex⯑preſſible Joy, they found we ſaw them.

It is impoſſible for me to expreſs the ſeveral Ge⯑ſtures, the ſtrange Extaſies, the Variety of Po⯑ſtures which theſe poor deliver'd People run into, to expreſs the Joy of their Souls at ſo unexpected a Deliverance; Grief and Fear are eaſily deſcribed; Sighs, Tears, Groans, and a very few Motions of the Head and Hands make up the Sum of its Variety: But an Exceſs of Joy, a Surprize of Joy has a Thouſand Extravagancies in it; there were ſome in Tears, ſome raging, and tearing them⯑ſelves, as if they had been in the greateſt Agonies of Sorrow, ſome ſtark-raving and down-right lu⯑natick, ſome ran about the Ship ſtamping with their Feet, others wringing their Hands; ſome were dancing, ſome ſinging, ſome laughing, more crying; many quite dumb, not able to ſpeak a Word; others ſick and vomiting, ſeveral ſwoon⯑ing, and ready to faint; and a few were Croſſing themſelves, and giving God Thanks.

I would not wrong them neither, there might be many that were thankful afterward, but the Paſſion was too ſtrong for them at firſt, and they were not able to maſter it, they were thrown into Extaſies and a Kind of Frenzy, and it was but a very few that were compos'd and ſerious in their Joy.

[21] Perhaps the Caſe may have ſome Addition to it from the particular Circumſtance of that Nation they belong'd to, I mean the French, whoſe Tem⯑per is allow'd to be more volatile, more paſſio⯑nate, and more ſprightly, and their Spirits more fluid than in other Nations. I am not Philoſopher enough to determine the Cauſe, but nothing I had ever ſeen before came up to it: The Exta⯑ſies poor Friday, my truſty Savage, was in when he found his Father in the Boat, came the neareſt to it, and the Surprize of the Maſter and his two Companions, who I deliver'd from the Villains that ſet them on Shore in the Iſland, came a little Way towards it, but nothing was to compare to this, either that I ſaw in Friday, or any where elſe in my Life.

It is further obſervable, that theſe Extravagan⯑cies did not ſhew themſelves in that different Man⯑ner I have mention'd in different Perſons only: But all the Variety would appear in a ſhort Suc⯑ceſſion of Moments in one and the ſame Perſon. A Man that we ſaw this Minute dumb, and as it were ſtupid and confounded, ſhould the next Mi⯑nute be dancing and hallowing like an Antick; and the next Moment be tearing his Hair, or pulling his Clothes to Pieces, and ſtamping them under his Feet, like a mad Man; a few Moments after that, we ſhould have him all in Tears, then ſick, then ſwooning, and had not immediate Help been had, would, in a few Moments more have been dead; and thus it was not with one or two, or ten or twenty, but with the greateſt Part of them; and if I remember right, our Surgeon was oblig'd to let above thirty of them Blood.

[22] There were two Prieſts among them, one an old Man, and the other a young Man; and that which was ſtrangeſt was, that the oldeſt Man was the worſt. As ſoon as he ſet his Foot on board our Ship, and ſaw himſelf ſafe, he dropt down ſtone dead, not the leaſt Sign of Life could be perceiv'd in him; our Surgeon immediately ap⯑ply'd proper Remedies to recover him, and was the only Man in the Ship that believ'd he was not dead; at length he open'd a Vein in his Arm, having firſt chaff'd and rubb'd the Part ſo as to warm it as much as poſſible: Upon this the Blood which only dropp'd at firſt, flow'd ſomething free⯑ly; in three Minutes after, the Man open'd his Eyes, and about a quarter of an Hour after that he ſpoke, grew better, and quite well; after the Blood was ſtopp'd he walk'd about, told us he was perfectly well, took a Dram of Cordial which the Surgeon gave him, and was what we call'd, Come to himſelf; about a quarter of an Hour after they came running into the Cabin to the Surgeon, who was bleeding a French Woman, that had fainted; and told him, the Prieſt was gone ſtark⯑mad; it ſeems he had begun to revolve the Change of his Circumſtance, and again this put him into an Extaſy of Joy, his Spirits whirl'd about faſter than the Veſſels could convey them; the Blood grew hot and feveriſh, and the Man was as fit for Bedlam, as any Creature that ever was in it; the Surgeon would not bleed him again in that Condition, but gave him ſomething to doſe and put him to ſleep, which after ſome Time opera⯑ted upon him, and he wak'd the next Morning perfectly compos'd, and well.

[23] The younger Prieſt behav'd with great Com⯑mand of his Paſſion, and was really an Example of a ſerious well-govern'd Mind; at his firſt com⯑ing on board the Ship, he threw himſelf flat on his Face, proſtrating himſelf in Thankfulneſs for his Deliverance, in which I unhappily and unſeaſona⯑bly diſturb'd him, really thinking he had been in a Swoon; but he ſpake calmly, thank'd me, told me, he was giving God Thanks for his Delive⯑rance, and begg'd me to leave him a few Moments, and that, next to his Maker, he would give me Thanks alſo.

I was heartily ſorry, that I diſturb'd him, and not only left him, but kept others from interrup⯑ting him alſo; he continued in that Poſture about three Minutes, or little more, after I left him, then came to me, as he had ſaid he would, and with a great deal of Seriouſneſs and Affection, but with Tears in his Eyes, thank'd me that had un⯑der God, given him and ſo many miſerable Crea⯑tures their Lives: I told him, I had no Room to move him to thank God for it, rather than me: But I added, That it was nothing but what Rea⯑ſon and Humanity dictated to all Men, and that we had as much Reaſon as he to give Thanks to God, who had bleſs'd us ſo far as to make us the Inſtru⯑ments of his Mercy to ſo many of his Creatures.

After this, the young Prieſt apply'd himſelf to his Country-Folks, labour'd to compoſe them; perſwaded, entreated, argued, reaſon'd with them, and did his utmoſt to keep them within the Exer⯑ciſe of their Reaſon; and with ſome he had Suc⯑ceſs, tho' others were for a Time out of all Go⯑vernment of themſelves.

[24] I cannot help committing this to Writing, as perhaps it may be uſeful to thoſe into whoſe Hands it may fall, for the guiding themſelves in all the Extravagances of their Paſſions; for if an Exceſs of Joy can carry Men out to ſuch a Length beyond the Reach of their Reaſon, what will not the Ex⯑travagancies of Anger, Rage, and a provok'd Mind carry us to? and indeed here I ſaw Reaſon for keeping an exceeding Watch over our Paſſions of every Kind, as well thoſe of Joy and Satisfaction, as thoſe of Sorrow and Anger.

We were ſomething diſordered by theſe Extra⯑vagancies among our new Gueſts for the firſt Day, but when they had been retir'd, Lodgings provi⯑ded for them as well as our Ship would allow, and they had ſlept heartily, as moſt of them did, they were quite another Sort of People the next Day.

Nothing of good Manners or civil Acknowledg⯑ments for the Kindneſs ſhewn them was wanting; the French, 'tis known, are naturally apt enough to exceed that Way. The Captain and one of the Prieſts came to me the next Day, and deſiring to ſpeak with me and my Nephew, the Commander, began to conſult with us what ſhould be done with them; and firſt they told us, that as we had ſaved their Lives, ſo all they had was little enough for a Return to us for that Kindneſs received. The Captain ſaid, they had ſaved ſome Money and ſome Things of Value in their Boats, catch'd ha⯑ſtily out of the Flames, and if we would accept it, they were ordered to make an Offer of it all to us; they only deſired to be ſet on Shore ſome⯑where [25] in our Way, where if poſſible they might get Paſſage to France.

My Nephew was for accepting their Money at firſt Word, and to conſider what to do with them afterwards; but I over-rul'd him in that Part, for I knew what it was to be ſet on Shore ina ſtrange Country; and if the Portugal Captain that took me up at Sea had ſerv'd me ſo, and took all I had for my Deliverance, I muſt have ſtarv'd, or have been as much a Slave at the Braſils as I had been in Barbary, the meer being ſold to a Ma⯑hometan excepted; and perhaps a Portugueſe is not much a better Maſter than a Turk, if not in ſome Caſes a much worſe.

I therefore told the French Captain that we had taken them up in their Diſtreſs, it was true; but that it was our Duty to do ſo as we were Fellow-Creatures, and as we would deſire to be ſo deli⯑ver'd if we were in the like or any other Extremity; that we had done nothing for them but what we believed they would have done for us, if we had been in their Caſe, and they in ours; but that we took them up to ſave them, not to plunder them; and it would be a moſt barbarous thing to take that little from them which they ſaved out of the Fire, and then ſet them on Shore and leave them; that this would be firſt to ſave them from Death, and then kill them our ſelves; ſave them from drowning, and abandon them to ſtarving; and therefore I would not let the leaſt thing be taken from them: As to ſetting them on Shore, I told them indeed that was an exceeding Difficulty to us, for that the Ship was bound to the Eaſt-Indies; and tho' we were driven out of our Courſe to the Weſtward a very great Way, and perhaps was di⯑rected [26] by Heaven on Purpoſe for their Deliverance, yet it was impoſſible for us wilfully to change our Voyage on this particular Account, nor could my Nephew, the Captain, anſwer it to the Freighters, with whom he was under Charter-Party to pur⯑ſue his Voyage by the Way of Braſil, and all I knew we could do for them, was to put our ſelves in the Way of meeting with other Ships homeward bound from the Weſt-Indies, and get them Paſſage; if poſſible, to England or France.

The firſt Part of the Propoſal was ſo generous and kind, they could not but be very thankful for it; but they were in a very great Conſternation, eſpecially the Paſſengers, at the Notion of being carry'd away to the Eaſt-Indies, and they then en⯑treated me, that ſeeing I was driven ſo far to the Weſtward, before I met with them, I would at leaſt keep on the ſame Courſe to the Banks of New⯑found-Land, where it was probable I might meet with ſome Ship or Sloop that they might hire to carry them back to Canada, from whence they came.

I thought this was but a reaſonable Requeſt on their Part, and therefore I enclin'd to agree to it; for indeed I conſider'd, that to carry this whole Company to the Eaſt-Indies, would not only be an intolerable Severity upon the poor People, but would be ruining our whole Voyage by devouring all our Proviſions; ſo I thought it no Breach of Charter-Party, but what an unforeſeen Accident made abſolutely neceſſary to us, and in which no one could ſay we were to blame; for the Laws of God and Nature would have forbid that we ſhould refuſe to take up two Boats full of People in ſuch a diſtreſs'd Condition, and the Nature of [27] the Thing as well reſpecting our ſelves as the poor People, oblig'd us to ſet them on Shore ſome where or other for their Deliverance; ſo I con⯑ſented that we would carry them to Newfound-Land, if Wind and Weather would permit, and if not, that I would carry them to Martinico in the Weſt-Indies.

The Wind continued freſh Eaſterly, but the Weather pretty good, and as the Winds had con⯑tinued in the Points between N.E. and S.E. a long time, we miſſed ſeveral Opportunities of ſending them to France; for we met ſeveral Ships bound to Europe, whereof two were French from St. Chriſtopher's, but they had been ſo long beating up againſt the Wind, that they durſt take in no Paſſengers for fear of wanting Proviſions for the Voyage, as well for themſelves as for thoſe they ſhould take in; ſo we were obliged to go on. It was about a Week after this that we made the Banks of Newfound-Land, where to ſhorten my Sto⯑ry, we put all our French People on Board a Bark, which they hir'd at Sea there, to put them on Shore, and afterwards to carry them to France if they could get Proviſion to victual themſelves with. When, I ſay, all the French went on Shore, I ſhould remember that the young Prieſt I ſpoke of, hear⯑ing we were bound to the Eaſt Indies, deſired to go the Voyage with us, and to be ſet on Shore on the Coaſt of Coromandel, which I readily agreed to, for I wonderfully lik'd the Man, and had very good Reaſon, as will appear afterwards; alſo four of the Seamen entered themſelves on our Ship, and proved very uſeful Fellows.

From hence we directed our Courſe for the Weſt-Indies, ſteering away S. and S. by E. for about [28] twenty Days together, ſometimes little or no Wind at all, when we met with another Subject for our Humanity to work upon, almoſt as deplo⯑rable as that before.

It was in the Latitude of 27 Degrees 5 Minutes North, and the 19th Day of March 1694-5, when we 'ſpy'd a Sail, our Courſe S.E. and by S. we ſoon perceiv'd it was a large Veſſel, and that ſhe bore up to us, but could not at firſt know what to make of her, till after coming a little nearer, we found ſhe had loſt her Main-top-maſt, Fore⯑maſt and Boltſprit, and preſently ſhe fired a Gun as a Signal of Diſtreſs; the Weather was pretty good, Wind at N.N.W. a freſh Gale, and we ſoon came to ſpeak with her.

We found her a Ship of Briſtol, bound home from Barbadoes, but had been blown out of the Road at Barbadoes a few Days before ſhe was rea⯑dy to ſail, by a terrible Hurricane, while the Cap⯑tain and Chief Mate were both gone on Shore, ſo that beſide the Terror of the Storm, they were but in an indifferent Caſe for good Artiſts to bring the Ship home: They had been already nine Weeks at Sea, and had met with another terrible Storm after the Hurricane was over, which had blown them quite out of their Knowledge to the Weſtward, and in which they loſt their Maſts, as above; they told us they expected to have ſeen the Bahama Iſlands, but were then driven away again to the South Eaſt by a ſtrong Gale of Wind at N.N.W. the ſame that blew now, and having no Sails to work the Ship with but a main Courſe, and a kind of ſquare Sail upon a Jury Fore-maſt, which they had ſet up, they could not lye near [29] the Wind, but were endeavouring to ſtand away for the Canaries.

But that which was worſt of all, was, that they were almoſt ſtarv'd for want of Proviſions, beſides the Fatigues they had undergone; their Bread and Fleſh was quite gone, they had not one Ounce left in the Ship, and had had none for eleven Days; the only Relief they had, was, their Water was not all ſpent, and they had about half a Barrel of Flower left; they had Sugar enough; ſome Suc⯑cades or Sweet-meats they had at firſt, but they were devour'd, and they had ſeven Casks of Rum.

There was a Youth and his Mother and a Maid-Servant on Board, who were going Paſſengers, and thinking the Ship was ready to ſail, unhappi⯑ly came on Board the Evening before the Hurri⯑cane began, and having no Proviſions of their own left, they were in a more deplorable Condition than the reſt, for the Seamen being reduced to ſuch an extreme Neceſſity themſelves, had no Compaſſion, we may be ſure, for the poor Paſſengers, and they were indeed in a Condition that their Miſery is very hard to deſcribe.

I had, perhaps, not known this Part, if my Cu⯑rioſity had not led me, the Weather being fair and the Wind abated, to go on Board the Ship: The Second Mate who upon this Occaſion command⯑ed the Ship, had been on Board our Ship, and he told me me indeed they had three Paſſengers in the great Cabin, that they were in a deplorable Con⯑dition; nay, ſays he, I believe they are dead, for I have heard nothing of them for above two Days, and I was afraid to enquire after them, ſaid he, for I had nothing to relieve them with.

[30] We immediately apply'd our ſelves to give them what Relief we could ſpare; and indeed I had ſo far over-ruled Things with my Nephew, that I would have victuall'd them, tho' we had gone away to Virginia, or any Part of the Coaſt of America, to have ſupply'd our ſelves, but there was no Neceſſity for that.

But now they were in a new Danger; for they were afraid of eating too much, even of that little we gave them; the Mate or Commander brought ſix Men with him in his Boat, but theſe poor Wretches look'd like Skeletons, and were ſo weak, they could hardly ſit to their Oars: The Mate himſelf was very ill, and half ſtarv'd; for he de⯑clar'd he had reſerv'd nothing from the Men, and went Share and Share alike with them in every Bit they eat.

I caution'd him to eat ſparingly, but ſet Meat before him immediately, and he had not eaten three Mouthfuls before he began to be Sick, and out of Order; ſo he ſtopt a while, and our Sur⯑geon mix'd him up ſomething with ſome Broth, which he ſaid would be to him both Food and Phyſick; and after he had taken it, he grew bet⯑ter: In the mean Time, I forgot not the Men; I order'd Victuals to be given them, and the poor Creatures rather devour'd than eat it; they were ſo exceeding hungry, that they were in a kind ra⯑venous, and had no Command of themſelves; and two of them eat with ſo much Greedineſs, that they were in Danger of their Lives the next Morning.

[31] The Sight of theſe Peoples Diſtreſs was very moving to me, and brought to Mind what I had a terrible Proſpect of at my firſt coming on Shore in the Iſland, where I had neither the leaſt Mouth⯑ful of Food, or any Proſpect of procuring any; be⯑ſides the hourly Apprehenſion I had of being made the Food of other Creatures: But all the while the Mate was thus relating to me the miſerable Con⯑dition of the Ship's Company, I could not put out of my Thought the Story he had told me of the three poor Creatures in the Great Cabin, (viz.) the Mother, her Son, and the Maid-ſervant, who he had heard nothing of for two or three Days, and who he ſeem'd to confeſs they had wholly ne⯑glected, their own Extremities being ſo great; by which I underſtood, that they had really given them no Food at all, and that therefore they muſt be periſh'd, and be all lying dead perhaps on the Floor, or Deck of the Cabin.

As I therefore kept the Mate, who we then cal⯑led Captain, on board with his Men to refreſh them, ſo I alſo forgot not the ſtarving Crew that were left on board, but order'd my own Boat to go on board the Ship, and with my Mate and twelve Men to carry them a Sack of Bread, and four or five Pieces of Beef to boil. Our Surgeon charg'd the Men to cauſe the Meat to be boil'd while they ſtay'd, and to keep Guard in the Cook-Room, to prevent the Men taking it to eat raw, or taking it out of the Pot before it was well boil'd, and then to give every Man but a very little at a Time; and by this Caution he preſerv'd the Men, who would otherwiſe ha' kill'd themſelves with that very Food that was given them on Purpoſe to ſave their Lives.

[32] At the ſame Time, I order'd the Mate to go into the Great Cabin, and ſee what Condition the poor Paſſengers were in, and if they were alive, to comfort them, and give them what Refreſh⯑ment was proper; and the Surgeon gave him a large Pitcher with ſome of the prepar'd Broth which he had given the Mate that was on board, and which he did not queſtion would reſtore them gradually.

I was not ſatisfy'd with this, but as I ſaid a⯑bove, having a great Mind to ſee the Scene of Mi⯑ſery, which I knew the Ship itſelf would preſent me with, in a more lively Manner than I could have it by Report, I took the Captain of the Ship, as we now call'd him, with me, and went myſelf a little after in their Boat.

I found the poor Men on board almoſt in a Tu⯑mult to get the Victuals out of the Boyler before it was ready: But my Mate obſerv'd his Order, and kept a good Guard at the Cook-Room Door, and the Man he plac'd there, after uſing all poſſi⯑ble Perſwaſion to have Patience, kept them off by Force: However, he cauſed ſome Bisket Cakes to be dipp'd in the Pot, and ſoften'd with the Liquor of the Meat, which they call Brews, and gave them every one, one, to ſtay their Stomachs, and told them it was for their own Safety that he was oblig'd to give them but a little at a Time: But it was all in vain; and had I not come on board, and their own Commander and Officers with me, and with good Words, and ſome Threats alſo of giving them no more, I believe they would have broke into the Cook-Room by Force, and tore the Meat out of the Furnace: For Words [33] are indeed of very ſmall Force to a hungry Belly: However we pacify'd them, and fed them gradu⯑ally and cautiouſly for the firſt Time, and the next Time gave them more, and at laſt fill'd their Bel⯑lies, and the Men did well enough.

But the Miſery of the poor Paſſengers in the Cabin, was of another Nature, and far beyond the reſt; for as firſt the Ship's Company had ſo little for themſelves, it was but too true that they had at firſt kept them very low, and at laſt total⯑ly neglected them; ſo that for ſix or ſeven Days, it might be ſaid, they had really had no Food at all, and for ſeveral Days before very little. The poor Mother, who as the Men reported, was a Woman of good Senſe and good Breeding, had ſpar'd all ſhe could get, ſo affectionately for her Son, that at laſt ſhe entirely ſunk under it: And when the Mate of our Ship went in, ſhe ſat upon the Floor or Deck, with her Back up againſt the Sides, between two Chairs, which were laſh'd faſt, and her Head ſunk in between her Shoulders, like a Corpſe, tho' not quite dead. My Mate ſaid all he could to revive and encourage her, and with a Spoon put ſome Broth into her Mouth; ſhe o⯑pen'd her Lips, and lifted up one Hand, but could not ſpeak; yet ſhe underſtood what he ſaid, and made Signs to him, intimating, that it was too late for her, but pointed to her Child, as if ſhe would have ſaid, they ſhould take Care of him.

However, the Mate, who was exceedinglymov'd with the Sight, endeavour'd to get ſome of the Broth into her Mouth; and as he ſaid, got two or three Spoonfuls down, tho' I queſtion whether he could be ſure of it or not: But it was too late, and ſhe dy'd the ſame Night.

[34] The Youth who was preſerved at the Price of his moſt affectionate Mother's Life, was not ſo far gone, yet he lay in a Cabin bed as one ſtre ch'd out, with hardly any Life left in him; he had a Piece of an old Glove in his Mouth, having eaten up the reſt of it; however, being young, and having more Strength than his Mother, the Mate got ſomething down his Throat, and he began ſen⯑ſibly to revive, tho' by giving him ſome time after but two or three Spoonfuls extraordinary, he was very ſick, and brought it up again.

But the next Care was the poor Maid, ſhe lay all along upon the Deck hard by her Miſtreſs, and juſt like one that had fallen down with an A⯑poplexy and ſtruggled for Life: Her Limbs where diſtorted, one of her Hands was claſp'd round the Frame of a Chair, and ſhe grip'd it ſo hard, that we could not eaſily make her let go; her other Arm lay over her Head, and her Feet lay both together ſet faſt againſt the Frame of the Cabin Table; in ſhort, ſhe lay juſt like one in the laſt Agonies of Death, and yet ſhe was alive too.

The poor Creature was not only ſtarv'd with Hunger, and terrify'd with the Thoughts of Death, but as the Men told us afterwards, was broken-hearted for her Miſtreſs, who ſhe ſaw dy⯑ing for two or three Days before, and who ſhe lov'd moſt tenderly.

We knew not what to do with this poor Girl, for when our Surgeon, who was a Man of very great Knowledge and Experience, had with great Application recover'd her as to Life; he had her upon his Hand as to her Senſes, for ſhe was lit⯑tle [35] leſs than diſtracted for a conſiderable Time af⯑ter, as ſhall appear preſently.

Whoever ſhall read theſe Memorandums muſt be deſir'd to conſider, that Viſits at Sea are not like a Journey into the Country, where ſometimes Peo⯑ple ſtay a Week or a Fortnight at a Place. Our Buſineſs was to relieve this diſtreſſed Ship's Crew, but not to lie by for them; and tho' they were willing to ſteer the ſame Courſe with us for ſome Days, yet we could carry no Sail to keep Pace with a Ship that had no Maſts; however, as their Captain begg'd of us to help him to ſet up a Main-Top-Maſt, and a Kind of a Top-Maſt to his Jury Fore-Maſt. We did, as it were lie by him for three or four Days, and then having given him five Barrels of Beef, a Barrel of Pork, two Hog⯑ſheads of Bisket, and a Proportion of Peas, Flour, and what other Things we could ſpare; and taking three Casks of Sugar, ſome Rum, and ſome Pieces of Eight of them for Satisfaction, we left them, taking on board with us, at their own ear⯑neſt Requeſt, the Prieſt, the Youth, and the Maid, and all their Goods.

The young Lad was about ſeventeen Years of Age, a pretty, well-bred modeſt, and ſenſible Youth, greatly dejected with the Loſs of his Mo⯑ther, and as it ſeems had loſt his Father but a few Months before at Berbadoes. He begg'd of the Surgeon to ſpeak to me to take him out of the Ship, for he ſaid the cruel Fellows had murther'd his Mother; and indeed ſo they had, that is to ſay paſſively; for they might ha' ſpar'd a ſmall Suſte⯑nance to the poor helpleſs Widow, that might have preſerv'd her Life, tho' it had been but juſt to keep her alive. But Hunger knows no Friend, [36] no Relation, no Juſtice, no Right, and therefore is remorſeleſs, and capable of no Compaſſion.

The Surgeon told him how far we were going, and how it would carry him away from all his Friends, and put him perhaps in as bad Circum⯑ſtances almoſt as thoſe we found him in; that is to ſay, ſtarving in the World. He ſaid he matter'd not whether he went, if he was but delivered from the terrible Crew he was among: That the Captain (by which he meant me, for he could know nothing of my Nephew) had ſav'd his Life, and he was ſure would not hurt him; and as for the Maid, he was ſure if ſhe came to herſelf, ſhe would be very thankful for it, let us carry them where we would. The Surgeon repreſented the Caſe ſo affectionately to me, that I yielded, and we took them both on board with all their Goods, except eleven Hogſheads of Sugar, which could not be removed or come at, and as the Youth had a Bill of Lading for them, I made his Commander ſign a Writing, obliging himſelf to go as ſoon as he came to Briſtol, to one Mr. Rogers a Mer⯑chant there, to whom the Youth ſaid he was re⯑lated, and to deliver a Letter which I wrote to him, and all the Goods he had belonging to the deceaſed Widow; which I ſuppoſe was not done, for I could never learn that the Ship came to Bri⯑ſtol, but was, as is moſt probable, loſt at Sea, be⯑ing in ſo diſabled a Condition and ſo far from a⯑ny Land, that I am of Opinion, the firſt Storm ſhe met with afterwards, ſhe might founder in the Sea, for ſhe was leaky, and had Damage in her Hold when we met with her.

I was now in the Latitude of 19 Deg. 32 Min. and had hitherto had a tolerable Voyage as to [37] Weather, tho' at firſt the Winds had been con⯑trary. I ſhall trouble no Body with the little In⯑cidents of Wind, Weather, Currents, &c. on the reſt of our Voyage; but ſhortning my Story for the ſake of what is to follow, ſhall obſerve that I came to my old Habitation, the Iſland, on the 10th of April 1695. It was with no ſmall Difficul⯑ty that I found the Place; for as I came to it, and went from it before, on the South and Eaſt Side of the Iſland, as coming from the Braſils, ſo now coming in between the Main and the Iſland, and having no Chart for the Coaſt, nor any Land-Mark, I did not know it when I ſaw it, or know whether I ſaw it or no.

We beat about a great while, and went on Shore on ſeveral Iſlands on the Mouth of the great River Oronooque, but none for my Purpoſe. Only this I learn'd by my Coaſting the Shore, that I was under one great Miſtake before, viz. that the Continent which I thought I ſaw, from the Iſland I liv'd in, was really no Continent, but a long Iſland, or ra⯑ther a Ridge of Iſlands, reaching from one to the other Side of the extended Mouth of that great River, and that the Savages who came to my Iſland, were not properly thoſe which we call Ca⯑ribbees, but Iſlanders, and other Barbarians of the ſame Kind, who inhabited ſomething nearer to our Side than the reſt,

In ſhort, I viſited ſeveral of theſe Iſlands to no Purpoſe; ſome I found were inhabited, and ſome were not. On one of them I found ſome Spaniards, and thought they had liv'd there, but ſpeaking with them, found they had a Sloop lay in a ſmall Creek hard by, and they came thither to make Salt, and to catch ſome Pearl Muſsles if they [38] could, but that they belong'd to the Iſle de Trini⯑dad, which lay farther North in the Latitude of [...] and 11 Degrees.

But at laſt coaſting from one Iſland to another, ſometimes with the Ship, ſometimes with the French Mans Shalloup, which we had found a con⯑venient Boat, and therefore kept her with their very good Will; at length I came fair on the South Side of my Iſland, and I preſently knew the very Countenance of the Place; ſo I brought the Ship ſafe to an Anchor, Broadſide with the little Creek where was my old Habitation.

As ſoon as I ſaw the Place, I call'd for Friday, and ask'd him if he knew where he was? He look'd about a little, and preſently clapping his Hands, cry'd; O yes, O there, O yes, O there, pointing to our old Habitation, and fell a dan⯑cing and capering like a mad Fellow, and I had much ado to keep him from jumping into the Sea, to ſwim aſhore to the Place.

Well, Friday, ſays I, do you think we ſhall find any Body here or no? And what do you think, ſhall we ſee your Father? The Fellow ſtood mute as a Stock a good while, but when I nam'd his Father, the poor affectionate Creature look'd de⯑jected, and I could ſee the Tears run down his Face very plentifully. What is the Matter, Fri⯑day, ſays I? Are you troubled becauſe you may ſee your Father? No, no, ſays he, ſhaking his Head, no ſee him more, no ever more ſee again; why ſo, ſaid I Friday, how do you know that? O no, O no, ſays Friday. he long ago die, long ago; he much old Man. Well, well, ſays I, Fri⯑day, you don't know; but ſhall we ſee any one [39] elſe then? The Fellow, it ſeems, had better Eyes than I, and he points juſt to the Hill above my old Houſe; and tho' we lay half a League off, he cries out, we ſee! we ſee! yes, we ſee much Men there, and there, and there. I look'd, but I could ſee no body, no not with a Perſpective Glaſs, which was, I ſuppoſe, becauſe I could not hit the Place, for the Fellow was right, as I found upon Enquiry the next Day, and there was five or ſix Men altogether, ſtood to look at the Ship, not knowing what to think of us.

As ſoon as Friday had told me he ſaw People, I caus'd the Engliſh Antient to be ſpread, and fir'd three Guns, to give them Notice we were Friends, and in about half a Quarter of an Hour after, we perceiv'd a Smoke riſe from the Side of the Creek, ſo I immediately order'd a Boat out, taking Fri⯑day with me, and hanging out a white Flag, or Flag of Truce, I went directly on Shore, taking with me the young Fryer I mention'd, to whom I had told the whole Story of my living there, and the manner of it, and every Particular both of my ſelf, and thoſe I left there; and who was on that Account extremely deſirous to go with me. We had beſides about ſixteen Men very well arm'd, if we had found any new Gueſts there which we did not know of; but we had no Need of Weapons.

As we went on Shore upon the Tide of Flood, near high Water, we row'd directly into the Creek, and the firſt Man I fix'd my Eye upon, was the Spa⯑niard whole Life I had ſav'd, and who I knew by his Face perfectly well; as to his Habit I ſhall de⯑ſcribe it afterwards. I order'd no body to go on Shore at firſt but my ſelf, but there was no keep⯑ing [40] Friday in the Boat; for the affectionate Crea⯑ture had ſpy'd his Father at a Diſtance, a good Way off of the Spaniards, where indeed I ſaw no⯑thing of him; and if they had not let him go on Shore, he would have jump'd into the Sea. He was no ſooner on Shore, but he flew away to his Father like an Arrow out of a Bow. It would have made any Man have ſhed Tears in Spight of the firmeſt Reſolution, to have ſeen the firſt Tranſports of this poor Fellow's Joy when he came to his Fa⯑ther; how he embrac'd him, kiſs'd him, ſtrok'd his Face, took him up in his Arms, ſet him down upon a Tree, and lay down by him, then ſtood and look'd at him, as any one would look at a ſtrange Picture for a Quarter of an Hour toge⯑ther; then lye down on the Ground, and ſtroke his Legs, and kiſs them, and then get up again, and ſtare at him; one would ha' thought the Fellow bewitch'd: But it would ha' made a Dog laugh to ſee how the next Day his Paſſion run out another Way: In the Morning he walk'd along the Shore, to and again, with his Father ſeveral Hours, always leading him by the Hand, as if he had been a Lady; and every now and then he would come to fetch ſomething or other for him to the Boat, either a Lump of Sugar, or a Dram, a Biſ⯑ket Cake, or ſomething or other that was good. In the Afternoon his Frolicks run another Way; for then he would ſet the old Man down upon the Ground, and dance about him, and make a Thouſand antick Poſtures and Geſtures; and all the while he did this, he would be talking to him, and telling him one Story or another of his Tra⯑vels, and of what had happen'd to him Abroad, to divert him. In ſhort, if the ſame filial Affecti⯑on was to be found in Chriſtians to their Parents, in our Part of the World, one would be tempted [41] to ſay, there would hardly ha' been any Need of the fifth Commandment.

But this is a Digreſſion; I return to my Lan⯑ding. It would be endleſs to take Notice of all the Ceremonies and Civilities that the Spaniards receiv'd me with. The firſt Spaniard, who, as I ſaid, I knew very well, was he whoſe Life I had ſav'd; he came towards the Boat, attended by one more, carrying a Flag of Truce alſo; and he did not only not know me at firſt, but he had no Thoughts, no Notion of its being me that was come, till I ſpoke to him: Seignior, ſaid I in Por⯑tugueſe, Do you not know me? At which he ſpoke not a Word; but giving his Musket to the Man that was with him, threw his Arms abroad, and ſaying ſomething in Spaniſh, that I did not perfectly hear, comes forward, and embrac'd me, telling me he was inexcuſable, not to know that Face again, that he had once ſeen, as of an Angel from Hea⯑ven ſent to ſave his Life: He ſaid Abundance of very handſome Things, as a well bred Spaniard al⯑ways knows how; and then beckoning to the Per⯑ſon that attended him, bad him go and call out his Comerades. He then ask'd me, if I would walk to my old Habitation, where he would give me Poſ⯑ſeſſion of my own Houſe again, and where I ſhould ſee there had been but mean Improvements; ſo I walk'd along with him; but alas I could no more find the Place again, than if I had never been there; for they had planted ſo many Trees, and plac'd them in ſuch a Poſture, ſo thick and cloſe to one another; and in ten Years Time they were grown ſo big, that in ſhort the Place was inacceſſible, ex⯑cept by ſuch Windings and blind Ways, as they themſelves only, who made them, could find.

[42] I ask'd them what put them upon all theſe For⯑tifications? He told me, I would ſay there was Need enough of it, when they had given me an Account how they had paſs'd their Time ſince their Arriving in the Iſland, eſpecially after they had the Misfortune to find that I was gone: He told me, he could not but have ſome Satisfaction in my good Fortune, when he heard that I was gone away in a good Ship, and to my Satisfaction; and that he had often-times a ſtrong Perſwaſion, that one Time or other he ſhould ſee me again: But no⯑thing that ever befel him in his Life, he ſaid, was ſo ſurprizing and afflicting to him at firſt, as the Diſappointment he was under when he came back to the Iſland, and found I was not there.

As to the three Barbarians (ſo he call'd them) that were left behind, and of whom he ſaid he had a long Story to tell me; the Spaniards all thought themſelves much better among the Savages, only that their Number was ſo ſmall. And, ſays he, had they been ſtrong enough, we had been all long ago in Purgatory; and with that he croſs'd him⯑ſelf on the Breaſt: But Sir, ſays he, I hope you will not be diſpleas'd, when I ſhall tell you how forc'd by Neceſſity we were oblig'd, for our own Preſerva⯑tion to diſarm them, and make them our Subjects, who would not be content with being moderately our Maſters, but would be our Murtherers. I an⯑ſwer'd, I was heartily afraid of it when I left them there; and nothing troubled me at my par⯑ting from the Iſland, but that they were not come back, that I might have put them in Poſſeſſion of every Thing firſt, and left the other in a State of Subjection, as they deſerv'd: But if they had re⯑duc'd them to it, I was very glad, and ſhould be [43] very far from finding any Fault with it; for I knew they were a Parcel of refractory, ungovern'd Vil⯑lains, and were fit for any Manner of Miſ⯑chief.

While I was ſaying this, came the Man whom he had ſent back, and with him eleven Men more: In the Dreſs they were in, it was impoſſible to gueſs what Nation they were of: But he made all clear both to them and to me. Firſt he turn'd to me, and pointing, to them, ſaid, Theſe, Sir, are ſome of the Gentlemen who owe their Lives to you; and then turning to them, and pointing to me, he let them know who I was; upon which they all came up one by one, not as if they had been Sailors and ordinary Fellows, and I the like, but really, as if they had been Ambaſſadors of Noblemen, and I a Monarch or a great Conqueror; their Behaviour was to the laſt Degree obliging and courteous, and yet mix'd with a Manly, Majeſtick Gravity, which very well became them; and in ſhort, they had ſo much more Manners than I, that I ſcarce knew how to receive their Civilities, much leſs how to return them in Kind.

The Hiſtory of their coming to, and Conduct in the Iſland, after my going away, is ſo very re⯑markable, and has ſo many Incidents, which the former Part of my Relation will help to underſtand, and which will in moſt of the Particulars, refer to that Account I have already given, that I cannot but commit them with great Delight to the rea⯑ding of thoſe that come after me.

I ſhall no longer trouble the Story with a Re⯑lation in the firſt Perſon, which will put me to the Expence of ten Thouſand ſaid I's, and ſaid he's, [44] and he told me's, and I told him's, and the like, but I ſhall collect the Facts Hiſtorically, as near as I can gather them out of my Memory from what they related to me, and from what I met with in my converſing with them and with the Place.

In order to do this ſuccinctly, and as intelligi⯑bly as I can, I muſt go back to the Circumſtance in which I left the Iſland, and in which the Per⯑ſons were of whom I am to ſpeak. And firſt it is neceſſary to repeat, that I had ſent away Friday's Father and the Spaniard, the two whoſe Lives I had reſcued from the Savages, I ſay, I had ſent them away in a large Canoe to the Main, as I then thought it, to fetch over the Spaniard's Com⯑panions who he had left behind him, in order to ſave them from the like Calamity that he had been in; and in order to ſuccour them for the preſent, and that if poſſible, we might together find ſome Way for our Deliverance afterward.

When I ſent them away, I had no viſible Ap⯑pearance of, or the leaſt Room to hope for my own Deliverance any more than I had twenty Year be⯑fore, much leſs had I any Fore knowledge of what afterward happened, I mean of an Engliſh Ship coming on Shore there to fetch me off; and it could not but be a very great Surprize to them when they came back, not only to find that I was gone, but to find three Strangers left on the Spot, poſſeſs'd of all that I had left behind me, which would otherwiſe have been their own.

The firſt Thing, however, which I enquir'd into, that I might begin where I left off, was of their own Part; and I deſir'd he would give me a particular Account of his Voyage back to his [45] Countrymen with the Boat, when I ſent him to fetch them over. He told me there was little Va⯑riety in that Part, for nothing remarkable hap⯑pen'd to them on the Way, they having very calm Weather, and a ſmooth Sea; for his Countrymen it could not be doubted, he ſaid, but that they were overjoy'd to ſee him: (It ſeems he was the principal Man among them, the Captain of the Veſſel they had been ſhipwreck'd in, having been dead ſome Time) they were, he ſaid, the more ſurprized to ſee him, becauſe they knew that he was fallen into the Hands of the Savages, who, they were ſatisfy'd, would devour him as they did all the reſt of the Priſoners, that when he told them the Story of his Deliverance, and in what Manner he was furniſh'd for carrying them away, it was like a Dream to them; and their Aſtoniſh⯑ment, they ſaid, was ſomething like that of Joſeph's Brethren, when he told them who he was, and told them the Story of his Exaltation in Pharaoh's Court: But when he ſhewed them the Arms, the Powder, the Ball, and the Proviſions that he brought them for their Journey or Voyage, they were reſtor'd to themſelves, took a juſt Share of the Joy of their Deliverance, and immediately prepar'd to come away with him.

Their firſt Buſineſs was to get Canoes; and in this they were obliged not to ſtick ſo much upon the honeſt Part of it, but to treſpaſs upon their friendly Savages, and to borrow two large Canoes or Periagua's, on Pretence of going out a Fiſhing, or for Pleaſure.

In theſe they came away the next Morning; it ſeems they wanted no Time to get themſelves rea⯑dy; for they had no Baggage, neither Clothes or [46] Proviſions, or any Thing in the World, but what they had on them, and a few Roots to eat, of which they uſed to make their Bread.

They were in all three Weeks abſent, and in that Time, unluckily for them, I had the Occa⯑ſion offer'd for my Eſcape, as I mention'd in my other Part, and to get off from the Iſland, lea⯑ving three of the moſt impudent, harden'd, ungo⯑vern'd, diſagreeable Villains behind me, that any Man could deſire to meet with, to the poor Spa⯑niards great Grief and Diſappointment, you may be ſure.

The only juſt Thing the Rogues did, was, That when the Spaniards came on Shore, they gave my Letter to them, and gave them Provi⯑ſions and other Relief, as I had ordered them to do; alſo they gave them the long Paper of Di⯑rections which I had left with them, containing the particular Methods which I took for manag⯑ing every Part of my Life there, the Way how I baked my Bread, bred up tame Goats, and plant⯑ed my Corn, how I cur'd my Grapes, made my Pots, and, in a Word, every Thing I did, all this being written down, they gave to the Spa⯑niards, two of whom underſtand Engliſh well enough; nor did they refuſe to accommodate the Spaniards with every Thing elſe, for they a⯑greed very well for ſome Time; they gave them an equal Admiſſion into the Houſe, or Cave, and they began to live very ſociably, and the Head Spaniard, who had ſeen pretty much of my Me⯑thods, and Friday's Father together, manag'd all their Affairs; for, as for the Engliſh Men, they did nothing but ramble about the Iſland, ſhoot Parrots, and catch Tortoiſes, and when they [47] came home at Night, the Spaniards provided their Suppers for them.

The Spaniards would have been ſatisfy'd with this, would the other but have let them alone, which, however, they could not find in their Hearts to do long; but, like the Dog in the Man⯑ger, they would not eat themſelves, and would not let others eat neither: The Differences, never⯑theleſs, were at firſt but trivial, and ſuch as are not worth relating; but at laſt, it broke out in⯑to open War, and it begun with all the Rudeneſs and Inſolence that can be imagin'd, without Rea⯑ſon, without Provocation, contrary to Nature, and indeed, to common Senſe; and tho' it is true the firſt Relation of it came from the Spaniards themſelves, who I may call the Accuſers, yet when I came to examine the Fellows, they could not de⯑ny a Word of it.

But before I come to the Particulars of this Part, I muſt ſupply a Defect in my former Relation, and this was, that I forgot to ſet down among the reſt, that juſt as we were weighing the An⯑chor to ſet Sail, there happen'd a little Quarrel on board our Ship, which I was afraid once would have turn'd to a ſecond Mutiny; nor was it appeas'd, till the Captain rouzing up his Cou⯑rage, and taking us all to his Aſſiſtance, parted them by Force, and making two of the moſt re⯑fractory Fellows Priſoners, he laid them in Irons, and as they had been active in the former Diſor⯑ders, and let fall ſome ugly dangerous Words the ſecond Time, he threaten'd to carry them in I⯑rons to England, and have them hang'd there for Mutiny, and running away with the Ship.

[48] This, it ſeems, tho' the Captain did not intend to do it, frighted ſome other Men in the Ship, and ſome of them had put it into the Heads of the reſt, that the Captain only gave them good Words for the preſent, till they ſhould come to ſome En⯑gliſh Port, and that then they ſhould be all put in⯑to Jayl, and try'd for their Lives.

The Mate got Intelligence of this, and acquain⯑ted us with it; upon which it was deſir'd, that I, who ſtill paſs'd for a great Man among them; ſhould go down with the Mate, and ſatisfy the Men, and tell them, that they might be aſſur'd, if they behav'd well the reſt of the Voyage, all they had done for the Time paſt ſhould be par⯑don'd. So I went, and after paſſing my Honour's Word to them, they appear'd eaſy; and the more ſo, when I cauſed the two Men, who were in Irons, to be releaſed and forgiven.

But this Mutiny had brought us to an Anchor for that Night, the Wind alſo falling calm, next Morning we found, that our two Men who had been laid in Irons, had ſtole each of them a Muſ⯑ket, and ſome other Weapons, what Powder or Shot they had, we know not; and had taken the Ship's Pinnace, which was not yet ha [...]'d up, and ran away with her to their Companions in Roguery on Shore.

As ſoon as we found this, I order'd the Long-Boat on Shore, with twelve Men and the Mate, and away they went to ſeek the Rogues, but they could neither find them, or any of the reſt; for they all fled into the Woods when they ſaw the Boat coming on Shore. The Mate was once re⯑ſolv'd, in Juſtice to their Roguery, to have de⯑ſtroy'd [49] their Plantations, burnt all their Houſhold-Stuff and Furniture, and left them to ſhift with⯑out it; but having no Order, he let it all alone, left every Thing as they found it, and bringing the Pinnace away, came on board without them.

Theſe two Men made their Number five, but the other three Villains were ſo much wickeder than theſe, that after they had been 2 or 3 Days together, they turn'd their two New-Comers out of Doors to ſhift for themſelves, and would have nothing to do with them, nor could they for a good while be perſwaded to give them any Food; as for the Spaniards they were not yet come.

When the Spaniards came firſt on Shore, the Bu⯑ſineſs began to go forward; the Spaniards would have perſuaded the three Engliſh Brutes to have taken in their two Countrymen again, that, as they ſaid, they might be all one Family; but they would not hear of it: So the two poor Fellows liv'd by themſelves, and finding nothing but Induſtry and Application would make them live comfortably, they pitch'd their Tents on the North Shore of the Iſland, but a little more to the Weſt, to be out of the Danger of the Savages, who always landed on the Eaſt Parts of the Iſland.

Here they built them two Huts, one to lodge in, and the other to lay up their Magazines and Stores in, and the Spaniards having given them ſome Corn for Seed, and eſpecially ſome of the Peas which I had left them, they dug, and plant⯑ed, and encloſed, after the Pattern I had ſet for them all, and began to live pretty well; their firſt Crop of Corn was on the Ground, and tho' it was but a little Bit of Land which they had dug up at [50] firſt, having had but a little Time, yet it was enough to relieve them, and find them with Bread and other Eatables; and one of the Fellows being the Cook's Mate of the Ship, was very ready at making Soup, Puddings, and ſuch other Prepara⯑tions, as the Rice, and the Milk, and ſuch little Fleſh as they got, furniſh'd him to do.

They were going on in this little thriving Po⯑ſture, when the three unnatural Rogues, their own Country men too, in meer Humour, and to inſult them, came and bully'd them, and told them, the Iſland was theirs, that the Governor, mean⯑ing me, had given them Poſſeſſion of it, and no Body elſe had any Right to it, and damn 'em, they ſhould build no Houſes upon their Ground, unleſs they would pay them Rent for them.

The two Men thought they had jeſted at firſt, ask'd them to come in and ſit down, and ſee what fine Houſes they were that they had built, and tell them what Rent they demanded, and one of them merrily told them, if they were Ground-Landlords, he hoped, if they built Tenements upon their Land, and made Improvements, they would, according to the Cuſtom of Landlords, grant them a long Leaſe, and bid them go fetch a Scrivener to draw the Writings. One of the three damning and raging, told them, they ſhould ſee they were not in Jeſt, and going to a little Place at a Diſtance, where the honeſt Men had made a Fire to dreſs their Victuals, he takes a Fire-brand, and claps it to the Out-ſide of their Hut, and very fairly ſet it on Fire, and it would have been all burnt down in a few Minutes, if one of the two had not run to the Fellow, thruſt him [51] away, and trod the Fire out with his Feet, and that not without ſome Difficulty too.

The Fellow was in ſuch a Rage at the honeſt Man's thruſting him away, that he return'd upon him with a Pole he had in his Hand, and had not the Man avoided the Blow very nimbly, and run into the Hut, he had ended his Days at once; his Comerade ſeeing the Danger they were both in, run in after him, and immediately they came both out with their Muskets, and the Man that was firſt ſtruck at with the Pole, knock'd the Fellow down that begun the Quarrel, with the Stock of his Musket, and that before the other two could come to help him, and then ſeeing the reſt come at them, they ſtood together, and preſenting the other Ends of their Pieces to them, bad them ſtand off.

The other had Fire-Arms with them too, but one of the two honeſt Men, bolder than his Come⯑rade, and made deſperate by his Danger, told them, if they offer'd to move Hand or Foot they were dead Men, and boldly commanded them to lay down their Arms. They did not indeed lay down their Arms, but ſeeing him ſo reſolute, it brought them to a Parley, and they conſented to take their wounded Man with them, and be gone; and indeed it ſeems the Fellow was wounded ſuffici⯑ently with the Blow; however, they were much in the wrong, ſince they had the Advantage, that they did not diſarm them effectually, as they might have done, and have gone immediately to the Spaniards, and given them an Account how the Rogues had treated them; for the three Vil⯑lains ſtudied nothing but Revenge, and every Day gave them ſome Intimation that they did ſo.

[52] But not to crow'd this Part with an Ac⯑count of the leſſer Part of their Rogueries, ſuch as treading down their Corn, ſhooting three young Kids, and a She-Goat, which the poor Men had got to breed up tame for their Store; and, in a word, plaguing them Night and Day in this Man⯑ner, it forced the two Men to ſuch a Deſperation, that they reſolv'd to fight them all three the firſt Time they had a fair Opportunity; in Order to this they reſolv'd to go the Caſtle, as they call'd it, that was my old Dwelling, where the three Rogues and the Spaniards all liv'd together, at that Time intending to have a fair Battle, and the Spaniards ſhould ſtand by to ſee fair Play; ſo they got up in the Morning before Day, and came to the Place, and call'd the Engliſh Men by their Names, telling a Spaniard, that anſwer'd, that that they wanted to ſpeak with them.

It happen'd, that the Day before two of the Spaniards having been in the Woods, had ſeen one of the two Engliſh Men, who, for Diſtinction, I call the Honeſt Men, and he had made a ſad Com⯑plaint to the Spaniards, of the barbarous Uſage they had met with from their three Countrymen, and how they had ruin'd their Plantation, and deſtroy'd their Corn, that they had labour'd ſo hard to bring forward, and kill'd the Milch-Goat and their three Kids, which was all they had pro⯑vided for their Suſtenance, and that if he and his Friends, meaning the Spaniards, did not aſſiſt them again, they ſhould be ſtarved. When the Spaniards came home at Night, and they were all at Supper, he took the Freedom to reprove the three Engliſh Men, tho' in very gentle and mannerly Terms, and ask'd them, How they could be ſo [53] cruel, they being harmleſs inoffenſive Fellows, and that they were only putting themſelves in a way to ſubſiſt by their Labour, and that it had coſt them a great deal of Pains to bring things to ſuch Perfection as they had?

One of the Engliſh Men return'd very brisk⯑ly, what had they to do there? That they came on Shore without Leave, and they ſhould not Plant or Build upon the Iſland, it was none of their Ground. Why, ſays the Spaniard very calmly, Seignior Ingleſe, they muſt not ſtarve? The Engliſh Man reply'd like a true rough-hewn Tarpaulin, they might Starve and be Damn'd, they ſhould not Plant nor Build. But what muſt they do then, Seignior, ſaid the Spaniard? Another of the Brutes return'd, do! D....m 'em, they ſhould be Servants and work for them. But how can you expect that of them, ſays the Spaniard, they are not bought with your Money; you have no Right to make them Servants. The Engliſh Man anſwer'd, the Iſland was theirs, the Governour had given it to them, and no Man had any thing to do there but themſelves; and with that ſwore by his Maker, that they would go and burn all their new Huts, they ſhould build none upon their Land.

Why, Seignior, ſays the Spaniard, by the ſame Rule we muſt be your Servants too? Ay, ſays the bold Dog, and ſo you ſhall too, before we have done with you, mixing two or three G-d Damme's in the proper Intervales of his Speech; the Spaniard only ſmil'd at that, and made him no Anſwer: However, this little Diſcourſe had heated them, and ſtarting up, one ſays to the other, I think it was he they call'd Will. Atkins, Come Jack, let [54] us go and have t'other Bruſh with them; we'll demoliſh their Caſtle, I'll warrant you, they ſhall plant no Colony in our Dominions.

Upon this, they went all Trooping away, with every Man a Gun, a Piſtol, and a Sword, and mutter'd ſome inſolent Things among them⯑ſelves of what they would do to the Spaniards too, when Opportunity offer'd, but the Spaniards it ſeems did not ſo perfectly underſtand them, as to know all the Particulars, only, that in gene⯑ral, they threatned them hard for taking the two Engliſh Mens Part.

Whether they went, or how they beſtow'd their time that Evening, the Spaniards ſaid, they did not know; but it ſeems they wandred about the Country, Part of the Night, and then lying down in the Place which I uſed to call my Bower, they were weary, and over-ſlept themſelves. The Caſe was this, they had re⯑ſolv'd to ſtay till Mid-night, and ſo to take the two poor Men when they were aſleep, and as they acknowledg'd afterwards, intended to ſet Fire to their Huts while they were in them, and either burn them in them, or murder them as they came out, and as Malice ſeldom ſleeps very ſound, it was very ſtrange they ſhould not have been kept waking.

However, as the two Men had alſo a Deſign upon them, as I have ſaid, tho' a much fairer one than that of Burning and Murthering, it hap⯑pen'd, and very luckily for them all, that they were up and gone abroad, before the bloody-mind⯑ed Rogues came to their Huts.

[55] When they came there and found the Men gone, Atkins, who it ſeems was the forwardeſt Man, call'd out to his Comerades, ha Jack, here's the Neſt, but D....n 'em the Birds are flown; they muſed a while to think what ſhould be the Occaſion of their being gone abroad ſo ſoon, and ſuggeſted preſently that the Spaniards had gi⯑ven them Notice of it, and with that they ſhook Hands, and ſwore to one another that they would be reveng'd of the Spaniards. As ſoon as they had made this bloody Bargain they fell to work with the poor Me [...]s Habitation, they did not ſet Fire indeed to any thing, but they pull'd down: both their little Houſes, and pull'd them ſo Limb from Limb, that they left not the leaſt Stick ſtanding, or ſcarce any Sign on the Ground where they ſtood; they tore all their little col⯑lected Houſhould Stuff in Pieces, and threw eve⯑ry Thing about in ſuch a manner, that the poor Men afterwards found ſome of their Things a Mile off their Habitation.

When they had done this, they pull'd up all the young Trees the poor Men had planted, pull'd up an Encloſure they had made to ſecure their Cattle and their Corn; and in a word, ſack'd and plunder'd every thing, as compleatly as a Hoord of Tartars would have done.

The two Men were at this Juncture gone to find them out, and had reſolved to fight them where⯑ever they had been, tho' they were but two to three: So that had they met, there certainly would have been Blood ſhed among them, for they were all very ſtout reſolute Fellows, to give them their due.

[56] But Providence took more Care to keep them aſſunder, than they themſelves could do to meet; for, as if they had dogg'd one another, when the three were gone thither, the two were here; and afterwards when the two went back to find them, the three were come to the old Habita⯑tion again; we ſhall ſee their differing Conduct preſently. When the three came back like furi⯑ous Creatures fluſh'd with the Rage which the Work they had been about had put them into, they came up to the Spaniards, and told them what they had done, by way of Scoff and Bra⯑vado; and one of them ſtepping up to one of the Spaniards, as if they had been a Couple of Boys at Play, takes hold of his Hat, as it was upon his Head, and giving it a Twirl about, fleering in his Face, ſays he to him, And you, Seignior, Jack Spaniard, ſhall have the ſame Sauce, if you do not mend your Manners: The Spaniard, who tho' a quiet civil Man, was as brave as a Man could be deſir'd to be, and withal a ſtrong well-made Man, look'd ſteadily at him for a good while, and then having no Weapon in his Hand, ſlept gravely up to him, and with one Blow of his Fiſt knock'd him down, as an Ox is fell'd with a Pole-Axe; at which one of the Rogues, inſolent at the firſt, fir'd his Piſtol at the Spaniard immediately; he miſs'd his Body indeed, for the Bullets went thro' his Hair, but one of them touch'd the tip of his Ear, and he bled pretty much. The Blood made the Spa⯑niard believe, he was more hurt then he really was, and that put him into ſome Heat, for be⯑fore, he acted all in a perfect Calm; but now reſolving to go thro' with his Work, he ſtoop'd to take the Fellow's Musket who he had knock'd [57] down, and was juſt going to ſhoot the Man, and had fir'd at him, when the reſt of the Spaniards being in the Cave came out, and calling to him not to ſhoot, they ſtept in, ſecur'd the other two, and took their Arms from them.

When they were thus diſarm'd, and found they had made all the Spaniards their Enemies, as well as their own Countrymen, they began to cool, and giving the Spaniards better Words, would have had their Arms again; but the Spaniards conſidering the Feud that was between them and the other two Engliſh Men, and that it would be the beſt Method they could take to keep them from one another, told them, they would do them no harm, and if they would live peace⯑ably, they would be very willing to aſſiſt and ſociate with them, as they did before; but that they could not think of giving them their Arms again, while they appear'd ſo reſolv'd to do Miſ⯑chief with them to their own Countrymen, and had even threatned them all, to make them their Servants.

The Rogues were now no more capable to hear Reaſon, than to act Reaſon, and being re⯑fus'd their Arms, they went raving away and raging like mad Men, threatning what they would do, tho' they had no Fire-Arms. But the Spaniards deſpiſing their Threatning, told them they ſhould take Care how they offer'd a⯑ny Injury to their Plantation or Cattle, for if they did, they would ſhoot them as they would do ravenous Beaſts, wherever they found them; and if they fell into their Hands alive, they ſhould certainly be hang'd. However, this was far from cooling them, but away they went [58] raging and ſwearing like Furies of Hell. As ſoon as they were gone, came back the two Men in Paſſion and Rage enough alſo, tho' of another Kind; for having been at their Plantation, and finding it all demoliſh'd and deſtroy'd, as above, it will eaſily be ſuppos'd they had Provocation e⯑nough; they could ſcarce have Room to tell their Tale, the Spaniards were ſo eager to tell them theirs; and it was ſtrange enough to find three Men thus bully nineteen, and receive no Puniſhment at all.

The Spaniards indeed deſpiſed them, and eſpe⯑cially having thus diſarm'd them, made light of all their Threatnings; but the two Engliſh Men reſolv'd to have their Remedy againſt them, what Pain ſoever it coſt to find them out.

But the Spaniards interpos'd here too, and told them, that as they had diſarm'd them, they could not conſent that they (the Two) ſhould purſue them with Fire-Arms and perhaps kill them; but ſaid the grave Spaniard, who was their Go⯑vernour, we will endeavour to make them do you Juſtice if you will leave it to us, for as there is no doubt but they will come to us again when their Paſſion is over, being not able to ſubſiſt without our Aſſiſtance, we promiſe you to make no Peace with them, without having a full Satiſ⯑faction for you; upon this Condition we hope you will promiſe to uſe no Violence with them, other than in your own Defence.

The two Engliſh Men yielded to this very awkardly, and with great Reluctance, but the Spaniards proteſted, they did it only to keep [59] them from Bloodſhed, and to make all eaſy at laſt; for ſaid they, we are not ſo many of us, here is Room enough for us all, and it is great pity we ſhould not be all good Friends; at length they did conſent, and waited for the Iſſue of the Thing, living for ſome Days with the Spaniards, for their own Habitation was deſtroyed.

In about five Days Time the three Vagrants, tir'd with Wandring, and almoſt ſtarv'd with Hunger, having chiefly liv'd on Turtles Eggs all that while, came back to the Grove, and find⯑ing my Spaniard, who, as I have ſaid, was the Governour, and two more with him walking by the Side of the Creek; they came up in a very ſubmiſſive humble Manner, and begg'd to be receiv'd again into the Family. The Spaniards uſed them civilly, but told them, they had acted ſo unnaturally by their Countrymen, and ſo very groſsly by them (the Spaniards) that they could not come to any Concluſion without conſulting the two Engliſh Men and the reſt; but however, they would go to them and diſcourſe about it, and they ſhould know in half an Hour. It may de gueſs'd, that they were very hard put to it, for it ſeems, as they were to wait this half Hour for an An⯑ſwer, they begg'd they would ſend them out ſome Bread in the mean Time, which he did, and ſent them at the ſame Time a large Piece of Goats Fleſh, and a broil'd Parrot, which they eat very heartily, for they were hungry enough.

After half an Hour's Conſultation they were call'd in, and a long Debate had among them, their two Countrymen charging them with the [60] Ruin of all their Labour, and a Deſign to murther them; all which they own'd before, and therefore could not deny now; upon the whole, the Spaniard acted the Moderator between them, and as they had oblig'd the two Engliſh Men not to hurt the three while they were naked and un⯑arm'd, ſo they now oblig'd the three to go and build their Fellows two Huts, one of the ſame, and the other of larger Dimenſions, than they were before; to fence their Ground again where they had pull'd up the Fences, plant Trees in the Room of thoſe pull'd up, dig up the Land again for planting Corn, where they had ſpoil'd it; and in a Word, to reſtore every Thing in the ſame State as they found it, as near as they could, for entirely it could not be, the Seaſon for the Corn, and the Growth of the Trees, and Hedges, not being poſſible to be reco⯑vered.

Well, they ſubmitted to all this, and as they had Plenty of Proviſions given them all the while, they grew very orderly, and the whole Society began to live pleaſantly and agreeably together, only that theſe three Fellows could ne⯑ver be perſwaded to work, I mean for themſelves, except now and then a little, juſt as they plea⯑ſed; however, the Spaniards told them plainly, that if they would but live ſociably and friend⯑ly together, and ſtudy in the whole the Good of the Plantation, they would be content to work for them, and let them walk about and be as idle as they pleas'd; and thus having liv'd pret⯑ty well together for a Month or two, the Spa⯑niards gave them Arms again, and give them Liberty to go abroad with them as before.

[61] It was not above a Week after they had theſe Arms, and went abroad, but the ungrateful Crea⯑tures began to be as inſolent and troubleſom as be⯑fore; but however, an Accident happening pre⯑ſently upon this, which endanger'd the Safety of them all, they were oblig'd to lay by all private Reſentments, and look to the Preſervation of their Lives.

It happen'd one Night, that the Spaniard Go⯑vernour, as I call him, that is to ſay, the Spaniard, whoſe Life I had ſav'd, who was now the Cap⯑tain, or Leader, or Governour of the reſt, found himſelf very uneaſy in the Night, and could by no Means get any Sleep; he was perfectly well in Body, as he told me the Story, only found his Thoughts tumultuous, his Mind run upon Men fighting, and killing of one another, but was broad awake, and could not by any Means get any Sleep; in ſhort, he lay a great while, but growing more and more uneaſy, he reſolv'd to riſe: As they lay, being ſo many of them, upon Goat-skins, laid thick upon ſuch Couches and Pads, as they made for themſelves, not in Ham⯑mocks and Ship-Beds, as I did, who was but one, ſo they had little to do, when they were willing to riſe, but to get up upon their Feet, and perhaps put on a Coat, ſuch as it was, and their Pumps, and they were ready for going any Way that their Thoughts guided them.

Being thus gotten up, he look'd out, but being dark, he could ſee little or nothing, and beſides the Trees which I had planted, as in my former Account is deſcribed, and which were now [62] grown tall intercepted his Sight, ſo that he could only look up, and ſee that it was a clear Star-light Night, and hearing no Noiſe, he re⯑turn'd and laid him down again; but it was all one, he could not ſleep, nor could he compoſe himſelf to any Thing like Reſt, but his Thoughts were to the laſt Degree uneaſy, and yet he knew not for what.

Having made ſome Noiſe with riſing and walking about, going out and coming in, ano⯑ther of them wak'd, and calling, ask'd, who it was that was up? The Governour told him, how it had been with him. Say you ſo, ſays the other Spaniard, ſuch Things are not to be ſlighted, I aſſure; there is certain⯑ly ſome Miſchief working, ſays he, near us, and preſently he asked him where are the Engliſh Men? They are all in their Huts, ſays he, ſafe enough. It ſeems, the Spaniards had kept Poſ⯑ſeſſion of the main Apartment, and had made a Place where the three Engliſh Men, ſince their laſt Mutiny always quarter'd by themſelves, and could not come at the reſt. Well, ſays the Spa⯑niard, there is ſomething in it, I am perſwaded from my own Experience; I am ſatisfy'd our Spirits embodied have a Converſe with, and receive Intelligence from the Spirits unembodi⯑ed and inhabiting the inviſible World, and this friendly Notice is given for our Advantage, if we know how to make Uſe of it. Come, ſays he, let us go out and look abroad, and if we find nothing at all in it to juſtify the Trouble, I'll tell you a Story to the Purpoſe, that ſhall convince you of the Juſtice of my propoſing it.

[63] In a Word, they went out to go to the Top of the Hill, where I us'd to go, but they being ſtrong and in good Company, not alone, as I was, us'd none of my Cautions, to go up by the Ladder, and then pulling it up after them, to go up a ſecond Stage to the Top, but were go⯑ing round thro' the Grove unconcern'd and un⯑weary, when they were ſurpriz'd with ſeeing a Light, as of Fire, a very little Way off from them, and hearing the Voices of Men, not of one, or two, but of a great Number.

In all the Diſcoveries I had made of the Sa⯑vages landing on the Iſland, it was my conſtant Care to prevent them making the leaſt Diſco⯑very of there being any Inhabitant upon the Place; and when by any Occaſion they came to know it, they felt it ſo effectually, that they that got away, were ſcarce able to give any Ac⯑count of it, for we diſappear'd as ſoon as poſſi⯑ble, nor did ever any that had ſeen me, eſcape to tell any one elſe, except it was the three Sa⯑vages in our laſt Encounter, who jump'd into the Boat, of whom I mention'd, that I was a⯑fraid they ſhould go Home and bring more Help.

Whether it was the Conſequence of the E⯑ſcape of thoſe Men, that ſo great a Number came now together, or whether they came ig⯑norantly and by Accident on their uſual bloody Errand, they could not it ſeems underſtand; but whatever it was, it had been their Buſineſs, either to have conceal'd themſelves, as not to have ſeen them at all, much leſs to have let the Savages have ſeen that there were any In⯑habitants [64] in the Place, or to have fallen upon them ſo effectually, as that not a Man of them ſhould have eſcap'd, which could only have been by getting in between them and their Boats; but this Preſence of Mind was wanting to them, which was the Ruin of their Tranquil⯑lity for a great while.

We need not doubt, but that the Governour and the Man with him, ſurpriz'd with this Sight, run back immediately, and rais'd their Fellows, giving them an Account of the imminent Danger they were all in; and they again as readily took the Alarm, but it was impoſſible to perſwade them to ſtay cloſe within where they were, but that they muſt run all out to ſee how Things ſtood.

While it was dark indeed, they were well e⯑nough, and they had Opportunity enough for ſome Hours to view them by the Light of three Fires they had made at a Diſtance from one a⯑nother; what they were doing they knew not, and what to do themſelves they knew not. For, firſt, the Enemy were too many; and ſecondly, they did not keep together, but were divided in⯑to ſeveral Parties, and were on Shore in ſeveral Places.

The Spaniards were in no ſmall Conſternation at this Sight, and as they found that the Fel⯑lows ran ſtraggling all over the Shore, they made no Doubt, but firſt or laſt, ſome of them would chop in upon their Habitation, or upon ſome other Place, where they would ſee the Token of Inhabitants, and they were in great Perplexity alſo for fear of their Flock of Goats, [65] which would have been little leſs than ſtarving them, if they would have been deſtroy'd; ſo the firſt Thing they reſolv'd upon, was to diſ⯑patch three Men away before it was light. viz. two Spaniards and one Engliſhman to drive all the Goats away to the great Valley where the Cave was, and if Need were, to drive them in⯑to the very Cave itſelf.

Could they have ſeen the Savages all toge⯑ther in one Body, and at any Diſtance from their Canoes, they reſolv'd, if they had been an hundred of them, to have attack'd them; but that could not be obtain'd, for they were ſome of them two Miles off from the other, and, as it appear'd afterwards, were of two different Nations.

And after having muſed a great while on the Courſe they ſhould take, and beaten their Brains in conſidering their preſent Circumſtances, they reſolv'd at laſt, while it was dark, to ſend the old Savage, Friday's Father, out as a Spy, to learn, if poſſible, ſomething concerning them, what they came for, and what they intended to do; the old Man readily undertook it, and ſtripping himſelf quite naked, as moſt of the Savages were, away he went: After he had been gone an Hour or two, he brings Word, that he had been among them undiſcover'd, that he found they were two Parties, and of two ſeveral Nations who had War with one another, and had had a great Battle in their own Country, and that both Sides having had ſeveral Priſoners taken in the Fight, they were by meer Chance landed all in the ſame Iſland, for the devouring their Priſoners, and [66] making merry; but their coming ſo by Chance to the ſame Place had ſpoil'd all their Mirth; that they were in a great Rage at one another, and that they were ſo near, that he believ'd they would fight again, as ſoon as Day-light began to appear; but he did not perceive that they had any Notion of any Body's being on the Iſland but themſelves. He had hardly made an End of telling his Story, when they could perceive, by the unuſual Noiſe they made, that the two lit⯑tle Armies were engag'd in a bloody Fight.

Friday's Father uſed all the Arguments he could to perſuade our People to lie cloſe, and not be ſeen; he told them their Safety conſiſted in it, and that they had nothing to do but lie ſtill, and the Savages would kill one another to their Hands, and then the reſt would go away; and it was ſo to a Tittle. But it was impoſſible to prevail, eſpecially from the Engliſhmen, their Curioſity was ſo importunate upon their Pru⯑dentials, that they muſt run out and ſee the Battle: However, they uſed ſome Caution too, (viz.) they did not go openly, juſt by their own Dwelling, but went farther into the Woods, and plac'd themſelves to Advantage, where they might ſecurely ſee them manage the Fight, and, as they thought, not to be ſeen by them; but it ſeems the Savages did ſee them, as we ſhall find hereafter.

The Battle was very fierce, and if I might believe the Engliſhmen, one of them ſaid, he could perceive, that ſome of them were Men of great Bravery, of invincible Spirits, and of great Policy in guiding the Fight. The Battle, they ſaid, held two Hours, before they could [67] gueſs which Party would be beaten; but then that Party which was neareſt our Peoples Habi⯑tation began to appear weakeſt, and after ſome Time more, ſome of them began to fly; and this put our Men again into a great Conſternation, leaſt any of thoſe that fled ſhould run into the Grove, before their Dwelling, for Shelter, and thereby involuntarily diſcover the Place; and that by Conſequence the Purſuers ſhould do the like in Search for them. Upon this they re⯑ſolv'd that they would ſtand arm'd within the Wall, and whoever came into the Grove, they ſhould ſally out over the Wall and kill them; ſo that, if poſſible, not one ſhould return to give an Account of it; they order'd alſo, that it ſhould be done with their Swords, or by knock⯑ing them down with the Stock of the Muſket, but not by ſhooting them, for fear of the Noiſe.

As they expected, it fell out; three of the routed Army fled for Life, and, croſſing the Creek, ran directly into the Place, not in the leaſt knowing whether they went, but running as into a thick Wood for Shelter; the Scout they kept to look Abroad, gave Notice of this with⯑in, with this Addition, to our Mens great Satiſ⯑faction (viz.) That the Conquerors had not pur⯑ſued them, or ſeen which Way they were gone; upon this, the Spaniard Governour, a Man of Humanity, would not ſuffer them to kill the three Fugitives, but ſending three Men out by the Top of the Hill, order'd them to go round and come in behind them, ſurprize and take them Priſoners, which-was done; the Reſidue of the conquer'd People fled to their Canoes and got off to Sea; the Victors retir'd, and made no [68] Purſuit or very little, but drawing themſelves into a Body together, gave two great ſkreaming Shouts, which they ſuppos'd was by way of Tri⯑umph, and ſo the Fight ended: And the ſame Day, about three a Clock in the Afternoon, they alſo march'd to their Canoes. And thus the Spa⯑niards had their Iſland again free to themſelves, their Fright was over, and they ſaw no Savages in ſeveral Years after.

After they were all gone, the Spaniards came out of their Den, and viewing the Field of Battle, they found about two and thirty dead Men upon the Spot; ſome were kill'd with great long Ar⯑rows, ſome of which were found ſticking in their Bodies; but moſt of them were kill'd with their great wooden Swords, ſixteen or ſeventeen of which they found in the Field of Battle, and as many Bows, with a great many Arrows: Theſe Swords were ſtrange great unweildy Things, and they muſt be very ſtrong Men that uſed them: Moſt of thoſe Men that were kill'd with them, had their Heads maſh'd to pieces, as we may ſay, or as we call it in Engliſh, their Brains knock'd out, and ſeveral their Arms and Legs broken; ſo that 'tis evident they fight with inexpreſſible Rage and Fury. We found not one wounded Man that was not ſtone dead; for either they ſtay by their Enemy till they have quite kill'd him, or they carry all the wounded Men, that are not quite dead, away with them.

This Deliverance tam'd our Engliſhmen for a great while; the Sight had fill'd them with Hor⯑ror, and the Conſequences appear'd terrible to the laſt Degree, even to them, if ever they ſhould fall into the Hands of thoſe Creatures, who would not [69] only kill them as Enemies, but kill them for Food, as we kill our Cattle. And they profeſs'd to me, that the Thoughts of being eaten up like Beef or Mutton, tho' it was ſuppos'd it was not to be till they were dead, had ſomething in it ſo hor⯑rible, that it nauſeated their very Stomachs, made them ſick when they thought of it, and fill'd their Minds with ſuch unuſual Terror, that they were not themſelves for ſome Weeks after.

This, as I ſaid, tam'd even the three Engliſh Brutes I have been ſpeaking of; and for a great while after they were very tractable, and went about the common Buſineſs of their whole Society well enough; planted, ſow'd, reap'd, and began to be all naturaliz'd to the Country, But ſome⯑time after this, they fell all into ſuch Meaſures which brought them into a great deal of Trouble.

They had taken three Priſoners, as I had ob⯑ſerv'd, and theſe three beeing luſty ſtout young Fellows, they made them Servants, and taught them to work for them; and, as Slaves, they did well enough; but they did not take their Mea⯑ſures with them as I did by my Man Friday, viz. to begin with them upon the Principle of having ſav'd their Lives, and then inſtruct them in the rational Principles of Life, much leſs of Religion, civilizing and reducing them by kind Uſage and affectionate Arguings; but as they gave them their Food every Day, ſo they gave them their Work too, and kept them fully employ'd in Drudgery enough; but they fail'd in this, by it, that they never had them to aſſiſt them and fight for them, as I had my Man Friday, who was as true to me as the very Fleſh upon my Bones.

[70] But to come to the Family Part, being all now good Friends; for common Danger, as I ſaid above, had effectually reconcil d them, they began to conſider their general Circumſtances; and the firſt Thing that came under their Conſideration was, Whether, ſeeing the Savages particularly haunted that Side of the Iſland, and that there were more remote and retir'd Parts of it equally adapted to their Way of Living, and manifeſtly to their Advantage, they ſhould not rather remove their Habitation, and plant in ſome more proper Place for their Safety, and eſpecially for the Security of their Cattle and Corn?

Upon this, after long Debate, it was conclud⯑ed, That they would not remove their Habitati⯑on; becauſe, that ſome Time or other, they thought they might hear from their Governor again, meaning me; and if I ſhould ſend any one to ſeek them, I ſhould be ſure to direct them to that Side, where, if they ſhould find the Place demoliſh'd, they would conclude the Savages had kill'd us all, and we were gone, and ſo our Sup⯑ply would go too.

But as to their Corn and Cattle, they agreed to remove them into the Valley where my Cave was, where the Land was as proper for both, and where indeed there was Land enough: However, upon ſecond Thought, they alter'd one Part of that Reſolution too, and reſolv'd only to remove Part of their Cattel thither, and plant Part of their Corn there; and ſo if one Part was deſtroy'd the other might be ſav'd: And one Part of Pru⯑dence they uſed, which it was very well they did, viz. That they never truſted thoſe three Sa⯑vages, which they had Priſoners, with knowing [71] anything of the Plantation they had made in that Valley, or of any Cattle they had there; much leſs of the Cave there, which they kept, in Caſe of Neceſſity, as a ſafe Retreat, and whither they carry'd alſo the two Barrels of Powder, which I had ſent them at my coming away.

But however they reſolv'd not to change their Habitation, yet they agreed, that as I had care⯑fully cover'd it firſt with a Wall or Fortification, and then with a Grove of Trees; ſo, ſeeing their Safety conſiſted entirely in their being conceal'd, of which they were now fully convinc'd; they ſet to Work to cover and conceal the Place yet more effectually than before: To this Purpoſe, as I had planted Trees, (or rather thruſt in Stakes, which in Time all grew up to be Trees) for ſome good Di⯑ſtance before the Entrance into my Apartment, they went on in the ſame Manner, and fill'd up the reſt of that whole Space of Ground, from the Trees I had ſet, quite down to the Side of the Creek, where, as I ſaid, I landed my Floats, and even into the very Ouze where the Tide flow'd, not ſo much as leaving any Place to land, or any Sign that there had been any Landing there⯑about: Theſe Stakes alſo, being of a Wood very forward to grow, as I have noted formerly, they took Care to have generally very much larger and taller than thoſe which I had planted; and as they grew apace, ſo they planted them ſo ve⯑ry thick and cloſe together, that when they had been three or four Years grown, there was no piercing with the Eye any conſiderable Way into the Plantation. And as for that Part which I had planted, the Trees were grown as thick as a Man's Thigh; and among them they placed ſo many other ſhort ones, and ſo thick, that, [72] in a Word, it ſtood like a Palliſado, a quarter of a Mile thick, and it was next to impoſſible to penetrate it, but with a little Army to cut it all down; for a little Dog could hardly get between the Trees, they ſtood ſo cloſe.

But this was not all; for they did the ſame by all the Ground to the right Hand, and to the Left, and round even to the Top of the Hill; leaving no Way, not ſo much as for themſelves to come out, but by the Ladder placed up to the Side of the Hill, and then lifted up, and placed again from the firſt Stage up to the Top; which Ladder, when it was taken down, nothing but what had Wings or Witchcraft to aſſiſt it, could come at them.

This was excellently well contriv'd: Nor was it leſs than what they afterwards found Occa⯑ſion for; which ſerv'd to convince me, that as human Prudence has the Authority of Provi⯑dence to juſtify it, ſo it has, doubtleſs, the Di⯑rection of Providence to ſet it to Work; and would we liſten carefully to the Voice of it, I am fully perſuaded we might prevent many of the Diſaſters which our Lives are now, by our own Negligence, ſubjected to. But this by the Way.

I return to the Story. They liv'd two Years after this in perfect Retirement, and had no more Viſits from the Savages: They had, indeed, an Alarm given them one Morning which put them into a great Conſternation; for ſome of the Spaniards being out early one Morning on the Weſt Side, or rather the End of the Iſland, which, by the Way, was that End where I never went, for fear of being diſcover'd, they were ſurpriz'd with ſeeing above twenty Canoes of Indians, juſt coming on Shore.

[73] They made the beſt of their Way Home, in Hurry enough; and, giving the Alarm to their Comrades, they kept cloſe all that Day and the next, going out only at Night, to make Obſer⯑vation: But they had the good Luck to be mi⯑ſtaken; for, wherever the Savages went, they did not land at that Time on the Iſland, but pur⯑ſued ſome other Deſign.

And now they had another Broil with the three Engliſhmen; one of which, a moſt turbulent Fellow, being in a Rage at one of the three Slaves, which I mention'd they had taken, be⯑cauſe the Fellow had not done ſomething right which he bid him do, and ſeem'd a little un⯑tractable in his ſhowing him, drew a Hatchet out of a Frog Belt, in which he wore it by his Side, and fell upon the poor Savage, not to cor⯑rect him, but to kill him. One of the Spaniards, who was by, ſeeing him give the Fellow a bar⯑barous Cut with the Hatchet, which he aim'd at his Head, but ſtruck into his Shoulder, ſo that he thought he had cut the poor Creature's Arm off, ran to him, and entreating him not to murder the poor Man, clapt in between him and the Savage, to prevent the Miſchief.

The Fellow being enrag'd the more at this, ſtruck at the Spaniard with his Hatchet, and ſwore he would ſerve him as he intended to ſerve the Savage; which the Spaniard perceiving, a⯑voided the Blow; and with a Shovel which he had in his Hand, (for they were all working in the Field about their Corn-Land) knock'd the Brute down: Another of the Engliſhmen running at the ſame Time to help his Comrade, knock'd the [74] Spaniard down; and then two Spaniards more came in to help their Man, and a third Engliſhman fell in upon them. They had none of them any Fire-Arms, or any other Weapons but Hatchers and other Tools, except this third Engliſhman; he had one of my old ruſty Cutlaſhes, with which he made at the two laſt Spaniards, and wounded them both. This Fray ſet the whole Family in an Up⯑roar, and more Help coming in, they took the three Engliſhmen Priſoners. The next Queſtion was, What ſhould be done with them, they had been ſo often mutinous, and were ſo furious, ſo deſperate, and ſo idle withal, that they knew not what Courſe to take with them; for they were miſchievous to the higheſt Degree, and va⯑lued not what Hurt they did to any Man; ſo that, in ſhort, it was not ſafe to live with them.

The Spaniard, who was Governor, told them in ſo many Words, That if they had been of his own Country, he would have hang'd them; for all Laws and all Governors were to preſerve So⯑ciety; and thoſe who were dangerous to the So⯑ciety, ought to be expell'd out of it; but as they were Engliſhmen, and that it was to the generous Kindneſs of an Engliſhman that they all ow'd their Preſervation and Deliverance, he would uſe them with all poſſible Lenity, and would leave them to the Judgment of the other two Engliſhmen, who were their Countrymen.

One of the two honeſt Engliſhmen ſtood up, and ſaid, they deſir'd it might not be left to them; for, ſays he, I am ſure we ought to ſentence them to the Gallows; and with that gives an Account how Will. Atkins, one of the three, had propoſed to have all the five Engliſhmen join together, and mur⯑der [75] all the Spaniards when they were in their Sleep.

When the Spaniſh Governor heard this, he calls to William Atkins, How, Seignior Atkins, ſays he, would you murder us all? What have you to ſay to that? That harden'd Villain was ſo far from denying it, that he ſaid it was true, and G—d d—m him they would do it ſtill before they had done with them. Well, but Seignior Atkins, ſays the Spaniard, What have we done to you, that you will kill us? And what would you get by killing us? And what muſt we do to pre⯑vent your killing us? Muſt we kill you, or you will kill us? Why will you put us to the Neceſſity of this, Seignior Atkins, ſays the Spaniard very calmly and ſmiling.

Seignior Atkins was in ſuch a Rage at the Spa⯑niard's making a Jeſt of it, that had he not been held by three Men, and withal had no Weapons with him, it was thought he would have attempt⯑ed to have kill'd the Spaniard in the Middle of all the Company.

This hair-brain'd Carriage oblig'd them to con⯑ſider ſeriouſly what was to be done. The two Engliſhmen and the Spaniard who ſav'd the poor Savage, was of the Opinion, they ſhould hang one of the three for an Example to the reſt, and that, particularly, it ſhould be he that had twice at⯑tempted to commit Murder with his Hatchet; and indeed there was ſome Reaſon to believe he had done it, for the poor Savage was in ſuch a mi⯑ſerable Condition with the Wound he had receiv'd, that it was thought he could not live.

[76] But the Governor Spaniard ſtill ſaid No, it was an Engliſhman that had ſav'd all their Lives, and he would never conſent to put an Engliſhman to Death, tho' he had murder'd half of them, nay, he ſaid, if he had been kill'd himſelf by an Engliſh⯑man, and had Time left to ſpeak, it ſhould be, that they ſhould pardon him.

This was ſo poſitively inſiſted on by the Go⯑vernor Spaniard, that there was no gain ſaying it; and as merciful Councils are moſt apt to prevail where they are ſo earneſtly preſs'd, ſo they all came into it; but then it was to be conſider'd, what ſhould be done to keep them from doing the Miſchief they deſign'd; for all agreed, Governor and all, that Means were to be uſed for preſerving the Society from Danger; after a long Debate it was agreed, Firſt, That they ſhould be diſarm'd, and not permitted to have either Gun, or Powder, or Shot, or Sword, or any Weapon, and ſhould be turn'd out of the Society, and left to live where they would, and how they would, by them⯑ſelves; but that none of the reſt, either Spaniards or Engliſh, ſhould converſe with them, ſpeak with them, or have any Thing to do with them; that they ſhould be forbid to come within a certain Diſtance of the Place where the reſt dwelt; and that if they offer'd to commit any Diſorder, ſo as to ſpoil, burn, kill, or deſtroy any of the Corn, Plantings, Buildings, Fences, or Cattle belonging to the Society, they ſhould dye without Mercy, and they would ſhoot them where-ever they could find them.

The Governor, a Man of great Humanity, muſing upon the Sentence, conſider'd a little up⯑on [77] it, and turning to the two honeſt Engliſhmen ſaid, Hold, you muſt reflect, that it will be long e'er they can raiſe Corn and Cattle of their own, and they muſt not ſtarve: We muſt therefore al⯑low them Proviſions, ſo he caus'd to be added, That they ſhould have a Proportion of Corn gi⯑ven them to laſt them eight Months, and for Seed to ſow, by which Time they might be ſuppos'd to raiſe ſome of their own; that they ſhould have ſix Milch-Goats, four He-Goats, and ſix Kids given them, as well for preſent Subſiſtence, as for a Store; and that they ſhould have Tools given them for their Work in the Fields; ſuch as, ſix Hatchets, an Ax, a Saw, and the like: But they ſhould have none of theſe Tools, or Proviſi⯑ons, unleſs they would ſwear ſolemnly, that they would not hurt or injure any of the Spaniards with them, or of their Fellow Engliſhmen.

Thus they diſmiſs'd them the Society, and turn'd them out to ſhift for themſelves. They went away ſullen and refractory, as neither con⯑tented to go away, or to ſtay; but, as there was no Remedy, they went, pretending, to go and chooſe a Place where they would ſettle themſelves to plant and live by themſelves, and ſome Provi⯑ſion were given them, but no Weapons.

About four or five Days after, they came a⯑gain for ſome Victuals, and gave the Governour an Account where they had pitch'd their Tents, and mark'd themſelves out an Habitation and Plantation; and it was a very convenient Place indeed, on the remoteſt Part of the Iſland, N.E. much about the Place where I landed in my firſt Voyage, when I was driven out to Sea, the Lord knows whether, in my Attempt to ſurround the Iſland.

[78] Here they built themſelves two handſome Huts, and contriv'd them, in a Manner, like my firſt Habitation, being cloſe under the Side of a Hill, having ſome Trees growing already on three Sides of it, ſo that by planting others it would be very eaſily cover'd from the Sight, un⯑leſs narrowly ſearch'd for; they deſir'd ſome dry'd Goats-ſkins for Beds and Covering, which were given them; and upon giving their Words, that they would not diſturb the reſt, or injure any of their Plantations, they gave them Hatch⯑ets and what other Tools they could ſpare, ſome Peas, Barley, and Rice, for ſowing, and, in a Word, any thing they wanted, but Arms and Ammunition.

They liv'd in this ſeparate Condition about ſix Months, and had gotten in their firſt Harveſt, tho' the Quantity was but ſmall, the Parcel of Land they had planted being but little; for indeed, ha⯑ving all their Plantation to form, they had a great deal of Work upon their Hands; and when they came to make Boards, and Pots, and ſuch Things, they were quite out of their Element, and could make nothing of it; and when the rainy Seaſon came on, for want of a Cave in the Earth, they could not keep their Grain dry, and it was in great Danger of ſpoiling: And this humbled them much; ſo they came and begg'd the Spani⯑ards to help them, which they very readily did, and in four Days work'd a great Hole in the Side of the Hill for them, big enough to ſecure their Corn, and other Things from the Rain; but it was but a poor Place, at beſt, compar'd to mine; and eſpecially as mine was then, for the Spaniards had greatly enlarg'd it, and made ſeveral new Apartments in it.

[79] About three Quarters of a Year after this Sepa⯑ration, a new Frolick took theſe Rogues, which, together with the former Villany they had com⯑mitted, brought Miſchief enough upon them, and had very near been the Ruin of the whole Colo⯑ny: The three new Sociates began, it ſeems, to be weary of the laborious Life they led, and that without Hope of bettering their Circumſtances; and a Whim took them, that they would make a Voyage to the Continent from whence the Sa⯑vages came, and would try if they could not ſeize upon ſome Priſoners among the Natives there, and bring them Home, ſo to make them do the laborious Part of their Work for them.

The Project was not ſo prepoſterous, if they had gone no farther; but they did nothing, and pro⯑pos'd nothing, but had either Miſchief in the De⯑ſign, or Miſchief in the Event: And if I may give my Opinion, they ſeem'd to be under a Blaſt from Heaven; for if we will not allow a viſible Curſe to purſue viſible Crimes, how ſhall we reconcile the Events of Things with the Divine Juſtice? It was certainly an apparent Vengeance on their Crime of Mutiny and Piracy, that brought them to the State they were in; and as they ſhew'd not the leaſt Remorſe for the Crime, but added new Vil⯑lanies to it, ſuch as, particularly, the Piece of monſtrous Cruelty of wounding a poor Slave, be⯑cauſe he did not, or perhaps could not, under⯑ſtand to do what he was directed; and to wound him in ſuch a Manner, as, no Queſtion, made him a Cripple all his Life; and in a Place where no Surgeon or Medicine could be had for his Cure; and what was ſtill worſe, the murderous Intent, or, to do Juſtice to the Crime, the intentional [80] Murder, for ſuch, to be ſure it was, as was af⯑terwards the form'd Deſign they all laid, to mur⯑der the Spaniards in cold Blood, and in their Sleep.

But I leave obſerving, and return to the Story; The three Fellows comes down to the Spaniards one Morning, and in very humble Terms deſir'd to be admitted to ſpeak with them: The Spani⯑ards very readily heard what they had to ſay, which was this, That they were tir'd of living in the Manner they did; that they were not handy enough to make the Neceſſaries they wanted; and that having no Help, they found they ſhould be ſtarv'd: But if the Spaniards would give them Leave to take one of the Canoes which they came over in, and give them Arms and Ammunition, proportion'd for their Defence, they would go over to the Main, and ſeek their Fortune, and ſo deliver them from the Trouble of ſupplying them with any other Proviſions.

The Spaniards were glad enough to be rid of them, but yet very honeſtly repreſented to them the certain Deſtruction they were running into; told them they had ſuffer'd ſuch Hardſhips up⯑on that very Spot, that they could, without any Spirit of Propheſy, tell them, that they would be ſtarv'd, or be murder'd, and bad them conſi⯑der of it.

The Men reply'd audaciouſly, they ſhould be ſtarv'd if they ſtay'd here, for they could not work, and would not work; and they could but be ſtarv'd Abroad, and if they were mur⯑der'd, there was an End of them, they had no Wives or Children to cry after them; and [81] in ſhort, inſiſted importunately upon their De⯑mand, declaring, that they would go, whether they would give them any Arms or no.

The Spaniards told them, with great Kindneſs, that if they were reſolv'd to go, they ſhould not go like naked Men, and be in no Conditi⯑on to defend themſelves; and that tho' they could ill ſpare their Fire-Arms, having not enough for themſelves, yet they would let them have two Muſkets, a Piſtol, and a Cutlaſh, and each Man a Hatchet, which they thought was ſufficient for them.

In a Word, they accepted the Offer, and having baked them Bread enough to ſerve them a Month, and given them as much Goats-Fleſh as they could eat while it was ſweet, and a great Baſket full of dry'd Grapes, a Pot full of freſh Water, and a young Kid alive to kill, they boldly ſet out in a Canoe for a Voyage over the Sea, where it was at leaſt 40 Miles broad.

The Boat was indeed a large one, and would have very well carry'd fifteen or twenty Men; and, therefore, was rather too big for them to manage: But as they had a fair Breeze, and the Flood-Tide with them, they did well enough: They had made a Maſt of a long Pole, and a Sail of four large Goat-Skins dry'd, which they had ſow'd or lac'd together; and away they went mer⯑rily enough; the Spaniards call'd after them, Bon Veyajo; and no Man ever thought of ſeeing them any more,

The Spaniards would often ſay to one another, and the two honeſt Engliſh Men who remain'd behind, [82] how quietly and comfortably they liv'd now thoſe three turbulent Fellows were gone; as for their ever coming again, that was the remoteſt Thing from their Thoughts that could be imagin'd; when behold, after two and twenty Days Abſence, one of the Engliſh Men being abroad upon his Planting-Work, ſees three ſtrange Men coming to⯑wards him at a Diſtance, with Guns upon their Shoulders.

Away runs the Engliſh Man, as if he was be⯑witch'd, comes frighted and amaz'd to the Go⯑vernour Spaniard, and tells him they were all un⯑done, for there were Strangers landed upon the I⯑ſland, he could not tell who: The Spaniard, pau⯑ſing a while, ſays to him, How do you mean, you cannot tell who? They are the Savages to be ſure, No, no, ſays the Engliſh Man, they are Men in Cloaths with Arms: Nay, then, ſays the Spaniard, Why are you concern'd? If they are not Savages they muſt be Friends, for there is no Chriſtian Na⯑tion upon Earth but will do us Good rather than Harm.

While they were debating thus, comes the three Engliſh Men, and ſtanding without the Wood, which was new planted, hallo'd to them; they preſently knew their Voices, and ſo all the Wonder of that kind ceas'd. But now the Ad⯑miration was turn'd upon another Queſtion, (viz.) what could be the Matter, and what made them come back again?

It was not long before they brought the Men in, and enquiring where they had been, and what they had been doing, they gave them a full Ac⯑count of their Voyage in a few Words, (viz.) That [83] they reach'd the Land in two Days, or ſomething leſs, but finding the People alarm'd at their com⯑ing, and preparing with Bows and Arrows to fight them, they durſt not go on Shore, but ſail'd on to the Northward ſix or ſeven Hours, till they came to a great Opening, by which they perceiv'd, that the Land they ſaw from our Iſland was not the Main, but an Iſland; that entring that Opening of the Sea, they ſaw another Iſland on the Right-Hand North, and ſeveral more Weſt; and being reſolv'd to land ſomewhere, they put over to one of the Iſlands which lay Weſt, and went boldly on Shore; that they found the People very cour⯑teous and friendly to them, and that they gave them ſeveral Roots and ſome dry'd Fiſh, and ap⯑pear'd very ſociable; and the Women, as well as the Men, were very forward to ſupply them with any thing they could get for them to eat, and brought it to them a great Way upon their Heads.

They continu'd here four Days, and enquir'd, as well as they could of them by Signs, what Na⯑tions were this Way and that Way; and were told of ſeveral fierce and terrible People that liv'd al⯑moſt every Way, who, as they made Signs to them, uſed to eat Men. But as for themſelves, they ſaid, that they never eat Men or Women, except only ſuch as they took in the Wars, and then they own'd that they made a great Feaſt, and eat their Priſoners.

The Engliſh Men enquir'd when they had a Feaſt of that Kind, and they told him about two Moons ago, pointing to the Moon, and then to two Fin⯑gers; and that their great King had two hundred Priſoners now, which he had taken in his War; and they were feeling them to make them fat for [84] the next Feaſt. The Engliſh Men ſeem'd mighty diſirous to ſee thoſe Priſoners, but the other mi⯑ſtaking them, thought they were deſirous to have ſome of them to carry away for their own eating. So they beckon'd to them, pointing to the ſetting of the Sun, and then to the riſing, which was to ſignify, that the next Morning at Sun-riſing they would bring ſome for them; and accordingly the next Morning they brought down five Women and eleven Men, and gave them to the Engliſh Men, to carry with them on their Voyage, juſt as we would bring ſo many Cows and Oxen down to a Sea-Port Town, to victual a Ship.

As brutiſh and barbarous as theſe Fellows were at Home, their Stomachs turn'd at this Sight, and they did not know what to do; to refuſe the Pri⯑ſoners, would have been the higheſt Affront to the ſavage Gentry that offer'd them; and what to do with them they knew not; however, upon ſome Debates, they reſolv'd to accept of them, and in Re⯑turn they gave the Savages that brought them one of their Hatchets, an old Key, a Knife, and ſix or ſeven of their Bullets, which, tho' they did not underſtand, they ſeem'd extremely pleas'd with: And then tying the poor Creatures Hands behind them, they (the People) dragg'd the poor Priſo⯑ners into the Boat for our Men.

The Engliſh Men were oblig'd to come away as ſoon as they had them, or elſe they that gave them this noble Preſent would certainly have expected that they ſhould have gone to work with them, have kill'd two or three of them the next Morning, and perhaps have invited the Donors to Dinner.

But having taken their Leave with all the Re⯑ſpects [85] and Thanks that could well paſs between People, where on either Side they underſtood not one Word they could ſay, they put off with their Boat, and came back towards the firſt Iſland, where, when they arriv'd, they ſet eight of their Priſo⯑ners at Liberty, there being too many of them for their Occaſion.

In their Voyage, they endeavour'd to have ſome Communication with their Priſoners, but it was impoſſible to make them underſtand any Thing; nothing they could ſay to them, or give them, or do for them, but was look'd upon as going a⯑bout to murder them. They firſt of all unbound them, but the poor Creatures ſkream'd at that, eſ⯑pecially the Women, as if they had juſt felt the Knife at their Throats; for they immediately concluded they were unbound on purpoſe to be kill'd.

If they gave them any Thing to eat, it was the ſame Thing; then they concluded it was for fear they ſhould ſink in Fleſh, and ſo not be fat enough to kill. If they look'd at one of them more parti⯑cularly, the Party preſently concluded, it was to ſee whether he or ſhe was fatteſt and fitteſt to kill. Nay, after they had brought them quite over, and began to uſe them kindly, and treat them well, ſtill they expected every Day to make a Din⯑ner or a Supper for their new Maſters.

When the three Wanderers had given this un⯑accountable Hiſtory, or Journal of their Voyage, the Spaniard aſk'd them, Where their new Family was? and being told that they had brought them on Shore, and put them into one of their Huts, and were come up to beg ſome Victuals for them; they (the Spaniards) and the other two Engliſh [86] Men, that is to ſay, the whole Colony, reſolv'd to go all down to the Place and ſee them, and did ſo, and Friday's Father with them.

When they came into the Hut, there they ſate all bound; for when they had brought them on Shore, they bound their Hands that they might not take the Boat and make their Eſcape. There, I ſay, they ſate, all of them ſtark naked: Firſt, There were three Men, luſty comely Fellows, well ſhap'd, ſtrait and fair Limbs, about thirty to thir⯑ty five Years of Age; and five Women, whereof two might be from thirty to forty, two more not above four or five and twenty, and the fifth, a tall comely Maiden about ſixteen or ſeventeen: The Women were well favour'd agreeable Perſons both in Shape and Features, only tawny, and two of them, had they been perfect White, would have paſs'd for very handſome Women even in London itſelf, having pleaſant agreeable Counte⯑nances and of a very modeſt Behaviour, eſpecially when they came afterwards to be cloath'd, and dreſs'd, as they call'd it, tho' the Dreſs was very indifferent it muſt be confeſs'd; of which hereafter.

The Sight, you may be ſure, was ſomething uncouth to our Spaniards, who were (to give them a juſt Character) Men of the beſt Behaviour, of the moſt calm, ſedate Tempers, and perfect Good-humour that ever I met with, and in particular, of the moſt Modeſty, as will preſently appear: I ſay, the Sight was very uncouth, to ſee two na⯑ked Men and five naked Women, all together bound, and in the moſt miſerable Circumſtances that Human Nature could be ſuppos'd to be, viz. to be expecting every Moment to be dragg'd out, [87] and have their Brains knock'd out, and then to be eaten up like a Calf that is kill'd for a Dainty.

The firſt Thing they did, was to cauſe the old Indian, Friday's Father, to go in and ſee firſt if he knew any of them, and then if he underſtood any of their Speech: As ſoon as the old Man came in, he look'd ſeriouſly at them, but knew none of them; neither could any of them underſtand a Word he ſaid, or a Sign he could make, except one of the Women.

However, this was enough to anſwer the End, which was to ſatisfy them, that the Men into whoſe Hands they were fallen, were Chriſtians; that they abhorr'd eating of Men or Women, and that they might be ſure they would not be kill'd: As ſoon as they were aſſur'd of this, they diſco⯑ver'd ſuch a Joy, and by ſuch aukward, and ſeve⯑ral Ways, as is hard to deſcribe; for it ſeems they were of ſeveral Nations.

The Woman, who was their Interpreter, was bid in the next Place to aſk them, if they were willing to be Servants, and to work for the Men who had brought them away, to ſave their Lives; at which they all fell a Dancing; and preſently one fell to taking up this, and another that, any Thing that lay next, to carry on their Shoulders, to intimate that they were willing to work.

The Governor, who found, that the having Women among them would preſently be attended with ſome Inconvenience, and might occaſion ſome Strife, and perhaps Blood; aſk'd the three Men, what they intended to do with theſe Wo⯑men, and how they intended to uſe them; whe⯑ther [88] as Servants, or as Women? One of the Eng⯑liſhmen anſwer'd very boldly and readily, That they would uſe them as both. To which the Go⯑vernor ſaid, I am not going to reſtrain you from it, you are your own Maſters as to that: But this I think is but juſt, for avoiding Diſorders and Quarrels among you; and I deſire it of you, for that Reaſon only, viz. That you will all engage, that if any of you take any of theſe Women, as a Woman or Wife, that he ſhall take but one; and that having taken one, none elſe ſhould touch her; for tho' we cannot marry any of you, yet 'tis but reaſonable, that while you ſtay here, the Woman any of you takes, ſhould be maintain'd by the Man that takes her, and ſhould be his Wife; I mean, ſays he, while he continues here, and that none elſe ſhall have any Thing to do with her: All this appear'd ſo juſt, that every one a⯑greed to it without any Difficulty.

Then the Engliſhmen aſk'd the Spaniards, if they deſign'd to take any of them? But every one of them anſwer'd, NO: Some of them ſaid, they had Wives in Spain, and the others did not like Women that were not Chriſtians; and all toge⯑ther declar'd, that they would not touch one of them; which was an Inſtance of ſuch Virtue, as I have not met with in all my Travels. On the other Hand, to be ſhort, the five Engliſhmen took them every one a Wife, that is to ſay, a tem⯑porary Wife; and ſo they ſet up a new Form of Living; for the Spaniards and Friday's Father liv'd in my old Habitation, which they had enlarg'd exceedingly within. The three Servants which were taken in the late Battle of the Savages, liv'd with them; and theſe carry'd on the main Part of the Colony, ſupply⯑ing [89] all the reſt with Food, and aſſiſting them in any Thing as they could, or as they found Neceſſi⯑ty requir'd.

But the Wonder of this Story was, how five ſuch refractory ill match'd Fellows ſhould agree about theſe Women, and that two of them ſhould not pitch upon the ſame Woman, eſpecially ſee⯑ing two or three of them were, without Compari⯑ſon, more agreeable than the other: But they took a good Way enough to prevent quarrelling among themſelves; for they ſet the five Women by themſelves in one of their Huts, and they went all into the other Hut, and drew Lots among them, who ſhould chuſe firſt.

He that drew to chuſe firſt, went away by him⯑ſelf to the Hut where the poor naked Creatures were, and fetch'd out her he choſe; and it was worth obſerving, that he that choſe firſt took her that was reckon'd the homelieſt, and the oldeſt of the five, which made Mirth enough among the reſt; and even the Spaniards laugh'd at it: But the Fel⯑low conſider'd better than any of them, that it was Application and Buſineſs that they were to ex⯑pect Aſſiſtance in, as much as any Thing elſe; and ſhe prov'd the beſt Wife of all the Parcel.

When the poor Women ſaw themſelves ſet in a Row thus, and fetch'd out one by one, the Ter⯑rors of their Condition return'd upon them again, and they firmly believ'd that they were now a going to be devour'd; accordingly, when the Engliſh Sailor came in and fetch'd out one of them; the reſt ſet up a moſt lamentable Cry, and hung a⯑bout her, and took their Leave of her with ſuch Agonies and ſuch Affection, as would have [90] griev'd the hardeſt Heart in the World; nor was it poſſible for the Engliſhmen to ſatisfy them, that were not to be immediately murder'd, 'till they fetch'd the old Man, Friday's Father, who im⯑mediately let them know that the five Men, who had fetch'd them out one by one, had choſen them for their Wives.

When they had done, and the Fright the Women were in was a little over, the Men went to Work, and the Spaniards came and help'd them; and in a few Hours they had built them every one a new Hut or Tent for their Lodging apart; for thoſe they had already, were crowded with their Tools, Houſhold-Stuff, and Proviſion. The three wicked Ones had pitch'd fartheſt off, and the two honeſt Ones nearer, but both on the North Shore of the Iſland, ſo that they continu'd ſeparate as before: And thus my Iſland was peopled in three Places; and, as I might ſay, three Towns were begun to be planted.

And here 'tis very well worth obſerving, That as it often happens in the World (what the wiſe Ends of God's Providence are in ſuch a Diſpoſition of Things, I cannot ſay) the two honeſt Fellows had the two worſt Wives, and the three Reprobates, that were ſcarce worth hanging, that were fit for nothing, and neither ſeem'd born to do themſelves Good, or any one elſe, had three clever, diligent, careful, and ingenious Wives; not that the two firſt were ill Wives, as to their Temper or Humour; for all the five were moſt willing, quiet, paſſive, and ſubjected Creatures, rather like Slaves than Wives; but my Meaning is, they were not alike capable, ingenious, or induſtrious, or alike clean⯑ly and neat.

[91] Another Obſervation I muſt make, to the Ho⯑nour of a diligent Application on one Hand, and to the Diſgrace of a ſlothful, negligent, idle Tem⯑per, on the other, that when I came to the Place, and view'd the ſeveral Improvements, Plantings, and Management of the ſeveral little Colonies, the two Men had ſo far out-gone the three, that there was no Compariſon. They had indeed both of them as much Ground laid out for Corn as they wanted; and the Reaſon was, becauſe, according to my Rule, Nature dictated, that it was to no Purpoſe to ſow more Corn than they wanted, but the Difference of the Cultivation, of the Planting, of the Fences, and indeed of every Thing elſe was eaſy to be ſeen at firſt View.

The two Men had innumerable young Trees planted about their Huts, that when you came to the Place, nothing was to be ſeen but a Wood, and tho' they had twice had their Plantation de⯑moliſh'd, once by their own Countrymen, and once by the Enemy, as ſhall be ſhewn in its Place; yet they had reſtor'd all again, and every Thing was thriving and flouriſhing about them; they had Grapes planted in Order, and manag'd like a Vineyard, tho' they had themſelves never ſeen any Thing of that Kind; and by their good order⯑ing their Vines, their Grapes were as good again as any of the others. They had alſo found them⯑ſelves out a Retreat in the thickeſt Part of the Woods, where, though there was not a natural Cave, as I had found, yet they made one with inceſſant Labour of their Hands, and where when the Miſchief which follow'd happen'd, they ſe⯑cur'd their Wives and Children, ſo as they could never be found; they having by ſticking innu⯑merable [92] Stakes and Poles of the Wood, which, as I ſaid, grew ſo eaſily, made the Wood unpaſſable, except in ſome Places, where they climb'd up to get over the out-ſide Part, and then went on by Ways of their own leaving.

As to the three Reprobates, as I juſtly call them, tho' they were much civiliz'd by their new Settlement, compar'd to what they were before, and were not ſo quarrelſom, having not the ſame Opportunity; yet one of the certain Companions of a profligate Mind never left them, and that was their Idleneſs. It is true, they planted Corn, and made Fences; but Solomon's Words were never better verify'd than in them: I went by the Vine⯑yard of the Slothful, and it was all over-grown with Thorns; for when the Spaniards came to view their Crop, they could not ſee it in ſome Places for Weeds; the Hedge had ſeveral Gaps in it, where the wild Goats had gotten in, and eaten up the Corn; perhaps, here and there, a dead Buſh was cramm'd in, to ſtop them out for the Preſent, but it was only ſhutting the Stable-door after the Steed was ſtoln. Whereas, when they look'd on the Colony of the other two, there was the very Face of Induſtry and Succeſs upon all they did; there was not a Weed to be ſeen in all their Corn, or a Gap in any of their Hedges: And they on the other Hand verify'd Solomon's Words in ano⯑ther Place, That the diligent Hand makes rich; for every Thing grew and thriv'd, and they had Plenty within and without; they had more tame Cattle than the other, more Utenſils and Neceſſaries with⯑in Doors, and yet more Pleaſure and Diverſion too.

[93] It is true, the Wives of the three were very handy and cleanly within Doors, and having learn'd the Engliſh Ways of Dreſſing and Cooking from one of the other Engliſh Men, who, as I ſaid, was Cook's-mate on board the Ship, they dreſs'd their Huſbands Victuals very nicely and well; whereas the other could not be brought to underſtand it; but then the Huſband, who, as I ſay, had been Cook's-mate, did it himſelf; but as for the Huſbands of the three Wives, they loyter'd about, fetch'd Turtles Eggs, and caught Fiſh, and Birds; in a Word, any Thing but La⯑bour, and they far'd accordingly. The Diligent liv'd well and comfortably, and the Slothful liv'd hard and beggarly; and ſo I believe, generally ſpeaking, it is all over the World.

But now I come to a Scene, different from all that had happen'd before, either to them, or to me; and the Original of the Story was this:

Early one Morning there came on Shore five or ſix Canoes of Indians, or Savages, call them which you pleaſe; and there is no room to doubt that they came upon the old Errand of feeding upon their Slaves: But that Part was now ſo familiar to the Spaniards, and to our Men too, that they did not concern themſelves about it, as I did; but having been made ſenſi⯑ble by their Experience, that their only Buſi⯑neſs was to lie conceal'd, and that if they were not ſeen by any of the Savages, they would go off again quietly when their Buſineſs was done, having as yet not the leaſt Notion of there being any Inhabitants in the Iſland; I ſay, ha⯑ving been made ſenſible of this, they had no⯑thing [94] to do but to give Notice to all the three Plantations, to keep within Doors, and not ſhew themſelves, only placing a Scout in a pro⯑per Place, to give Notice when the Boats went to Sea again.

This was without doubt very right; but a Diſaſter ſpoil'd all theſe Meaſures, and made it known among the Savages, that there were Inhabitants there, which was in the End the De⯑ſolation of almoſt the whole Colony; after the Canoes with the Savages were gone off, the Spaniards peep'd abroad again, and ſome of them had the Curioſity to go to the Place where they had been, to ſee what they had been do⯑ing: Here, to their great Surprize, they found three Savages left behind, and lying faſt aſleep upon the Ground; it was ſuppos'd, they had ei⯑ther been ſo gorg'd with their inhuman Feaſt, that, like Beaſts, they were aſleep, and would not ſtir when the others went, or they were wan⯑der'd into the Woods, and did not come back in time to be taken in.

The Spaniards were greatly ſurpriz'd at this Sight, and perfectly at a Loſs what to do; the Spaniard Governour, as it happen'd, was with them, and his Advice was ask'd, but he profeſs'd he knew not what to do; as for Slaves, they had enough already, and as to killing them, they were none of them inclin'd to that; the Spaniard Governour told me, they could not think of ſhed⯑ding innocent Blood, for as to them, the poor Creatures had done them no Wrong, invaded none of their Property, and they thought they had no juſt Quarrel againſt them, to take away their Lives.

[95] And here I muſt, in Juſtice to theſe Spaniards, obſerve, that let the Accounts of Spaniſh Cruelty in Mexico and Peru, be what they will, I never met with ſeventeen Men of any Nation whatſoe⯑ver, in any foreign Country, who were ſo uni⯑verſally Modeſt, Temperate, Virtuous, ſo very Good-humour'd, and ſo Courteous as theſe Spa⯑niards; and as to Cruelty, they had nothing of it in their very Nature, no Inhumanity, no Barba⯑rity, no outragious Paſſions, and yet all of them Men of great Courage and Spirit.

Their Temper and Calmneſs had appear'd in their bearing the unſufferable Uſage of the three Engliſh Men; and their Juſtice and Huma⯑nity appear'd now in the Caſe of the Savages, as above. After ſome Conſultation, they re⯑ſolv'd upon this, that they would lie ſtill a while longer, 'till, if poſſible, theſe three Men might be gone; but then the Governour Spani⯑ard recollected, that the three Savages had no Boat, and that if they were left to rove about the Iſland, they would certainly diſcover that there were Inhabitants in it, and ſo they ſhould be undone that Way.

Upon this, they went back again, and there lay the Fellows faſt aſleep ſtill, ſo they reſolv'd to waken them, and take them Priſoners, and they did ſo; the poor Fellows were ſtrangely frighted when they were ſeiz'd upon and bound, and afraid, like the Women, that they ſhould be murder'd and eaten; for it ſeems thoſe People think all the World does as they do, eating Mens Fleſh; but they were ſoon made eaſy as to that, and away they carry'd them.

[96] It was very happy to them that they did not carry them Home to their Caſtle, I mean to my Palace under the Hill; but they carry'd them firſt to the Bower, where was the chief of their Country-work, ſuch as the keeping the Goats, the planting the Corn, &c. and afterwards, they carry'd them to the Habitation of the two En⯑gliſh Men.

Here they were ſet to work, tho' it was not much they had for them to do; and whether it was by Negligence in guarding them, or that they thought the Fellows could not mend themſelves, I know not, but one of them run away, and taking into the Woods, they could never hear of him more.

They had good Reaſon to believe he got Home again ſoon after, in ſome other Boats or Canoes of Savages, who came on Shore three or four Weeks afterwards, and who, carrying on their Re⯑vels as uſual, went off again in two Days time: This Thought terrify'd them exceedingly; for they concluded, and that not without good Cauſe indeed, that if this Fellow came ſafe Home among his Comrades, he would certainly give them an Account, that there were People in the Iſland, as alſo how few and weak they were; for this Savage, as I obſerv'd before, had never been told, and it was very happy he had not, how many they were, or where they liv'd; nor had he ever ſeen or heard the Fire of any of their Guns, much leſs had they ſhewn him any of their other retir'd Places; ſuch as the Cave in the Valley, or the new Retreat which the two Engliſh Men had made, and the like.

[97] The firſt Teſtimony they had that this Fel⯑low had given Intelligence of them, was that about two Months after this, ſix Canoes of Sa⯑vages, with about ſeven, or e ght, or ten Men in a Canoe, came rowing along the North Side of the Iſland, where they never uſed to come before, and landed about an Hour after Sun⯑riſe, at a convenient Place, about a Mile from the Habitation of the two Engliſhmen, where this eſcap'd Man had been kept: As the Spaniard Governor ſaid, had they been all there, the Damage would not have been ſo much, for not a Man of them would have eſcap d; but the Caſe differ'd now very much, for two Men to fifty was too much odds: The two Men had the Hap⯑pineſs to diſcover them about a League off, ſo that it was above an Hour before they landed, and as they landed a Mile from their Huts, it was ſome time before they could come at them: Now having great Reaſon to believe that they were betray'd, the firſt Thing they did, was to bind the two Slaves which were left, and cauſe two of the three Men, who they brought with the Women, who it ſeems prov'd very faithful to them, to lead them with their two Wives, and what ever they could carry away with them, to their retir'd Place in the Woods, which I have ſpoken of above, and there to bind the two Fel⯑lows Hand and Foot 'till they heard farther.

In the next Place, ſeeing the Savages were all come on Shore, and that they bent their Courſe directly that Way, they open'd the Fences where their Milch-Goats were kept, and drove them all out, leaving their Goats to ſtraggle into the Wood, whither they pleas'd, that the Savages [98] might think they were all bred wild; but the Rogue who came with them was too cunning for that, and gave them an Account of it all; for they went directly to the Place.

When the two poor frighted Men had ſecur'd their Wives and Goods, they ſent the other Slave they had of the three, who came with the Wo⯑men, and who was at their Place by Accident, away to the Spaniards, with all Speed, to give them the Alarm, and deſire ſpeedy Help; and in the mean Time they took their Arms, and what Ammunition they had, and retreated to⯑wards the Place in the Wood, where their Wives were ſent, keeping at a Diſtance, yet ſo that they might ſee, if poſſible, which Way the Sa⯑vages took.

They had not gone far, but that, from a ri⯑ſing Ground, they could ſee the little Army of their Enemies come on directly to their Habita⯑tion, and in a Moment more, could ſee all their Huts and Houſhold-Stuff flaming up together, to their great Grief and Mortification; for they had a very great Loſs, to them irretrievable, at leaſt for ſome Time. They kept their Station for a while, 'till they found the Savages, like wild Beaſts, ſpread themſelves all over the Place, rumaging every Way, and every Place they could think of, in Search for Prey, and in par⯑ticular for the People, of whom it now plainly appear'd they had Intelligence.

The two Engliſhmen ſeeing this, thinking them⯑ſelves not ſecure where they ſtood, becauſe as it was likely ſome of the wild People might come that Way, ſo they might come too many [99] together, thought it proper to make another Re⯑treat about half a Mile farther, believing, as it afterwards happen'd, that the farther they ſtroll'd, the fewer would be together.

The next Halt was at the Entrance into a ve⯑ry thick grown Part of the Woods, and where an old Trunk of a Tree ſtood, which was hollow and vaſtly large; and in this Tree they both took their Standing, reſolving to ſee there what might offer.

They had not ſtood there long, but two of the Savages appear'd running directly that Way, as if they had already had Notice where they ſtood, and were coming up to attack them; and a little Way farther, they ſpy'd three more coming after them, and five more beyond them, all coming the ſame Way; beſides which, they ſaw ſeven or eight more at a Diſtance, running another Way; for in a Word, they ran every Way like Sportſmen beating for their Game.

The poor Men were now in great Perplexity' whether they ſhould ſtand and keep their Poſture, or fly: But after a very ſhort Debate with them⯑ſelves, they conſider'd, that if the Savages rang'd the Country thus before Help came, they might perhaps find out their Retreat in the Woods, then all would be loſt; ſo they reſolv'd to ſtand them there; and if they were too many to deal with, then they would get up to the Top of the Tree, from whence they doubted not to defend themſelves. Fire excepted, as long as their Am⯑munition laſted, tho' all the Savages that were landed, which was near fifty, were to attack them.

[100] Having reſolv'd upon this, they next conſider'd whether they ſhould fire at the firſt two, or wait for the three, and ſo take the middle Par⯑ty, by which the two and the five that follow'd would be ſeparated; and they reſolv'd to let the two firſt paſs by, unleſs they ſhould ſpy them in the Tree, and come to attack them. The two firſt Savages alſo confirm'd them in this Regulation, by turning a little from them to⯑wards another Part of the Wood; but the three, and the five after them, came forwards directly to the Tree, as if they had known the Engliſhmen were there.

Seeing them come ſo ſtrait towards them, they reſolv'd to take them in a Line, as they came; and as they reſolv d to fire but one at a Time, perhaps the firſt Shot might hit them all three, to which Purpoſe, the Man who was to fire, put three or four Bullets into his Piece, and having a fair Loop-hole, as it were, from a broken Hole in the Tree, he took a ſure Aim, without being ſeen, waiting till they were within about thirty Yards of the Tree, ſo that he could not miſs.

While they were thus waiting, and the Sava⯑ges came on, they plainly ſaw, that one of the three was the Run away Savage that had eſcap'd from them, and they both knew him diſtinctly, and reſolv'd that, if poſſible, he ſhould not eſcape, tho' they ſhould both fire; ſo the other ſtood rea⯑dy with his Peice, that if he did not drop at the firſt Shot, he ſhould be ſure to have a ſecond.

[101] But the firſt was too good a Markſman to miſs his Aim; for as the Savages kept near one another, a little behind in a Line, in a Word, he fir'd, and hit two of them directly: The foremoſt was kill'd outright, being ſhot in the Head: The ſecond, which was the run-away Indian, was ſhot thro' the Body, and fell, but was not quite dead: And the third had a little Scratch in the Shoulder, perhaps by the ſame Ball that went thro' the Body of the ſecond, and being dreadfully frighted, tho' not much hurt, ſate down upon the Ground, ſkreaming and yelling in a hideous manner.

The five that were behind, more frighted with the Noiſe than ſenſible of the Danger, ſtood ſtill at firſt; for the Woods made the Sound a thouſand Times bigger than it really was; the Echo's rattling from one Side to another, and the Fowls riſing from all Parts, ſkreaming, and making, every Sort, a ſeveral Kind of Noiſe, according to their Kind, juſt as it was when I fir'd the firſt Gun that perhaps was ever ſhot off in that Place ſince it was an Iſland.

However, all being ſilent again, and they not knowing what the Matter was, came on uncon⯑cern'd, 'till they came to the Place where their Companions lay in a Condition miſerable enough: And here the poor ignorant Creatures, not ſenſible that they were within Reach of the ſame Miſchief, ſtood all of a Huddle over the wounded Man, talk⯑ing, and, as may be ſuppos'd, enquiring of him, how he came to be hurt; and who, 'tis very rational to believe, told them, that a Flaſh of Fire firſt, and immediately after that, Thunder from their Gods, had kill'd thoſe two, and wounded him: This, I ſay, [102] is rational; for nothing is more certain than that, as they ſaw on Man near them, ſo they had never heard a Gun in all their Lives, or ſo much as heard of a Gun; neither knew they any Thing of killing or wounding, at a Diſtance, with Fire and Bullets; if they had, one might reaſonably be⯑lieve, they would not have ſtood ſo unconcern'd, in viewing the Fate of their Fellows, without ſome Apprehenſion of their own.

Our two Men, tho' as they confeſs'd to me, it griev'd them to be oblig'd to kill ſo many poor Creatures, who, at the ſame Time, had no Notion of their Danger; yet having them all thus in their Power, and the firſt having loaded his Piece again; reſolv'd to let fly both together among them; and ſingling out, by Agreement, which to aim at, they ſhot together, and kill'd or very much wounded four of them; the fifth, frighted even to Death, tho' not hurt, fell with the reſt; ſo that our Men ſeeing them all fall together, thought they had kill'd them all.

The Belief that the Savages were all kill'd, made our two Men come boldly out from the Tree be⯑fore they had charg'd their Guns again, which was a wrong Step; and they were under ſome Surprize when they came to the Place, and found no leſs than four of the Men alive, and of them two very little hurt, and one not at all: This o⯑blig'd them to fall upon them with the Stocks of their Muſkets; and firſt they made ſure of the run away Savage, that had been the Cauſe of all the Miſchief, and of another that was hurt in his Knee, and put them out of their Pain; then the Man that was not hurt at all, came and kneel'd down to them, with his two Hands [103] held up, and made piteous Moans to them by Geſtures and Signs, for his Life; but could not ſay one Word to them that they could under⯑ſtand.

However, they ſign'd to him to ſit down at the Foot of a Tree thereby; and one of the Engliſh Men, with a Piece of Rope-Twine which he had, by great Chance, in his Pocket, ty'd his two Feet faſt together, and his two Hands be⯑hind him, and there they left him; and, with what Speed they could, made after the other two, which were gone before; fearing they, or any more of them, ſhould find the Way to their cover'd Place in the Woods, where their Wives, and the few Goods they had left, lay. They came once in Sight of the two Men, but it was at a great Diſtance; however, they had the Satisfaction to ſee them croſs over a Valley towards the Sea, the quite con⯑trary Way from that which led to their Retreat, which they were afraid of; and being ſatisfy'd with that, they went back to the Tree, where they left their Priſoner, who, as they ſuppos'd, was deliver'd by his Comrades; for he was gone, and the two Pieces of Rope-Yarn, with which they had bound him, lay juſt at the Foot of the Tree.

They were now in as great a Concern as before, not knowing what Courſe to take, or how near the Enemy might be, or in what Numbers; ſo they reſolv'd to go away to the Place where their Wives were, to ſee if all was well there, and to make them eaſy, who were in Fright enough to be ſure; for tho' the Savages were their own Country Folk, yet they were moſt terribly afraid of them, and [104] perhaps the more, for the Knowledge they had of them.

When they came there, they found the Savages had been in the Wood, and very near that Place, but had not found it; for it was indeed inacceſſi⯑ble, by the Trees ſtanding ſo thick, as before, had not the Perſons ſeeking it been directed by thoſe that knew it, which theſe did not; they found therefore every Thing very ſafe, only the Women in a terrible Fright: While they were here, they had the Comfort to have ſeven of the Spaniards come to their Aſſiſtance; the other ten, with their Servants, and old Friday, I mean Friday's Father, were gone in a Body to defend their Bower, and the Corn, and Cattle that was kept there, in Caſe the Savages ſhould have rov'd over to that Side of the Country; but they did not ſpread ſo far. With the ſeven Spaniards came one of the three Savages, who, as I ſaid, were their Priſoners formerly; and with them alſo came the Savage, who the Engliſh Men had left bound Hand and Foot at the Tree; for it ſeems they came that Way, ſaw the Slaughter of the ſeven Men, and unbound the eighth, and brought him along with them; where, however, they were oblig'd to bind him again, as they had the two others, who were left when the third run away.

The Priſoners began now to be a Burden to them; and they were ſo afraid of their eſcaping, that they were once reſolving to kill them all, be⯑lieving they were under an abſolute Neceſſity to do ſo, for their own Preſervation: However, the Spaniard Governour would not conſent to it, but order'd for the preſent, that they ſhould be ſent out of the Way to my old Cave in the Valley, and [105] be kept there with two Spaniards to guard them, and give them Food for their Subſiſtence, which was done; and they were bound there Hand and Foot for that Night.

When the Spaniards came, the two Engliſh Men were ſo encourag'd, that they could not ſatisfy themſelves to ſtay any longer there; but taking five of the Spaniards, and themſelves, with four Muſkets and a Piſtol among them, and two ſtout Quarter-Staves, away they went in Queſt of the Savages. And firſt they came to the Tree where the Men lay that had been kill'd; but it was eaſy to ſee, that ſome more of the Savages had been there; for they had attempted to carry their dead Men away, and had dragg'd two of them a good Way, but had given it over. From thence they advanc'd to the firſt riſing Ground, where they ſtood, and ſaw their Camp deſtroy'd, and where they had the Mor⯑tification ſtill to ſee ſome of the Smoak; but nei⯑ther could they here ſee any of the Savages: They then reſolv'd, tho' with all poſſible Caution, to go forward towards their ruin'd Plantation: But a little before they came thither, coming in Sight of the Sea Shore, they ſaw plainly the Savages all embarking again in their Canoes, in order to be gone.

They ſeem'd ſorry at firſt; and there was no Way to come at them, to give them a parting Blow: But upon the whole, were very well ſatiſ⯑fy'd to be rid of them.

The poor Engliſh Men being now twice ruin'd, and all their Improvement deſtroy'd, the reſt all agreed to come and help them rebuild, and to aſſiſt them with needful Supplies. Their three [106] Countrymen, who were not yet noted for having the leaſt Inclination to do any Good, yet as ſoon as they heard of it (for they living remote Eaſt⯑ward, knew nothing of the Matter 'till all was over) came and offer'd their Help and Aſſiſtance, and did very friendly work for ſeveral Days, to reſtore their Habitation, and make Neceſſaries for them: And thus, in a little Time, they were ſet upon their Legs again.

About two Days after this, they had the far⯑ther Satisfaction of ſeeing three of the Savages Canoes come driving on Shore, and at ſome Di⯑ſtance from them; two drown'd Men; by which they had Reaſon to believe, that they had met with a Storm at Sea, and had overſet ſome of them; for it had blown very hard the very Night after they went off.

However, as ſome might miſcarry, ſo on the other Hand, enough of them eſcap'd to inform the reſt, as well of what they had done, as of what had happen'd to them; and to whet them on to a⯑nother Enterprize of the ſame Nature, which they, it ſeems, reſolv'd to attempt, with ſufficient Force to carry all before them; for except what the firſt Man had told them of Inhabitants, they could ſay little to it of their own Knowledge; for they ne⯑ver ſaw one Man, and the Fellow being kill'd that had affirm'd it, they had no other Witneſs to confirm it to them.

It was five or ſix Months after this, before they heard any more of the Savages; in which Time our Men were in Hopes they had either forgot their former bad Luck, or given over the Hopes of better; when on a ſudden they were invaded [107] with a moſt formidable Fleet, of no leſs than eight and twenty Canoes full of Savages, arm'd with Bows and Arrows, great Clubs, wooden Swords, and ſuch like Engines of War; and they brought ſuch Numbers with them, that, in ſhort, it put all our People into the utmoſt Con⯑ſternation.

As they came on Shore in the Evening, and at the Eaſter-moſt Side of the Iſland, our Men had that Night to conſult and conſider what to do; and, in the firſt Place, knowing that their being en⯑tirely conceal'd, was their only Safety before, and would much more be ſo now, while the Number of their Enemies was ſo great, they therefore reſolv'd firſt of all to take down the Huts which were built for the two Engliſh Men, and drive away their Goats to the old Cave; becauſe they ſuppos'd the Savages would go directly thither, as ſoon as it was Day, to play the old Game over again, tho' they did not now land within two Leagues of it.

In the next Place, they drove away all the Flock of Goats they had at the old Bower, as I call'd it, which belong'd to the Spaniards; and, in ſhort, left as little Appearance of Inhabitants any where as was poſſible; and the next Morning early they poſted themſelves with all their Force at the Plantation of the two Men, waiting for their Coming: As they gueſs'd, ſo it happen'd; theſe new Invaders leaving their Canoes at the Eaſt End of the Iſland, came ranging along the Shore directly towards the Place, to the Number of two hundred and fifty, as near as our Men could judge. Our Army was but ſmall indeed; but that which was worſe, they had not Arms for all their Number neither: The [108] whole Account, it ſeems, ſtood thus: Firſt, as to Men.

• 17 Spaniards.
• 5 Engliſh Men.
• 1 old Friday, or Friday's Father.
• 3, the three Slaves taken with the Women, who prov'd very faithful.
• 3 other Slaves who liv'd with the Spaniards.

To arm theſe, they had,

• 11 Muſkets.
• 5 Piſtols.
• 3 Fowling-Pieces.
• 5 Muſkets or Fowling-Pieces, which were taken by me from the mutinous Sea⯑men, who I reduc'd.
• 2 Swords, 3 old Halberds.

To their Slaves they did not give either Muſ⯑ket or Fuzee, but they had every one a Halberd, or a long Staff, like a Quarter-Staff, with a great Spike of Iron faſten'd into each End of it, and by his Side a Hatchet; alſo every one of our Men had Hatchets: Two of the Women could not be prevail'd upon but they would come into the Fight, and they had Bows and Arrows, which the Spaniards had taken from the Savages, when the firſt Action happen'd, which I have ſpoken of, where the Indians fought with one another, and the Women Hatchets too.

The Spaniard Governour, who I have de⯑ſcrib'd ſo often, commanded the whole; and William Atkins, who, tho' a dreadful Fellow for Wickedneſs, was a moſt daring bold Fellow, [109] commanded under him. The Savages came forward like Lyons, and our Men, which was the worſt of their Fate, had no Advantage in their Situation; only that Will. Atkins, who now prov'd a moſt uſeful Fellow, with ſix Men, was planted juſt behind a ſmall Thicket of Buſhes, as an advanc'd Guard, with Orders to let the firſt of them paſs by, and then fire into the Mid⯑dle of them; and, as ſoon as he had fir'd, to make his Retreat as nimble as he could round a Part of the Wood, and ſo come in behind the Spaniards where they ſtood, having a Thic⯑ket of Trees all before them.

When the Savages came on, they run ſtrag⯑gling about every Way in Heaps, out of all man⯑ner of Order, and W. Atkins let about fifty of them paſs by him, then ſeeing the reſt come in a very thick Throng, he orders three of his Men to fire, having loaded their Muſquets with ſix or ſeven Bullets apiece, about as big as large Piſtol Bullets. How many they kill'd or wounded they knew not, but the Conſternation and Sur⯑prize was inexpreſſible among the Savages; they were frighted to the laſt Degree, to hear ſuch a dreadful Noiſe, and ſee their Men kill'd, and others hurt, but ſee no Body that did it; when in the Middle of their Fright, W. Atkins, and his other three, let fly again among the thickeſt of them; and in leſs than a Minute the firſt three, being loaded again, gave them a third Volley.

Had W. Atkins and his Men retir'd immedi⯑ately, as ſoon as they had fir'd, as they were or⯑der'd to do; or had the reſt of the Body been at Hand to have pour'd in their Shot continually, [110] the Savages had been effectually routed; for the Terror that was among them, came princi⯑pally from this, (viz.) That they were kill'd by the Gods with Thunder and Lightning, and could ſee no Body that hurt them; but W. At⯑kins ſtaying to load again, diſcover'd the Cheat. Some of the Savages who were at a Diſtance, ſpying them, came upon them behind, and tho' Atkins and his Men fir'd at them alſo, two or three Times, and kill'd above twenty, retiring as faſt as they could, yet they wounded Atkins him⯑ſelf, and kill'd one of his Fellow Engliſhmen with their Arrows, as they did afterwards one Spani⯑ard, and one of the Indian Slaves who came with the Women; this Slave was a moſt gallant Fel⯑low, and fought moſt deſperately, killing five of them with his own Hand, having no Weapon, but one of the arm'd Staves and a Hatchet.

Our Men being thus hard laid at, Atkins wounded, and two other Men kill'd, retreated to a riſing Ground in the Wood; and the Spaniards, after firing three Vollies upon them retreated alſo; for their Number was ſo great, and they were ſo deſperate, that tho' above fifty of them were kill'd, and more than ſo many wounded, yet they came on in the Teeth of our Men, fearleſs of Danger, and ſhot their Arrows like a Cloud; and it was obſerv'd, that their wounded Men, who were not quite diſabled, were made outrage⯑ous by their Wounds, and fought like Mad⯑men.

When our Men retreated, they left the Spani⯑ard and the Engliſhman that was kill'd behind them; and the Savages, when they came up to them, kill'd them over again in a wretched [111] Manner, breaking the Arms, Legs, and Heads, with their Clubs and wooden Swords, like true Savages: But finding our Men were gone, they did not ſeem to perſue them, but drew them⯑ſelves up in a kind of a Ring, which is, it ſeems, their Cuſtom, and ſhouted twice in Token of their Victory: After which, they had the Mortificati⯑on to ſee ſeveral of their wounded Men fall, dying with the meer Loſs of Blood.

The Spaniard Governor having drawn his little Body up together upon a riſing Ground, Atkins, tho' he was wounded, would ha' had him march'd and charg'd them again altogether at once: But the Spaniards reply'd, Seignior Atkins, you ſee how their wounded Men fight, let them alone till Morning; all theſe wounded Men will be ſtiff and ſore with their Wounds, and faint with the Loſs of Blood; and ſo we ſhall have the fewer to engage.

The Advice was good: But Will. Atkins reply'd merrily, That's true, Seignior, and ſo ſhall I too; and that's the Reaſon I would go on while I am warm. Well, Seignior Atkins, ſays the Spaniards, you have behav'd gallantly, and done your Part; we will fight for you, if you cannot come on, but I think it beſt to ſtay 'till Morning; ſo they waited.

But as it was a clear Moon-light Night, and they found the Savages in great Diſorder about their dead and wounded Men, and a great Hurry and Noiſe among them where they lay, they afterwards reſolv'd to fall upon them in the Night, eſpeci⯑ally if they could come to give them but one Volley before they were diſcover'd, which they [112] had a fair Opportunity to do; for one of the two Engliſhmen, in whoſe Quarter it was where the Fight began, led them round between the Woods, and Sea-ſide Weſtward, and then turning ſhort South, they came ſo near where the thickeſt of them lay, that before they were ſeen or heard, eight of them fir'd in among them, and did dread⯑ful Execution upon them; in half a Minute more, eight others fir'd after them, pouring in their ſmall Shot in ſuch a Quantity, that abundance were kill'd and wounded; and all this while they were not able to ſee who hurt them, or which Way to fly.

The Spaniards charg'd again with the utmoſt Expedition, and then divided themſelves into three Bodies, and reſolv'd to fall in among them altogether: They had in each Body eight Perſons, that is to ſay, 24, whereof were 22 Men, and the 2 Women, who by the Way fought deſperately.

They divided the Fire-Arms equally in each Party, and ſo of the Halberds and Staves: They would have had the Women keep back, but they ſaid they were reſolv'd to die with their Huſbands: Having thus form'd their little Army, they march'd out from among the Trees, and they came up to the Teeth of the Enemy, ſhouting and hollowing as loud as they could; the Savages ſtood all toge⯑ther, but were in the utmoſt Confuſion, hearing the Noiſe of our Men ſhouting from three Quar⯑ters together; they would have fought if they had ſeen us: And as ſoon as we came near enough to be ſeen, ſome Arrows were ſhot, and poor old Friday was wounded, tho' not dangerouſly: But our Men gave them no Time; but running up to them, fir'd among them three Ways, and [113] then fell in with the But-ends of their Muſkets, their Swords, arm'd Staves, and Hatchets, and laid about them ſo well, that, in a Word they ſet up a diſmal Skreaming and Howling, flying to ſave their Lives which Way ſoever they could.

Our Men were tir'd with the Execution; and kill'd, or mortally wounded, in the two Fights, about 180 of them; the reſt, being frighted out of their Wits, ſcour'd through the Woods, and over the Hills, with all the Speed and Fear that nimble Feet could help them to do; and as we did not trouble ourſelves much to purſue them, they got altogether to the Sea Side, where they landed, and where their Canoes lay. But their Diſaſter was not at an End yet; for it blew a ter⯑rible Storm of Wind that Evening from the Seaward, ſo that it was impoſſible for them to go off; nay, the Storm continuing all Night, when the Tide came up, their Canoes were moſt of them driven by the Surge of the Sea ſo high upon the Shore, that it requir'd infinite Toil to get them off; and ſome of them were even daſh d to Pieces againſt the Beach, or againſt one another.

Our Men, tho' glad of their Victory, yet got little Reſt that Night; but having refreſh'd them⯑ſelves as well as they could they reſolv'd to march to that Part of the Iſland where the Savages were fled, and ſee what Poſture they were in. This neceſſarily led them over the Place where the Fight had been, and where they found ſeveral of the poor Creatures not quite dead, and yet paſt re⯑covering Life; a Sight diſagreeable enough to generous Minds; for a truly great Man, tho' obli⯑ged by the Law of Battle to deſtroy his Enemy, takes no Delight in his Miſery.

[114] However, there was no Need to give any Or⯑ders in this Caſe; for their own Savages, who were their Servants, diſpatch'd thoſe poor Crea⯑tures with their Hatchets.

At length they came in View of the Place where the more miſerable Remains of the Savages Army lay, where there appear'd about an hundred ſtill; their Poſture was generally ſitting upon the Ground, with their Knees up towards their Mouth, and the Head put between the two Hands, leaning down upon the Knees.

When our Men came within two Muſket Shot of them, the Spaniard Governor order'd two Muſ⯑kets to be fir'd without Ball, to alarm them; this he did, that by their Countenance he might know what to expect, viz. Whether they were ſtill in Heart to fight, or were ſo heartily beaten, as to be diſpirited and diſcourag'd, and ſo he might manage accordingly.

This Stratagem took; for, as ſoon as the Sava⯑ges heard the firſt Gun, and ſaw the Flaſh of the Second, they ſtarted up upon their Feet in the greateſt Conſternation imaginable; and as our Men advanc'd ſwiftly towards them, they all ran ſkreaming and yawling away, with a Kind of a howling Noiſe, which our Men did not under⯑ſtand, and had never heard before; and thus they ran up the Hills into the Country.

At firſt, our Men had much rather the Weather had been calm, and they had all gone away to Sea: But they did not then conſider that this might probably have been the Occaſion of their [115] coming again in ſuch Multitudes, as not to be reſiſted, or, at leaſt, to come ſo many, and ſo of⯑ten, as would quite deſolate the Iſland, and ſtarve them: Will. Atkins therefore, who, notwithſtand⯑ing his Wound, kept always with them, prov'd the beſt Counſellor in this Caſe: His Advice was, to take the Advantage that offer'd, and clap in between them and their Boats, and ſo deprive them of the Capacity of ever returning any more to plague the Iſland.

They conſulted long about this, and ſome were againſt it, for fear of making the Wretches fly to the Woods, and live there deſperate; and ſo they ſhould have them to hunt like wild Beaſts, be afraid to ſtir out about their Buſineſs, and have their Plantations continually rifled, all their tame Goats deſtroy'd, and, in ſhort, be reduc'd to a Life of continual Diſtreſs.

Will. Atkins told them, they had better have to do with a hundred Men, than with a hundred Nations: That as they muſt deſtroy their Boats, ſo they muſt deſtroy the Men, or be all of them deſtroy'd themſelves. In a Word, he ſhew'd them the Neceſſity of it ſo plainly, that they all came into it; ſo they went to work immediate⯑ly with the Boats, and getting ſome dry Wood together from a dead Tree, they try'd to ſet ſome of them on Fire, but they were ſo wet, that they would not burn; however, the Fire ſo burn'd the upper Part, that it ſoon made them unfit for ſwimming in the Sea as Boats. When the Indians ſaw what they were about, ſome of them came running out of the Woods, and coming as near as they could to our Men, kneel'd down, and cry'd, Oa, Oa, Waramokoa, and ſome other Words of [116] their Language, which none of the others under⯑ſtood anything of; but as they made pitiful Ge⯑ſtures, and ſtrange Noiſes, it was eaſy to under⯑ſtand, they begg'd to have their Boats ſpar'd, and that they would be gone, and never come there again.

But our Men were now ſatisfy'd, that they had no Way to preſerve themſelves, or to ſave their Colony, but effectually to prevent any of theſe People from ever going Home again; de⯑pending upon this, that if ever ſo much as one of them got back into their Country to tell the Story, the Colony was undone; ſo that letting them know that they ſhould not have any Mer⯑cy, they fell to work with their Canoes, and de⯑ſtroy'd them every one, that the Storm had not deſtroy'd before; at the Sight of which, the Sa⯑vages rais'd a hideous Cry in the Woods, which our People heard plain enough; after which, they ran about the Iſland like diſtracted Men; ſo that, in a Word, our Men did not really know at firſt what to do with them.

Nor did the Spaniards, with all their Pru⯑dence, conſider, that while they made thoſe People thus deſperate, they ought to have kept good Guard at the ſame Time upon their Platnations; for tho' it is true, they had driven away their Cattle, and the Indians did not find out their main Retreat, I mean my old Caſtle at the Hill, nor the Cave in the Valley, yet they found out my Plantation at the Bower, and pull'd it all to Pieces, and all the Fences and Planting about it; trod all the Corn under Foot; tore up the Vines and Grapes, being juſt then almoſt ripe, and did to our Men an ine⯑ſtimable [117] Damage, tho' to themſelves not one Far⯑thingworth of Service.

Tho' our Men were able to fight them upon all Occaſions, yet they were in no Condition to purſue them, or hunt them up and down; for as they were too nimble of Foot for our Men, when they found them ſingle, ſo our Men durſt not go about ſingle, for fear of being ſurrounded with their Numbers. The beſt was, they had no Weapons, for tho' they had Bows they had no Arrows left, nor any Materials to make any, nor had they any edg'd Tool or Weapon among them.

The Extremity and Diſtreſs they were reduc'd to was great, and indeed deplorable; but at the ſame Time, our Men were alſo brought to very bad Circumſtances by them; for tho' their Re⯑treats were preſerv'd, yet their Proviſion was deſtroy'd, and their Harveſt ſpoil'd, and what to do, or which Way to turn themſelves, they knew not: The only Refuge they had now, was the Stock of Cattle they had in the Valley by the Cave, and ſome little Corn which grew there; and the Plantation of the three Engliſhmen, William At⯑kins and his Comrades, who were now reduc'd to two, one of them being kill'd by an Arrow which ſtruck him on the Side of his Head, juſt under the Temple, ſo that he never ſpoke more; and it was very remarkable, that this was the ſame barbarous Fellow who cut the poor Savage Slave with his Hatchet, and who afterwards in⯑tended to have murder'd all the Spaniards.

[118] I look'd upon their Caſe to have been worſe, at this Time, than mine was at any Time, after I firſt diſcover'd the Grains of Barley and Rice, and got into the Manner of planting and raiſing my Corn, and my tame Cattle; for now they had, as I may ſay, a hundred Wolves upon the Iſland, which would devour every Thing they could come at, yet could very hardly be come at themſelves.

The firſt Thing they concluded, when they ſaw what their Circumſtances were, was, that they would, if poſſible, drive them up to the farther Part of the Iſland, South-Weſt, that if any more Savages came on Shore, they might not find one another. Then, that they would daily hunt and haraſs them, and kill as many of them as they could come at, till they had reduc'd their Num⯑ber; and if they could at laſt tame them, and bring them to any Thing, they would give them Corn, and teach them how to plant and live up⯑on their daily Labour.

In order to this, they ſo follow'd them, and ſo terrify'd them with their Guns, that in a few Days, if any of them fir'd a Gun at an Indian, if he did not hit him, yet he would fall down for Fear: and ſo dreadfully frighted they were, that they kept out of Sight farther and farther, till at laſt our Men following them, and every Day al⯑moſt killing and wounding ſome of them, they kept up in the Woods and hollow Places ſo much, that it reduc'd them to the utmoſt Miſery for want of Food, and many were afterwards found dead in the Woods, without any Hurt, but meer⯑ly ſtarv'd to Death.

[119] When our Men found this, it made their Hearts relent, and Pity mov'd them; eſpecially the Spaniard Governour, who was the moſt gentle⯑manly generous-minded Man as ever I met with in my Life; and he propos'd, if poſſible, to take one of them alive, and bring him to underſtand what they meant, ſo far as to be able to act as Interpreter, and to go among them, and ſee if they might be brought to ſome Conditions, that might be depended upon, to ſave their Lives, and to do us no Spoil.

It was ſome while before any of them could be taken; but being weak and half ſtarv'd, one of them was at laſt ſurpriz'd and made a Priſo⯑ner; he was ſullen at firſt, and would neither eat or drink, but finding himſelf kindly uſed, and Victuals given him, and no Violence offer'd him, he at laſt grew tractable, and came to himſelf.

They brought old Friday to him, who talk'd often with him, and told him how kind the other would be to them all; that they would not only ſave their Lives, but would give them a Part of the Iſland to live in, provided they would give Satisfaction that they would keep in their own Bounds, and not come beyond it, to injure or prejudice others, and that they ſhould have Corn given them, to plant and make it grow for their Bread, and ſome Bread given them for their pre⯑ſent Subſiſtence; and old Friday bad the Fellow go and talk with the reſt of his Countrymen, and ſee what they ſaid to it, aſſuring them, that if they did not agree immediately, they ſhould be all deſtroy'd.

[120] The poor Wretches, thoroughly humbled, and reduc'd in Number to about thirty ſeven, clos'd with the Propoſal at the firſt Offer, and begg'd to have ſome Food given them; upon which, twelve Spaniards and two Engliſhmen well arm'd, with three Indian Slaves, and old Friday, march'd to the Place where they were; the three Indian Slaves carry'd them a large Quantity of Bread; ſome Rice boil'd up to Cakes, and dry'd in the Sun and three live Goats; and they were or⯑der'd to go to the Side of a Hill, where they ſat down, eat the Proviſions very thankfully, and were the moſt faithful Fellows to their Words that could be thought of; for except when they came to beg Victuals and Directions, they never came out of their Bounds; and there they liv'd when I came to the Iſland, and I went to ſee them.

They had taught them both to plant Corn, make Bread, breed tame Goats and milk them; they wanted nothing but Wives, and they ſoon would have been a Nation. They were con⯑fin'd to a Neck of Land, ſurrounded with high Rocks behind them, and lying plain towards the Sea before them, on the South-Eaſt Corner of the Iſland: They had Land enough, and it was very good and fruitful; they had a Piece of Land about a Mile and half broad, three or four Mile in Length.

Our Men taught them to make wooden Spades, ſuch as I made for myſelf, and gave them among them twelve Hatchets and three or four Knives; and there they liv'd the moſt [121] ſubjected innocent Creatures that ever were heard of.

After this, the Colony enjoy'd a perfect Tran⯑quility with Reſpect to the Savages, till I came to reviſit them, which was above two Years: Not, but that now and then ſome Canoes of Sa⯑vages came on Shore for their triumphal unnatu⯑ral Feaſts, but as they were of ſeveral Nations, and perhaps had never heard of thoſe that came before, or the Reaſon of it, they did not make any Search or Enquiry after their Countrymen; and if they had, it would have been very hard to have found them out.

Thus, I think, I have given a full Account of all that happen'd to them, to my Return, at leaſt that was worth Notice. The Indians or Sa⯑vages were wonderfully civiliz'd by them, and they frequently went among them, but forbid, on Pain of Death, any one of the Indians coming to them, becauſe they would not have their Set⯑tlement betray'd again.

One Thing was very remarkable, viz. that they taught the Savages to make Wicker-work, or Baſkets; but they ſoon outdid their Maſters; for they made abundance of moſt ingenious Things in Wicker-work; particularly, all Sorts of Baſkets, Sieves, Bird-Cages, Cup-boards, &c. as alſo Chairs to ſit on, Stools, Beds, Couches, and abundance of other Things, being very in⯑genious at ſuch Work, when they were once put in the Way of it.

My coming was a particular Relief to theſe People, becauſe we furniſh'd them with Knives, [122] Sciſſars, Spades, Shovels, Pick axes, and all Things of that Kind which they could want.

With the Help of theſe Tools they were ſo very handy, that they came at laſt to build up their Huts, or our Houſes, very handſomely; raddling or working it up like Baſket-work all the way round, which was a very extra⯑ordinary Piece of Ingenuity, and look'd very odd, but was an exceeding good Fence, as well againſt Heat, as againſt all Sorts of Vermine; and our Men were ſo taken with it, that they got the wild Savages to come and do the like for them; ſo that when I came to ſee the two Engliſhmens Colonies, they look'd, at a Diſtance, as if they liv'd all like Bees in a Hive; and as for Will. Atkins, who was now become a very in⯑duſtrious neceſſary and ſober Fellow, he had made himſelf ſuch a Tent of Baſket-work as I believe was never ſeen; it was 120 Paces round in the Out-ſide, as I meaſur'd by my Steps; the Walls were as cloſe work'd as a Baſket in Pannels, or Squares of 32 in Number, and very ſtrong, ſtanding about ſeven Foot high; in the middle was another not above 22 Paces round, but built ſtronger, being Eight-ſquare in its Form, and in the eight Corners ſtood eight very ſtrong Poſts, round the Top of which he laid ſtrong Pieces pinn'd together with wooden Pins, from which he rais'd a Piramid for the Roof of eight Rafters, very handſome, I aſſure you, and join'd together very well, tho' he had no Nails, and only a few iron Spikes, which he made him⯑ſelf too, out of the old Iron that I had left there; and indeed this Fellow ſhew'd abundance of Ingenuity in ſeveral Things, which he had no Knowledge of; he made him a Forge, with [123] a Pair of wooden Bellows to blow the Fire; he made himſelf Charcoal for his Work, and he form'd out of one of the Iron Crows a middling good Anvil to hammer upon; in this Manner he made many Things, but eſpecially Hooks, Staples and Spikes, Bolts and Hinges. But to re⯑turn to the Houſe; after he had pitch'd the Roof of his innermoſt Tent, he work'd it up be⯑tween the Rafters with Baſket-work, ſo firm, and thatch'd that over again ſo ingeniouſly with Rice-ſtraw, and over that a large Leaf of a Tree, which cover'd the Top, that his Houſe was as dry as if it had been til'd or ſlated. In⯑deed he own'd that the Savages made the Baſket-work for him.

The outer Circuit was cover'd, as a Lean-too, all round this inner Apartment, and long Rafters lay from the two and thirty Angles to the top Poſts of the inner Houſe, being about twenty Foot Diſtant; ſo that there was a Space like a Walk within the outer Wicker-wall, and without the in⯑ner, near twenty Foot wide.

The inner Place he partition'd off with the ſame Wicker-work, but much fairer, and di⯑vided it into ſix Apartments, ſo that he had ſix Rooms on a Floor; and out of every one of theſe there was a Door, firſt into the Entry or Coming into the main Tent, and another Door into the Space or Walk that was round it; ſo that Walk was alſo divided into ſix equal Parts, which ſerv'd not only for Retreat, but to ſtore up any Neceſſaries which the Family had Oc⯑caſion for. Theſe ſix Spaces not taking up the whole Circumference, what other Apartments the outer Circle had, were thus order'd: As ſoon [124] as you were in at the Door of the outer Circle, you had a ſhort Paſſage ſtrait before you to the Door of the inner Houſe, but on either Side was a wicker Partition, and a Door in it, by which you went, firſt, into a large Room or Store-houſe, twenty Foot wide, and about thir⯑ty Foot long, and thro' that into another not quite ſo long; ſo that in the outer Circle was ten handſome Rooms, ſix of which were on⯑ly to be come at thro' the Apartments of the inner Tent, and ſerv'd as Cloſets or retiring Rooms to the reſpective Chambers of the inner Circle; and four large Ware-houſes or Barns, or what you pleaſe to call them, which went in thro' one another, two on either Hand of the Paſſage, that led thro' the outer Door to the in⯑ner Tent.

Such a Piece of Baſket-work, I believe, was never ſeen in the World, nor a Houſe, or Tent, ſo neatly contriv'd, much leſs, ſo built. In this great Bee-hive liv'd the three Families, that is to ſay, Will. Atkins and his Companion; the third was kill'd, but his Wife remain'd with three Children; for ſhe was, it ſeems, big with Child when he dy'd, and the other two were not at all backward to give the Widow her full Share of every Thing, I mean, as to their Corn, Milk, Grapes, &c. and when they kill'd a Kid, or found a Turtle on the Shore; ſo that they all liv'd well enough, tho' it was true, they were not ſo induſtrious as the other two, as has been obſerv'd already.

One Thing, however, cannot be omitted, viz. That as for Religion, I don't know that there was any Thing of that Kind among them; they [125] pretty often indeed put one another in Mind that there was a God, by the very common Method of Seamen, viz. Swearing by his Name: Nor were their poor ignorant ſavage Wives much the better for having been marry'd to Chriſtians, as we muſt call them; for as they knew very little of God themſelves, ſo they were utterly uncapa⯑ble of entring into any Diſcourſe with their Wives about a God, or to talk anything to them con⯑cerning Religion.

The utmoſt of all the Improvement which I can ſay the Wives had made from them, was, that they had taught them to ſpeak Engliſh pret⯑ty well, and all the Children they had, which was near 20 in all, were taught to ſpeak Engliſh too, from their firſt learning to ſpeak, tho' they at firſt ſpoke it in a very broken Manner, like their Mothers. There were none of theſe Chil⯑dren above ſix Years old when I came thither, for it was not much above ſeven Years that they had fetch'd theſe five ſavage Ladies over, but they had all been pretty fruitful, for they had all Children, more or leſs: I think the Cook's Mate's Wife was big of her ſixth Child; and the Mothers were all a good Sort of well-govern'd, quiet, laborious Wo⯑men, modeſt and decent, helpful to one another; mighty obſervant and ſubject to their Maſters, I cannot call them Huſbands; and wanted nothing but to be well inſtructed in the Chriſtian Reli⯑gion, and to be legally marry'd; both which were happily brought about afterwards by my Means, or, at leaſt, in Conſequence of my coming among them.

Having thus given an Account of the Colony in general, and pretty much of my five Runagate [126] Engliſhmen, I muſt ſay ſomething of the Spaniards, who were the main Body of the Family; and in whoſe Story there are ſome Incidents alſo remark⯑able enough.

I had a great many Diſcourſes with them about their Circumſtances when they were among the Savages: They told me readily, that they had no Inſtances to give of their Application or Inge⯑nuity in that Country; that they were a poor miſerable dejected Handful of People; that if Means had been put into their Hands, they had yet ſo abandon'd themſelves to Deſpair, and ſo ſunk under the Weight of their Misfortunes, that they thought of nothing but Starving: One of them, a grave and very ſenſible Man, told me, he was convinc'd they were in the wrong; that it was not the Part of wiſe Men to give up themſelves to their Miſery, but always to take Hold of the Helps which Reaſon offer'd, as well for preſent Sup⯑port, as for future Deliverance. He told me that Grief was the moſt ſenſeleſs inſignificant Paſſion in the World; for that it regarded only Things paſt, which were generally impoſſible to be re⯑call'd or to be remedy'd, but had no View to Things to come, and had no Share in any Thing that look'd like Deliverance, but rather added to the Affliction, than propos'd a Remedy: And up⯑on this, he repeated a Spaniſh Proverb; which tho' I cannot repeat in juſt the ſame Words that he ſpoke in, yet I remember I made it into an Engliſh Proverb of my own, thus:

[127] He ran on then in Remarks upon all the little Improvements I had made in my Solitude; my unweary'd Application, as he call'd it, and how I had made a Condition, which, in its Circumſtan⯑ces, was at firſt much worſe than theirs a thou⯑ſand Times, more happy than theirs was, even now, when they were all together. He told me, it was remarkable, that Engliſhmen had a greater Preſence of Mind in their Diſtreſs than any People that ever he met with; that their unhappy Na⯑tion, and the Portugueſe, were the worſt Men in the World to ſtruggle with Misfortunes; for that their firſt Step in Dangers, after the common Ef⯑forts are over, was always to deſpair, lie down under it, and die, without rouſing their Thoughts up to proper Remedies for Eſcape.

I told him, their Caſe and mine differ'd exceed⯑ingly, that they were caſt upon the Shore without Neceſſaries, without Supply of Food, or of pre⯑ſent Suſtenance, 'till they could provide: That it is true, I had this Diſadvantage and Diſcomfort, that I was alone; but then the Supplies I had pro⯑videntially thrown into my Hands, by the unex⯑pected driving of the Ship on Shore, was ſuch a Help as would have encourag'd any Creature in the World to have apply'd himſelf as I had done. Seignior, ſays the Spaniard, had we poor Spaniards been in your Caſe, we ſhould never have gotten half thoſe Things out of the Ship as you did: Nay, ſays he, we ſhould never have found Means to have gotten a Raft to carry them, or to have gotten the Raft on Shore without Boat or Sail; and how much leſs ſhould we have done, ſaid he, if any of us had been alone? Well, I deſir'd him to abate his Compliment, and go on with the Hi⯑ſtory of their coming on Shore, where they land⯑ed, [128] he told me, they unhappily landed at a Place where there were People without Proviſions; whereas had they had the common Senſe to have put off to Sea again, and gone to another Iſland a little farther, they had found Proviſions, tho' without People; there being an Iſland that Way, as they have been told, where there was Provi⯑ſions, tho' no People; that is to ſay, that the Spa⯑niards of Trinidad had frequently been there, and had fill'd the Iſland with Goats and Hogs at ſeve⯑ral Times; where they have bred in ſuch Multi⯑tudes, and where Turtle and Sea-Fowls were in ſuch Plenty, that they could ha' been in no Want of Fleſh, tho' they had found no Bread; whereas here, they were only ſuſtain'd with a few Roots and Herbs, which they underſtood not, and which had no Subſtance in them, and which the Inha⯑bitants gave them ſparingly enough, and who could treat them no better, unleſs they would turn Canibals, and eat Mens Fleſh, which was the great Dainty of their Country.

They gave me an Account how many Ways they ſtrove to civilize the Savages they were with, and to teach them rational Cuſtoms in the ordi⯑nary Way of Living, but in vain; and how they retorted it upon them, as unjuſt, that they who came there for Aſſiſtance and Support, ſhould at⯑tempt to ſet up for Inſtructors of thoſe that gave them Bread; intimating, it ſeems, that none ſhould ſet up for the Inſtructors of others, but thoſe who could live without them.

They gave me diſmal Accounts of the Extremi⯑ties they were driven to; how ſometimes they were many Days without any Food at all; the Iſland they were upon being inhabited by a Sort [129] of Savages that lived more indolent, and for that Reaſon were leſs ſupplied with the Neceſſaries of Life, than they had Reaſon to believe others were in the ſame Part of the World; and yet they found, that theſe Savages were leſs ravenous and voracious, than thoſe who had better Supplies of Food.

Alſo they added, That they could not but ſee with what Demonſtrations of Wiſdom and Good⯑neſs the governing Providence of God directs the Events of Things in the World; which, they ſaid, appear'd in their Circumſtances; for if preſs'd by the Hardſhips they were under, and the Barrenneſs of the Country where they were, they had ſearch'd after a better Place to live in; they had then been out of the Way of the Relief that happen'd to them by my Means.

Then they gave me an Account, how the Sava⯑ges, who they liv'd among, expected them to go out with them into their Wars: And it was true, that, as they had Fire-Arms with them, had they not had the Diſaſter to loſe their Ammunition, they ſhould not have been ſerviceable only to their Friends, but have made themſelves terrible both to Friends and Enemies; but being with⯑out Powder and Shot, and yet in a Condition, that they could not in Reaſon deny to go out with their Landlords to their Wars; when they came into the Field of Battle, they were in a worſe Condition than the Savages themſelves; for they neither had Bows or Arrows, nor could they uſe thoſe the Savages gave them; ſo that they could do nothing but ſtand ſtill, and be woun⯑ded with Arrows, till they came up to the Teeth of their Enemy; and then indeed the three Hal⯑bards [130] they had, were of Uſe to them; and they would often drive a whole little Army before them with thoſe Halbards and ſharpen'd Sticks put into the Muzzles of their Muskets: But that for all this they were ſometimes ſurrounded with Multitudes, and in great Danger from their Ar⯑rows, till at laſt they found the Way to make themſelves large Targets of Wood, which they co⯑ver'd with Skins of wild Beaſts, whoſe Names they knew not; and theſe cover'd them from the Arrows of the Savages; that notwithſtanding theſe, they were ſometimes in great Danger, and were once five of them knock'd down together with the Clubs of the Savages, which was the Time when one of them was taken Priſoner; that is to ſay, the Spani⯑ard, whom I had reliev'd, that at firſt they thought had been kill'd: But when afterwards they heard he was taken Priſoner, they were under the great⯑eſt Grief imaginable, and would willingly have all ventur'd their Lives to have reſcu'd him.

They told me, That when they were ſo knock'd down, the reſt of their Company reſcu'd them, and ſtood over them, fighting till they were come to themſelves, all but him who they thought had been dead; and then they made their Way with their Halbards and Pieces, ſtanding cloſe together in a Line, thro' a Body of above a thouſand Sava⯑ges, beating down all that came in their Way, got the Victory over their Enemies, but to their great Sorrow, becauſe it was with the Loſs of their Friend; who, the other Party finding him alive, carry'd off with ſome others, as I gave an Account in my former.

They deſcrib'd moſt affectionately, how they were ſurpriz'd with Joy at the Return of their [131] Friend and Companion in Miſery, who they thought had been devour'd by wild Beaſts of the worſt kind, (viz.) by wild Men; and yet how more and more they were ſurpriz'd with the Account he gave them of his Errand, and that there was a Chriſtian in any Place near, much more one that was able, and had Humanity enough to contribute to their Deliverance.

They deſcrib'd how they were aſtoniſh'd at the Sight of the Relief I ſent them, and at the Appea⯑rance of Loaves of Bread, Things they had not ſeen ſince their coming to that miſerable Place; how often they croſs'd it, and bleſs'd it, as Bread ſent from Heaven; and what a reviving Cordial it was to their Spirits to taſte it; as alſo of the other Things I had ſent for their Supply. And after all, they would have told me ſomething of the Joy they were in, at the Sight of a Boat and Pilots to carry them away to the Perſon and Place from whence all theſe new Comforts came; but they told me it was impoſſible to expreſs it by Words, for their exceſſive Joy, naturally driving them to un⯑becoming Extravagancies, they had no way to de⯑ſcribe them, but by telling me that they border'd upon Lunacy, having no way to give Vent to their Paſſion, ſuitable to the Senſe that was upon them; that in ſome it work'd one Way, and in ſome ano⯑ther; and that ſome of them, thro' a Surprize of Joy, would burſt out into Tears; others be ſtark mad, and others immediately faint. This Diſcourſe ex⯑treamly affected me, and call'd to my Mind Friday's Extaſy, when he met his Father, and the poor Peo⯑ple's Extaſy, when I took them up at Sea, after their Ship was on Fire; the Mate of the Ship's Joy, when he found himſelf deliver'd in the Place where he expected to periſh; and my own Joy when after 28 [132] Years Captivity, I found a good Ship ready to car⯑ry me to my own Country. All theſe Things made me more ſenſible of the Relation of thoſe poor Men, and more affected with it.

Having thus given a View of the State of Things, as I found them, I muſt relate the Heads of what I did for theſe People, and the Condition in which I left them. It was their Opinion and mine too, that they would be troubled no more with the Savages; or that if they were, they would be able to cut them off, if they were twice as many as before; ſo they had no Concern about that. Then I entred into a ſerious Diſcourſe with the Spaniard, whom I call Governor, about their Stay in the Iſland; for as I was not come to carry any of them off, ſo it would not be juſt to carry off ſome, and leave others, who perhaps would be unwilling to ſtay, if their Strength was diminiſhed.

On the other hand, I told them, I came to e⯑ſtabliſh them there, not to remove them; and then I let them know, that I had brought with me Re⯑lief of ſundry Kinds for them; That I had been at a great Charge to ſupply them with all Things neceſſary, as well for their Convenience, as their Defence; and that I had ſuch and ſuch particular Perſons with me, as well to encreaſe and recruit their Number, as by the particular neceſſary Em⯑ployments which they were bred to, being Arti⯑ficers, to aſſiſt them in thoſe Things, in which, at preſent, they were to ſeek.

They were all together when I talk'd thus to them; and before I delivered to them the Stores I had brought, I ask'd them one by one, If they had entirely forgot, and bury'd the firſt Animoſi⯑ties [133] that had been among them, and would ſhake Hands with one another, and engage in a ſtrict Friendſhip and Union of Intereſt, that ſo there might be no more Miſunderſtandings or Jealou⯑ſies.

Will. Atkins, with abundance of Frankneſs and good Humour, ſaid, They had met with Afflic⯑tions enough to make them all ſober, and Enemies enough to make them all Friends; that for his Part, he would live and die with them; and was ſo far from deſigning any Thing againſt the Spaniards, that he own'd they had done nothing to him, but what his own mad Humour made neceſ⯑ſary, and what he would have done, and perhaps much worſe in their Caſe; and that he would ask them Pardon, if I deſir'd it, for the fooliſh and brutiſh Things he had done to them; and was very willing and deſirous of living in Terms of entire Friendſhip and Union with them; and would do any thing that lay in his Power to convince them of it; and as for going to England, he ear'd not if he did not go thither theſe twenty Years.

The Spaniards ſaid, They had indeed at firſt diſarm'd and excluded Will. Atkins and his two Countrymen for their ill Conduct, as they had let me know; and they appeal'd to me, for the Neceſſity they were under to do ſo: But that Will. Atkins had behav'd himſelf ſo bravely in the great Fight they had with the Savages, and on ſeveral Occaſions ſince; and had ſhew'd himſelf ſo faithful to, and concern'd for, the general In⯑tereſt of them all, that they had forgotten all that was paſt, and thought he merited as much to be truſted with Arms, and ſupply'd with Neceſ⯑ſaries [134] as any of them; and that they had teſti⯑fy'd their Satisfaction in him, by committing the Command to him, next to the Governour him⯑ſelf. And as they had an entire Confidence in him and all his Countrymen, ſo they acknowledg'd they had merited that Confidence by all the Me⯑thods that honeſt Men could merit to be valued, and truſted; and they moſt heartily embrac'd the Occaſion of giving me this Aſſurance, that they would never have any Intereſt ſeparate from one another.

Upon theſe frank and open Declarations of Friendſhip, we appointed the next Day to dine all together; and indeed we made a ſplendid Feaſt: I cauſed the Ship's Cook and his Mate to come on Shore, and dreſs our Dinner; and the old Cook's Mate we had on Shore, aſſiſted. We brought on Shore ſix Pieces of good Beef, and four Pieces of Pork out of the Ship's Proviſion, with our Punch-Bowl, and Materials to ſill it; and in particular, I gave them ten Bottles of French Claret, and ten Bottles of Engliſh Beer; Things that neither the Spaniards, or the Engliſh Men had taſted for many Years; and which, it may be ſuppoſed, they were exceeding glad of.

The Spaniards added to our Feaſt five whole Kids, which the Cooks roaſted; and three of them were ſent cover'd up cloſe on Board the Ship, to the Seamen, that they might feaſt on freſh Meat from on Shore, as we did with their Salt Meat from on Board.

After this Feaſt, at which we were very inno⯑cently merry, I brought out my Cargo of Goods, wherein, that there might be no Diſpute about [135] dividing, I ſhew'd them that there was ſufficient for them all; and deſir'd that they might all take an equal Quantity of the Goods that were for wearing; that is to ſay, equal when made up; as firſt, I diſtributed Linnen ſufficient to make every one of them four Shirts; and at the Spaniards Requeſt afterwards, made them up ſix; theſe were exceeding comfortable to them, having been what, as I may ſay, they had long ſince forgot the Uſe of or what it was to wear them.

I allotted the thin Engliſh Stuffs, which I men⯑tion'd before, to make every one a light Coat, like a Frock, which I judged fitteſt for the Heat of the Seaſon; cool and looſe, and order'd, that when⯑ever they decayed, they ſhould make more, as they thought fit: The like for Pumps, Shoes, Stockings and Hats, &c.

I cannot expreſs what Pleaſure, what Satiſ⯑faction, ſat upon the Countenances of all theſe poor Men, when they ſaw the Care I had ta⯑ken of them, and how well I had furniſh'd them; they told me, I was a Father to them, and that having ſuch a Correſpondent as I was, in ſo remote a Part of the World, it would make them forget that they were left in a de⯑ſolate Place; and they all voluntarily engag'd to me not to leave the Place without my Con⯑ſent.

Then I preſented to them the People I had brought with me, particularly the Taylor, the Smith, and the two Carpenters, all of them moſt neceſſary People; but above all, my ge⯑neral Artificer, than whom they could not [136] name any thing that was more uſeful to them. And the Taylor, to ſhew his Concern for them, went to work immediately, and, with my Leave, made them every one a Shirt the firſt Thing he did; and which was ſtill more, he taught the Women, not only how to ſow and ſtitch, and uſe the Needle, but made them aſſiſt to make the Shirts for their Husbands, and for all the reſt.

As to the Carpenters, I ſcarce need mention, how uſeful they were, for they took in pieces all my clumſy unhandy Things, and made them clever convenient Tables, Stools, Bed-ſteads, Cup-boards, Lockers, Shelves, and every thing they wanted of that Kind.

But to let them ſee how Nature made Arti⯑ficers at firſt, I carried the Carpenters to ſee Will. Atkins's Basket-houſe, as I call'd it, and they both own'd they never ſaw an Inſtance of ſuch natural Ingenuity before; nor any thing ſo regular, and ſo handily built, at leaſt of its Kind: And one of them, when he ſaw it, after muſing a good while, turning about to me, I am ſure, ſays he, that Man has no need of us, you need do nothing but give him Tools.

Then I brought them out all my Store of Tools, and gave every Man a Digging-Spade, a Shovel, and a Rake, for we had no Harrows or Plows; and to every ſeparate Place, a Pick-ax, a Crow, a broad Ax, and a Saw; always appointing, that as often as any were broken, or worn out, they ſhould be ſupply'd without grudging, out of the general Stores that I left behind.

[137] Nails, Staples, Hinges, Hammers, Chiſſels, Knives, Sciſſars, and all ſorts of Tools, and Iron-work, they had without Tale, as they requir'd, for no Man would care to take more than they wanted, and he muſt be a Fool that would waſt or ſpoil them, on any Account whatever; and for the Uſe of the Smith, I left two Ton of unwrought Iron for a Supply.

My Magazine of Powder and Arms, which I brought them, was ſuch, even to Profuſion, that they could not but rejoice at them, for now they could march as I us'd to do, with a Musket upon each Shoulder, if there was Occaſion, and were able to fight a thouſand Savages, if they had but ſome little Advantages of Situation, which alſo they could not miſs of if they had Occaſion.

I carry'd on Shore with me the young Man, whoſe Mother was ſtarv'd to Death, and the Maid alſo; ſhe was a ſober well educated reli⯑gious young Woman, and behav'd ſo inoffenſive⯑ly, that every one gave her a good Word; ſhe had indeed an unhappy Life with us, there being no Woman in the Ship but herſelf; but ſhe bore it with Patience. After a while ſeeing Things ſo well or⯑der'd, and in ſo fine a way of thriving upon my Iſland, and conſidering that they had neither Buſi⯑neſs or Acquaintance in the Eaſt-Indies, or Reaſon for taking ſo long a Voyage: I ſay, conſidering all this, both of them came to me, and deſir'd I would give them leave to remain on the Iſland, and be en⯑ter'd among my Family, as they call'd it.

[138] I agreed to it readily, and they had a little Plat of Ground allotted to them, where they had three Tents or Houſes ſet up, ſurrounded with a Basket-work, Palliſado'd like Atkins's, adjoining to his Plantation: Their Tents were contriv'd, ſo that they had each of them a Room apart to lodge in, and a middle Tent like a great Store-houſe to lay all their Goods in, and to eat and drink in; and now the other two Engliſh Men re⯑mov'd their Habitation to the ſame Place, and ſo the Iſland was divided into three Colonies and no more, viz. the Spaniards with old Friday, and the firſt Servants, at my old Habitation under the Hill; which was, in a word, the capital City; and where they had ſo enlarg'd and extended their Works, as well under as on the outſide of the Hill, that they liv'd, tho' perfectly conceal'd, yet full at large. Never was there ſuch a little City in a Wood, and ſo hid, I believe, in any Part of the World; for I verily believe, a thouſand Men might have rang'd the Iſland a Month, and if they had not known there was ſuch a Thing, and look'd on purpoſe for it, they would not have found it; for the Trees ſtood ſo thick and ſo cloſe, and grew ſo faſt matted into one another, that no⯑thing but cutting them down firſt could diſcover the Place; except the only two narrow Entrances, where they went in and out, could be found, which was not very eaſy; one of them was juſt down at the Water-Edge of the Creek, and it was afterwards above two hundred Yards to the Place; and the other was up the Ladder at twice, as I have already formerly deſcrib'd it; and they had a large Wood thick planted, alſo, on the Top of the Hill, which contain'd above an [139] Acre, which grew apace, and cover'd the Place from all Diſcovery there, with only one narrow Place between two Trees, not eaſy to be diſcover'd to enter on that Side.

The other Colony was that of W. Atkins's, where there were four Families of Engliſh Men, I mean thoſe I had left there, with their Wives and Children; three Savages that were Slaves; the Widow and Children of the Engliſh Man that was kill'd; the young Man and the Maid; and by the way, we made a Wife of her alſo, before we went away: There were alſo the two Carpen⯑ters and the Taylor, who I brought with me for them; alſo the Smith, who was a very neceſſary Man to them, eſpecially as a Gunſmith, to take care of their Arms; and my other Man, who I call'd, Jack of all Trades; who was in himſelf as good, almoſt, as 20 Men, for he was not only a very ingenious Fellow, but a very merry Fellow, and before I went away, we married him to the honeſt Maid that came with the Youth in the Ship, I mention'd before.

And now I ſpeak of Marrying, it brings me na⯑turally to ſay ſomething of the French Eccleſiaſtic that I had brought with me out of the Ship's Crew, who I took up at Sea. It is true, this Man was a Roman, and perhaps it may give Offence to ſome hereafter, if I leave any Thing extraordinary upon Record, of a Man, who, before I begin, I muſt, (to ſet him out in juſt Colours) repreſent in Terms very much to his Diſadvantage, in the Account of Proteſtants; as firſt, that he was a Pa⯑piſt; ſecondly, a popiſh Prieſt; and thirdly, a French popiſh Prieſt.

[140] But Juſtice demands of me to give him a due Character; and I muſt ſay, he was a grave, ſober, pious, and moſt religious Perſon; exact in his Life, extenſive in his Charity, and exemplar in al⯑moſt every Thing he did; what then can any one ſay, againſt my being very ſenſible of the Value of ſuch a Man, notwithſtanding his Profeſſion? Tho' it may be my Opinion, perhaps, as well as the Opinion of others, who ſhall read this, that he was miſtaken.

The firſt Hour that I began to converſe with him, after he had agreed to go with me to the Eaſt-Indies, I found Reaſon to delight exceedingly in his Converſation; and he firſt began with me about Religion in the moſt obliging Manner imagi⯑nable.

Sir, ſays he, you have not only, under God, (and at that he croſs'd his Breaſt) ſav'd my Life, but you have admitted me to go this Voyage in your Ship, and by your obliging Civility have taken me into your Family, giving me an Op⯑portunity of free Converſation. Now Sir, ſays he, you ſee by my Habit what my Profeſſion is, and I gueſs by your Nation what yours is: I may think it is my Duty, and doubtleſs it is ſo, to uſe my utmoſt Endeavours, on all Occaſions, to bring all the Souls I can to the Knowledge of the Truth, and to embrace the Catholick Doctrine; but as I am here under your Permiſſion, and in your Family, I am bound in Juſtice to your Kind⯑neſs, as well as in Decency and good Manners, to be under your Government; and therefore I ſhall not, without your Leave, enter into any Debates [141] on the Point of Religion, in which we may not agree, farther than you ſhall give me Leave.

I told him, his Carriage was ſo modeſt, that I could not but acknowledge it; that it was true, we were ſuch People as they call'd Hereticks; but that he was not the firſt Catholick that I had con⯑vers'd with, without falling into any Inconvenien⯑cies, or carrying the Queſtions to any height in Debate: That he ſhould not find himſelf the worſe us'd for being of a different Opinion from us, and if we did not converſe without any Diſlike on ei⯑ther Side upon that Score, it ſhould be his Fault, not ours.

He reply'd, that he thought all our Converſa⯑tion might be eaſily ſeparated from Diſputes: That it was not his Buſineſs to cap Principles with every Man he diſcours'd with; and that he rather deſir'd me to converſe with him as a Gen⯑tleman, than as a Religieuſe; that if I would give him leave at any time to diſcourſe upon reli⯑gious Subjects, he would readily comply with it; and that then, he did not doubt but I would allow him alſo to defend his own Opinions, as well as he could; but that without my Leave he would not break in upon me with any ſuch thing.

He told me farther, that he would not ceaſe to do all that became him in his Office, as a Prieſt, as well as a private Chriſtian, to procure the Good of the Ship, and the Safety of all that was in her; and tho' perhaps we would not join with him, and he could not pray with us, he hop'd he might pray for us, which he would [142] do upon all Occaſions. In this Manner we con⯑vers'd, and as he was of a moſt obliging Gentle⯑man-like Behaviour; ſo he was, if I may be al⯑low'd to ſay ſo, a Man of good Senſe, and as I believe, of great Learning.

He gave me a moſt diverting Account of his Life, and of the many extraordinary Events of it; of many Adventures which had befallen him in the few Years that he had been abroad in the World, and particularly this was very remarkable, (viz.) That in the Voyage he was now engag'd, he had had the Misfortune to be five times ſhip'd and unſhip'd, and never to go to the Place whither any of the Ships, he was in, were at firſt deſign'd: That his firſt Intent was to have gone to Martinico, and that he went on board a Ship bound thither, at St. Malo; but being forc'd into Lisbon by bad Weather, the Ship receiv'd ſome Damage, by running a-ground in the Mouth of the River Tagus, and was oblig'd to unload her Cargo there; that finding a Portugueſe Ship there bound to the Maderas, and ready to ſail, and ſup⯑poſing he ſhould eaſily meet with a Veſſel there bound to Martinico; he went on board, in order to ſail to the Maderas; but the Maſter of the Por⯑tugueſe Ship being but an indifferent Mariner, had been out in his Reckoning, and they drove to Fial; where, however, he happen'd to find a very good Market for his Cargo, which was Corn, and therefore reſolv'd not to go to the Maderas, but to load Salt at the Iſle of May, and to go away to Newfoundland: He had no Remedy in this Exi⯑gence, but to go with the Ship, and had a pretty good Voyage as far as the Banks, ſo they call the Place where they catch the Fiſh, where meeting with a French Ship, bound from France to Quebeck [143] in the River of Canada, and from thence to Mar⯑tinico, to carry Proviſions, he thought he ſhould have an Opportunity to compleat his firſt De⯑ſign: But when he came to Quebeck, the Maſter of the Ship dy'd, and the Ship proceeded no farther; ſo the next Voyage he ſhip'd himſelf for France, in the Ship that was burnt, when we took them up at Sea, and then ſhip'd with us for the Eaſt-Indies, as I have already ſaid: Thus he had been diſappointed in five Voyages, all, as I may call it, in one Voyage, beſides what I ſhall have Occa⯑ſion to mention farther of the ſame Perſon.

But, I ſhall not make Digreſſions into other Men's Stories, which have no Relation to my own. I return to what concerns our Affair in the Iſland: He came to me one Morning, for he lodg'd among us all the while we were upon the Iſland; and it happen'd to be juſt when I was go⯑ing to viſit the Engliſh Men's Colony, at the far⯑theſt Part of the Iſland, I ſay, he came to me and told me, with a very grave Countenance, that he had for two or three Days deſir'd an Opportunity of ſome Diſcourſe with me, which he hop'd ſhould not be diſpleaſing to me, becauſe he thought it might in ſome Meaſure correſpond with my gene⯑ral Deſign, which was the Proſperity of my new Colony, and perhaps might put it, at leaſt more than he yet thought it was, in the Way of God's Bleſſing.

I look'd a little ſurpriz'd at the laſt Part of his Diſcourſe, and turning a little ſhort, How Sir, ſaid I, can it be ſaid, that we are not in the Way of God's Bleſſing, after ſuch viſible Aſſiſtances and won⯑derful Deliverances as we have ſeen here, and of which I have given you a large Account?

[144] If you had pleas'd, Sir, ſaid he with a world of Modeſty, and yet with great Readineſs, to have heard me, you would have found no room to have been diſpleas'd, much leſs to think ſo hard of me, that I ſhould ſuggeſt, that you have not had wonderful Aſſiſtances and Deliverances; and I hope, on your Behalf, that you are in the Way of God's Bleſſing, and your Deſign is exceeding good, and will proſ⯑per: But, Sir, tho' it were more ſo, than is even poſſible to you, yet there may be ſome among you that are not equally right in their Actions: And you know, that in the Story of the Children of Iſrael, one Achan in the Camp remov'd God's Bleſſing from them, and turn'd his Hand ſo againſt them, that ſix and thirty of them, tho' not concern'd in the Crime, were the Object of Divine Vengeance, and bore the Weight of that Puniſhment.

I was ſenſibly touch'd with his Diſcourſe, and told him, his Inference was ſo juſt, and the whole Deſign ſeem'd ſo ſincere, and was really ſo religious in its own Nature, that I was very ſorry I had in⯑terrupted him, and beg'd him to go on; and in the mean Time, becauſe it ſeem'd, that what we had both to ſay might take up ſome Time, I told him, I was going to the Engliſh Mens Plantations, and ask'd him to go with me, and we might diſcourſe of it by the Way: He told me, he would more willingly wait on me thither, becauſe there part⯑ly the Thing was acted, which he deſir'd to ſpeak to me about, ſo we walk'd on; and I preſs'd him to be free and plain with me, in what he had to ſay.

[145] Why then, Sir, ſays he, be pleaſed to give me Leave to lay down a few Propoſitions, as the Foundation of what I have to ſay, that we may not differ in the general Principles, tho' we may be of ſome differing Opinions in the Practice of Particulars. Firſt, Sir, tho' we differ in ſome of the doctrinal Articles of Religion; and it is very unhappy that it is ſo, eſpecially in the Caſe be⯑fore us, as I ſhall ſhew afterwards: Yet there are ſome general Principles in which we both agree, (viz). firſt, That there is a God; and that this God having given us ſome ſtated general Rules for our Service and Obedience, we ought not willingly and knowingly to offend him; either by neglecting to do what he has commanded, or by doing what he has expreſly forbidden: And let our different Religions be what they will, this general Principle is readily own'd by us all, That the Bleſſing of God does not ordinarily follow a preſumptuous ſinning againſt his Command; and every good Chriſtian will be affectionately concern'd to pre⯑vent any that are under his Care, living in a total Neglect of God and his Commands. It is not your Men being Proteſtants, whatever my Opinion may be of ſuch, that diſcharges me from being concern'd for their Souls, and from endeavouring, if it lies before me, that they ſhould live in as little Diſtance from and Enmity with their Maker, as poſſible, eſ⯑pecially if you give me Leave to meddle ſo far in your Circuit.

I could not yet imagine what he aim'd at, and told him, I granted all he had ſaid, and thank'd him, that he would ſo far concern himſelf for us; and beg'd he would explain the Particulars of what he had obſerv'd, that, like Joſhua, to take [146] his own Parable, I might put away the accurſed Thing from us.

Why then, Sir, ſays he, I will take the Liber⯑ty you give me; and there are three Things, which, if I am right, muſt ſtand in the Way of God's Bleſſing upon your Endeavours here, and which I ſhould rejoice for your ſake, and their own, to ſee remov'd. And, Sir, ſays he, I pro⯑miſe myſelf, that you will fully agree with me in them all, as ſoon as I name them; eſpecially be⯑cauſe I ſhall convince you, that every one of them may, with great Eaſe, and very much to your Sa⯑tisfaction, be remedy'd.

He gave me no Leave to put in any more Ci⯑vilities, but went on. Firſt, Sir, ſays he, you have here four Engliſh Men, who have fetch'd Wo⯑men from among the Savages, and have taken them as their Wives, and have had many Chil⯑dren by them all, and yet are not marry'd to them after any ſtated legal Manner, as the Laws of God and Man require; and therefore are yet, in the Senſe of both, no leſs than Adulterers, and li⯑ving in Adultery. To this, Sir, ſays he, I know you will object, That there was no Clergyman or Prieſt of any Kind, or of any Profeſſion, to perform the Ceremony; nor any Pen and Ink, or Paper, to write down a Contract of Marriage, and have it ſign'd between them. And I know alſo, Sir, what the Spaniard Governour has told you; I mean of the Agreement that he oblig'd them to make, when they took theſe Women (viz.) That they ſhould chuſe them out by Conſent, and keep ſeparately to them; which, by the way, is nothing of a Marriage, no Agreement with the [147] Women, as Wives, but only an Agreement among themſelves, to keep them from quarrelling.

But, Sir, the Eſſence of the Sacrament of Ma⯑trimony (ſo he call'd it, being a Roman) conſiſts not only in the mutual Conſent of the Parties to take one another, as Man and Wife, but in the formal and legal Obligation, that there is in the Contract, to compel the Man and Woman at all Times, to own and acknowledge each other, obli⯑ging the Men to abſtain from all other Women, to engage in no other Contract while theſe ſubſiſt; and on all Occaſions, as Ability allows, to pro⯑vide honeſtly for them and their Children, and to oblige the Woman to the ſame, or like Conditions, mutatis mutandis, on their Side.

Now, Sir, ſays he, theſe Men may, when they pleaſe, or when Occaſion preſents, abandon theſe Women, diſown their Children, leave them to pe⯑riſh, and take other Women, and marry them whilſt theſe are living. And here he added, with ſome Warmth, How, Sir, is God honour'd in this unlawful Liberty? And how ſhall a Bleſſing ſuc⯑ceed your Endeavours in this Place? However good in themſelves, and however ſincere in your Deſign, while theſe Men, who at preſent are your Sub⯑jects, under your abſolute Government and Do⯑minion, are allow'd by you to live in open A⯑dultery?

I confeſs, I was ſtruck at the Thing itſelf, but much more with the convincing Arguments he ſupported it with; for it was certainly true, that tho' they had no Clergyman upon the Spot, yet a formal Contract on both Sides, made before Wit⯑neſſes, and confirm'd by any Token, which they had [148] all agreed to be bound by, tho' it had been but breaking a Stick between them, engaging the Men to own theſe Women for their Wives, upon all Occaſions, and never to abandon them or their Children, and the Women to the ſame with their Husbands, had been an effectual lawful Marriage in the Sight of God; and it was a great Neglect that it was not done.

But I thought to have gotten off with my young Prieſt, by telling him, that all that Part was done when I was not here, and they had liv'd ſo many Years with them now, that if it was an Adultery, it was paſt Remedy, they could do nothing in it now.

Sir, ſays he, asking your Pardon for ſuch Freedom, you are right in this, that it being done in your Abſence, you could not be charg'd with that Part of the Crime: But I beſeech you, flatter not your⯑ſelf, that you are not therefore under an Obliga⯑tion to do your utmoſt now to put an End to it. How can you think, but that, let the Time paſt lie on who it will, all the Guilt, for the future, will lie entirely upon you? Becauſe it is certainly in your Power now to put an End to it, and in no Body's Power but yours.

I was ſo dull ſtill, that I did not take him right; but I imagin'd, that by putting an End to it, he meant that I ſhould part them, and not ſuffer them to live together any longer; And I ſaid to him, I could not do that by any Means, for that it would put the whole Iſland into Confuſion: He ſeem'd ſurpriz'd, that I ſhould ſo far miſtake him. No, Sir, ſays he, I do not mean, that you ſhould now ſeparate them, but legally and effectually mar⯑ry [149] them now; and as, Sir, my Way of marrying them may not be ſo eaſy to reconcile them to, tho' it will be as effectual, even by your own Laws, ſo your Way may be as well before God, and as valid among Men; I mean, by a written Contract, ſign'd by both Man and Woman, and by all the Witneſſes preſent, which all the Laws of Europe would decree to be valid.

I was amaz'd to ſee ſo much true Piety, and ſo much Sincerity of Zeal, beſides the unuſual Impar⯑tiality in his Diſcourſe, as to his own Party or Church, and ſuch true Warmth for the preſerving People that he had no Knowledge of, or Relation to; I ſay, for preſerving them from tranſgreſſing the Laws of God; the like of which I had in⯑deed not met with any where: But recollecting what he had ſaid, of marrying them by a written Contract, which I knew would ſtand too; I re⯑turn'd it back upon him, and told him, I granted all that he had ſaid to be juſt, and on his Part very kind, that I would diſcourſe with the Men upon the Point now, when I came to them: And I knew no Reaſon why they ſhou'd ſcruple to let him marry them all, which I knew well enough would be granted to be as authentick and valid in England, as if they were marry'd by one of our own Clergymen. What was afterwards done in this matter, I ſhall ſpeak of by itſelf.

I then preſs'd him to tell me what was the ſecond Complaint which he had to make, acknowledging, that I was very much his Debtor for the firſt, and thank'd him heartily for it. He told me, he would uſe the ſame Freedom and Plainneſs in the ſecond, and hop'd I would take it as well: And this was, that notwithſtanding theſe Engliſh Subjects of [150] mine, as he call'd them, had lived with thoſe Wo⯑men for almoſt ſeven Years, had taught them to ſpeak Engliſh, and even to read it; and that they were, as he perceiv'd, Women of tolerable Under⯑ſtanding, and capable of Inſtruction; yet they had not to this Hour taught them any thing of the Chriſtian Religion, no, not ſo much as to know that there was a God, or a Worſhip, or in what Man⯑ner God was to be ſerved, or that their own Ido⯑latry, and worſhipping they knew not who, was falſe and abſurd.

This, he ſaid, was an unaccountable Neglect, and what God would certainly call them to Ac⯑count for, and perhaps at laſt take the Work out of their Hands. He ſpoke this very affectionately and warmly. I am perſwaded, ſays he, had thoſe Men lived in the ſavage Country, whence their Wives came; the Savages would have taken more Pains to have brought them to be Idolaters, and to worſhip the Devil, than any of theſe Men, ſo far as he could ſee, had taken with them to teach them the Knowledge of the true God. Now, Sir, ſaid he, tho' I do not acknowledge your Religion, or you mine, yet we ſhould be glad to ſee the De⯑vil's Servants, and the Subjects of his Kingdom, taught to know the general Principles of the Chriſ⯑tian Religion; that they might, at leaſt, hear of God, and of a Redeemer, and of the Reſurrec⯑tion, and of a future State, Things which we all believe; they had at leaſt been ſo much nearer coming into the Boſom of the true Church, than they are now in the publick Profeſſion of Idolatry and Devil-Worſhip.

I could hold no longer; I took him in my Arms, and embrac'd him with an Exceſs of Paſſion: How [151] far, ſaid I to him, have I been from underſtand⯑ing the moſt eſſential Part of a Chriſtian! (viz.) to love the Intereſt of the Chriſtian Church, and the good of other Mens Souls. I ſcarce have known what belongs to being a Chriſtian. O, Sir, do not ſay ſo, reply'd he, this Thing is not your Fault. No, ſays I, but why did I never lay it to Heart as well as you? 'Tis not too late yet, ſaid he, be not too forward to condemn yourſelf: But what can be done now, ſaid I, you ſee I am going away? Will you give me Leave, ſaid he, to talk with thoſe poor Men about it? Yes, with all my Heart, ſaid I, and will oblige them to give heed to what you ſay too: As to that, ſaid he, we muſt leave them to the Mercy of Chriſt; but 'tis our Buſineſs to aſſiſt them, encourage them, and inſtruct them; and if you will give me Leave, and God his Bleſſing, I do not doubt but the poor ignorant Souls ſhall be brought home into the great Circle of Chriſtianity, if not into the parti⯑cular Faith that we all embrace, and that even while you ſtay here: Upon this, I ſaid, I ſhall not only give you Leave, but give you a thouſand Thanks for it. What follow'd on this Account, I ſhall mention alſo again in its Place.

I now preſs'd him for the third Article, in which we were to blame. Why really, ſays he, it is of the ſame Nature, and I will proceed, asking your Leave, with the ſame Plainneſs as before; it is about your poor Savages, who are, as I may ſay, your conquer'd Subjects. It is a Maxim, Sir, that is or ought to be receiv'd among all Chriſtians of what Church or pretended Church ſoever, (viz.) The Chriſtian Knowledge ought to be propagated by all poſſible Means, and on all poſſible Occaſions: 'Tis on this Principle that our Church ſends Miſſionaries [152] into Perſia, India, and China, and that our Clergy, even of the ſuperior Sort, willingly engage in the moſt hazardous Voyages, and the moſt dangerous Reſidence among Murderers and Barbarians, to teach them the Knowledge of the true God, and to bring them over to embrace the Chriſtian Faith. Now, Sir, you have ſuch an Opportunity here, to have ſix or ſeven and thirty poor Savages brought over from Idolatry to the Knowledge of God, their Maker and Redeemer, that I wonder how you can paſs ſuch an Occaſion of doing Good, which is really worth the Expence of a Man's whole Life.

I was now ſtruck dumb indeed, and had not one Word to ſay. I had here a Spirit of true Chriſtian Zeal for God and Religion before me, let his particular Principles be of what kind ſo⯑ever; as for me, I had not ſo much as entertain'd a Thought of this in my Heart before, and I be⯑lieve ſhould not have thought of it; for I look'd upon theſe Savages as Slaves, and People, who, had we had any Work for them to do, we would ha' uſed as ſuch, or would ha' been glad to have tranſported them to any other Part of the World; for our Buſineſs was to get rid of them, and we would all have been ſatisfy'd, if they had been ſent to any Country, ſo they had never ſeen their own: But to the Caſe, I ſay, I was confounded at his Diſcourſe, and knew not what Anſwer to make him. He look'd earneſtly at me, ſeeing me in ſome Diſorder; Sir, ſays he, I ſhall be very ſorry, if what I have ſaid gives you any Offence: No, No, ſays I, I am offended with no Body but my⯑ſelf; but I am perfectly confounded, not only to think that I ſhould never take any Notice of this before, but with reflecting what Notice I am able [153] to take of it now. You know, Sir, ſaid I, what Circumſtances I am in, I am bound to the Eaſt-Indies, in a Ship freighted by Merchants, and to whom it would be an unſufferable Piece of Injuſtice to detain their Ship here, the Men lying all this while at Victuals and Wages upon the Owners Account. It is true, I agreed to be allow'd twelve Days here, and if I ſtay more, I muſt pay 3 l. Sterling per Diem Demorage, nor can I ſtay up⯑on Demorage above eight Days more, and I have been here thirteen Days already, ſo that I am per⯑fectly unable to engage in this Work, unleſs I would ſuffer myſelf to be left behind here again, in which Caſe, if this ſingle Ship ſhould miſcarry in any Part of her Voyage, I ſhould be juſt in the ſame Condition that I was left in here at firſt, and from which I have been ſo wonderfully delivered.

He own'd the Caſe was very hard upon me, as to my Voyage; but laid it home upon my Con⯑ſcience, whether the Bleſſing of ſaving ſeven and thirty Souls, was not worth my venturing all I had in the World for? I was not ſo ſenſible of that as he was. I return'd upon him thus, why, Sir, it is a valuable Thing, indeed, to be an Inſtrument in God's Hand to convert ſeven and thirty Hea⯑thens to the Knowledge of Chriſt, but as you are an Eccleſiaſtic, and are given over to the Work, ſo that it ſeems ſo naturally to fall into the Way of your Profeſſion; how is it, that you do not rather offer yourſelf to undertake it, than preſs me to it?

Upon this he fac'd about, juſt before me, as we walk'd along, and putting me to a full Stop, made me a very low Bow; I moſt heartily thank [154] God and you, Sir, ſays he, for giving me ſo evi⯑dent a Call to ſo bleſſed a Work; and if you think your ſelf diſcharg'd from it, and deſire me to un⯑dertake it, I will moſt readily do it, and think it a happy Reward for all the Hazards and Difficulties of ſuch a broken diſappointed Voyage as I have met with, that I may be dropt at laſt into ſo glo⯑rious a Work.

I diſcover'd a kind of Rapture in his Face while he ſpoke this to me; his Eyes ſparkl'd like Fire, his Face glow'd, and his Colour came and went, as if he had been falling into Fits; in a Word, he was fir'd with the Joy of being embark'd in ſuch a Work. I paus'd a conſiderable while before I could tell what to ſay to him, for I was really ſurpriz'd to find a Man of ſuch Sincerity and Zeal, and carry'd out in his Zeal beyond the ordinary Rate of Men, not of his Profeſſion only, but even of any Profeſ⯑ſion whatſoever. But after I had conſider'd it a⯑while, I ask'd him ſeriouſly if he was in earneſt, and that he would venture on the ſingle Conſidera⯑tion of an Attempt on thoſe poor People, to be lock'd up in an unplanted Iſland for, perhaps, his Life, and at laſt might not know whether he ſhould be able to do them any Good, or not?

He turn'd ſhort upon me, and ask'd me what I call'd a Venture? Pray, Sir, ſaid he, what do you think I conſented to go in your Ship to the Eaſt-Indies for? Nay, ſaid I, that I know not, unleſs it was to preach to the Indians: Doubt⯑leſs it was, ſaid he; and do you think, if I can convert theſe ſeven and thirty Men to the Faith of Chriſt, it is not worth my time, tho' I ſhould never be fetch'd off the Iſland again? [155] nay, is it not infinitely of more worth to ſave ſo many Souls, than my Life is, or the Life of twen⯑ty more of the ſame Profeſſion? Yes, Sir, ſays he, I would give Chriſt and the bleſſed Virgin Thanks all my Days, if I could be made the leaſt happy Inſtrument of ſaving the Souls of theſe poor Men, tho' I was never to ſet my Foot off of this Iſland, or ſee my native Country any more. But ſince you will honour me, ſays he, with putting me into this Work, for which I will pray for you all the Days of my Life; I have one humble Petition to you, ſaid he, beſides. What is that, ſaid I? Why, ſays he, it is, that you will leave your Man Friday with me, to be my Interpreter to them, and to aſſiſt me; for without ſome Help I cannot ſpeak to them, or they to me.

I was ſenſibly troubled at his requeſting Friday, becauſe I could not think of parting with him, and that for many Reaſons; he had been the Compa⯑nion of my Travels; he was not only faithful to me, but ſincerely affectionate to the laſt Degree, and I had reſolv'd to do ſomething conſiderable for him, if he out-liv'd me, as it was probable he would. Then I knew that, as I had bred Friday up to be a Proteſtant, it would quite confound him to bring him to embrace another Profeſſion; and he would never, while his Eyes were open, believe that his old Maſter was a Heretick and would be damn'd; and this might in the End ruin the poor Fellow's Principles, and ſo turn him to his firſt Idolatry.

However, a ſudden Thought reliev'd me in this Strait, and it was this; I told him, I could not ſay that I was willing to part with Friday on any Account whatever, tho' a Work that to him was [156] of more Value than his Life, ought to be to me of much leſs Value than the keeping or parting with a Servant; But on the other hand, I was per⯑ſuaded that Friday would by no Means conſent to part with me, and I could not force him to it with⯑out his Conſent, without manifeſt Injuſtice, becauſe I had promiſed I would never put him away, and he had promis'd and engag'd to me that he would never leave me, unleſs I put him away.

He ſeem'd very much concern'd at it, for he had no rational Acceſs to theſe poor People, ſeeing he did not underſtand one Word of their Language, nor they one Word of his: To remove this Diffi⯑culty, I told him, Friday's Father had learn'd Spa⯑niſh, which I found he alſo underſtood, and he ſhould ſerve him for an Interpreter; ſo he was much bet⯑ter ſatisfied, and nothing could perſuade him but he would ſtay to endeavour to convert them; but Providence gave another, and very happy, Turn to all this.

I come back now to the firſt Part of his Objections. When we came to the Engliſh Men, I ſent for them all together, and after ſome Ac⯑count given them of what I had done for them, viz. what neceſſary Things I had provided for them, and how they were diſtributed, which they were very ſenſible of, and very thankful for; I began to talk to them of the ſcandalous Life they led, and gave them a full Account of the Notice the Clergyman had already taken of it, and arguing how unchriſtian and irreligious a Life it was. I firſt ask'd them if they were mar⯑ried Men or Batchelors? They ſoon explain'd their Condition to me, and ſhew'd me that two [157] of them were Widowers, and the other three were ſingle Men or Batchelors. I ask'd them with what Conſciences they could take theſe Women and lie with them, as they had done, call them their Wives, and have ſo many Children by them, and not be marry'd lawfully to them.

They all gave me the Anſwer that I expected, viz. that there was no Body to marry them; that they agreed before the Governor to keep them as their Wives; and to keep them and own them as their Wives; and they thought as Things ſtood with them, they were as legally married as if they had been married by a Parſon, and with all the Formalities in the World.

I told them, that no doubt they were married in the Sight of God, and were bound in Conſci⯑ence to keep them as their Wives, but that the Laws of Men being otherwiſe, they might pre⯑tend they were not married, and ſo deſert the poor Women and Children hereafter; and that their Wives being poor deſolate Women, friendleſs and moneyleſs, would have no way to help themſelves. I therefore told them, that unleſs I was aſſur'd of their honeſt Intent, I could do nothing for them; but would take Care that what I did ſhould be for the Women and their Children without them, and that unleſs they would give ſome Aſſurances that they would marry the Women, I could not think it was convenient they ſhould continue together as Man and Wife, for that it was both ſcandalous to Men, and offenſive to God, who they could not think would bleſs them, if they went on thus.

[158] All this went on as I expected, and they told me, eſpecially Will Atkins, who ſeem'd now to ſpeak for the reſt, that they lov'd their Wives as well, as if they had been born in their own Na⯑tive Country, and would not leave them upon any Account whatever; and they did very believe their Wives were as virtuous and as modeſt, and did, to the utmoſt of their Skill, as much for them, and for their Children, as any Women could poſſibly do, and they would not part with them on any Account: And Will Atkins for his own particular added, if any Man would take him away, and offer to carry him home to Eng⯑land, and make him Captain of the beſt Man of War in the Navy, he would not go with him, if he might not carry his Wife and Children with him; and if there was a Clergyman in the Ship, he would be married to her now with all his Heart.

This was juſt as I would have it; the Prieſt was not with me at that Moment, but was not far off: So to try him farther, I told him I had a Clergyman with me, and if he was ſincere, I would have him married the next Morning, and bid him conſider of it, and talk with the reſt; he ſaid, as for himſelf, he need not conſider of it at all, for he was very ready to do it, and was glad I had a Miniſter with me, and he believ'd they would be all willing alſo. I then told him that my Friend the Miniſter was a French Man, and could not ſpeak Engliſh, but that I would act the Clerk between them: He never ſo much as ask'd me whether he was Papiſt or Proteſtant, which was indeed what I was afraid of: But, I ſay, they never enquir'd about it. So we part⯑ed, [159] I went back to my Clergyman, and Will At⯑kins went in to talk with his Companions. I de⯑ſir'd the French Gentleman not to ſay any thing to them, till the Buſineſs was thorough ripe, and I told him what Anſwer the Men had given me.

Before I went from their Quarter, they all came to me, and told me, they had been conſidering what I had ſaid, that they were very glad to hear I had a Clergyman in my Company, and they were very willing to give me the Satisfaction I de⯑ſir'd, and to be formally Married as ſoon as I pleas'd, for they were far from deſiring to part with their Wives, and that they meant nothing but what was very honeſt when they choſe them; ſo I appointed them to meet me the next Morning, and that in the mean time they ſhould let their Wives know the meaning of the Marriage-Law; and that it was not only to prevent any Scandal, but alſo to oblige them, that they ſhould not forſake them, whatever might happen.

The Women were eaſily made ſenſible of the Meaning of the Thing, and were very well ſatis⯑fied with it, as, indeed, they had Reaſon to be; ſo they fail'd not to attend all together at my Apart⯑ment the next Morning, where I brought out my Clergyman; and tho' he had not on a Miniſter's Gown, after the Manner of England, or the Ha⯑bit of a Prieſt, after the Manner of France; yet having a black Veſt ſomething like a Caſſock, with a Saſh round it, he did not look very unlike a Mi⯑niſter; and as for his Language, I was his Inter⯑preter.

But the Seriouſneſs of his Behaviour to them, and the Scruples he made of marrying the Wo⯑men, [160] becauſe they were not baptiz'd, and pro⯑feſs'd Chriſtians, gave them an exceeding Reve⯑rence for his Perſon; and there was no need after that, to enquire whether he was a Clergyman or no.

Indeed, I was afraid his Scruple would have been carry'd ſo far, as that he would not have marry'd them at all; nay, notwithſtanding all I was able to ſay to him, he reſiſted me, though modeſtly, yet very ſteadily, and at laſt refuſed ab⯑ſolutely to marry them, unleſs he had firſt talk'd with the Men, and the Women too; and though at firſt I was a little backward to it, yet at laſt I agreed to it with a good Will, perceiving the Sin⯑cerity of his Deſign.

When he came to them, he let them know, that I had acquainted him with their Circum⯑ſtances, and with the preſent Deſign: That he was very willing to perform that Part of his Func⯑tion, and marry them as I had deſir'd; but that before he could do it, he muſt take the Liberty to talk with them. He told them, That in the Sight of all indifferent Men, and in the Senſe of the Laws of Society, they had liv'd all this while in an open Adultery; and that it was true, that nothing but the Conſenting to marry, or ef⯑fectually ſeparating them from one another now, could put an End to it; but there was a Difficul⯑ty in it too, with reſpect to the Laws of Chriſ⯑tian Matrimony, which he was not fully ſatisfy'd about, viz. That of marrying one that is a pro⯑feſs'd Chriſtian, to a Savage, an Idolater, and a Heathen, one that is not baptiz'd; and yet that he did not ſee that there was Time left for it to endeavour to perſuade the Women to be bap⯑tiz'd, [161] or to profeſs the Name of Chriſt, whom they had, he doubted, heard nothing of, and without which they could not be baptiz'd.

He told them, He doubted they were but in⯑different Chriſtians themſelves; that they had but little Knowledge of God, or of his Ways; and therefore he could not expect that they had ſaid much to their Wives on that Head yet; but that unleſs they would promiſe him to uſe their Endea⯑vour with their Wives, to perſuade them to become Chriſtians, and would as well as they could inſtruct them in the Knowledge and Belief of God that made them, and to worſhip Jeſus Chriſt that re⯑deem'd them, he could not marry them; for he would have no Hand in joyning Chriſtians with Savages; nor was it conſiſtent with the Principles of the Chriſtian Religion; and was indeed expreſ⯑ly forbidden in God's Law.

They heard all this very attentively, and I de⯑liver'd it very faithfully to them, from his Mouth, as near his own Words as I could, only ſome⯑times adding ſomething of my own to convince them how juſt it was, and how I was of his Mind; and I always very faithfully diſtinguiſh'd between what I ſaid from myſelf, and what were the Clergyman's Words. They told me, it was very true, what the Gentleman had ſaid, that they were but very indifferent Chriſtians them⯑ſelves, and that they had never talk'd to their Wives about Religion. Lord, Sir! ſays Will. At⯑kins, How ſhould we teach them Religion? Why we know nothing ourſelves; and beſides, Sir, ſaid he, ſhould we go to talk to them of God, and Jeſus Chriſt, and Heaven and Hell, 'twould be to make them laugh at us, and ask us, What we [162] believe ourſelves? And if we ſhould tell them we believe all the Things that we ſpeak of to them, ſuch as of good People going to Heaven, and wicked People to the Devil, they would ask us, Where we intend to go ourſelves, that be⯑lieve all this, and are ſuch wicked Fellows, as we indeed are? Why, Sir, 'tis enough to give them a Surfeit of Religion at firſt Hea⯑ring: Folks muſt have ſome Religion themſelves, before they pretend to teach other People: Will Atkins, ſaid I to him; though I am afraid what you ſay has too much Truth in it, yet can you not tell your Wife that ſhe's in the wrong? That there is a God and a Religion better than her own; that her Gods are Idols, that they can nei⯑ther hear nor ſpeak; that there is a great Being that made all Things, and that can deſtroy all that he had made; that he rewards the Good, and puniſhes the Bad; and that we are to be judg'd by him at laſt for all we do here: You are not ſo ignorant, but even Nature itſelf will teach you that all this is true, and I am ſatisfy'd you know it all to be true, and believe it your⯑ſelf.

That's true, Sir, ſaid Atkins; but with what Face can I ſay any thing to my Wife of all this, when ſhe will tell me immediately it cannot be true?

Not true, ſaid I, What do you mean by that? Why, Sir, ſaid he, She will tell me it cannot be true, that this God I ſhall tell her of can be juſt, or can puniſh, or reward, ſince I am not puniſh'd, and ſent to the Devil, that have been ſuch a wicked Creature as ſhe knows I have been, even to her, and to every Body elſe; and that I ſhould [163] be ſuffer'd to live, that have been always acting ſo contrary to what I muſt tell her is Good, and to what I ought to have done.

Why, truly, Atkins, ſaid I, I am afraid thou ſpeak'ſt too much Truth; and with that I let the Clergyman know what Atkins had ſaid, for he was impatient to know: O! ſaid the Prieſt; tell him there is one Thing will make him the beſt Miniſter in the World to his Wife, and that is, Repentance; for none teach Repentance like true Penitents: He wants nothing but to repent, and then he will be ſo much the better qualify'd to inſtruct his Wife: He will be then able to tell her, that there is not only a God, and that he is the juſt Rewarder of Good and Evil, but that he is a merciful Being, and with infinite Goodneſs and Long-ſuffering for⯑bears to puniſh thoſe that offend, waiting to be gracious, and willing not the Death of a Sinner, but rather that he ſhould return and live; that oftentimes ſuffers wicked Men to go on a long Time, and even reſerves Damnation to the gene⯑ral Day of Retribution; that it is a clear Evi⯑dence of God, and of a future State, that righteous Men receive not their Reward, or wicked Men their Puniſhment, 'till they come into another World; and this will lead him to teach his Wife the Doctrine of the Reſurrection, and of the laſt Judgment; let him but repent for himſelf, he will be an excellent Preacher of Repentance to his Wife.

I repeated all this to Atkins, who look'd very ſerious all the while, and who, we could eaſily perceive, was more than ordinarily affected with it: When being eager, and hardly ſuffering me to make an End, I know all this, Maſter, ſays he, and a great [164] deal more; but I han't the Impudence to talk thus to my Wife, when God, and my own Conſcience knows, and my [...] will be an undeniable Evi⯑dence againſt me, that I have liv'd, as if I had never heard of a God, or future State, or any Thing about it; and to talk of my repenting, ALAS! And with that he fetch'd a deep Sigh; and I could ſee, that Tears ſtood in his Eyes; 'Tis paſt all that with me. Paſt it! ATKINS, ſaid I, What do'ſt thou mean by that? I know well enough what I mean, ſays he, I mean 'tis too late, and that is too true.

I told my Clergyman Word for Word what he ſaid; the poor zealous Prieſt (I muſt call him ſo; for, be his Opinion what it will, he had certainly a moſt ſingular Affection for the Good of other Mens Souls; and it would be hard to think he had not the like for his own) I ſay, this zealous affec⯑tionate Man, could not refrain Tears alſo: But, recovering himſelf, he ſaid to me, ask him but one Queſtion, Is he eaſy that it is too late, or is he troubled, and wiſhes it were not ſo? I put the Queſtion fairly to Atkins, and he anſwered with a great deal of Paſſion, How could any Man be eaſy in a Condition that certainly muſt end in eternal Deſtruction? that he was far from being eaſy, but that, on the contrary, he believ'd it would one Time or other ruin him.

What do you mean by that? ſaid I. Why, he ſaid he believ'd he ſhould, one Time or other, cut his Throat to put an End to the Terror of it.

The Clergyman ſhook his Head with a great Concern in his Face, when I told him all this: But [165] turning quick to me upon it, ſays he, If that be his Caſe, you may aſſure him it is not too late; Chriſt will give him Repentance: But pray, ſays he, ex⯑plain this to him, That as no Man is ſav'd but by Chriſt and the Merit of his Paſſion, procuring di⯑vine Mercy for him, how can it be too late for any Man to receive Mercy? Does he think he is able to ſin beyond the Power or Reach of divine Mercy? Pray tell him, there may be a time when provok'd Mercy will no longer ſtrive, and when God may refuſe to hear, but that 'tis never too late for Men to ask Mercy; and we that are Chriſt's Servants are commanded to preach Mercy at all times, in the Name of Jeſus Chriſt, to all thoſe that ſincerely repent; ſo that 'tis never too late to repent.

I told Atkins all this, and he heard me with great Earneſtneſs; but it ſeem'd as if he turn'd off the Diſcourſe to the reſt; for he ſaid to me he would go and have ſome Talk with his Wife; ſo he went out awhile, and we talk'd to the reſt. I perceiv'd they were all ſtupidly ignorant as to Matters of Religion; much as I was when I went rambling away from my Father; and yet that there were none of them backward to hear what had been ſaid; and all of them ſeriouſly promis'd that they would talk with their Wives about it, and do their Endeavour to perſuade them to turn Chri⯑ſtians.

The Clergyman ſmil'd upon me, when I report⯑ed what Anſwer they gave, but ſaid nothing a good while; but, at laſt, ſhaking his Head, We that are Chriſt's Servants, ſays he, can go no further than to exhort and inſtruct, and when Men comply, ſubmit to the Reproof, and promiſe what we [166] ask 'tis all we can do; we are bound to accept their good Words: But believe me, Sir, ſaid he, what⯑ever you may have known of the Life of that Man you call Will Atkins, I believe he is the only ſincere Convert among them; I take that Man to be a true Penitent; I wont deſpair of the reſt; but that Man is apparently ſtruck with the Senſe of his paſt Life; and I doubt not, but when he comes to talk Religion to his Wife, he will talk himſelf ef⯑fectually into it; for attempting to teach others, is ſometimes the beſt way of teaching our ſelves. I knew a Man, who having nothing but a ſummary Notion of Religion himſelf, and being wicked and profligate to the laſt Degree in his Life, made a thorough Reformation in himſelf, by labouring to convert a Jew. If that poor Atkins begins but once to talk ſeriouſly of Jeſus Chriſt to his Wife, my Life for it, he talks himſelf into a thorough Con⯑vert, makes himſelf a Penitent: And who knows what may follow?

Upon this Diſcourſe however, and their pro⯑miſing, as above, to endeavour to perſuade their Wives to embrace Chriſtianity, he marry'd the other three Couple; but Will Atkins and his Wife were not yet come in. After this, my Clergyman, waiting a while, was curious to know where At⯑kins was gone; and, turning to me, ſays he, I en⯑treat you, Sir, let us walk out of your Labyrinth here, and look; I dare ſay, we ſhall find this poor Man ſomewhere or other talking ſeriouſly to his Wife, and teaching her already ſomething of Re⯑ligion. I began to be of the ſame Mind; ſo we went out together, and I carry'd him a Way which none knew but my ſelf, and where the Trees were ſo thick ſet, as that it was not eaſy to ſee [167] thro' the Thicket of Leaves, and far harder to ſee in, than to ſee out; when, coming to the Edge of the Wood, I ſaw Atkins and his tawny Savage Wife ſitting under the Shade of a Buſh, very eager in Diſcourſe; I ſtop'd ſhort till my Clergyman came up to me; and then having ſhow'd him where they were, we ſtood and look'd very ſteadi⯑ly at them a good while.

We obſerv'd him very earneſt with her, pointing up to the Sun, and to every Quarter of the Hea⯑vens, then down to the Earth, then out to the Sea, then to himſelf, then to her, to the Woods, to the Trees. Now, ſays my Clergyman, you ſee my Words are made good, the Man preaches to her; mark him now, he is telling her, that our God has made him, and her, and the Heavens, the Earth, the Sea, the Woods, the Trees, &c. I be⯑lieve he is, ſaid I; immediately we perceiv'd Will Atkins ſtart up upon his Feet, fall down on his Knees, and lift up both his Hands: We ſuppoſe he ſaid ſomething, but we could not hear him, it was too far for that; he did not continue kneeling half a Minute, but comes and ſits down again by his Wife, and talks to her again. We perceiv'd then the Woman very attentive, but whether ſhe ſaid any thing or no we could not tell; while the poor Fellow was upon his Knees, I could ſee the Tears run plentifully down my Clergyman's Cheeks, and I could hardly forbear my ſelf; but it was a great Affliction to us both that we were not near enough to hear any thing that paſs'd between them.

Well, however, we could come no nearer for fear of diſturbing them, ſo we reſolv'd to ſee an End of this Piece of ſtill Converſation, and it ſpoke [168] loud enough to us without the Help of Voice. He ſat down again, as I have ſaid, cloſe by her, and talk'd again earneſtly to her, and two or three times we could ſee him embrace her moſt paſ⯑ſionately; another time we ſaw him take out his Handkerchief and wipe her Eyes, and then kiſs her again with a kind of Tranſport very unuſual; and after ſeveral of theſe Things we ſee him, on a ſudden, jump up again and lend her his Hand to help her up, when immediately, leading her by the Hand a Step or two, they both kneel'd down together, and continu'd ſo about two Minutes.

My Friend could bear it no longer, but cries out aloud, St. PAUL St. PAUL! behold he prayeth; I was afraid Atkins would hear him, therefore I entreated him to withhold himſelf awhile, that we might ſee an End of the Scene, which to me, I muſt confeſs, was the moſt affecting, and yet the moſt agreeable that ever I ſaw in my Life: Well, he ſtrove with himſelf and contain'd himſelf for a while, but was in ſuch Raptures of Joy, to think that the poor Heathen Woman was become a Chriſtian, that he was not able to contain himſelf; he wept ſeveral times, then throwing up his Hands and croſſing his Breaſt, ſaid over ſeveral Things Ejaculatory and by way of giving God Thanks for ſo miraculous a Teſtimony of the Succeſs of our Endeavours; ſome he ſpoke ſoftly, and I could not well hear, others audibly, ſome in Latin, ſome in French; then two or three times the Tears of Joy would interrupt him, that he could not ſpeak at all: But I beg'd that he would com⯑poſe himſelf, and let us more narrowly and fully obſerve what was before us, which he did for a Time, and the Scene was not ended there yet; for after the poor Man and his Wife were riſen [169] again from their Knees, we obſerv'd he ſtood talk⯑ing ſtill eagerly to her; and we obſerv'd by her Motion, that ſhe was greatly affected with what he ſaid, by her frequent lifting up her Hands, lay⯑ing her Hand to her Breaſt, and ſuch other Poſ⯑tures, as uſually expreſs the greateſt Seriouſneſs and Attention. This continu'd about half a Quar⯑ter of an Hour, and then they walk'd away too; ſo that we could ſee no more of them in that Situ⯑ation.

I took this Interval to talk with my Clergyman: And firſt, I told him, I was glad to ſee the Parti⯑culars we had both been Witneſſes to; that tho' I was hard enough of Belief in ſuch Caſes, yet that I began to think it was all very ſincere here, both in the Man and his Wife, however ignorant they might both be; and I hop'd ſuch a Beginning would have a yet more happy End; and who knows, ſaid I, but theſe two may in Time, by In⯑ſtruction and Example, work upon ſome of the others? Some of them! ſaid he, turning quick upon me, ay, upon all of them; depend upon it, if thoſe two Savages, for he has been but little better, as you relate it, ſhould embrace Jeſus Chriſt, they will never leave 'till they work upon all the reſt; for true Religion is naturally communicative, and he that is once made a Chriſtian, will never leave a Pagan behind him, if he can help it. I own'd it was a moſt Chriſtian Principle to think ſo, and a Teſtimony of a true Zeal, as well as a generous Heart in him: But, my Friend, ſaid I, will you give me Leave to ſtart one Difficulty here? I cannot tell how to object the leaſt Thing againſt that affectionate Concern, which you ſhew for the turning the poor People from their Paganiſm to the Chriſtian Religion: But how does this com⯑fort [170] you, while theſe People are in your Account out of the Pale of the Catholick Church, without which you believe there is no Salvation; ſo that you eſteem theſe but Hereticks, and for other Rea⯑ſons as effectually loſt as the Pagans themſelves.

To this he anſwer'd with abundance of Can⯑dor and Chriſtian Charity thus; Sir, I am a Ca⯑tholick of the Roman Church, and a Prieſt of the Order of St. Benedict, and I embrace all the Prin⯑ciples of the Roman Faith: But yet if you will believe me, and that I do not ſpeak in Compliment to you, or in reſpect to my Circumſtances and your Civilities; I ſay, nevertheleſs, I do not look upon you, who call your ſelves reform'd, without ſome Charity: I dare not ſay, tho' I know it is our Opinion in general; I ſay, I dare not ſay that you cannot be ſav'd: I will by no means limit the Mercy of Chriſt ſo far, as to think that he cannot receive you into the Boſom of his Church in a Manner to us unper⯑ceivable, and which it is impoſſible for us to know, and I hope you have the ſame Charity for us; I pray daily for your being all reſtor'd to Chriſt's Church, by whatſoever Methods he, who is Allwiſe, is pleas'd to direct: In the mean time, ſure you will allow it to conſiſt with me, as a Ro⯑man, to diſtinguiſh far between a Proteſtant and a Pagan; between one that calls on Jeſus Chriſt, tho' in a Way which I do not think is according to the true Faith, and a Savage, a Barbarian, that knows no God, no Chriſt, no Redeemer; and if you are not within the Pale of the Catholick Church, we hope you are nearer being reſtor'd to it than thoſe that know nothing of God or his Church: And I rejoice therefore when I ſee this poor Man, who you ſay has been a Profligate, and almoſt a Murderer, kneel down and pray [171] to Jeſus Chriſt, as we ſuppoſe he did, tho' not fully enlighten'd; believing that God, from whom every ſuch Work proceeds, will ſenſibly touch his Heart, and bring him to the further Knowledge of that Truth in his own Time; and if God ſhall influence this poor Man to convert and inſtruct the ignorant Savage his Wife, I can never believe that he ſhall be caſt away himſelf; and have I not Rea⯑ſon then to rejoice, the nearer any are brought to the Knowledge of Chriſt, tho' they may not be brought quite home into the Boſom of the Catho⯑lick Church, juſt at the time when I may deſire it? leaving it to the Goodneſs of Chriſt to perfect his Work in his own time, and his own way. Cer⯑tainly I would rejoice if all the Savages in America were brought like this poor Woman to pray to God, tho' they were to be all Proteſtants at firſt, rather than they ſhould continue Pagans and Hea⯑thens; firmly believing, that he that had beſtow'd the firſt Light to them, would further illuminate them with a Beam of his heavenly Grace, and bring them into the Pale of his Church when he ſhould ſee good.

I was aſtoniſh'd at the Sincerity and Temper of this truly pious Papiſt, as much as I was op⯑preſs'd by the Power of his Reaſoning; and it preſently occur'd to my Thoughts, that if ſuch a Temper was univerſal, we might be all Catho⯑lick Chriſtians, whatever Church or particular Profeſſion we join'd to, or join'd in; that a Spi⯑rit of Charity would ſoon work us all up into right Principles; and in a Word, as he thought that the like Charity would make us all Catho⯑licks, ſo I told him I believ'd, had all the Mem⯑bers of his Church the like Moderation, they [172] would ſoon be all Proteſtants. And there we left that Part, for we never diſputed at all.

However, I talk'd to him another way, and taking him by the Hand, my Friend, ſays I, I wiſh all the Clergy of the Roman Church were bleſt with ſuch Moderation, and had an equal Share of your Charity. I am entirely of your Opinion; but I muſt tell you, that if you ſhould preach ſuch Doc⯑trine in Spain or Italy, they would put you into the Inquiſition.

It may be ſo, ſaid he, I know not what they might do in Spain or Italy, but I will not ſay they would be the better Chriſtians for that Severity, for I am ſure there is no Hereſy in too much Charity.

Well, as Will Atkins and his Wife were gone, our Buſineſs there was over; ſo we went back our own Way; and when we came back, we found them waiting to be call'd in; obſerving this, I ask'd my Clergyman if we ſhould diſcover to him that we had ſeen him under the Buſh, or no; and it was his Opinion we ſhould not; but that we ſhould talk to him firſt, and hear what he would ſay to us; ſo we call'd him in alone, no Body being in the Place but our ſelves; and I began with him thus:

Will Atkins, ſaid I, prithee what Education had you? What was your Father?

A better Man than ever I ſhall be. Sir, my Father was a Clergyman.

What Education did he give you?

He would have taught me well, Sir; but I deſpis'd all Education, Inſtruction or Correction, like a Beaſt as I was.

It's true, Solomon ſays, he that deſpiſes Re⯑proof is brutiſh.

Ay, Sir, I was brutiſh, indeed, I mur⯑der'd my Father; for God's ſake, Sir, talk no more about that, Sir, I murder'd my poor Father.

Ha! a Murderer!*

*Here the Prieſt ſtarted (for I interpreted every Word as he ſpoke it) and look'd pale. It ſeems be believ'd that Will had really kill'd his own Father.

No, no, Sir, I do not underſtand him ſo; Will Atkins, explain yourſelf, you did not kill your Father, did you, with your own Hands?

No, Sir, I did not cut his Throat, but I cut the Thread of all his Comforts, and ſhorten'd his Days; I broke his Heart by the moſt ungrate⯑ful unnatural Return, for the moſt tender affec⯑tionate Treatment that ever Father gave, or Child could receive.

Well, I did not ask you about your Fa⯑ther to extort this Confeſſion; I pray God give you Repentance for it, and forgive you that, and all your other Sms; but I ask'd you, becauſe I ſee, that tho' you have not much Learning, yet you are not ſo ignorant as ſome are in Things [174] that are Good; that you have known more of Re⯑ligion a great deal than you have practiſed.

Tho' you, Sir, did not extort the Con⯑feſſion that I make about my Father, Conſcience does; and when ever we come to look back upon our Lives, the Sins againſt our indulgent Parents are certainly the firſt that touch us; the Wounds they make lie deepeſt, and the Weight they leave will lie heavieſt upon the Mind, of all the Sins we can commit.

You talk too feelingly and ſenſibly for me Atkins; I cannot bear it.

You bear it, Maſter! I dare ſay you know nothing of it.

Yes, Atkins, every Shore, every Hill, nay, I may ſay, every Tree in this Iſland is witneſs to the Anguiſh of my Soul, for my Ingratitude and baſe Uſage of a good tender Father; a Father much like yours, by your Deſcription; and I mur⯑der'd my Father as well as you, Will Atkins; but I think, for all that, my Repentance is ſhort of yours too * by a great deal.

*I would have ſaid more, if I could have reſtrain'd my Paſſions; but I thought this poor Man's Repentance was ſo much ſince⯑rer than mine, that I was going to leave off the Diſcourſe and retire, for I was ſurpriz'd with what he ſaid; and thought, that in⯑ſtead of my going about to teach and inſtruct him, the Man was made a Teacher and In⯑ſtructer to me, in a moſt ſurprizing and unexpected manner.

[175]I laid all this before the young Clergyman, who was greatly affected with it, and ſaid to me; Did I not ſay, Sir, that when this Man was converted, he would preach to us all? I tell you, Sir, if this one Man be made a true Penitent, here will be no need of me, he will make Chriſtians of all in the Iſland. But having a little compos'd my ſelf, I re⯑new'd my Diſcourſe with Will. Atkins.

But, WILL, ſaid I, How comes the Senſe of this Matter to touch you juſt now?

Sir, you have ſet me about a Work that has ſtruck a Dart thro' my very Soul; I have been talking about God and Religion to my Wife, in order, as you directed me, to make a Chriſtian of her, and ſhe has preach'd ſuch a Sermon to me, as I ſhall never forget while I live.

No, no, it is not your Wife has preach'd to you; but when you were moving religious Ar⯑guments to her, Conſcience has flung them back upon you.

Ay, Sir, with ſuch a Force as is not to be reſiſted.

Pray Will let us know what paſs'd between you and your Wife, for I know ſomething of it al⯑ready.

Sir, it is impoſſible to give you a full Account of it; I am too full to hold it, and yet have no Tongue to expreſs; but let her have ſaid what ſhe will, and tho' I cannot give [176] you an Account of it, this I can tell you of it, that I reſolve to amend and reform my Life.

But tell us ſome of it. How did you be⯑gin Will? For this has been an extraordinary Caſe, that's certain. She has preach'd a Sermon, indeed, if ſhe has wrought this upon you.

Why, I firſt told her the Nature of our Laws about Marriage, and what the Reaſons were, that Men and Women were oblig'd to enter into ſuch Compacts, as it was neither in the Power of one or other to break; that otherwiſe, Order and Juſtice could not be maintain'd, and Men would run from their Wives, and abandon their Children, mix confuſedly with one another, and neither Families be kept entire, or Inheritances be ſettled by legal Deſcent.

You talk like a Civilian, Will; could you make her underſtand what you meant by Inheri⯑tance and Families? they know no ſuch Thing among the Savages, but marry any how, without regard to Relation, Conſanguinity, or Family; Brother and Siſter; nay, as I have been told, even the Father and Daughter, and Son and the Mother.

I believe, Sir, you are miſinform'd, and my Wife aſſures me of the contrary, and that they abhor it; perhaps, for any farther Relations they may not be ſo exact as we are; but ſhe tells me they never touch one another in the near Relations you ſpeak of.

Well, what did ſhe ſay, to what you told her.

She ſaid, ſhe lik'd it very well, and it was much better than in her Country.

But did you tell her what Marriage was?

Ay, ay, there began all our Dialogue. I ask'd her if ſhe would be marry'd to me our Way? She ask'd me what Way that was? I told her Marriage was appointed by God; and here we had a ſtrange Talk together, indeed, as ever Man and Wife had I believe.

N.B. This Dialogue between W. Atkins and his Wife, as I took it down in Writing, juſt after he told it me, was as follows.

Appointed by your God! why have you a God in your Country?

Yes, my Dear, God is in every Country.

No, you God in my Country; my Country have the great old Benamuckee God.

Child, I am very unfit to ſhew you who God is; God is in Heaven, and made the Heaven and the Earth, the Sea, and all that in them is.

No makee de Earth; no, you God make all Earth, no make my Country.*

*W.A. laugh'd a little at her Expreſſion of God not making her Country.

No Laugh, why Laugh me? This no Thing to Laugh.*

*He was juſtly reprov'd by his Wife, for ſhe was more ſerious than he at firſt.

That's true indeed, I will not Laugh any more my Dear.

Why you ſay, you God make all;

Yes, Child, our God made the whole World, and you, and I, and all Things; for he is the only true God, there is no God but him, he lives for ever in Heaven.

Why you no tell me long ago?

That's true indeed, but I have been a wicked Wretch, and have not only forgotten to acquaint thee with any Thing before, but have lived without God in the World my ſelf.

What have you de great God in you Country, you no kno' him? No ſay O to him? No do good Thing for him? That no poſſible!

It is too true; tho' for all that, we live as if there was no God in Heaven, or that he had no Power on Earth.

But why, God let you do ſo? Why he no makee you good live.

It is all our own Fault.

But you ſay me, he is Great, much Great, have much great Power; can makee kill, when he will; why he no makee kill when you no ſerve him? No ſay O to him? No be good Mans.

That is true; he might ſtrike me Dead, and I ought to expect it, for I have been a wicked Wretch, that is true; but God is mer⯑ciful, and does not deal with us as we deſerve.

But then, do not you tell God Tankee for that too.

No, indeed, I have not thank'd God for his Mercy, any more than I have fear'd God for his Power.

Than you God no God; me no think, believe, he be ſuch one, great much Power, Strong; no makee kill you tho' you makee him much Angry.

What? Will my wicked Life hinder you from believing in God! what a dreadful Creature am I; and what a ſad Truth is it, that the horrid Lives of Chriſtians hinders the Converſions of Heathens?

How me tink you have great much God * up there, and yet no do well, no do good Thing? can he tell? Sure he no tell what you do?

*She points up to Heaven.

Yes, yes, he knows and ſees all Things; he hears us ſpeak, ſees what we do, knows what we think, tho' we do not ſpeak.

What! he no hear you ſwear, curſe, ſpeak the great Damn.

Yes, yes, he hears it all.

Where be then the muchee great Power ſtrong.

He is merciful, that's all we can ſay for it; and this proves him to be the true God; he is God and not Man; and therefore we are not conſum'd.*

*Here Will. Atkins told us he was ſtruck with Horror, to think how he could tell his Wife ſo clearly that God ſees, and hears, and knows the ſecret Thoughts of the Heart, and all that we do; and yet that he had dar'd to do all the vile Things he had done.

Merciful! what you call that?

He is our Father and Maker, and he pities and ſpares us.

So then he never makee kill, never angry when you do wicked; then he no good himſelf, or no great able.

Yes, yes, my Dear, he is infinitely good, and infinitely great, and able to puniſh too, and ſometimes to ſhew his Juſtice and Vengeance, he [181] lets fly his Anger to deſtory Sinners, and make Examples; many are cut off in their Sins.

But no make kill you yet, than he tell you may be that he no make you kill, ſo you make de Bargain with him, you do bad Thing, he no be angry at you, when he be angry at other Mans.

No indeed, my Sins are all Preſump⯑tions upon his Goodneſs; and he would be in⯑finitely juſt if he deſtroy'd me as he has done o⯑ther Men.

Well, and yet no kill, no makee you dead, what you ſay to him for that, you no tell him Tankee for all that too?

I am an unthankful, ungrateful Dog, that's true.

Why? He no makee you much good better, you ſay he makee you.

He made me as he made all the World; 'tis I have deform'd my ſelf, and abus'd his Good⯑neſs, and made my ſelf an abominable Wretch.

I wiſh you makee God know me, I no makee him angry, I no do bad wicked thing.

Here Will. Atkins ſaid his Heart ſunk within him, to hear a poor untaught Creature de⯑ſire to be taught to know God, and he ſuch a wicked VVretch, that he could not ſay one VVord to her about God, but what the Re⯑proach of his own Carriage would make moſt irrational to her to believe; nay, that [182] already ſhe had told him, that ſhe could not believe in God, becauſe he that was ſo wic⯑ked was not deſtroy'd.

My Dear, you mean, you wiſh I could teach you to know God, not God to know you; for he knows you already, and every Thought in your Heart.

Why then he know what I ſay to you now? He know me wiſh to know him; how ſhall me know who makee me?

Poor Creature, he muſt teach thee, I cannot teach thee; I'll pray to him to teach thee to know him, and to forgive me that I am un⯑worthy to teach thee.

The poor Fellow was in ſuch an Agony at her deſiring him to make her know God, and her wiſhing to know him, that, he ſaid, he fell down on his Knees before her, and pray'd to God to enlighten her Mind with the ſaving Know⯑ledge of Jeſus Chriſt, and to pardon his Sins, and accept of his being the unworthy Inſtru⯑ment of inſtructing her in the Principles of Religion; after which he ſate down by her again, and their Dialogue went on. N.B. This was the Time when we ſaw him kneel down, and lift up his Hands.

What you put down the Knee for? What you hold up the Hand for? What you ſay? Who you ſpeak to? What is all that?

My Dear, I bow my Knees in Token of my Submiſſion to him that made me; I ſaid O to [183] him, as you call it, and as you ſay, your old Men do to their Idol Benamukee; that is, I pray'd to him.

What you ſay O to him for?

I pray'd to him to open your Eyes, and your Underſtanding, that you may know him, and be accepted by him.

Can he do that too?

Yes, he can, he can do all Things.

But now he hear what you ſay?

Yes, he has bid us pray to him, and promis'd to hear us.

Bid you pray? When he bid you? How he bid you? What! you hear him ſpeak?

No, we do not hear him ſpeak, but he has reveal'd himſelf many Ways to us.

Here he was at a great Loſs to make her un⯑derſtand, that God has reveal'd himſelf to us by his Word, and what his Word was: But at laſt he told it her thus.

God has ſpoken to ſome good Men in former Days, even from Heaven, by plain Words; and God has inſpir'd good Men by his Spirit; and they have written all his Laws down in a Book.

Me no underſtand that, where is Book?

Alas, my poor Creature, I have not this Book; but I hope I ſhall one Time or o⯑ther get it for you, and help you to read it.

Here he embrac'd her with great Affection; but with inexpreſſible Grief, that he had not a Bible.

But how you makee me know, that God teachee them to write that Book?

By the ſame Rule that we know him to be God.

What Rule, what Way you know him?

Becauſe he teaches and commands no⯑thing but what is good, righteous, and holy; and [...]ends to make us perfectly good, as well as perfectly happy; and becauſe he forbids and commands us to avoid all that is wicked, that is evil in it ſelf, or evil in its Conſequences.

That me would underſtand, that me fain ſee; if he teachee all good Thing, forbid all wic⯑ked Thing, he reward all good Thing, puniſh all wicked Thing, he make all Thing, he give all Thing, he hear me when I ſay O to him, as you go do juſt now; he makee me good, if I wiſh be good, he ſpare me, no makee kill me, when I no be good; all this you ſay he do, yet he be great God; me take, think, believe him be great God; me ſay O to him too with you my Dear.

[185] Here the poor Man could forbear no longer; but raiſing her up, made her kneel by him, and he pray'd to God aloud to inſtruct her in the Knowledge of himſelf by his Spirit, and that by ſome good Providence, if poſſible, ſhe might ſometime or other come to have a Bible, that ſhe might read the Word of God, and be taught by it to know him.

This was the Time that we ſaw him lift her up by the Hand, and ſaw him kneel down by her, as above.

They had ſeveral other Diſcourſes it ſeems after this, too long to ſet down here; and parti⯑cularly ſhe made him promiſe, that ſince he con⯑feſt his own Life had been a wicked abomi⯑nable Courſe of Provocation againſt God, that he would reform it, and not make God angry any more, leaſt he ſhould make him dead, as ſhe call'd it, and then ſhe ſhould be left alone, and never be taught to know this God better; and leaſt he ſhould be miſerable, as he had told her wicked Men ſhould be after Death.

This was a ſtrange Account, and very affecting to us both, but particularly to the young Clergy⯑man; he was indeed wonderfully ſurpriz'd with it, but under the greateſt Affliction imaginable, that he could not talk to her, that he could not ſpeak Engliſh to make her underſtand him; and as ſhe ſpoke but very broken Engliſh, he could not underſtand her; However he turn'd himſelf to me, and told me, that he believed there muſt be more to do with this Woman than to marry her: I did not underſtand him at firſt, but at length he [186] explain'd himſelf, (viz.) that ſhe ought to be Baptiz'd.

I agreed with him in that Part readily, and was for going about it preſently: No, no, hold Sir, ſaid he, tho' I would have her be Baptiz'd by all Means, yet I muſt obſerve, that Will. Atkins, her Husband, has indeed brought her in a won⯑derful Manner to be willing to embrace a reli⯑gious Life, and has given her juſt Ideas of the Being of a God, of his Power, Juſtice, Mercy; yet I deſire to know of him, if he had ſaid any Thing to her of Jeſus Chriſt, and of the Salvati⯑on of Sinners, of the Nature of Faith in him, and Redemption by him, of the holy Spirit, the Reſurrection, the laſt Judgment, and a future State.

I call'd Will. Atkins again, and ask'd him; but the poor Fellow fell immediately into Tears, and told us he had ſaid ſomething to her of all thoſe things, but that he was himſelf ſo wicked a Creature, and his own Conſcience ſo reproach'd him with his horrid ungodly Life, that he trem⯑bled at the Apprehenſions, that her Knowledge of him, ſhould leſſen the Attention ſhe ſhould give to thoſe Things, and make her rather con⯑temn Religion than receive it: But he was aſ⯑ſur'd he ſaid that her Mind was ſo diſpos'd to receive due Impreſſions of all thoſe Things, that if I would but diſcourſe with her, ſhe would make it appear to my Satisfaction, that my Labour would not be loſt upon her.

According I call'd her in, and placing my ſelf as Interpreter between my religious Prieſt and the Woman, I entreated him to begin with her; but ſure ſuch a Sermon was never preach'd by a popiſh Prieſt in theſe latter Ages of the World; and, as I [187] told him, I thought he had all the Zeal, all the Knowledge, all the Sincerity of a Chriſtian, with⯑out the Error of a Roman Catholick; and that I took him to be ſuch a Clergy-man, as the Roman Biſhops were before the Church of Rome aſſum'd ſpiritual Sovereignty over the Conſciences of Men.

In a word, he brought the poor Woman to em⯑brace the Knowledge of Chriſt, and of Redemp⯑tion by him, not with Wonder and Aſtoniſhment only, as ſhe did the firſt Notions of a God, but with Joy and Faith, with an Affection and a ſur⯑priſing Degree of Underſtanding, ſcarce to be i⯑magin'd, much leſs to be expreſs'd; and at her own Requeſt ſhe was Baptiz'd.

When he was preparing to Baptize her, I en⯑treated him that he would perform that Office with ſome Caution, that the Man might not per⯑ceive he was of the Roman Church, if poſſible, becauſe of other ill Conſequences which might attend a Difference among us in that very Reli⯑gion, which we were inſtructing the other in: He told me, that as he had no conſecrated Cha⯑pel, no proper Things for the Office, I ſhould ſee he would do it in a Manner that I ſhould not know by it, that he was a Roman Catholick my ſelf, if I had not known it before: And ſo he did; for ſaying only ſome Words over to himſelf in Latin, which I could not underſtand, he pour'd a whole Diſh-ful of Water upon the Woman's Head, pro⯑nouncing in French, very loud, MARY, which was the Name, her Husband deſir'd me to give her; for I was her Godfather, I Baptize thee in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoſt; ſo that none could know any Thing by it, what Religion he was of: He gave the Benedicti⯑on afterwards in Latin; but either Will. Atkins [188] did not know but it was in French, or elſe did not take Notice of it at that time.

As ſoon as this was over we married them; and after the Marriage was over he turn'd him⯑ſelf to Will. Atkins, and in a very affectionate Manner exhorted him, not only to preſevere in that good Diſpotion he was in, but to ſupport the Convictions that were upon him by a Reſo⯑lution to reform his Life; told him it was in vain to ſay he repented, if he did not forſake his Crimes: Repreſented to him, how God had ho⯑noured him with being the Inſtrument of bring⯑ing his Wife to the Knowledge of the Chriſtian Religion, and that he ſhould be careful he did not diſhonour the Grace of God, and that if he did, he would ſee the Heathen a better Chriſtian than himſelf, the Savage converted, and the Inſtrument caſt away.

He ſaid a great many good Things to them both, and then recommending them in a few Words to God's Goodneſs, gave them the Bene⯑diction again, I repeating every Thing to them in Engliſh, and thus ended the Ceremony: I think it was the moſt pleaſant, agreeable Day to me that ever I paſſed in my whole Life.

But my Clergy-man had not done yet; his Thoughts hung continually upon the Converſion of the ſeven and thirty Savages, and fain he would have ſtay'd upon the Iſland to have un⯑dertaken it; but I convinc'd him, firſt, that his Undertaking was impracticable in it ſelf; and ſecondly, that perhaps I would put it into a Way of being done in his Abſence to his Satiſ⯑faction; of which, by and by.

[189] Having thus brought the Affair of the Iſland to a narrow Compaſs, I was preparing to go on board the Ship, when the young Man who I had taken out of the famiſh'd Ship's Company came to me, and told me, he underſtood I had a Cler⯑gyman with me, and that I had cauſed the Engliſh Men to be married to the Savages, whom they called Wives; that he had a Match too, which he deſir'd might be finiſh'd before I went, be⯑tween two Chriſtians, which he hop'd would not be diſagreeable to me.

I knew this muſt be the young Woman who was his Mother's Servant, for there was no other Chriſtian Woman on the Iſland; ſo I began to perſuade him not to do any Thing of that Kind raſhly, or becauſe he found himſelf in this ſoli⯑tary Circumſtance: I repreſented to him that he had ſome conſiderable Subſtance in the World, and good Friends, as I underſtood by himſelf, and by his Maid alſo; that the Maid was not only poor and a Servant, but was unequal to him, ſhe be⯑ing ſix or ſeven and twenty Years old, and he not above ſeventeen or eighteen; that he might very probably, with my Aſſiſtance, make a remove from this Wilderneſs, and come into his own Country again, and that then it would be a thouſand to one but he would repent his Choice; and the Diſlike of that Circumſtance might be diſadvantagious to both: I was going to ſay more, but he interrupted me, ſmiling, and told me, with a great deal of Modeſty, that I miſtook in my Gueſſes, that he had nothing of that Kind in his Thoughts, his preſent Circumſtance being melancholly and diſconſolate enough; and he was very glad to hear that I had Thoughts of put⯑ting [190] them in a Way to ſee their Country again, and nothing ſhould have put him upon ſtaying there, but that the Voyage I was going was ſo exceeding long and hazardous, and would carry him quite out of the Reach of all his Friends; that he had nothing to deſire of me, but that I would ſettle him in ſome little Property in the Iſland where he was, give him a Servant or two and ſome few Neceſſaries, and he would ſettle himſelf here like a Planter, waiting the good Time, when if ever I return'd to England, I would redeem him, and hop'd I would not be unmind⯑ful of him when I came into England; that he would give me ſome Letters to his Friends in London, to let them know how good I had been to him, and in what Part of the World, and what Circumſtance I had left him in; that he promiſed me, that whenever I redeemed him, the Plantation, and all the Improvements he had made upon it, let the Value be what it would, ſhould be wholly mine.

His Diſcourſe was very prettily deliver'd, con⯑ſidering his Youth, and was the more agreeable to me, becauſe he told me poſitively the Match was not for himſelf: I gave him all poſſible Aſ⯑ſurances, that if I liv'd to come ſafe to England, I would deliver his Letters and do his Buſineſs effectually, and that he might depend I would never forget the Circumſtance I had left him in; but ſtill I was impatient to know who was the Perſon to be married, upon which he told me it was my Jack of all Trades, and his Maid Suſan.

I was moſt agreeably ſurpris'd, when he nam'd the Match, for indeed I thought it very ſuitable; the Character of that Man I have [191] given already; and as for the Maid, ſhe was a very honeſt, modeſt, ſober and religious young Woman, had a very good Share of Senſe, was a⯑greeable enough in her Perſon, ſpoke very hand⯑ſomely and to the Purpoſe, always with Decen⯑cy and good Manners, and not backward to ſpeak when any Thing required it, or imperti⯑nently forward to ſpeak when it was not her Bu⯑ſineſs; very handy and houſewifely in any Thing that was before her; an excellent Manager, and fit indeed to have been Governeſs to the whole Iſland; ſhe knew very well how to behave to all kind of Folks ſhe had about her, and to better, if ſhe had found any there.

The Match being propoſed in this Manner, we married them the ſame Day, and as I was Father at the Altar, as I may ſay, and gave her away, ſo I gave her a Portion; for I appointed her and her Husband a handſom large Space of Ground for their Plantation; and indeed this Match and the Propoſal the young Gentleman made to give him a ſmall Property in the Iſland, put me upon parcelling it out amongſt them, that they might not quarrel afterwards about their Situation.

This ſharing out the Land to them, I left to Will. Atkins, who indeed was now grown a moſt ſober, grave, managing Fellow, perfectly reform'd, exceeding Pious and Religious, and as far as I may be allow'd to ſpeak poſitively in ſuch a Caſe, I verily believe, was a true ſincere Penitent.

He divided Things ſo juſtly, and ſo much to every one's Satisfaction, that they only deſired one general Writing under my Hand for the [192] whole, which I cauſed to be drawn up and ſign'd and ſeal'd to them, ſetting out the Bounds and Situation of every Man's Plantation, and teſti⯑fying that I gave them thereby ſeverally a Right to the whole Poſſeſſion and Inheritance of the reſpective Plantations or Farms, with their Im⯑provements to them and their Heirs, reſerving all the reſt of the Iſland as my own Property, and a certain Rent for every particular Planta⯑tion after eleven Years, if I, or any one from me, or in my Name, came to demand it, producing an atteſted Copy of the ſame Writing.

As to the Government and Laws among them, I told them I was not capable of giving them better Rules, than they were able to give them⯑ſelves, only made them promiſe me to live in Love and good Neighbourhood with one ano⯑ther; and ſo I prepared to leave them.

One Thing I muſt not omit, and this is, that being now ſettled in a Kind of Common-Wealth among themſelves, and having much Buſineſs in Hand, it was but odd to have ſeven and thirty Indians live in a Nook of the Iſland, independent, and indeed un-employ'd; for ex⯑cepting the providing themſelves Food, which they had Difficulty enough in too, ſometimes, they had no manner of Buſineſs or Property to manage: I propos'd therefore to the Governour Spaniard, that he ſhould go to them with Friday's Father, and propoſe to them to remove, and either plant for themſelves, or take them into their ſeveral Families as Servants to be maintain'd for their Labour, but without being abſolute Slaves, for I would not admit them to make them Slaves by Force by any Means, becauſe [193] they had their Liberty given them by Capitu⯑lation, and as it were Articles of Surrender, which they ought not to break.

They moſt willingly embrac'd the Propoſal, and came all very chearfully along with him; ſo we allotted them Land, and Plantations, which three or four accepted of, but all the reſt choſe to be employ'd as Servants in the ſeveral Families we had ſettled; and thus my Colony was in a Manner ſettled, as follows: The Spa⯑niards poſſeſs'd my original Habitation, which was the Capital City, and extended their Plan⯑tations all along the ſide of the Brook, which made the Creek that I have ſo often deſcrib'd, as far as my Bower; and as they increas'd their Culture, it went always Eaſtward; the Engliſh liv'd in the North-Eaſt Part, where W. Atkins, and his Comrades began, and came on South⯑ward, and South-Weſt, towards the back Part of the Spaniards, and every Plantation had a great Addition of Land to take in, if they found Occaſion, ſo that they need not joſtle one ano⯑ther for want of Room.

All the Eaſt End of the Iſland was left uninha⯑bited, that if any of the Savages ſhould come on Shore there, only for their uſual cuſtomary Bar⯑barities, they might come and go, if they diſturb'd no Body, no Body would diſturb them; and no doubt but they were often aſhore, and went away again; for I never heard that the Planters were ever attack'd or diſturb'd any more.

It now came into my Thoughts, that I had hinted to my Friend the Clergy-man, that the Work of converting the Savages, might perhaps [194] be ſet on foot in his Abſence, to his Satisfaction; and I told him that now I thought it was put in a fair Way; for the Savages being thus divi⯑ded among the Chriſtians, if they would but every one of them do their part with thoſe which came under their Hands, I hop'd it might have a very good Effect.

He agreed preſently in that, if, ſaid he, they will do their Part; but how, ſays he, ſhall we obtain that of them? I told him, we would call them altogether, and leave it in Charge with them, or go to them one by one, which he thought beſt, ſo we divided it; he to ſpeak to the Spaniards, who were all Papiſts, and I to the Engliſh, who were all Proteſtants; and we re⯑commended it earneſtly to them, and made them promiſe, that they never would make any Di⯑ſtinction of Papiſt or Proteſtant, in their ex⯑horting the Savages to turn Chriſtians; but teach them the general Knowledge of the true God, and of their Saviour Jeſus Chriſt; and they like⯑wiſe promis'd us, that they would never have any Differences or Diſputes one with another, about Religion.

When I came to W. Atkins's Houſe, I may call it ſo, for ſuch a Houſe, or ſuch a Piece of Basket-Work, I believe, was not ſtanding in the World again; I ſay, when I came there, I found the young Woman I have mention'd above, and W. Atkins's Wife, were become Intimates; and this prudent religious young Woman, had per⯑fected the Work Will. Atkins had begun; and tho' it was not above four Days after what I have related, yet the new baptiz'd Savage Wo⯑man was made ſuch a Chriſtian, as I have ſel⯑dom [195] heard of any like her in all my Obſervati⯑on, or Converſation, in the World.

It came next into my Mind in the Morning before I went to them, that amongſt all the needful Things I had to leave with them, I had not left them a Bible, in which, I ſhew'd my ſelf leſs conſidering for them, than my good Friend the Widow was for me, when ſhe ſent me the Cargo of an hundred Pounds from Lis⯑bon, where ſhe pack'd up 3 Bibles, and a Prayer⯑book: However, the good Womans Charity had a greater Extent than ever ſhe imagin'd; for they were reſerv'd for the Comfort and Inſtruc⯑tion of thoſe, that made much better Uſe of them than I had done.

I took one of the Bibles in my Pocket, and when I came to Will. Atkins's Tent or Houſe, and found the young Woman, and Atkins's bap⯑tiz'd Wife, had been diſcourſing of Religion together; for W. Atkins, told it me, with a great deal of Joy: I ask'd if they were together now, and he ſaid, yes; ſo I went into the Houſe, and he, with me, and we found them together very ear⯑neſt in Diſcourſe; O Sir, ſays Will. Atkins, when God has Sinners to reconcile to himſelf, and Aliens to bring Home, he never wants a Meſſen⯑ger; my Wife has got a new Inſtructor; I knew I was unworthy, as I was uncapable of that Work; that young Woman has been ſent hither from Heaven; ſhe is enough to convert a whole Iſland of Savages; the young Woman bluſh'd, and roſe up to go away, but I deſir'd her to ſit ſtill; I told her, ſhe had a good Work upon her Hands, and I hop'd God would bleſs her in it.

[196] We talk'd a little, and I did not perceive they had any Book among them, tho' I did not ask; but I put my Hand in my Pocket, and pull'd out my Bible; here, ſays I, to Atkins, I have brought you an Aſſiſtant that perhaps you had not before; the Man was ſo confounded, that he was not able to ſpeak for ſome Time; but recovering himſelf, he takes it with both his Hands, and turning to his Wife, here, my Dear, ſays he; did not I tell you, our God, tho' he lives above, could hear what we ſaid? Here's the Book I pray'd for, when you and I kneel'd down under the Buſh; now God has heard us, and ſent it; when he had ſaid ſo, the Man fell into ſuch Tranſports of a paſſionate Joy, that between the Joy of ha⯑ving it, and giving God Thanks for it, the Tears run down his Face like a Child that was crying.

The Woman was ſurpriſed, and was like to have run into a Miſtake, that none of us were aware of; for ſhe firmly believ'd God had ſent the Book upon her Husband's Petition; It is true, that providentially it was ſo, and might be ta⯑ken ſo in a conſequent Senſe; but I believ'd it would have been no difficult Matter at that Time, to have perſuaded the poor Woman to have be⯑liev'd, that an expreſs Meſſenger came from Hea⯑ven, on purpoſe to bring that individual Book; but it was too ſerious a Matter, to ſuffer any De⯑luſion to take Place; ſo I turn'd to the young Woman and told her we did not deſire to im⯑poſe upon the new Convert, in her firſt, and more ignorant underſtanding of Things; and begg'd her to explain to her, that God may be very properly ſaid to anſwer our Petitions, when in the Courſe of his Providence, ſuch Things are [197] in a particular Manner brought to paſs, as we petition'd for; but we do not expect Returns from Heaven, in a miraculous and particular Manner, and that it is our Mercy, that it is not ſo.

This the young Woman did afterwards effe⯑ctually; ſo that there was I aſſure you, no Prieſt⯑craft uſed here; and I ſhould have thought it one of the moſt unjuſtifiable Frauds in the World, to have had it ſo; but the Surpriſe of Joy upon Will. Atkins, is really not to be expreſ⯑ſed; and there we may be ſure, there was no Deluſion: Sure, no Man was ever more thank⯑ful in the World for any Thing of its Kind, than he was for this Bible; nor I believe, never any Man was glad of a Bible from a better Princi⯑ple; and tho' he had been a moſt profligate Crea⯑ture, deſperate, headſtrong, outragious, furious, and wicked to a great Degree; yet this Man is a ſtanding Rule to us all, for the well inſtruct⯑ing Children, (viz.) that Parents ſhould never give over to teach and inſtruct, or ever deſpair of the Succeſs of their Endeavours, let the Chil⯑dren be ever ſo obſtinate, refractory, or to Ap⯑pearance, inſenſible of Inſtruction; for if ever God in his Providence, touches the Conſciences of ſuch, the Force of their Education returns upon them, and the early Inſtruction of Parents is not loſt; tho' it may have been many Years laid aſleep; but ſome Time or other, they may find the Benefit of it.

Thus it was with this poor Man; However ig⯑norant he was, or diveſted of Religion and Chri⯑ſtian Knowledge: He found he had ſome to do with now, more ignorant than himſelf; and that the leaſt Part of the Inſtruction of his good [198] Father that could now come to his Mind, was of Uſe to him.

Among the reſt it occurr'd to him, he ſaid, how his Father us'd to inſiſt much upon the in⯑expreſſible Value of the Bible; the Privilege and Bleſſing of it to Nations, Families, and Perſons; but he never entertain'd the leaſt Notion of the Worth of it, till now; when being to talk to Heathens, Savages, and Barbarians, he wanted the Help of the written Oracle for his Aſſi⯑ſtance.

The young Woman was very glad of it alſo for the preſent Occaſion, tho' ſhe had one, and ſo had the Youth on board our Ship among their Goods, which were not yet brought on Shore; and now having ſaid ſo many Things of this young Woman, I cannot omit telling one Story more of her, and my ſelf, which has ſomething in it very informing and remarkable.

I have related, to what Extremity the poor young Woman was reduced; how her Miſtreſs was ſtarv'd to Death, and did die on board that unhappy Ship we met at Sea; and how the whole Ship's Company being reduc'd to the laſt Extremity; the Gentlewoman, and her Son, and this Maid, were firſt hardly uſed as to Pro⯑viſions; and at laſt totally neglected and ſtarv'd; that is to ſay, brought to the laſt Extremity of Hunger.

One Day being diſcourſing with her upon the Extremities they ſuffer'd, I ask'd her if ſhe could deſcribe by what ſhe had felt, what it was to ſtarve, and how it appear'd; ſhe told me, ſhe [199] believ'd ſhe could; and ſhe told her Tale very diſtinctly thus,

This was her own Relation, and is ſuch a di⯑ſtinct Account of ſtarving to Death, as I confeſs, I never met with, and was exceeding entertain⯑ing to me; I am the rather apt to believe it to be a true Account, becauſe the Youth gave me an Account of a good Part of it; tho' I muſt own, not ſo diſtinct and ſo feelingly as his Maid; and the rather, becauſe it ſeems his Mother fed him at the Price of her own Life: But the poor Maid, tho' her Conſtitution being ſtronger than that of [204] her Miſtreſs, who was in Years, and a weakly Woman too, ſhe might ſtruggle harder with it; I ſay, the poor Maid might be ſuppoſed to feel the Extremity ſomething ſooner than her Miſtreſs, who might be allowed to keep the laſt Bit ſome⯑thing longer than ſhe parted with any to relieve the Maid. No Queſtion, as the Caſe is here re⯑lated, if our Ship, or ſome other, had not ſo pro⯑videntially met them, a few Days more would have ended all their Lives, unleſs they had pre⯑vented it by eating one another; and even, that as their Caſe ſtood, would have ſerv'd them but a little while, they being 500 Leagues from any Land, or any Poſſibility of Relief, other than in the miraculous Manner it happen'd: But this is by the Way; I return to my Diſpoſition of Things among the People.

And, Firſt, It is to be obſerv'd here, That for many Reaſons I did not think fit to let them know any Thing of the Sloop I had fram'd, and which I thought of ſetting up among them; for I found, at leaſt at my firſt coming, ſuch Seeds of Diviſions among them, that I ſaw it plainly had I ſet up the Sloop, and left it among them, they would upon every light Diſguſt have ſepe⯑rated, and gone away from one another, or per⯑haps have turn'd Pirates, and ſo made the Iſland a Den of Thieves, inſtead of a Planta⯑tion of ſober and religious People, ſo as I in⯑tended it; nor did I leave the two Pieces of Braſs Cannon that I had on Board, or the two Quarter-Deck Guns, that my Nephew took ex⯑traordinarily for the ſame Reaſon: I thought it was enough to qualify them for a defenſive War againſt any that ſhould invade them; but not to ſet them up for an offenſive War, or to encourage them to go Abroad to attack others, [205] which in the End would only bring Ruin and Deſtruction upon themſelves and all their Un⯑dertaking: I reſerv'd the Sloop therefore, and the Guns, for their Service another Way, as I ſhall obſerve in its Place.

I have now done with the Iſland: I left them all in good Circumſtances, and in a flouriſhing Condition, and went on board my Ship again the of, having been five and twenty Days among them; and as they were all reſolv'd to ſtay upon the Iſland 'till I came to remove them, I promis'd to ſend ſome further Relief from the Braſils, if I could poſſibly find an Opportunity; and particularly I promis'd to ſend them ſome Cattel, ſuch as Sheep, Hogs, and Cows: For as to the two Cows and Calves which I brought from England, we had been oblig'd by the Length of our Voyage to kill them at Sea, for want of Hay to feed them.

The next Day, giving them a Salute of five Guns at parting, we ſet ſail, and arriv'd at the Bay of All-Saints in the Braſils in about 22 Days; meeting nothing remarkable in our Paſſage, but this, That about three Days after we ſail'd, being becalm'd, and the Current ſetting ſtrong to the E.N.E. running, as it were, into a Bay or Gulph on the Land Side, we were driven ſomething out of our Courſe, and once or twice our Men cry'd Land to the Eaſtward; but whether it was the Continent or Iſlands, we could not tell by any Means.

But the third Day towards Evening, the Sea ſmooth, and the Weather calm, we ſaw the Sea, as it were, cover'd towards the Land with ſome⯑thing [206] very black, not being able to diſcover what it was, 'till after ſome Time, our chief Mate go⯑ing up the main Shrowds a little Way, and look⯑ing at them with a Perſpective, cry'd out it was an Army, I could not imagine what he meant by an Army, and ſpoke a little haſtily, calling the Fellow a Fool, or ſome ſuch Word: Nay, Sir, ſays he, don't be angry, for 'tis an Army and a Fleet too; for I believe there are a thouſand Ca⯑noes, and you may ſee them paddle along, and they are coming towards us too, apace.

I was a little ſurpriz'd then indeed, and ſo was my Nephew, the Captain; for he had heard ſuch terrible Stories of them in the Iſland, and having never been in thoſe Seas before, that he could not tell what to think of it, but ſaid two or three Times, we ſhould all be devour'd. I muſt confeſs conſidering we were becalm'd, and the Current ſet ſtrong towards the Shore, I lik'd it the worſe: However, I bad him not be afraid, but bring the Ship to an Anchor, as ſoon as we came ſo near to know that we muſt engage them.

The Weather continu'd calm, and they came on apace towards us; ſo I gave Order to come to an Anchor, and furle all our Sails: As for the Savages, I told them they had nothing to fear but Fire; and therefore they ſhould get their Boats out, and faſten them, one cloſe by the Head, and the other by the Stern, and man them both well, and wait the Iſſue in that Poſture: This I did, that the Men in the Boats might be ready with Skeets and Buckets to put out any Fire theſe Savages might endeavour to fix to the Out-ſide of the Ship.

In this Poſture we lay by for them, and in a lit⯑tle while they came up with us; but never was [207] ſuch a horrid Sight ſeen by Chriſtians: My Mate was much miſtaken in his Calculation of their Number, I mean of a thouſand Canoes; the moſt we could make of them when they came up, be⯑ing about a hundred and ſix and twenty; and a great many of them too; for ſome of them had ſixteen or ſeventeen Men in them, and ſome more; and the leaſt ſix or ſeven.

When they came nearer to us they ſeem'd to be ſtruck with Wonder and Aſtoniſhment, as at a Sight which they had doubtleſs never ſeen before; nor could they at firſt, as we afterwards under⯑ſtood, know what to make of us: They came boldly up however very near to us, and ſeem'd to go about to row round us; but we call'd to our Men in the Boats, not to let them come too near them.

This very Order brought us to an Engage⯑ment with them, without our deſigning it; for five or ſix of their large Canoes came ſo near our Long-Boat, that our Men beckon'd with their Hands to them to keep back, which they under⯑ſtood very well, and went back; but at their Retreat, about 50 Arrows came on board us from thoſe Boats; and one of our Men in the Long-Boat was very much wounded.

However, I call'd to them not to fire by any Means; but we handed down ſome Deal-Boards into the Boat, and the Carpenter preſently ſet up a kind of a Fence, like waſte Boards, to cover them from the Arrows of the Savages, if they ſhould ſhoot again.

[208] About half an Hour afterwards they came all up in a Body a-ſtern of us, and pretty near us, ſo near that we could eaſily diſcern what they were, tho' we could not tell their Deſign: And I eaſily found they were ſome of my old Friends, the ſame Sort of Savages that I had been uſed to engage with; and in a little Time more they row'd a lit⯑tle farther out to Sea, 'till they came directly Broad-ſide with us, and then row'd down ſtrait upon us, 'till they came ſo near, that they could hear us ſpeak: Upon this I order'd all my Men to keep cloſe, leaſt they ſhould ſhoot any more Arrows, and made all our Guns ready; but be⯑ing ſo near as to be within hearing, I made Friday go out upon the Deck, and call out aloud to them in his Language to know what they meant, which accordingly he did; whether they underſtood him or not, that I knew not: But as ſoon as he had call'd to them, ſix of them, who were in the fore⯑moſt or nigheſt Boat to us, turns their Canoes from us; and ſtooping down, ſhew'd us their na⯑ked Backſides, juſt as if in Engliſh, ſaving your Preſence, they had bid us kiſs—; whether this was a Defiance or Challenge, we know not; or whether it was done in meer Contempt, or as a Signal to the reſt; but immediately Friday cry'd out they were going to ſhoot, and unhappily for him poor Fellow; they let fly about 300 of their Arrows, and, to my inexpreſſible Grief, kill'd poor Friday, no other Man being in their Sight. The poor Fellow was ſhot with no leſs than three Arrows, and about three more fell very near him; ſuch unlucky Markſmen they were.

I was ſo enrag'd with the Loſs of my old Ser⯑vant, the Companion of all my Sorrows and Soli⯑tudes, [209] that I immediately order'd five Guns to be loaded with ſmall Shot, and four with great, and gave them ſuch a Broad-ſide, as they had never heard in their Lives before, to be ſure.

They were not above half a Cable Length off when we fir'd; and our Gunners took their Aim ſo well, that three or four of their Canoes were overſet, as we had reaſon to believe, by one Shot only.

The ill manners of turning up their bare Back⯑ſides to us, gave us no great Offence; neither did I know for certain, whether that which would paſs for the greateſt Contempt among us, might be underſtood ſo by them, or not; therefore in Re⯑turn, I had only reſolv'd to have fir'd four or five Guns at them with Powder only, which I knew would fright them ſufficiently: But when they ſhot at us directly with all the Fury they were capable of, and eſpecially as they had kill'd my poor Friday, who I ſo entirely lov'd and valu'd, and who indeed ſo well deſerv'd it; I not only had been juſtify'd before God and Man, but would have been very glad, if I could, to have overſet every Canoe there, and drown'd every one of them.

I can neither tell, how many we kill'd, or how many we wounded at this Broad-ſide; but ſure ſuch a Fright and Hurry never was ſeen among ſuch a Multitude; there were 13 or 14 of their Canoes ſplit and overſet in all, and the Men all ſet a ſwimming; the reſt frighted out of their Wits, ſcour'd away as faſt as they could, taking but lit⯑tle care to ſave thoſe whoſe Boats were ſplit or ſpoil'd with our Shot: So I ſuppoſe, that they [210] were many of them loſt: And our Men took up one poor Fellow ſwimming for his Life, above an Hour after they were all gone.

Our ſmall Shot from our Cannon muſt needs kill and wound a great many; but, in ſhort, we never knew any Thing how it went with them; for they fled ſo faſt, that in three Hours or there⯑abouts, we could not ſee above three or four ſtrag⯑gling Canoes; nor did we ever ſee the reſt any more; for a Breeze of Wind ſpringing up the ſame Evening, we weighed and ſet Sail for the Braſils.

We had a Priſoner indeed; but the Creature was ſo ſullen, that he would neither eat or ſpeak; and we all fanſied he would ſtarve himſelf to Death: But I took a way to cure him; for I made them take him and turn him into the Long⯑boat, and make him believe they would toſs him into the Sea again, and ſo leave him where they found him, if he would not ſpeak: Nor would that do; but they really did throw him into the Sea, and came away from him; and then he follow'd them; for he ſwam like a Cork, and call'd to them in his Tongue, tho' they knew not one Word of what he ſaid: However, at laſt they took him in again, and then he began to be more tractable; nor did I ever deſign they ſhould drown him.

We were now under Sail again; but I was the moſt diſconſolate Creature alive, for want of my Man Friday, and would have been very glad to have gone back to the Iſland, to have taken one of the reſt from thence for my Occaſion, but it could not be; ſo we went on. We had one Priſoner, as I [211] have ſaid; and 'twas a long while before we could make him underſtand any thing: But, in time, our Men taught him ſome Engliſh, and he began to be a little tractable; afterwards we enquir'd what Country he came from, but could mke no⯑thing of what he ſaid; for his Speech was ſo odd, all Gutturals, and ſpoke in the Throat in ſuch an hollow odd manner, that we could never form a Word from him; and we were all of opinion, that they might ſpeak that Language as well, if they were gagg'd, as otherwiſe: Nor could we perceive that they had any Occaſion, either for Teeth, Tongue, Lips or Palat; but form'd their Words, juſt as a hunting Horn forms a Tune with an open Throat; he told us however, ſome time af⯑ter when we had taught him to ſpeak a little Engliſh, that they were going with their Kings to fight a great Battle. When he ſaid Kings, we ask'd him how many Kings? He ſaid, they were FIVE NATION, we could not make him underſtand the Plural S. and that they all join'd to go againſt Two Nation. We ask'd him, what made them come up to us? He ſaid, to makee te great Wonder look: Where it is to be obſerved, That all thoſe Natives, as alſo thoſe of Africa, when they learn Engliſh, they always add two E's at the End of the Words where we uſe one, and make the Ac⯑cent upon them, as makèè takèè, and the like; and we could not break them of it; nay, I could hard⯑ly make Friday leave it off, tho' at laſt he did.

And now I name the poor Fellow once more, I muſt take my laſt Leave of him; poor honeſt Friday! We buried him with all the Decency and Solemnity poſſible, by putting him into a Coffin, and throwing him into the Sea: And I caus'd'em to fire eleven Guns for him; and ſo ended the [212] Life of the moſt grateful, faithful, honeſt, and moſt affectionate Servant, that ever Man had.

We went now away with a fair Wind for Bra⯑ſil, and in about twelve Days Time we made Land in the Latitude of five Degrees South of the Line, being the North-Eaſtermoſt Land of all that Part of America. We kept on S. by E. in Sight of the Shore four Days, when we made Cape St. Augu⯑ſtine, and in three Days came to an Anchor off of the Bay of all Saints, the old Place of my Delive⯑rance, from whence came both my good and evil Fate.

Never Ship came to this Part that had leſs Bu⯑ſineſs than I had; and yet it was with great Diffi⯑culty that we were admitted to hold the leaſt Correſpondence on Shore, not my Partner himſelf, who was alive, and made a great Figure among them; not my two Merchants Truſtees, not the Fame of my wonderful Preſervation in that Iſland, could obtain me that Favour: But my Partner re⯑membring, that I had given 500 Moidores to the Prior of the Monaſtery of the Auguſtines, and 272 to the Poor, went to the Monaſtery, and oblig'd the Prior that then was, to go to the Governor, and get leave for me perſonally, with the Captain and one more beſides Eight Seamen, to come on Shore, and no more; and this upon Condition abſolutely capitulated for, that we ſhould not of⯑fer to land any Goods out of the Ship, or to carry any Perſon away without Licence.

They were ſo ſtrict with us, as to landing any Goods, that it was with extream Difficulty that I got on Shore three Bales of Engliſh Goods, ſuch [213] as fine broad Cloaths, Stuffs, and ſome Linnen which I had brought for a Preſent to my Partner.

He was a very generous broad hearted Man, tho' like me, he came from little at firſt; and tho' he knew not that I had the leaſt Deſign of giving him any Thing, he ſent me on Board a Preſent of freſh Proviſions, Wine, and Sweet-meats, worth above 30 Moidores, including ſome Tobacco, and three or four fine Medals in Gold: But I was even with him in my Preſent, which, as I have ſaid, conſiſted of fine broad Cloath, Engliſh Stuffs, Lace, and fine Hollands: Alſo I deliver'd him about the Value of 100 lib. Sterl in the ſame Goods for other Uſes; and I oblig'd him to ſet up the Sloop which I had brought with me from England, as I have ſaid, for the Uſe of my Colo⯑ny, in order to ſend the Refreſhments I intended to my Plantation.

Accordingly, he got Hands, and finiſh'd the Sloop in a very few Days, for ſhe was already fram'd, and I gave the Maſter of her ſuch Inſtru⯑ctions, as he could not miſs the Place, nor did he miſs them, as I had an Account from my Partner after⯑wards. I got him ſoon loaded with the ſmall Cargo I ſent them; and one of our Seamen that had been on ſhore with me there, offer'd to go with the Sloop, and ſettle there upon my Letter to the Governor Spaniard, to allot him a ſuffici⯑ent Quantity of Land for a Plantation; and giving him ſome Cloaths and Tools for his Planting-Work, which he ſaid he underſtood, having been an old Planter at Maryland, and a Buckaneer in⯑to the Bargain.

[214] I encouraged the Fellow, by granting all he deſired; and as an Addition, I gave him the Sa⯑vage, which we had taken Priſoner of War, to be his Slave, and order'd the Governour Spaniard to give him his ſhare of every thing he wanted, with the reſt.

When we came to fit this Man out, my old Partner told me, there was a certain very honeſt Fellow, a Braſil Planter of his Acquaintance, who had fallen into the Diſpleaſure of the Church; I know not what the matter is with him, ſays he; but on my Conſcience, I think he is a Heretick in his Heart, and he has been obliged to conceal himſelf for fear of the Inquiſition; that he would be very glad of ſuch an Opportunity to make his Eſcape with his Wife and two Daughters; and if I would let them go to my Iſland, and allot them a Plantation, he would give them a ſmall ſtock to begin with; for the Officers of the Inquiſition had ſeiz'd all his Effects and Eſtate, and he had nothing left but a little Houſhold Stuff and two Slaves. And, adds he, Tho' I hate his Principles, yet I would not have him fall into their Hands; for he would aſſuredly be burnt alive, if he does.

I granted this preſently, and join'd my Engliſh Man with them, and we conceal'd the Man, and his Wife and Daughters on Board our Ship, till the Sloop put out to go to Sea; and then (having put all their Goods on board the Sloop, ſome time before) we put them on board the Sloop, after he was got out of the Bay.

[215] Our Seamen was mightily pleas'd with this new Partner; and their Stock indeed was much alike rich in Tools, in Preparations, and a Farm, but nothing to begin with, but as above: However, they carried over with them, which was worth all the reſt, ſome Materials for planting Sugar Canes, with ſome Plants of Canes; which he, I mean, the Portugal Man, underſtood very well.

Among the reſt of the Supplies ſent my Tenants in the Iſland, I ſent them by their Sloop, three Milch Cows, and five Calves, about 22 Hogs a⯑mong 'em, three Sows big with Pig, two Mares, and a Stone-Horſe.

For my Spaniards, according to my Promiſe, I engag'd three Portugal Women to go, and recom⯑mended it to them to marry them, and uſe them kindly. I could have procured more Women, but I remember'd, that the poor perſecuted Man had two Daughters, and there was but five of the Spaniards that wanted; the reſt had Wives of their own, tho' in another Country.

All this Cargoe arriv'd ſafe, and as you may eaſily ſuppoſe, very welcome to my old Inhabi⯑tants, who were now with this Addition between ſixty and ſeventy People, beſides little Children; of which, there was a great many: I found Let⯑ters at London from them all by the Way of Lisbon, when I came back to England; of which I ſhall alſo take ſome Notice immediately.

I have now done with my Iſland, and all Man⯑ner of Diſcourſe about it; and whoever reads the reſt of my Memorandums, would do well to turn [216] his Thoughts entirely from it, and expect to read of the Follies of an old Man, not warn'd by his own Harms, much leſs by thoſe of other Men, to beware of the like; not cool'd by almoſt forty Years Miſery and Diſappointments, not ſatisfy'd with Proſperity beyond Expectation, not made cautious by Affliction and Diſtreſs beyond Imi⯑tation.

I had no more Buſineſs to go to the Eaſt Indies, than a Man at full Liberty, and having committed no Crime, has to go to the Turn-key at Newgate, and deſire him to lock him up among the Priſoners there, and ſtarve him. Had I taken a ſmall Veſ⯑ſel from England, and went directly to the Iſland; had I loaded her, as I did the other Veſſel, with all the Neceſſaries for the Plantation, and for my People took a Patent from the Government here, to have ſecur'd my Property, in ſubjection only to that of England; had I carried over Cannon and Ammunition, Servants and People, to plant, and taking poſſeſſion of the Place, fortified and ſtreng⯑then'd it in the Name of England, and increas'd it with People, as I might eaſily have done; had I then ſettl'd my ſelf there, and ſent the Ship back, loaden with good Rice, as I might alſo have done in ſix Months time, and order'd my Friends to have fitted her out again for our Supply; had I done this, and ſtaid there my ſelf, I had, at leaſt, acted like a Man of common ſenſe; but I was poſ⯑ſeſt with a wandring Spirit, ſcorned all Advan⯑tages, I pleaſed my ſelf with being the Patron of thoſe People I placed there, and doing for them in a kind of haughty majeſtick Way, like an old Patri⯑archal Monarch; providing for them, as if I had been Father of the whole Family, as well as of the Plantation: But I never ſo much as pretended [217] to plant in the Name of any Government or Nation, or to acknowledge any Prince, or to call my People Subjects to any one Nation more than another; nay, I never ſo much as gave the Place a Name; but left it as I found it, be⯑longing to no Man; and the People under no Di⯑ſcipline or Government but my own; who, tho' I had influence over them as Father and Benefa⯑ctor, had no Authority or Power, to Act or Command one way or other, farther than vo⯑luntary Conſent mov'd them to comply; yet even this, had I ſtaid there, would have done well enough; but as I rambl'd from them, and came there no more, the laſt Letters I had from any of them, was by my Partners means; who afterwards ſent another Sloop to the Place, and who ſent me word, tho' I had not the Letter till five Years after it was written; that they went on but poorly, were Male content with their long ſtay there; That Will. Atkins was dead; That five of the Spaniards were come away, and that tho' they had not been much moleſted by the Savages, yet they had had ſome Skirmiſhes with them; That they begg'd of him to write to me, to think of the Promiſe I had made, to fetch 'em away, that they might ſee their own Country again before they dy'd.

But I was gone a Wild Gooſe Chaſe indeed; and They who will have any more of me, muſt be content to follow me thro' a new Variety of Follies, Hardſhips, and Wild Adventures; wherein the Juſtice of Providence may be duly obſerved, and we may ſee how eaſily Heaven can gorge us with our own Deſires; make the ſtrongeſt of our Wiſhes be our Affliction, and puniſh us moſt ſeverely with thoſe very Things, [218] which we think, it would be our utmoſt Happi⯑neſs to be allow'd in.

Let no wiſe Man flatter himſelf, with the Strength of his own Judgment, as if he was able to chuſe any particular Station of Life for him⯑ſelf: Man, is a ſhort ſighted Creature, ſees but a very little Way before him; and as his Paſſions, are none of his beſt Friends, ſo his particular Affections, are generally his worſt Counſellors.

I ſay this, with Reſpect to the impetuous De⯑ſire I had from a Youth, to wander into the World; and how evident it now was, that this Principle was preſerv'd in me for my Puniſhment: How it came on, the Manner, the Circumſtance, and the Concluſion of it, it is eaſie to give you Hi⯑ſtorically, and with its utmoſt Variety of Particu⯑lars: But the ſecret Ends of Divine Power, in thus permitting us, to be hurry'd down the Stream of our own Deſires, is only to be underſtood of thoſe who can liſten to the Voice of Providence, and draw religious Conſequences from God's Juſtice, and their own Miſtakes.

Be it, I had Buſineſs, or no Buſineſs, away I went; 'tis no Time now to enlarge any far⯑ther upon the Reaſon, or Abſurdity of my own Conduct; but to come to the Hiſtory, I was em⯑bark'd for the Voyage, and the Voyage I went.

I ſhould only add here, that my Honeſt and tru⯑ly pious Clergyman left me here; a Ship being ready to go to Lisbon, he ask'd me leave to go thi⯑ther, being ſtill, as he obſerv'd, bound never to finiſh any Voyage he began: How happy had it been for me, if I had gone with him!

[219] But it was too late now; all things Heaven appoints are beſt; had I gone with him, I had never had had ſo many things to be thank⯑ful for, and you had never heard of the ſecond Part of the Travels and Adventures of Robin. Cruſoe; ſo I muſt leave here the fruitleſs exclaiming at my ſelf, and go on with my Voyage.

From the Braſils, we made directly away over the Atlantick Sea, to the Cape de bon Eſperance, or as we call it, the Cape of Good Hope; and had a tolerable good Voyage, our Courſe generally South-Eaſt; now and then a ſtorm, and ſome contrary Winds, but my Diſaſters at Sea were at an end; my future Rubs and croſs Events were to befal me on ſhore; that it might appear the Land was as well prepar'd to be our ſcourge, as the Sea; when Heaven, who directs the Circum⯑ſtances of Things, pleaſes to appoint it to be ſo.

Our Ship was on a Trading Voyage, and had a Supra Cargo on board, who was to direct all her Motions after ſhe arrived at the Cape; only being limited to certain Numbers of Days, for ſtay, by Charter party, at the ſeveral Ports ſhe was to go to: This was none of my Buſineſs, neither did I meddle with it at all; my Nephew, the Captain, and the Supra-Cargo, adjuſting all thoſe things between them, as they thought fit.

We made no ſtay at the Cape longer than was needful, to take in freſh Water; but made the beſt of our way for the Coaſt of Coremandel; we were indeed, informed, that a French Man of War of fifty Guns, and two large Merchant Ships, were gone for the Indies, and as I knew [220] we were at War with France, I had ſome Appre⯑henſions of them; but they went their own Way, and we heard no more of them.

I ſhall not peſter my Account, or the Reader, with Deſcriptions of Places, Journals of our Voy⯑ages, Variations of Compaſs, Latitudes, Meridian-Diſtances, Trade-Winds, Situation of Ports, and the like; ſuch as almoſt all the Hiſtories of long Navigation are full of, and makes the reading tireſome enough, and are perfectly unprofitable to all that read it, except only to thoſe, who are to go to thoſe Places themſelves.

It is enough to name the Ports and Places, which we touch'd at, and what occurr'd to us upon our paſſing from one to another. We touch d firſt at the Iſland of Madagaſcar; where, tho' the People are fierce and treacherous, and in particular, very well arm'd with Launces, and Bows, which they uſe with inconceivable Dexterity; yet we fared very well with them a while, they treated us ve⯑ry civilly; and for ſome Trifles which we gave them, ſuch as Knives, Sciſſars, &c. they brought us eleven good fat Bullocks, middling in Size, but very good in Fleſh; which we took in, partly for freſh Proviſions for our preſent ſpending, and the reſt, to Salt for the Ship's Uſe.

We were obliged to ſtay here ſome Time after we had furniſh'd our ſelves with Proviſions; and I, that was always too curious, to look into every Nook of the World where ever I came, was for going on Shore as often as I could, it was on the Eaſt Side of the Iſland that we went on Shore, one Evening; and the People, who by the Way are very numerous, came thronging about us, and [221] ſtood gazing at us at a Diſtance; but as we had traded freely with them, and had been kindly uſed, we thought our ſelves in no Danger; but when we ſaw the People, we cut three Boughs out of a Tree, and ſtuck them up at a Diſtance from us, which it ſeems, is a Mark in the Country, not only of Truce and Friendſhip, but when it is ac⯑cepted, the other Side ſet up three Poles or Boughs, which is a Signal, that they accept the Truce too; but then, this is a known Condition of the Truce, that you are not to paſs beyond their three Poles towards them, nor they to come paſt your three Poles or Boughs, towards you; ſo that you are perfectly ſecure within the three Poles, and all the Space betwen your Poles and theirs, is al⯑low'd like a Market, for free Converſe, Traffick, and Commerce: When you go there, you muſt not carry your Weapons with you; and if they come into that Space they ſtick up their Javelines and Launces, all at the firſt Poles, and come on unarm'd; but if any Violence is offer'd them, and the Truce thereby broken; away they run to the Poles, and lay hold of their Weapons, and then the Truce is at an End.

It happen'd one Evening when we went on Shore, that a greater Number of their People came down than uſual, but all was very friendly and civil, and they brought in ſeveral Kinds of Proviſions, for which we ſatisfied them, with ſuch Toys as we had; their Women alſo brought us Milk, and Roots, and ſeveral Things very ac⯑ceptable to us, and all was quiet; and we made us a little Tent or Hut, of ſome Boughs of Trees, and lay on Shore all Night.

[222] I know not what was the Occaſion, but I was not ſo well ſatisfied to lye on Shore as the reſt, and the Boat lying at an Anchor, about a Stone caſt from the Land, with two Men in her to take care of her; I made one of them come on ſhore, and getting ſome Boughs of Trees to cover us alſo in the Boat, I ſpread the Sail on the Bottom of the Boat, and lay under the Cover of the Bran⯑ches of Trees all Night in the Boat.

About two a clock in the Morning, we heard one of our Men make a terrible Noiſe on the ſhore, calling out for God's ſake, to bring the Boat in, and come and help them, for they were all like to be murther'd; at the ſame time, I heard the firing of 5 Muskets, which was the Num⯑ber of the Guns they had, and that, three times over; for it ſeems, the Natives here were not ſo eaſily frighted with Guns, as the Savages were in America, where I had to do with them.

All this while, I knew not what was the mat⯑ter; but rouzing immediately from Sleep with the Noiſe, I caus'd the Boat to be thruſt in, and reſolv d, with three Fuſils we had on board, to land, and aſſiſt our Men.

We got the Boat ſoon to the Shore, but our Men were in too much haſte: For being come to the ſhore, they plunged into the Water to get to the Boat with-all the Expedition they could, being purſued by between three and four hun⯑dred Men: Our Men were but Nine in all, and only five of them had Fuſils with them; the reſt had indeed Piſtols and Swords, but they were of ſmall uſe to them.

[223] We took up ſeven of our Men, and with Dif⯑ficulty enough too, three of them being very ill wounded; and that which was ſtill worſe, was, that while we ſtood in the Boat to take our Men in, we were in as much Danger as they were in on Shore; for they pour'd their Arrows in upon us ſo thick, that we were fain to barricade the Side of the Boat up with the Benches, and two or three looſe Boards, which to our great Satisfaction we had by mere Accident or Provi⯑dence in the Boat.

And yet, had it been Day-light, they are it ſeems ſach exact Marks-men, that if they could have ſeen but the leaſt Part of any of us, they would have been ſure of us; we had by the Light of the Moon a little Sight of them, as they ſtood pelting us from the Shore with Darts and Ar⯑rows; and having got ready our Fire-arms, we gave them a Volley, that we could hear by the Cries of ſome of them, that we had wounded ſeveral; however, they ſtood thus in Battle Ar⯑ray on the Shore till break of Day, which we ſuppoſe was, that they might ſee the better to take their Aim at us.

In this Condition we lay, and could not tell how to weigh our Anchor or ſet up our Sail, be⯑cauſe we muſt needs ſtand up in the Boat, and they were as ſure to hit us, as we were to hit a Bird in a Tree with ſmall Shot; we made Signals of Di⯑ſtreſs to the Ship, which, tho' we rode a League off, yet my Nephew the Captain hearing our firing, and by Glaſſes, perceiving the Poſture we lay in, and that we fir'd towards the Shore, pretty well underſtood us; and weighing An⯑chor, [224] with all ſpeed, he ſtood as near the Shore as he durſt with the Ship, and then ſent another Boat with ten Hands in her to aſſiſt us; but we call'd to them not to come too near, telling them what Condition we were in: However, they ſtood in nearer to us; and one of the Men taking the End of a Tow-Line in his Hand, and keeping our Boat between him and the Enemy, ſo that they could not perfectly ſee him, ſwam on board us, and made faſt the Line to the Boat; upon which we ſlipp'd our little Cable, and leaving our Anchor behind, they tow'd us out of reach of the Arrows, we all the while lying cloſe behind the Barricado we had made.

As ſoon as we were got from between the Ship and the Shore, that ſhe could lay her Side to the Shore, ſhe run along juſt by them, and we pour'd in a Broad-ſide among them loaden with Pieces of Iron and Lead, ſmall Bullets, and ſuch ſtuff, beſides the great Shot, which made a terrible Ha⯑vock amongſt them.

When we were got on board and out of Dan⯑ger, we had time to examine into the Occaſion of this Fray; and indeed our Supra-Cargo who had been often in thoſe Parts, put me upon it; for he ſaid, he was ſure the Inhabitants would not have touch'd us after we had made a Truce, if we had not done ſomething to provoke them to it. At length it came out (viz.) that an Old Woman who had come to ſell us ſome Milk, had brought it within our Poles, with a young Wo⯑man with her, who alſo brought ſome Roots or Herbs; and while the Old Woman, whether ſhe was Mother to the young Woman or no, they could not tell, was ſelling us the Milk, one [225] of our Men offer'd ſome Rudeneſs to the Wench that was with her, at which the old Woman made a great Noiſe: However, the Seaman would not quit his Prize, but carried her out of the old Woman's Sight among the Trees, it being almoſt dark; the old Woman went away without her, and as we ſuppoſe, made an Out-cry among the People ſhe came from; who upon Notice, rais'd this great Army upon us in three or four Hours; and it was great odds, but we had been all deſtroy'd.

One of our Men was killed with a Launce thrown at him juſt at the beginning of the At⯑tack, as he ſally'd out of the Tent they had made; the reſt came off free, all but the Fellow who was the Occaſion of all the Miſchief, who paid dear enough for his black Miſtreſs; for we could not hear what became of him, a great while; we lay upon the Shore two Days after, tho' the Wind pre⯑ſented, and made Signals for him; made our Boat ſail up Shore and down Shore, ſeveral Leagues, but in vain; ſo we were oblig'd to give him o⯑ver, and if he alone had ſuffer'd for it, the Loſs had been the leſs.

I could not ſatisfie my ſelf, however, without venturing on Shore once more, to try if I could learn any Thing of him or them; it was the third Night after the Action, that I had a great Mind to learn if I could by any Means what Miſ⯑chief we had done, and how the Game ſtood on the Indians Side: I was careful to do it in the dark, leſt we ſhould be attack'd again; but I ought indeed to have been ſure, that the Men I went with had been under my Command, be⯑fore I engag'd in a Thing ſo hazardous and miſ⯑chievous [226] as I was brought into by it, without my Knowledge or Deſign.

We took twenty ſtout Fellows with us as any in the Ship, beſides the Supra Cargo and my ſelf, and we landed two Hours before Midnight, at the ſame Place where the Indians ſtood drawn up the Evening before; I landed here, becauſe my De⯑ſign as I have ſaid, was chiefly to ſee if they had quitted the Field, and if they had left any Marks behind them of the Miſchief we had done them; and I thought, if we could ſurprize one or two of them, perhaps we might get our Man again by Way of Exchange.

We landed without any Noiſe, and divided our Men into two Bodies, whereof, the Boatſwain commanded one, and I the other; we neither ſaw or heard any Body ſtir when we landed, and we march'd up one Body at a Diſtance from the other, to the Place, but at firſt could ſee nothing it being very dark; till by and by, our Boatſwain that lead the firſt Party, ſtumbled and fell over a Dead Boy; this made them halt a while, for knowing by the Circumſtances that they were at the Place, where the Indians had ſtood, they wait⯑ed for my coming up here; we concluded to halt till the Moon began to riſe, which we knew would be in leſs than an Hour, when we could eaſily diſcern the Havock we had made among them; we told two and thirty Bodies upon the Ground, whereof two were not quite dead: Some had an Arm, and ſome a Leg ſhot off, and one his Head; thoſe that were wounded we ſuppos'd, they had carried away.

[227] When we had made, as I thought, a full Diſco⯑very of all we could come at the Knowledge of, I was reſolv'd for going on board; but the Boatſwain and his Party ſent me Word, that they were reſolv'd to make a Viſit to the Indian Town, where theſe Dogs, as they call'd them, dwelt, and ask'd me to go along with them; and if they could find them, as ſtill they fanſi⯑ed they ſhould, they did not doubt getting a good Booty, and it might be, they might find Tho. Jeffry there, that was the Man's Name we had loſt.

Had they ſent to ask my Leave to go, I knew well enough what Anſwer to have given them; for I would have commanded them inſtantly on Board, knowing it was not a Hazard fit for us to run, who had a Ship, and Ship-loading in our Charge, and a Voyage to make, which depend⯑ed very much upon the Lives of the Men; but as they ſent me Word they were reſolved to go, and only ask'd me and my Company to go along with them; I poſitively refus'd it, and roſe up, for I was ſitting on the Ground in Order to go to the Boat; one or two of the Men began to impor⯑tune me to go, and when I refus'd poſitively, began to grumble, and ſay they were not under my Command, and they would go: Come Jack, ſays one of the Men, will go with me? I'll go for one, Jack ſaid he would, and another fol⯑lowed, and then another; and in a Word, they all left me but one, who I perſuaded to ſtay, and a Boy left in the Boat; ſo the Supra-Cargo and I, with the third Man, went back to the Boat, where we told them we would ſtay for them, and take Care to take in as many of [228] them as ſhould be left; for I told 'em it was a mad Thing they were going about, and ſup⯑poſed moſt of 'em would run the Fate of Thom. Jeffry.

They told me, like Seamen, they'd warrant it they would come off again, and they would take care, &c. So away they went; I entreated 'em to conſider the Ship and Voyage; that their Lives were not their own, and that they were entruſted with the Voyage in ſome meaſure, that if they miſ⯑carry'd, the Ship might be loſt for want of their Help, and that they could not anſwer it to God or Man. I ſaid a great deal more to 'em on that Head, but I might as well have talk'd to the Main Maſt of the Ship, they were mad upon their Journey, only they gave me good Words, and begg'd I would not be angry; That they would be very cautious, and they did not doubt but they would be back again in an about an Hour at fartheſt; for the Indian Town they ſaid, was not above half a Mile off, tho' they found it a⯑bove two Miles before they got to it.

Well, they all went away, as above; and tho' the Attempt was deſperate, and ſuch, as none but mad Men would have gone about, yet to give 'em their due, they went about it warily as boldly: They were gallantly armed, that's true; for they had every Man a Fuzee or Muſ⯑ket, a Bayonet, every Man a Piſtol; ſome of them had broad Cutlaſſes, ſome of them Hangers, and the Boatſwain and Two more, had Pole-Axes: Beſides all which, they had among them Thirteen Hand-Grenadoes. Bolder Fellows, and better provided, never went about any wicked Work in the World.

[229] When they went out, their chief Deſign was Plunder, and they were in mighty hopes of find⯑ing Gold there; but a Circumſtance which none of them were aware of, ſet them on fire with Revenge, and made Devils of them all. When they came to the few Indian Houſes which they thought had been the Town, which was not a⯑bove half a Mile off; they were under a great Diſappointment; for there were not above 12 or 13 Houſes; and where the Town was, or how big, they knew not: They conſulted there⯑fore what to do, and were ſome time before they could reſolve: for if they fell upon theſe, they muſt cut all their Throats, and it was ten to one but ſome of them might eſcape, it being in the Night, tho' the Moon was up; and if one eſca⯑ped, he would run away, and raiſe all the Town, ſo they ſhould have a whole Army upon them: Again, on the other hand, if they went away, and left thoſe untouch'd (for the People were all aſleep) they could not tell which Way to look for the Town.

However, the laſt was the beſt Advice; ſo they reſolved to leave them, and look for the Town as well as they could. They went on a little way, and found a Cow tied to a Tree; this they preſently concluded, would be a good Guide to them; for they ſaid, the Cow certain⯑ly belonged to the Town before them, or the Town behind them; and if they untied her, they ſhould ſee which way ſhe went; if ſhe went back, they had nothing to ſay to her; but if ſhe went forward, they had nothing to do but to follow her: So they cut the Cord, which was made of twiſted Flags, and the Cow went on be⯑fore [230] them; in a Word, the Cow led them di⯑rectly to the Town, which as they report, con⯑ſiſted of above 200 Houſes, or Huts; and in ſome of theſe, they found ſeveral Families living toge⯑ther.

Here they found all in Silence, as profoundly ſecure, as Sleep, and a Country that had never ſeen an Enemy of that Kind could make them; and firſt, they call'd another Council, to conſi⯑der what they had to do; and in a Word, they reſolv'd to divide themſelves into three Bodies, and to ſet three Houſes on Fire in three Parts of the Town; and as the Men came out, to ſeize them and bind them; if any reſiſted, they need not be ask'd what to do then, and ſo to ſearch the reſt of the Houſes for Plunder; but they re⯑ſolv'd to march ſilently firſt, thro' the Town, and ſee what Dimenſions it was of, and if they might venture upon it or no.

They did ſo, and deſperately reſolv'd that they would venture upon them; but while they were animating one another to the Work, three of them that were a little before the reſt, call'd out aloud to them, and told them they had found Thom. Jeffry; they all run up to the Place, and ſo it was indeed; for there they ſound the poor Fellow hang'd up naked by one Arm, and his Trhoat cut; there was an Indian Houſe juſt by the Tree, where they found ſixteen or ſeventeen of the principal Indians who had been concern'd in the Fray with us before; and two or three of them wounded with our Shot; and our Men found they were awake, and talking one to another in that Houſe, but knew not their Number.

[231] The Sight of their poor mangled Comrade ſo enrag'd 'em, as before, that they ſwore to one another they would be reveng'd, and that not an Indian who came into their Hands ſhould have Quarter, and to work they went immediately; and yet not ſo madly as by the Rage and Fury they were in might be expected. Their firſt Care was to get ſomething that would ſoon take Fire; but after a little ſearch, they found that would be to no purpoſe; but moſt of the Houſes were low, and Thatch'd with Flags or Ruſhes, of which the Country is full; ſo they preſently made ſome wild Fire, as we call it, by wetting a little Pow⯑der in the Palms of their hands, and in a quarter of an Hour they ſet the Town on fire in four or five Places; and particularly that Houſe where the Indians were not gone to Bed. As ſoon as the Fire began to blaze, the poor frighted Creatures began to ruſh out to ſave their Lives; but met with their Fate in the Attempt, and eſpecially at the Door, where they drove 'em back, the Boatſwain himſelf killing one or two with his Pole-Ax; The Houſe being large, and many in it, he did not care to go in, but call'd for a Hand-Grenado, and threw it among 'em, which at firſt frighted 'em; but when it burſt, made ſuch Havock among 'em, that they cried out in a hideous manner.

In ſhort, moſt of the Indians who were in the open Part of the Houſe, were killed or hurt with the Grenado, except two or three more who preſs'd to the Door, which the Boatſwain and two more kept with their Bayonets in the Muzzles of their Pieces, and diſpatch'd all who came that Way. But there was another Apartment in the Houſe where the Prince or King, or whatever he was ano ſeveral others were, and theſe they kept in till [232] the Houſe, which was by this time all of a light Flame, fell in upon them, and they were Imo⯑ther'd or burnt together.

All this while they fir'd not a Gun, becauſe they would not waken the People faſter than they could maſter them; but the Fire began to waken them faſt enough, and our Fellows were glad to keep a little together in Bodies; for the Fire grew ſo raging, all the Houſes being made of light combuſtible Stuff, that they could hardly bear the Street between them, and their Buſineſs was to follow the Fire for the ſurer Execution: As faſt as the Fire either forc'd the People out of thoſe Houſes which were burning, or frighted them out of others, our People were ready at their Doors to knock them on the Head, ſtill calling and hal⯑lowing to one another to remember Thom. Jeffrys.

While this was doing, I muſt confeſs I was very uneaſie, and eſpecially when I ſaw the Flames of the Town, which, it being Night, ſeem'd to be juſt by me.

My Nephew, the Captain, who was rouz'd by his Men too, ſeeing ſuch a Fire, was very uneaſie, not knowing what the Matter was, or what Dan⯑ger I was in; eſpecially hearing the Guns too; for by this time they began to uſe their Fire-Arms; a thouſand Thoughts oppreſt his Mind concern⯑ing me and the Supra-Cargo, what ſhould become of us: And at laſt, tho' he could ill ſpare any more Men, yet not knowing what Exigence we might be in, he takes another Boat, and with 13 Men and himſelf, comes on Shore to me.

[233] He was ſurpriz d to ſee me and the Supra-Cargo in the Boat with no more than two Men; and tho' he was glad that we were well, yet he was in the ſame Impatience with us to know what was doing; for the Noiſe continu'd and the Flame encreas'd: In ſhort, it was next to an Impoſſibility for any Men in the World, to reſtrain their Curioſity, to know what had happen'd, or the Concern for the Safety of the Men: In a word, the Captain told me, he would go and help his Men, let what would come. I argu'd with him as I did before with the Men, the Safety of the Ship, the Danger of the Voyage, the Intereſt of the Owners and Merchants, &c, and told him, I would go and the two Men, and only ſee if we could at a Diſtance learn what was like to be the Event, and come back and tell him.

It was all one, to talk to my Nephew, as it was to talk to the reſt before; he would go he ſaid, and he only wiſh'd he had left but Ten Men in the Ship; for he could not think of having his Men loſt for want of Help, he had rather loſe the Ship, the Voyage, and his Life and all; and a⯑way went he.

In a Word, I was no more able to ſtay behind now, than I was to perſuade them not to go; ſo in ſhort, the Captain order'd two Men to row back the Pinnace, and fetch twelve Men more, leaving the Long-Boat at an Anchor, and that when they came back, ſix Men ſhould keep the two Boats, and ſix more come after us; ſo that he left only 16 Men in the Ship; for the whole Ship's Company conſiſted of 65 Men, where⯑of [234] two were loſt in the laſt Quarrel, which brought this Miſchief on.

Being now on the March, you may be ſure we felt little of the Ground we trode on; and being guided by the Fire, we kept no Path, but went directly to the Place of the Flame: If the Noiſe of the Guns was ſurprizing to us before, the Cries of the poor People were now of quite another na⯑ture, and fill'd us with Horror. I muſt confeſs, I never was at the ſacking a City, or at the taking a Town by ſtorm. I had heard of Oliver Crom⯑well taking Drogheda in Ireland, and killing Man, Woman and Child: And I had read of Count Tilly, ſacking of the City of Magdeburgh, and cut⯑ting the Throats of 22000 of all Sexes: But I ne⯑ner had an Idea of the Thing itſelf before, not is it poſſible to deſcribe it, or the Horror which was upon our Minds at hearing it.

However, we went on, and at length came to the Town, tho' there was no entring the Streets of it for the Fire. The firſt Object we met with, was the Ruins of a Hut or Houſe, or rather the Aſhes of it, for the Houſe was conſum'd; and juſt before it, plain now to be ſeen by the Light of the Fire, lay four Men and three Women kill'd; and as we thought, one or two more lay in the Heap a⯑mong the Fire. In ſhort there were ſuch Inſtances of a Rage altogether barbarous, and of a Fury, ſemething beyond what was human, that we thought it impoſſible our Men could be guilty of it, or if they were the Authors of it, we thought they ought to be every one of 'em put to the worſt of Deaths. But this was not all, we ſaw the Fire encreas'd forward, and the Cry went on juſt as the Fire went on; ſo that we were in the [235] utmoſt Confuſion. We advanc'd a little Way far⯑ther, and behold, to our Aſtoniſhment, three Women naked, and crying in a moſt dreadful Man⯑ner, come flying, as if they had indeed had Wings, and after them ſixteen or ſeventeen Men, Natives, in the ſame Terror and Conſternation, with three of our Engliſh Butchers, for I can call them no bet⯑ter, in their Rear, who, when they could not overtake them, fir'd in among them, and one that was kill'd by their Shot fell down in our Sight; when the reſt ſaw us, believing us to be their Enemies, and that we would murther them as well as thoſe that perſued them, they ſet up a moſt dreadful Shreik, eſpecially the Women; and two of them fell down as if already dead with the Fright.

My very Soul ſhrunk within me, and my Blood run chil in my Veins, when I ſaw this; and I be⯑lieve, had the three Engliſh Sailors that purſu'd them come on, I had made our Men kill them all: However we took ſome Ways to let the poor fly⯑ing Creatures know, that we would not hurt them, and immediately they came up to us, and kneeling down, with their Hands lifted up, made piteous Lamentation to us to ſave them, which we let them know we would; whereupon they crept altogether in a Huddle croſe behind us, as for Pro⯑tection. I left my Men drawn up together, and charg'd them to hurt no Body, but if poſſible to get at ſome of our People, and ſee what Devil it was poſſeſs'd them, and what they intended to do; and in a word, to command them off; aſſuring them, that if they ſtay'd till Day-light, they would have an hundred thouſand Men about their Ears: I ſay, I left them, and went among thoſe flying People, taking only two of our Men with me; [236] and there was indeed a piteous Spectacle among them: Some of them had their Feet terribly burnt with trampling and running thro' the Fire, others their Hands burnt; one of the Women had fallen down in the Fire, and was very much burnt before ſhe could get out again, and two or three of the Men had Cuts in their Backs and Thighs from our Men purſuing; and another was ſhot thro' the Body, and died while I was there.

I would fain have learned what the Occaſion of all this was, but I could not underſtand one Word they ſaid; tho' by Signs I perceived that ſome of them knew not what was the Occaſion themſelves. I was ſo terrified in my Thoughts at this outragious Attempt, that I could not ſtay there; but went back to my own Men, and re⯑ſolved to go into the Middle of the Town thro' the Fire, or whatever might be in the Way, and put an End to it, coſt what it would: Accordingly, as ſoon as I came back to my Men, I told them my Reſolution, and commanded them to follow me, when in the very Moment came four of our Men with the Boatſwain at their Head, roving over the Heaps of Bodies they had killed, all co⯑ver'd with Blood and Duſt, as if they wanted more People to maſſacre, when our Men hallow'd to them as loud as they could hallow, and with much ado one of them made them hear; ſo that they knew who we were, and came up to us.

As ſoon as the Boatſwain ſaw us, he ſet up a Hallow like a Shout of Triumph, for having, as he thought, more help come, and without bear⯑ing to hear me, Captain, ſays he, noble Captain, I am glad you are come; we have not half done yet, villainous Hell hound Dogs, I'll kill as many of [237] them as poor Tom. has Hairs upon his Head. We have ſworn to ſpare none of them, we'll root out the very Nation of 'em from the Earth, and thus he run on, out of Breath too with Action, and would not give us leave to ſpeak a Word.

At laſt, raiſing my Voice, that I might ſilence him a little, Barbarous Dog, ſaid I, what are you doing? I won't have one Creature touch'd more, upon pain of Death. I charge you upon your Life, to ſtop your Hands, and ſtand ſtill here, or you are a dead Man this minute.

Why, Sir, ſays he, Do you know what you do, or what they have done? If you want a Reaſon for what we have done, come hither; and with that he ſhew'd me the poor Fellow hanging with his Throat cut.

I confeſs, I was urged then myſelf, and at ano⯑ther time ſhould have been forward enough; but I thought they had carried their Rage too far, and thought of Jacob's Words to his Sons Simeon and Levi; Curſed be their Anger, for it was fierce; and their Wrath, for it was cruel: But I had now a a new Task upon my hands; for when the Men I carried with me ſaw the Sight as I had done, I had as much to do to reſtrain them, as I ſhould have had with the other; nay, my Nephew him⯑ſe f fell in with them, and told me in their hearing that he was only concerned for fear of the Men be⯑ing overpower'd; for as to the People, he thought not one of 'em ought to live; for they had all glutted themſelves with the Murther of the poor Man, and that they ought to be uſed like Mur⯑therers. Upon theſe Words, away run eight of my Men with the Boatſwain and his Crew, to [238] compleat their bloody Work; and I ſeeing it quite out of my Power to reſtrain them, came away penſive and ſad; for I could not bear the Sight, much leſs the horrible Noiſe and Cries of the poor Wretches that fell into their Hands.

I got no Body to come back with me but the Supra-Cargo and two Men; and with theſe I walk'd back to the Boats. It was a very great Piece of Folly in me, I confeſs, to venture back, as it were alone; for as it began now to be al⯑moſt Day, and the Alarm had run over the Coun⯑try, there ſtood about 40 Men arm'd with Laun⯑ces and Bows at the little Place where the 12 or 13 Houſes ſtood mention'd before; but by Accident I miſs'd the Place, and came directly to the Sea-ſide, and by the time I got to the Sea-ſide it was broad Day; immediately I took the Pinnace, and went aboard, and ſent her back to aſſiſt the Men in what might happen.

I obſerv'd about the Time that I came to the Boat-ſide, that the Fire was pretty well out, and the Noiſe abated; but in about half an Hour af⯑ter I got on Board, I heard a Volley of our Mens Fire-arms, and ſaw a great Smoak; this, as I un⯑derſtood afterwards, was our Men falling upon the Men, who as I ſaid ſtood at the few Houſes on the Way, of whom they kill'd ſixteen or ſeven⯑teen, and ſet all thoſe Houſes on Fire, but did not meddle with the Women or Children.

By that Time the Men got to the Shore a⯑gain with the Pinnace, our Men began to appear; they came dropping in, ſome and ſome, not in two Bodies, and in Form as they went, but all in Heaps, ſtraggling here, and there, in ſuch a Man⯑ner, [239] that a ſmall Force of reſolute Men might have cut them all off.

But the Dread of them was upon the whole Country; and the Men were amaz'd, and ſurpriz'd, and ſo frighted, that I believe a hundred of 'em would have fled at the Sight of but five of our Men. Nor in all this terrible Action was there a Man who made any conſiderable Defence, they were ſo ſurpriz'd between the Terror of the Fire, and the ſudden Attack of our Men in the Dark, that they knew not which Way to turn them⯑ſelves; for if they fled one Way, they were met by one Party; if back again, by another: So that they were every where knock'd down: Nor did any of our Men receive the leaſt hurt; ex⯑cept one who ſtrain'd his Foot, and another had one of his Hands very much burnt.

I was very angry with my Nephew the Cap⯑tain, and indeed with all the Men in my Mind, but with him in particular; as well for his acting ſo out of his Duty as Commander of the Ship, and having the Charge of the Voyage upon him, as in his prompting rather than cooling the Rage of his Men in ſo bloody and cruel an Enterprize. My Nephew anſwer'd me very reſpectfully; but told me, that when he ſaw the Body of the poor Seaman, whom they had murther'd in ſuch a cruel and bar⯑barous manner, he was not Maſter of himſelf, neither could he govern his Paſſion. He own'd, he ſhould not have done ſo, as he was Comman⯑der of the Ship; but as he was a Man, and Na⯑ture mov'd him, he could not bear it. As for the reſt of the Men, they were not ſubject to me at all, and they knew it well enough; ſo they took no notice of my Diſlike.

[240] The next Day we ſet ſail, ſo we never heard any more of it: Our Men differ'd in the Account of the Number they kill'd: Some ſaid one Thing, ſome another; but according to the beſt of their Accounts put altogether, they kill'd or deſtroy'd about 150 People, Men, Women and Children, and left not a Houſe ſtanding in the Town.

As for the poor Fellow Tho. Jeffrys, as he was quite dead, for his Throat was ſo cut, that his Head was half off, it would do him no Service to bring him away, ſo they left him where they found him, only took him down from the Tree where he was hang'd by one Hand.

However juſt our Men thought this Action, I was againſt them in it; and I always, after that Time, told them, God would blaſt the Voyage; for I look'd upon all the Blood they ſhed that Night to be Murther in them: For tho' it is true, that they had kill'd Tho. Jeffrys, yet it was as true that Jeffrys was the Aggreſſor, had broken the Truce, and had violated or debauch'd a young Woman of theirs who came down to them innocently; and on the Faith of their publick Capitulation.

The Boatſwain defended this Quarrel when we were afterwards on board: He ſaid, It is true that we ſeem'd to break the Truce, but really had not, and that the War was begun the Night before by the Natives themſelves, who had ſhot us, and kill'd one of our Men without any juſt Provocation; ſo that as we were in a Capacity to fight them now, we might alſo be in a Capacity to do our ſelves Juſtice upon them in an extraor⯑dinary [241] Manner, that tho' the poor Man had taken a little Liberty with a Wench, he ought not to have been murther'd, and that in ſuch a villanous Man⯑ner: and that they did nothing but what was juſt, and what the Laws of God allow'd to be done to Murtherers.

One would think this ſhould have been enough to have warn'd us againſt going on Shore among Heathens and Barbarians: But it is impoſſible to make Mankind wiſe, but at their own Expence and their Experience ſeems to be always of moſt Uſe to them, when it is deareſt bought.

We are now bound to the Gulph of Perſia, and from thence to the Coaſt of Coremandel, only to touch at Surrat: But the chief of the Supra-Car⯑go's Deſign lay at the Bay of Bengale, where if he miſs'd of his Buſineſs outward bound, he was to go up to China, and return to the Coaſt as he came Home.

The firſt Diſaſter that befel us, was in the Gulph of Perſia, where five of our Men venturing on Shore on the Arabian Side of the Gulph, were ſurrounded by the Arabians, and either all kill'd or carry'd away into Slavery; the reſt of the Boat's Crew were not able to reſcue them, and had but juſt Time to get off their Boat. I began to up⯑braid them with the juſt Retribution of Heaven in this Caſe: But the Boatſwain very warmly told me, he thought I went farther in my Cenſures than I could ſhew any Warrant for in Scripture, and referr'd to the 13 St. Luke, Verſe 4th. where our Saviour intimates, that thoſe Men, on whom the Tower of Siloam fell, were not Sinners above all the Galileans: But that which indeed put me to [242] Silence in the Caſe, was, That not one of theſe five Men, who were now loſt, were of the Num⯑ber of thoſe who went on Shore to the Maſſacre of Madagaſcar; (ſo I always call'd it, tho' our Men could not bear the Word Maſſacre with any Patience:) And indeed, this laſt Circumſtance, as I have ſaid, put me to Silence for the preſent.

But my frequent preaching to them on this Subject had worſe Conſequences than I expected; and the Boatſwain, who had been the Head of the Attempt, came up boldly to me one Time, and told me, he found, that I continually brought that Affair upon the Stage, that I made unjuſt Re⯑flections upon it, and had uſed the Men very ill on that Account, and himſelf in particular; that as I was but a Paſſenger, and had no Command in the Ship, or Concern in the Voyage, they were not oblig'd to bear it; that they did not know, but I might have ſome ill Deſign in my Head, and perhaps to call them to Account for it, when they came to England; and that therefore, unleſs I would reſolve to have done with it; and alſo, not to concern my ſelf any farther with him, or any of his Affairs, he would leave the Ship; for he did not think it was ſafe to ſail with me among them.

I heard him patiently enough 'till he had done, and then told him, that I did confeſs I had all a⯑long oppos'd the Maſſacre of Madagaſcar, for ſuch I would always call it; and that I had on all Occa⯑ſions ſpoken my Mind freely about it, tho' not more upon him than any of the reſt: That as to my having no Command in the Ship, that was true; nor did I exerciſe any Authority, only took my Liberty of ſpeaking my Mind in Things which [243] publickly concern'd us all; and what Concern I had in the Voyage was none of his Buſineſs; that I was a conſiderable Owner of the Ship; and in that Claim I conceived I had a Right to ſpeak e⯑ven farther than I had yet done, and would not be accountable to him or any one elſe, and begun to be a little warm with him: He made but little Reply to me at that Time, and I thought that Affair had been over. We were at this Time in the Road at Bengale, and being willing to ſee the Place, I went on Shore with the Supra-Cargo in the Ship's Boat, to divert myſelf, and towards E⯑vening was preparing to go on Board, when one of the Men came to me, and told me, he would not have me trouble my ſelf to come down to the Boat, for they had Orders not to carry me on Board any more. Any one may gueſs what a Sur⯑prized was in at ſo inſolent a Meſſage; and I ask'd the Man, who bad him deliver that Errand to me? He told me, the Cockſwain. I ſaid no more to the Fellow, but bad him let them know he had deliver'd his Meſſage, and that I had given him no Anſwer to it.

I immediately went and found out the Supra-Cargo, and told him the Story, adding what I preſently foreſaw, (viz.) That there would cer⯑tainly be a Mutiny in the Ship, and entreated him to go immediately on Board the Ship in an Indian Boat, and acquaint the Captain of it: But I might ha'ſpar'd this Intelligence; for before I had ſpoken to him on Shore, the Matter was effected on Board. The Boatſwain, the Gunner, the Carpenter; and in a Word, all the Inferiour Officers, as ſoon as I was gone off in the Boat, came up to the Quar⯑ter-Deck, and deſir'd to ſpeak with the Captain, and there the Boatſwain making a long Harangue [244] for the Fellow talk'd very well, and repeating all he had ſaid to me, told the Captain in few Words, That as I was now gone peaceaby on Shore, they were loth to uſe any Violence with me; which, if I had not gone on Shore, they would otherwiſe have done, to oblige me to have gone: They there⯑fore thought fit to tell him, That as they ſhipp'd themſelves to ſerve in the Ship under his Com⯑mand, they would perform it well and faithfully: But if I would not quit the Ship, or the Captain oblige me to quit it, they would all leave the Ship, and ſail no farther with him; and at that Word, ALL, he turn'd his Face about towards the Main-maſt, which was it ſeems the Signal a⯑greed on between them; at which, all the Sea⯑men being got together, they cry'd out, One and ALL, One and ALL.

My Nephew, the Captain, was a Man of Spi⯑rit, and of great Preſence of Mind; and tho' he was ſurpriz'd, you may be ſure, at the Thing, yet he told them calmly, that he would conſider of the Thing, but that he could do nothing in it 'till he had ſpoken to me about it. He us'd ſome Ar⯑guments with them, to ſhew them the Unreaſon⯑ableneſs and Injuſtice of the Thing: But it was all in vain, they ſwore and ſhook Hands round before his Face, that they would go all on Shore, unleſs he would engage to them, not to ſuffer me to come any more on Board the Ship.

This was a hard Article upon him, who knew his Obligation to me, and did not know how I might take it; ſo he began to talk cavalierly to them, told them that I was a very conſiderable Owner of the Ship, and that in Juſtice he could not put me out of my own Houſe; that this was next Door to [245] ſerving me, as the famous Pirate Kid had done, who made the Mutiny in a Ship, ſet the Captain on Shore in an uninhabited Iſland, and run away with the Ship; that let them go into what Ship they would, if ever they came to England again, it would coſt them dear; that the Ship was mine, and that he could not put me out of it; and that he would rather loſe the Ship and the Voyage too, than diſoblige me ſo much; ſo they might do as they pleas'd: However, he would go on Shore, and talk with me on Shore, and invited the Boat⯑ſwain to go with me, and perhaps they might ac⯑commodate the Matter with me.

But they all rejected the Propoſal, and ſaid, they would have nothing to do with me any more, nei⯑ther on Board, or on Shore; and if I came on Board, they would all go on Shore. Well, ſaid the Cap⯑tain, if you are all of this Mind, let me go on Shore and talk with him; ſo away he came to me with this Account, a little after the Meſ⯑ſage had been brought to me from the Cock⯑ſwain.

I was very glad to ſee my Nephew, I muſt con⯑feſs; for I was not without Apprehenſions, that they would confine him by Violence, ſet ſail, and run away with the Ship, and then I had been ſtripp'd naked in a remote Country, and nothing to help myſelf: In ſhort, I had been in a worſe Caſe, than when I was all alone in the Iſland.

But they had not come that length, it ſeems, to my great ſatisfaction; and when my Nephew told me what they had ſaid to him, and how they had ſworn, and ſhook Hands, that they would one and all leave the Ship, if I was ſuffer'd to come on [246] Board, I told him, he ſhould not be concern'd at it at all, for I would ſtay on Shore. I only deſir'd he would take Care and ſend me all my neceſſary Things on Shore, and leave me a ſufficient Sum of Money, and I would find my Way to England, as well as I could.

This was a heavy Piece of News to my Ne⯑phew; but there was no Way to help it, but to comply with it: So, in ſhort, he went on Board the Ship again, and ſatisfy'd the Men, that his Uncle had yielded to their Importunity, and had ſent for his Goods from on Board the Ship; ſo that Matter was over in a very few Hours, the Men return'd to their Duty, and I began to conſi⯑der what Courſe I ſhould ſteer.

I was now alone in the remoteſt Part of the World, as I think I may call it; for I was near three thouſand Leagues by Sea farther off from England, than I was at my Iſland; only it is true, I might travel here by Land over the Great Mogul's Country to Surratte, might go from thence to Ba⯑fora by Sea, up the Gulph of Perſia, and from thence might take the Way of the Caravans over the Deſert of Arabia to Aleppo and Scanderoon; from thence by Sea again to Italy, and ſo over Land in⯑to France, and this put together might be, at leaſt, a full Diameter of the Globe; but if it were to be meaſur'd, I ſuppoſe it would appear to be a great deal more.

I had another Way before me, which was to wait for ſome Engliſh Ships, which were coming to Bengale from Achin on the Iſland of Sumatra, and get Paſſage on Board them for England: But as I came hither without any Concern with the [247] Engliſh Eaſt-India Company, ſo it would be diffi⯑cult to go from hence without their Licenſe, unleſs with great Favour of the Captains of the Ships, or of the Companies Factors, and to both, I was an utter Stranger.

Here I had the particular Pleaſure, ſpeaking by Contraries, to ſee the Ship ſet ſail without me, a Treatment I think a Man in my Circumſtances ſcarce ever met with, except from Pirates run⯑ning away with a Ship, and ſetting thoſe that would not agree with their Villany, on Shore: indeed this was next Door to it, both Ways; how⯑ever, my Nephew left me two Servants, or ra⯑ther one Companion, and one Servant, the firſt was Clerk to the Purſer, who he engag'd to go with me, and the other was his own Servant; I took me alſo a good Lodging in the Houſe of an Engliſh Woman, where ſeveral Merchants lodg'd; ſome French two Italians, or rather Jews and one Engliſh Man: Here I was handſomely enough entertain'd; and that I might not be ſaid to run raſhly upon any Thing, I ſtay'd hereabove nine Months, conſidering what Courſe to take, and how to manage my ſelf, I had ſome Engliſh Goods with me of Value, and a conſiderable Sum of Money, my Nephew furniſhing me with a thouſand Pieces of Eight, and a Letter of Cre⯑dit for more, if I had Occaſion, that I might not be ſtraiten'd whatever might happen.

I quickly diſpos'd of my Goods, and to Advan⯑tage too; and, as I originally intended, I bought here ſome very good Diamonds, which, of all other Things, was the moſt proper for me in my preſent Circumſtances, becauſe I might always carry my whole Eſtate about me.

[248] After a long Stay here, and many Propoſals made for my Return to England, but none falling out to my Mind, the Engliſh Merchant who lod⯑ged with me, and with whom I had contracted an intimate Acquaintance, came to me one Mor⯑ning: Country-man, ſays he, I have a Project to communicate to you, which, as it ſuits with my Thoughts, may for ought I know, ſuit with your's alſo, when you ſhall have thoroughly con⯑ſider'd it.

Here we are poſted, ſays he, you by Accident, and I by my own Choice, in a Part of the World very remote from our own Country; but it is in a Country, where, by us who underſtand Trade and Buſineſs, a great deal of Money is to be got: If you will put a thouſand Pound to my thouſand Pound, we will hire a Ship here, the firſt we can get to our Minds; you ſhall be Captain, I'll be Merchant, and we will go a trading Voyage to China; for what ſhould we ſtand ſtill for? The whole World is in Motion, rouling round and round; all the Creatures of God, heavenly Bodies and earthly are buſy and diligent, Why ſhould we be idle? There are no Drones in the World but Men, Why ſhould we be of that Number?

I lik'd his Propoſal very well, and the more, becauſe it ſeem'd to be expreſs'd with ſo much good Will, and in ſo friendly a Manner: I will not ſay, but that I might by my looſe and unhing'd Circumſtances be the fitter to embrace a Propoſal for Trade, or indeed for any Thing elſe; whereas, otherwiſe, Trade was none of my Element: However, I might perhaps ſay with ſome Truth, that if Trade was not my Element, [249] Rambling was, and no Propoſal for ſeeing any Part of the World which I had never ſeen before, could poſſibly come amiſs to me.

It was however, ſome Time before we could get a Ship to our Minds; and when we had got a Veſſel, it was not eaſy to get Engliſh Sailors; that is to ſay, ſo many as were neceſſary to go⯑vern the Voyage, and manage the Sailors which we ſhould pick up there: After ſome Time we got a Mate, a Boatſwain, and a Gunner Engliſh; a Dutch Carpenter, and three Portugueze Fore⯑maſt Men; with theſe we found, we could do well enough, having Indian Sea-men, ſuch as they are, to make up.

There are ſo many Travellers, who have wrote the Hiſtory of their Voyages and Travels this Way, that it would be very little Diverſion to any Body, to give a long Account of the Places we went to, and the People who inhabit there; thoſe Things I leave to others, and refer the Reader to thoſe Journals and Travels of Engliſh Men, of which, many I find are publiſh'd, and more promis'd every Day; 'tis enough to me to tell you, That I made this Voyage to Achin, in the Iſland of Sumatra, and from thence to Siam, where we exchang'd ſome of our Wares for Opi⯑um, and ſome Arrack, the firſt, a Commodity which bears a great Price among the Chineſe, and which at that Time, was very much wanted there; in a Word, we went up to Suskan, made a very great Voyage; was eight Months out, and return'd to Bengale, and I was very well ſatisfy'd with my Adventure: I obſerve that our People in England, often admire how the Officers which the Company ſend into India, and the Merchants which generally ſtay [250] there, get ſuch very great Eſtates as they do, and ſometimes come Home worth 60, to 70 100 thouſand Pound at a Time.

But it is no Wonder, or at leaſt we ſhall ſee ſo much farther into it, when we conſider the innumerable Ports and Places where they have a free Commerce; that it will then be no Won⯑der; and much leſs will it be ſo, when we conſi⯑der, that at all thoſe Places and Ports where the Engliſh Ships come, there is ſo much, and ſuch conſtant Demand for the Growth of all o⯑ther Countries, that there is a certain Vent for the Returns, as well as a Market abroad, for the Goods carried out.

In ſhort, we made a very good Voyage, and I got ſo much Money by the firſt Adventure, and ſuch an Inſight into the Method of getting more, that had I been twenty Year younger, I ſhould have been tempted to have ſtaid here and ſought no farther, for making my Fortune; but what was all this, to a Man on the wrong Side of threeſcore, that was rich enough, and came a⯑broad, more in Obedience to a reſtleſs Deſire of ſeeing the World, than a covetuous Deſire of get⯑ting in it; and indeed I think, 'tis with great Ju⯑ſtice, that I now call it a reſtleſs Deſire for it was ſo; when I was at Home, I was reſtleſs to go abroad; and now I was abroad, I was reſtleſs to be at Home: I ſay, what was this Gain to me? I was rich enough, nor had I any uneaſie Deſires about getting more Money and therefore, the Profit of the Voyage to me, were Things of no great Force, for the prompting me forward to farther Undertakings; and I thought that by this Voyage, I had made no Progreſs at all, be⯑cauſe [251] I was come back as I might call it, to the Place from whence I came as to a Home; where⯑as, my Eye, which like that, which Solomon ſpeaks of, was never ſatisfied with Seeing, was ſtill more de⯑ſirous of Wand'ring and Seeing; I was come into a Part of the World, which I was never in before; and that Part in particular, which I had heard much of; and was reſolv'd to ſee as much of as I could, and then I thought, I might ſay, I had ſeen all the World, that was worth ſee⯑ing.

But my Fellow Traveller and I, had different Notions; I do not name this, to inſiſt upon my own, for I acknowledge his were the moſt juſt and the moſt ſuited to the end of a Merchant's Life; who, when he is abroad upon Adven⯑tures, 'tis his Wiſdom to ſtick to that as the beſt Thing for him, which he is like to get the moſt Money by: My new Friend kept himſelf to the Nature of the Thing, and would have been con⯑tent to have gone like a Carrier's Horſe, always to the ſame Inn, backward and forward, provi⯑vided he could, as he call'd it, find his Account in it; on the other Hand, mine was the Notion of a mad rambling Boy, that never cares to ſee a Thing twice over.

But this was not all; I had a Kind of Impati⯑ence upon me to be nearer Home, and yet, the moſt unſettled Reſolution imaginable which Way to go; in the Interval of theſe Conſultati⯑ons, my Friend, who was always upon the Search for Buſineſs, propos'd another Voyage to me among the Spice Iſlands, and to bring Home a Loading of Cloves from the Manillas, or there abouts; Places where indeed the Dutch do trade, [252] but Iſlands, belonging partly to the Spaniards; tho' we went not ſo far, but to ſome other, where they have not the whole Power as they have at Batavia, Ceylon, &c. we were not long in prepa⯑ring for this Voyage; the chief Difficulty was in bringing me to come into it; however, at laſt no⯑thing elſe offering, and finding that really ſtirring about and trading, the Profit being ſo great, and as I may ſay certain, had more Pleaſure in it, and more Satisfaction to the Mind than ſitting ſtill, which to me eſpecially, was the unhappieſt Part of Life: I reſolv'd on his Voyage too, which we made very ſucceſsfully, touching at Borneo, and ſe⯑veral Iſlands, whoſe Names I do not remember, and came Home in about five Months; we ſold our Spice, which was chiefly Cloves, and ſome Nutmegs, to the Perſian Merchants, who carried them away for the Gulph; and making near five of one, we really got a great deal of Money.

My Friend, when we made up this Account ſmil'd at me; well now, ſaid he, with a Sort of a⯑greeable inſulting my indolent Temper; is not this better than walking about here, like a Man of nothing to do, and ſpending our Time in ſtaring at the Nonſenſe and Ignorance of the Pagans? Why truly, ſays I, my Friend, I think it is; and I begin to be a Convert to the Principles of Mer⯑chandizing; but I muſt tell you, ſaid I, by the Way, you do not know what I am a doing, for if once I conquer, my backwardneſs, and embark heartily; as old as I am, I ſhall harraſs you up and down the World, till I tire you; for I ſhall purſue it ſo eagerly, I ſhall never let you lye ſtill.

But to be ſhort with my Speculations, a little while after this, there came in a Dutch Ship from [253] Batavia; ſhe was a Coaſter, not an European Tra⯑der, and of about two hundred Ton Burthen: The Men, as they pretended having been ſo ſickly, that the Captain had not Men enough to go to Sea with; he lay by at Bengal, and hav⯑ing it ſeems got Money enough, or being willing for other Reaſons, to go for Europe, he gave pub⯑lick Notice, that he would ſell his Ship: This came to my Ears before my new Partner heard of it; and I had a great Mind to buy it, ſo I goes Home to him, and told him of it; he conſidered a while, for he was no raſh Man neither; but muſing ſome Time, he reply'd, ſhe is a little too big; but however, we will have her; according⯑ly we bought the Ship, and agreeing with the Maſter, we paid for her, and took Poſſeſſion; when we had done ſo, we reſolved to entertain the Men if we could, to join them with thoſe we had, for the purſuing our Buſineſs; but on a ſud⯑den, they having receiv'd not their Wages, but their ſhare of the Money, not one of them was to be found; we enquir'd much about them, and at length were told, that they were all gone to⯑gether by Land to Agra, the great City of the Mogul's Reſidence; and from thence were to travel to Suratte, and ſo by Sea, to the Gulph of Perſia.

Nothing had ſo heartily troubled me a good while; as that I miſs'd the Opportunity of going with them; for ſuch a Ramble I thought, and in ſuch Company, as would both have guarded me and diverted me, would have ſuited mighti⯑ly with my great Deſign; and I ſhould both have ſeen the World, and gone homewards too; but I was much better ſatisfied a few Days after, when I came to know what ſort of Fellows they were; [254] for in ſhort, their Hiſtory was, that this Man they call'd Captain was the Gunner only, not the Commander; that they had been a trading Voyage, in which, they were attack'd on Shore, by ſome of the Mallayans, who had kill'd the Captain, and three of his Men; and that after the Captain was kill'd, theſe Men Eleven in Number, had reſolv'd to run away with the Ship, which they did; and brought her in at the Bay of Bengale, leaving the Mate and five Men more on Shore, of whom, we ſhall hear farther.

Well, let them come by the Ship how they would, we came honeſtly by her, as we thought, tho' we did not I confeſs, examine into Things ſo exactly as we ought, for we never enquir'd any Thing of the Seamen; who, if we had examin'd, would certainly have falter'd in their Account, contradicted one another, and perhaps contradi⯑cted themſelves, or one how or other, we ſhould have ſeen Reaſon to have ſuſpected them; but the Man ſhew'd us a Bill of Sale for the Ship, to one Emanuel Cloſterſhoven, or ſome ſuch Name; for I ſuppoſe it was all a Forgery, and call'd himſelf by that Name, and we could not contradict him; and being withal, a little too unwary, or at leaſt, ha⯑ving no Suſpicion of the Thing, we went thro' with our Bargain.

We pick'd up ſome more Engliſh Seamen here after this, and ſome Dutch; and now we reſol⯑ved for a ſecond Voyage, to the South Eaſt for Cloves, &c. that is to ſay, among the Philippine and Mollucco Iſles; and in ſhort, not to fill this Part of my Story with Trifles, when what is yet to come, is ſo remarkable; I ſpent from firſt to laſt ſix Years in this Country, trading from Port to [255] Port, backward and forward, and with very good Succeſs; and was now the laſt Year with my new Partner, going in the Ship above-mention'd, on a Voyage to China; but deſigning firſt to Siam, to buy Rice.

In this Voyage, being by contrary Winds ob⯑lig'd to beat up and down a great while in the Straits of Mallacca, and among the Iſlands; we were no ſooner got clear of thoſe difficult Seas, but we found our Ship had ſprung a Leak, and we were not able by all our Induſtry to find it out where it was: This forc'd us to make for ſome Port, and my Partner who knew the Country better than I did, directed the Cap⯑tain to put into the River of Cambodia, far I had made the Engliſh Mate, one Mr. Thomſon, Captain, not being willing to take the Charge of two Ship upon my ſelf: This River lies on the North Side of the great Bay or Gulph, which goes up to Siam.

While we were here, and going often on Shore for Refreſhment, there comes to me one Day an Engliſh Man, and he was it ſeems a Gunner's Mate, on board an Engliſh Eaſt-India Ship, which rode in the ſame River, up at, or near the Ci⯑ty of Cambodia; what brought him hither we know not; but he comes up to me, and ſpeak⯑ing Engliſh: Sir, ſays he, you are a Stranger to me, and I to you; but I have ſomething to tell you, that very nearly concerns you.

I look'd ſteadily at him a good while, and thought at firſt I had known him, but I did not; if it very nearly concerns me, ſaid I, and not; your ſelf, what moves you to tell it me? I am moved ſays he, by the eminent Danger you are [256] in, and for ought I ſee, you have no Knowledge of it; I know no Danger I am in, ſaid I, but that my Ship is leaky, and I cannot find it out; but I purpoſe to lay her a-Ground to Morrow, to ſee if I can find it; but Sir, ſays he, leaky, or not leaky, find it, or not find it, you will be wiſer than to lay your Ship on Shore to Morrow, when you hear what I have to ſay to you; do you know Sir, ſaid he, the Town of Cambodia, lyes about fifteen Leagues up this River? and there are two large Engliſh Ships about five Leagues on this Side, and three Dutch; well ſaid I, and what is that to me? Why Sir, ſaid he, is it for a Man that is up⯑on ſuch Adventures as you are upon, to come into a Port, and not examine firſt what Ships there are there, and whether he is able to deal with them? I ſuppoſe you don't think you are a Match for them: I was amuſed very much at his Diſcourſe, but not amaz'd at it, for I could not conceive what he meant; and I turn'd ſhort upon him and ſaid, Sir, I wiſh you would ex⯑plain your ſelf; I cannot imagine what Reaſon I have to be afraid of any Company of Ships, or Dutch Ships; I am no Interloper, what can they have to ſay to me?

He look'd like a Man half angry, half pleas'd, and pauſing a while, but ſmiling; well Sir, ſays he, if you think your ſelf ſecure, you muſt take your Chance; I am ſorry your hate ſhould blind you againſt good Advice; but aſſure your ſelf, if you do not put to Sea immediately, you will the very next Tide be attack'd by five Long-Boats full of Men, and perhaps if you are taken, you'll be hang'd for a Pirate, and the Particulars be examin'd afterwards: I thought Sir, added he, I ſhould have met with a better Reception than [257] this, for doing you a Piece of Service of ſuch Im⯑portance: I can never be ungrateful, ſaid I, for any Service, or to any Man that offers me any Kindneſs, but it is paſt my Comprehenſion ſaid I, what they ſhould have ſuch a Deſign upon me for, however, ſince you ſay, there is no Time to be loſt, and that there is ſome villainous Deſign in Hand againſt me; I'll go on board this Minute, and put to Sea immediately, If my Men can ſtop the leak, or if we can ſwim without ſtopping it? But, Sir, ſaid I, ſhall I go away ignorant of the Reaſon of all this? Can you give me no farther Light into it?

I can tell you but Part of the Story, Sir, ſays he, but I have a Dutch Seaman here with me and I believe I could perſuade him to tell you the reſt; but there is ſcarce time for it. But the ſhort of the Story is this, the firſt Part of which, I ſuppoſe, you know well enough, (viz.) that you was with this Ship at Sumatra, that there your Captain was murther'd by the Mal⯑layans, with three of his Men, and that you or ſome of thoſe who were on board with you, ran a⯑way with the Ship, and are ſince turn'd PIRATES; this is the Sum of the Story, and you will be all ſeiz'd as Pirates I can aſſure you, and executed, with very little Ceremony; for you know; Merchants Ships ſhew but little Law to Pirates, if they get them into their Power.

Now you ſpeak plain Engliſh, ſaid I, and I thank you; and tho' I know nothing, that we have done, like what you talk of, but am ſure we came honeſt⯑ly and fairly by the Ship, yet ſeeing ſuch Work is a doing as you ſay, and that you ſeem to mean honeſt⯑ly, I'll be upon my guard; nay, Sir, ſays he, do not [258] talk of being upon your guard; the beſt Defence, is to be out of the Danger, if you have any Regard to your Life, and the Life of all your Men; put out to Sea without fail at High Water, and as you have a whole Tide before you, you will be gone too far out before they can come down, for they came away at High Water; and as they have twenty Miles to come, you get near two Hours of them, by the Difference of the Tide, not reckoning the length of the Way; beſides, as they are only Boats, and not Ships, they will not venture to follow you far out to Sea, eſpe⯑cially if it blows.

Well, ſays I, you have been very kind in this, what ſhall I do for you, to make you amends? Sir, ſays he, you may not be ſo willing to make me any amends, becauſe you may not be convinc'd of the Truth of it: I'll make an offer to you; I have nineteen Months Pay due to me, on board the Ship — — which I came out of England in, and the Dutch Man that is with me, has ſeven Months Pay due to him; if you will make good our Pay to us, we will go along with you; if you find nothing more in it, we will deſire no more; but if we do convince you, that we have ſav'd your Lives, and the Ship, and the Lives of all the Men in her, we will leave the reſt to you.

I conſented to this readily, and went immedi⯑ately on board, and the two Men with me; as ſoon as I came to the Ship Side, my Partner who was on board, came out on the Quarter-Deck, and call'd to me with a great deal of Joy, O ho! O oh! we have ſtopp'd the leak! we have ſtopp'd the leak! Say you ſo, ſaid I, thank God; but weigh the Anchor then immediately; weigh! Says he: [259] What do you mean by that? What is the Matter, ſays he? Ask no Queſtions, ſays I, but all Hands to work, and weigh, without loſing a Minute; he was ſurpriz'd, but however, he call'd the Captain, and he immediately order'd the Anchor to be got up; and tho' the Tide was not quite done, yet a little Land Breeze blowing, we ſtood out to Sea; then I call'd him into the Cabin and told him the Story at large, and we call'd in the Men, and they told us the reſt of it; but as it took us up a great deal of Time, ſo be⯑fore we had done, a Sea-man comes to the Cabin Door, and calls out to us, that the Captain bad him tell us, we were chas'd, chas'd, ſays I, by who, and by what? By five Sloops or Boats, ſays the Fellow, full of Men; very well, ſaid I, then it is apparent there is ſomething in it; in the next Place I order'd all our Men to be call'd up, and told them, that there was a Deſign to ſeize the Ship, and to take us for Pirates, and ask'd them, if they would ſtand by us, and by one another; the Men anſwer'd chearfully, that one and all, they would live and die with us: Then I asked the Captain, what Way he thought beſt for us to manage a Fight with them; for reſiſt them I was reſolved we would, and that, to the laſt Drop; he ſaid readily, That the Way was to keep them off with our great Shot, as long as we could, and then to fire at them with our ſmall Arms as long as we could; but when neither of theſe would do any longer, we ſhould retire to our cloſe Quarters; perhaps they had not Materials to break open our Bulk-Heads, or get in upon us.

The Gunner had in the mean Time, Order to bring two Guns to bear fore and aft out of [260] the Steerage, to clear the Deck, and loaded them with Muſquet-Bullets and ſmall Pieces of old Iron, and what next came to Hand, and thus we made ready for Fight; but all this while we kept out to Sea, with Wind enough; and could ſee the Boats at a Diſtance, being five large Long-Boats, following us with all the ſail they could make.

Two of thoſe Boats, which by our Glaſſes we could ſee were Engliſh, out ſailed the reſt, were near two Leagues a Head of them, and gain'd upon us conſiderably; ſo that we found they would come up with us; upon which, we fired Gun without Ball, to intimate, that they ſhould bring too, and we put out a Flag of Truce; as a Signal for Parley, but they kept crowding after us, till they came within Shot: When we took in our White Flag, they having made no Anſwer to it, hung out a red Flag, and fired at them with a Shot: Notwithſtanding this, they came on, till they were near enough to call to them with a ſpeaking Trumpet, which we had on Board; ſo we call'd to them, and bid them keep off at their Peril.

It was all one, they crowded after us, and en⯑deavoured to come under our Stern, ſo to board us on our Quarter; upon which, ſeeing they were reſolute for Miſchief, and depended upon the ſtrength that followed them, I ordered to bring the Ship too, ſo that they lay upon our Broad-ſide, when immediately we fir'd five Guns at them; one of which, had been levelled ſo true, as to carry away the Stern of the hindermoſt Boat, and bring them to the Neceſſity of taking down their Sail, and running all to the Head of the Boat to keepl er [261] from ſinking; ſo ſhe lay by, and had enough of it; but ſeeing the foremoſt Boat crowd on after us, we made ready to fire at her in par⯑ticular.

While this was doing, one of the three Boats that was behind, being forwarder than the other two, made up to the Boat which we had diſabled, to relieve her, and we could afterwards ſee her take out the Men; we call'd again to the fore⯑moſt Boat, and offer'd a Truce to parley again, and to know what was her Buſineſs with us; but had no Anſwer, only ſhe crowded cloſe under our Stern; upon this our Gunner, who was a ve⯑ry dexterous Fellow, run out his two Chaſe-Guns and fired again at her; but the ſhot miſſing, the Men in the Boat ſhouted, wav'd their Caps, and came on; but the Gunner getting quickly ready again, fir'd among them the ſecond Time; one Shot of which, tho' it miſs'd the Boat it ſelf, yet fell in among the Men, and we could eaſily ſee, had done a great deal of Miſchief among them; but we taking no Notice of that, war'd the Ship again, and brought our Quarter to bear upon them; and firing three Guns more, we found the Boat was ſplit almoſt to Pieces; in particular, her Rudder, and a Piece of her Stern was ſhot quite away, ſo they handed their Sail immediately, and were in great Diſ⯑order; but to compleat their Misfortune, our Gunner let fly two Guns at them again; where he hit them we could not tell, but we found the Boat was ſinking, and ſome of the Men already in the Water; upon this, I immediately man'd out our Pinnace, which we had kept cloſe by our Side, with Orders to pick up ſome of the Men if they could, and ſave them from drown⯑ing, [262] and immediately to come on board with them; becauſe we ſaw the reſt of the Boats began to come up; our Men in the Pinnace followed their Or⯑ders, and took up three Men; one of which was juſt drowning, and it was a good while before we could recover him; as ſoon as they were on Board, we crouded all the Sail we could make, and ſtood farther out to Sea, and we found that when the other three Boats came up to the firſt two, they gave over their Chace.

Being thus deliver'd from a Danger, which tho' I knew not the Reaſon of it, yet ſeem'd to be much greater than I apprehended; I took Care that we would change our Courſe, and not let any one imagine whither we were going; ſo we ſtood out to Sea Eaſtward, quite out of the Courſe of all Europian Ships, whether they were bound to China, or any where elſe, within the Commerce of the Europian Nations.

When we were now at Sea, we began to con⯑ſult with the two Seamen, and enquire firſt what the meaning of all this ſhould be, and the Dutch Man let us into the ſecret of it at once; telling us that the Fellow that ſold us the Ship, as we ſaid, was no more than a Thief, that had run away with her: Then he told us, how the Captain, whoſe Name too he told us, tho' I do not remem⯑ber, was treacherouſly murthered by the Na⯑tives on the Coaſt of Mallaca, with three of his Men, and that he, this Dutch Man, and four more, got into the Woods, where they wandered about a great while; till at length, he in particu⯑lar, in a miraculous manner made his Eſcape, and ſwam off to a Dutch Ship, which ſailing near the Shore, in its Way from China, had ſent their Boat [263] on Shore for freſh Water; that he durſt not come to that Part of the Shore where the Boat was, but ſhift in the Night, to take the Water farther off, and the Ship's Boat took him up.

He then told us, that he went to Battavia, where two of the Sea-men belonging to the Ship arriv'd, having deſerted the reſt in their Travels, and gave an Account that the Fellow who had run a⯑way with the Ship, ſold her at Bengale, to a Set of Pirates, which were gone a Cruiſing in her; and that they had already taken an Engliſh Ship and two Dutch Ships very richly laden.

This later Part we found to concern us direct⯑ly, and tho' we knew it to be falſe; yet as my Part⯑ner ſaid very well, if we had fallen into their Hands, and they had had ſuch a Prepoſſeſſion againſt us beforehand, it had been in vain for us to have defended our ſelves, or to hope for any good Quarter at their Hands, and eſpecially conſidering that our Accuſers had been our Judges, and that we could have expected nothing from them, but what Rage would have dictated, and an ungo⯑verned Paſſion have executed; and therefore it was his Opinion, we ſhould go directly back to Bengale, from whence we came, without putting in at any Port whatever; becauſe there, we could give a good Account of our ſelves, could prove where we were when the Ship put in, who we bought her of, and the like; and which was more than all the reſt, if we were put to the Neceſſity of bringing it before the proper Judges, we ſhould be ſure to have ſome Juſtice, and not be hang'd firſt, and judg'd afterward.

[264] I was ſometime of my Partner's Opinion; but after a little more ſerious thinking, I told him, I thought it was a very great Hazard for us to at⯑tempt returning to Bengale, for that we were on the wrong ſide of the Straits of Malacca; and that if the Alarm was given, we ſhould be ſure to be Way-laid on every ſide, as well by the Dutch of Battavia, as the Engliſh elſe-where; that if we ſhould be taken, as it were, running away, we ſhould even condemn our ſelves, and there would want no more Evidence to deſtroy us; I alſo asked the Engliſh Sailor's Opinion, who ſaid, he was of my Mind, and that we ſhould certainly be taken.

This Danger, a little ſtartled my Partner and all the Ship's Company; and we immediately re⯑ſolved to go away to the Coaſt of Tonquin, and ſo on to the Coaſt of China, and purſuing the firſt Deſign as to Trade, find ſome Way or other to diſpoſe of the Ship, and come back in ſome of the Veſſels of the Country, ſuch as we could get: This was approved of as the beſt Method for our Security; and accordingly we ſteered away N.N.E. keeping above fifty Leagues off from the uſual Courſe to the Eaſtward.

This however put us to ſome Inconveniences; for firſt the Winds, when we came to the Diſtance from the Shore, ſeem'd to be more ſteadily againſt us, blowing almoſt Trade, as we call it, from the Eaſt, and E.N.E. ſo that we were a long while upon our Voyage, and we were but ill provided with Victuals for ſo long a Voyage; and which was ſtill worſe, there was ſome Danger that thoſe Engliſh and Dutch Ships, whoſe Boats purſued us, whereof ſome were bound that Way, might be got in before us, and if not, ſome other Ship, bound to [265] China, might have Information of us from them, and purſue us with the ſame Vigour.

I muſt confeſs, I was now very uneaſy, and thought myſelf, including the late Eſcape from the Long-Boats, to have been in the moſt dange⯑rous Condition that ever I was in thro' all my paſt Life; for whatever ill Circumſtances I had been in, I was never purſu'd for a Thief before; nor had I ever done any Thing that merited the Name of Diſhoneſt or Fraudulent, much leſs Thieviſh. I had chiefly been my own Enemy, or as I may rightly ſay, I had been no Body's Enemy but my own: But now I was embarraſs'd in the worſt Con⯑dition imaginable; for tho' I was perfectly inno⯑cent, I was in no Condition to make that Inno⯑cence appear: And if I had been taken, it had been under a ſuppoſed Guilt of the worſt Kind; at leaſt, a Crime eſteem'd ſo among the People I had to do with.

This made me very anxious to make an Eſcape, tho', which Way to do it, I knew not, or what Port or Place we ſhould go to: My Partner ſeeing me thus dejected, tho' he was the moſt concern'd at firſt, began to encourage me; and diſcribing to me the ſeveral Ports of that Coaſt, told me he would put in on the Coaſt of Chochinchina, or the Bay of Tonquin, intending to go afterwards to Macao, a Town once in the Poſſeſſion of the Por⯑tugueſe, and where ſtill a great many European Fa⯑milies reſided, and particularly the miſſionary Prieſts uſually went thither, in order to their go⯑ing forward to China.

Hither then we reſolv'd to go; and according⯑ly, tho' after a tedious and irregular Courſe, and [266] very much ſtraitned for Proviſions, we came with⯑in Sight of the Coaſt very early in the Morning; and upon Reflection upon the paſt Circumſtances we were in, and the Danger if we had not e⯑ſcaped, we reſolv'd to put into a ſmall River, which however had a Depth enough of Water for us, and to ſee if we could, either over Land, or by the Ship's Pinnace, come to know what Ships were in any Port thereabouts. This happy Step, was indeed our Deliverance; for tho' we did not immediately ſee any Europian Ships in the Bay of Tonquin, yet the next Morning there came into the Bay two Dutch Ships, and a third with⯑out any Colours ſpread out, but which we believ'd to be a Dutch Man paſs'd by at about two Leagues Diſtance, ſteering for the Coaſt of China; and in the Afternoon went by two Engliſh Ships ſteering the ſame Courſe; and thus, we thought, we ſaw our ſelves beſet with Enemies, both one Way or other. The Place we were in was wild and bar⯑barous, the People Thieves, even by Occupation or Profeſſion; and tho' it is true we had not much to ſeek of them, and except getting a few Provi⯑ſions, car'd not how little we had to do with them, yet it was with much Difficulty that we kept our ſelves from being inſulted by them ſeve⯑ral Ways.

We were in a ſmall River of this Country, with⯑in a few Leagues of its utmoſt Limits North⯑ward; and by our Boat we coaſted Noth-Eaſt to the Point of Land, which opens the great Bay of Tonquin; and it was in this beating up along the Shore, that we diſcover'd, as above, that in a Word, we were ſurrounded with Enemies. The People we were among, were the moſt barbarous of all the Inhabitants of the Coaſt; having no Cor⯑reſpondence [267] with any other Nation, and dealing only in Fiſh, and Oil, and ſuch groſs Commodities; and it may be particularly ſeen, that they are, as I ſaid, the moſt barbarous of any of the Inha⯑bitants, (viz.) that among other Cuſtoms they have this as one, (viz.) That if any Veſſel have the Misfortune to be ſhipwreck'd upon their Coaſt, they preſently make their Men all Priſoners or Slaves; and it was not long before we found a ſpice of their Kindneſs this Way, on the Occaſion following.

I have obſerved above, that our Ship ſprung a Leak at Sea, and that we could not find it out; and however, it happen'd, that as I have ſaid it was ſtopp'd unexpectedly in the happy Minute of our being to be ſeiz'd by the Dutch and Engliſh Ships in the Bay of Siam; yet as we did not find the Ship ſo perfectly fit and ſound as we deſir'd, we reſolv'd, while we were in this Place, to lay her on Shore, take out what heavy Things we had on Board, which were not many, and to waſh and clean her Bottom, and, if poſſible, to find out where the Leaks were.

Accordingly, having lighten'd the Ship, and brought all our Guns and other moveable Things to one ſide, we try'd to bring her down, that we might come at her Bottom; but on ſecond Thoughts we did not care to lay her dry on Ground, neither could we find out a proper Place for it.

The Inhabitants, who had never been acquain⯑ted with ſuch a ſight, came wondering down to the Shore, to look at us; and ſeeing the Ship lie down on one ſide in ſuch a manner, and heeling in towards the Shore; and not ſeeing our Men, [268] who were at Work on her Bottom, with Stages and with their Boats on the off-ſide, they preſent⯑ly concluded, that the Ship was caſt away, and lay ſo faſt on the Ground.

On this Suppoſition they came all about us in two or three Hours time, with ten or twelve large Boats, having ſome of them eight, ſome ten Men in a Boat, intending, no doubt, to have come on Board, and plunder'd the Ship; and if they had found us there, to have carry'd us away for Slaves to their King, or whatever they call him; for we knew nothing who was their Go⯑vernour.

When they came up to the Ship, and began to row round her, they diſcover'd us all hard at Work on the Out-ſide of the Ships bottom and ſide, waſhing, and graving, and ſtopping, as eve⯑ry ſeafaring Man knows how.

They ſtood for a while gazing at us, and we, who were a little ſurpriz'd, could not imagine what their Deſign was; but, being willing to be ſure, we took this Opportunity to get ſome of us into the Ship, and others to hand down Arms and Ammunition to thoſe that were at Work, to defend themſelves with, if there ſhould be Occa⯑ſion; and it was no more than Need; for in leſs than a quarter of an Hour's Conſultation, they agreed, it ſeems, that the Ship was really a Wreck, that we were all at Work endeavouring to ſave her, or to ſave our Lives by the Help of our Boats, and when we handed our Arms into the Boats, they concluded, by that Motion, that we were endeavouring to ſave ſome of our Goods; upon this they took it for granted we all belong'd to [269] them; and away they came down upon our Men, as if it had been in a Line of Battle.

Our Men, ſeeing ſo many of them, began to be frighted; for we lay but in an ill Poſture to fight, and cry'd out to us to know what they ſhould do: I immediately call'd to the Men who work'd upon the Stages, to ſlip them down, and get up the ſide into the Ship; and bad thoſe in the Boat to row round and come on Board; and thoſe few of us, who were on Board, work'd with all the ſtrength and hands we had, to bring the Ship to Rights; but however, neither the Men upon the Stages or thoſe in the Boats, could do as they were order'd, before the Cochinchineſſes were upon them; and two of their Boats boarded our Long-Boat, and began to lay hold of the Men as their Priſoners.

The firſt Man they laid hold of was an En⯑gliſh-Seaman, a ſtout ſtrong Fellow, who having a Musket in his Hand, never offer'd to fire it, but laid it down in the Boat, like a Fool, as I thought: But he underſtood his Buſineſs better than I could teach him; for he grappled the Pagan, and dragg'd him by main Force, out of their own Boat into ours; where, taking him by the two Ears, he beat his Head, ſo againſt the Boat's Gunnel, that the Fellow dy'd inſtantly in his Hands; and in the mean time, a Dutch Man, who ſtood next, took up the Musket, and with the But-end of it, ſo laid about him, that he knock'd down five of them, who attempted to enter the Boat; But this was doing little towards reſiſting thirty or fourty Men, who fearleſs, becauſe ignorant of their Dan⯑ger, began to throw themſelves into the Long-Boat, where we had but five Men in all to defend it: [270] But one Accident gave our Men a compleat Victo⯑ry, which deſerv'd our Laughter rather than any Thing elſe, and that was this:

Our Carpenter being preparing to grave the Out-ſide of the Ship, as well as to pay the Seams, where he had caulk'd her to ſtop the Leakes, had got two Kettles juſt let down into the Boat; one fill'd with boiling Pitch, and the other with Ro⯑ſin, Tallow, and Oil, and ſuch Stuff, as the Ship-Wrights uſe for that Work; and the Man that tended the Carpenter, had a great Iron Ladle in his Hand, with which he ſupply'd the Men that were at Work with that hot Stuff; two of the E⯑nemies Men entred the Boat juſt where this Fel⯑low ſtood, being in the Fore-ſheets; he imme⯑diately ſaluted them with a Ladle full of the Stuff, boiling hot, which ſo burnt and ſcalded them, being half naked, that they roar'd out like two Bulls, and, enrag'd with the Fire, leap'd both into the Sea: The Carpenter ſaw it, and cry'd out, Well done, Jack, give them ſome more of it; and ſtepping forward himſelf, takes one of their Mops, and dipping it in the Pitch-Pot, he and his Man threw it among them ſo plentifully that, in ſhort, of all the Men in three Boats, there was not one that was not ſcalded, and burnt with it in a moſt frightful pitiful Manner, and made ſuch a Howling and Crying, that I never heard a worſe Noiſe, and indeed nothing like it; for it is worth obſerving, That tho' Pain natural⯑ly makes all People cry out, yet every Nation has a particular Way of Exclamation, and make Noi⯑ſes as different from one another, as their Speech; I cannot give the Noiſe, theſe Creatures made, a better Name than Howling, nor a Name more proper to the Tone of it; for I never heard any [271] Thing more like the Noiſe of the Wolves, which as I have ſaid, I heard howl in the Foreſt on the Frontiers of Languedoc.

I was never pleas'd with a Victory better in my Life; not only as it was a perfect Surprize to me, and that our Danger was imminent before: But as we got this Victory without any Blood ſhed, except of that Man the Fellow kill'd with his naked Hands, and which I was very much con⯑cern'd at; for I was ſick of killing ſuch poor Sa⯑vage Wretches, even tho' it was in my own De⯑fence, knowing they came on Errands which they thought juſt, and knew no better; and that tho' it may be a juſt Thing, becauſe neceſſary, for there is no neceſſary Wickedneſs in Nature, yet I thought it was a ſad Life, which we muſt be always oblig'd to be killing our Fellow-Creatures to preſerve our own, and indeed I think ſo ſtill; and I would even now ſuffer a great deal, rather than I would take away the Life, even of that Perſon injuring me: And I believe, all conſidering People, who know the Value of Life, would be of my opinion, at leaſt, they would, if they entred ſeriouſly into the Con⯑ſideration of it.

But to return to my Story, all the while this was doing, my Partner and I, who manag'd the reſt of the Men on Board, had with great Dexte⯑rity brought the Ship almoſt to Rights; and ha⯑ving gotten the Guns into their Places again, the Gunner call'd to me to bid our Boat get out of the Way, for he would let fly among them. I call'd back again to him, and bid him not offer to fire, for the Carpenter would do the Work without him, but bad him heat another Pitch-Kettle, which our Cook, who was on Board, took Care of: But [272] the Enemy were ſo terrify'd with what they had met with in their firſt Attack, that they would not come on again; and ſome of them that were fartheſt off, ſeeing the Ship ſwim, as it were up⯑right, begun, as we ſuppoſed, to ſee their Mi⯑ſtake, and give over the Enterprize, finding it was not as they expected: Thus we got clear of this merry Fight; and having gotten ſome Rice, and ſome Roots, and Bread, with about ſixteen good big Hogs on Board, two Days before, we re⯑ſolv'd to ſtay here no longer, but go forward whatever came of it; for we made no Doubt but we ſhould be ſurrounded the next Day with Rogues enough, perhaps more than our Pitch-Kettle would diſpoſe of for us.

We therefore got all our Things on Board the ſame Evening, and the next Morning was ready to ſail; in the mean time, lying at an Anchor at ſome Di⯑ſtance, we were not ſo much concern'd, being now in a ſighting Poſture, as well as in a ſailing Poſture, if any Enemy had preſented: The next Day ha⯑ving finiſh'd our Work within Board, and finding our Ship was perfectly heal'd of all her Leaks, we ſet ſail; we would have gone into the Bay of Tonquin; for we wanted to inform our ſelves of what was to be known concerning the Dutch Ships that had been there; but we durſt not ſtand in there, becauſe we had ſeen ſeveral Ships go in, as we ſuppos'd, but a little before; ſo we kept on N.E. towards the Iſle of Formoſa, as much afraid of being ſeen by a Dutch or Engliſh Merchant Ship, as a Dutch or Engliſh Merchant Ship in the Mediteranean is of an Algerine Man of War.

[273] When we were thus got to Sea, we kept out N.E. as if we would go to the Munillas or the Phillip⯑pine Iſlands; and this we did, that we might not fall into the Way of any of our European Ships; and then we ſteer'd North 'till we came to the Lati⯑tude of 22 Degrees, 30 Min.; by which Means we made the Iſland Formoſa directly, where we came to an Anchor, in order to get Water and freſh Proviſions, which the People there, who are very courteous and civil in their Manners, ſupply'd us with willingly, and dealt very fairly and punctu⯑ally with us in all their Agreements and Bar⯑gains; which is what we did not find among other People; and may be owing to the Re⯑mains of Chriſtianity, which was once planted here by a Dutch Miſſionary of Proteſtants, and is a Teſtimony of what I have often obſerv'd, viz. That the Chriſtian Religion always civili⯑zes the People, and reforms their Manners, where it is receiv'd, whether it works ſaving Effects upon them or no.

From hence we ſail'd ſtill North, keeping the Coaſt of China at an equal Diſtance, till we knew we were beyond all the Ports of China, where our European Ships uſually come; being reſolv'd, if poſſible, not to fall into any of their Hands, eſpecially in this Country, where, as our Cir⯑cumſtances were, we could not fail of being en⯑tirely ruin'd; nay, ſo great was my Fear in par⯑ticular, as to my being taken by them, that I believe firmly, I would much rather have cho⯑ſen to fall into the Hands of the Spaniſh Inquiſition.

Being now come to the Latitude of 30 Degrees, we reſolv'd to put into the firſt trading Port we [274] ſhould come at; and ſtanding in for the Shore, a Boat came off two Leagues to us, with an old Portugueſe Pilot on Board, who knowing us to be an European Ship, came to offer his Service, which indeed we were very glad of, and took him on Board; upon which, without asking us whether we would go, he diſmiſs'd the Boat he came in, and ſent them back.

I thought it was now ſo much in our Choice, to make the old Man carry us whither we would; that I began to talk with him about carrying us to the Gulph of Nanquin, which is the moſt Northern Part of the Coaſt of China: The old Man ſaid he knew the Gulph of Nanquin very well; but ſmiling, ask'd us what we would do there?

I told him, we would ſell our Cargo, and pur⯑chaſe China-Wares, Callicoes, Raw-Silks, Tea, Wrought-Silks, &c. and ſo would return by the ſame Courſe we came: He told us our beſt Port had been to have put in at Macao, where we could not have fail'd of a Market for our Opium, to our Satisfaction, and might for our Money have purchas'd all Sorts of China-Goods, as cheap as we could at Nanquin.

Not being able to put the old Man out of his Talk, of which he was very opiniated or conceit⯑ed, I told him, we were Gentlemen, as well as Merchants, and that we had a Mind to go and ſee the great City of Pecking, and the famous Court of the Monarch of China. Why then, ſays the old Man, you ſhould go to Ningpo, where, by the River which runs into the Sea there, you may go up within five Leagues of the [275] Great Canal. This Canal is a navigable River, which goes thorow the Heart of that vaſt Empire of China, croſſes all the Rivers, paſſes ſome con⯑ſiderable Hills by the Help of Sluices and Gates, and goes up to the City of Pecking, being in Length near 270 Leagues.

Well, ſaid I, Seignior Portugueſe, but that is not our Buſineſs now: The great Queſtion is, If you can carry us up to the City of Nanquin, from whence we can travel to Pecking afterwards? Yes, he ſaid, he could do ſo very well, and that there was a great Dutch Ship gone up that Way juſt before. This gave me a little Shock; and a Dutch Ship was now our Terror, and we had much ra⯑ther have met the Devil, at leaſt, if he had not come in too frightful a Figure; and we depend⯑ed upon it, that a Dutch Ship would be our De⯑ſtruction, for we were in no Condition to fight them; all the Ships they trade with into thoſe Parts being of great Burthen, and of much great⯑er Force than we were.

The old Man found me a little confus'd, and under ſome Concern, when he nam'd a Dutch Ship, and ſaid to me, Sir you need be under no Appre⯑henſions of the Dutch, I ſuppoſe they are not now at War with your Nation: No, ſays I, that's true; but I know not what Liberties Men may take when they are out of the Reach of the Law: Why, ſays he, you are no Pirates, what need you fear? They will not meddle with peaceable Mer⯑chants ſure.

If I had any Blood in my Body that did not fly up into my Face at that Word, it was hin⯑der'd by ſome Stop in the Veſſels, appointed by [276] Nature to prevent it; for it put me into the grea⯑teſt Diſorder and Confuſion imaginable: Nor was it poſſible for me to conceal it ſo, but that the old Man eaſily perceiv'd it.

Sir, ſays he, I find you are in ſome Diſorder in your Thoughts at my Talk, pray be pleas'd to go which Way you think fit, and depend upon it, I'll do you all the Service I can. Why, Seig⯑nior, ſaid I, it is true I am a little unſettled in my Reſolution at this Time whither to go in particu⯑lar; and I am ſomething more ſo, for what you ſaid about Pirates, I hope there are no Pirates in theſe Seas; we are but in an ill Condition to meet with them, for you ſee we have but a ſmall Force, and but very weakly mann'd.

O Sir, ſays he, do not be concern'd, I do not know that there has been any Pirates in theſe Seas theſe fifteen Years, except one which was ſeen, as I hear, in the Bay of Siam, about a Month ſince; but you may be aſſured ſhe is gone to the South⯑ward; nor was ſhe a Ship of any great Force, or fit for the Work; ſhe was not built for a Pri⯑vateer, but was run away with by a reprobate Crew that were on Board, after the Captain and ſome of his Men had been murther'd by the Ma⯑layans, at or near the Iſland of Sumatra.

What! SAID I, ſeeming to know nothing of the Matter, Did they murther the Captain? No, ſaid he, I do not underſtand that they murther'd him; but as they afterwards run away with the Ship, it is generally believ'd they betray'd him into the Hands of the Malayans, who did murther him, and perhaps they procur'd them to do it: Why then, ſaid I, they deſerve Death as much as if they had [277] done it themſelves: Nay, ſays the old Man, they do deſerve it, and they will certainly have it, if they light upon any Engliſh or Dutch Ship; for they have all agreed together, that if they meet that Rogue, they will give him no Quarter.

But, ſaid I to him, you ſay the Pirate is gone out of thoſe Seas, how can they meet with him? Why, that is true, ſays he, they do ſay ſo; but he was, as I tell you, in the Bay of Siam, in the River Cambodia, and was diſcovered there by ſome Dutch Men who belonged to the Ship, and who were left on Shore when they run away with her; and ſome Engliſh and Dutch Traders being in the River, they were within a little of taking him: Nay, ſaid he, if the foremoſt Boats had been well ſeconded by the reſt, they had certainly taken him; but he finding only two Boats within Reach of him, tack'd about, and fir'd at theſe two, and diſabled them before the other came up, and then ſtanding off to Sea, the other were not able to follow him, and ſo he got away: But they have all ſo exact a Deſcription of the Ship, that they will be ſure to know him; and where-ever they find him, they have vow'd to give no Quarter to either the Captain, or the Seamen, but to hang them all up at the Yard-Arm.

What! ſays I, will they execute them right or wrong, hang them firſt, and judge them after⯑wards? O Sir! ſays the old Pilot, there's no Need to make a formal Buſineſs of it with ſuch Rogues as thoſe, let them tye them Back to Back, and ſet them a diving; 'tis no more than they richly deſerve.

[278] I knew I had my old Man faſt aboard, and that he could do me no Harm, ſo that I turn'd ſhort upon him: Well now, Seignior, ſaid I, and this is the very Reaſon, why I would have you carry us up to Nanquin, and not to put back to Macao, or to any other part of the Country, where the Engliſh or Dutch Ships come; for be it known to you, Seignior, thoſe Captains of the Engliſh and Dutch Ships, are a Parcel of raſh, proud, inſolent Fellows, that neither knows what belongs to Juſtice, nor how to behave themſelves, as the Laws of God and Nature direct; but being proud of their Offices, and not underſtanding their Power, they would act the Murtherers to puniſh Robbers; would take upon them to inſult Men falſly accuſed, and determine them guilty without due Enquiry; and perhaps I may live to call ſome of them to an Account for it, where they may be taught how Juſtice is to be executed, and that no Man ought to be treated as a Crimi⯑nal, 'till ſome Evidence may be had of the Crime, and that he is the Man.

With this I told him, that this was the very Ship they attack'd, and gave him a full Account of the Skirmiſh we had with their Boats, and how fooliſhly and coward-like they behav'd. I told him all the Story of our buying the Ship, and how the Dutch Men ſerved us. I told him the Reaſons I had to believe that this Story of killing the Ma⯑ſter by the Malayans was true; as alſo the running away with the Ship; but that it was all a Fiction of their own, to ſuggeſt that the Men were turn'd Pirates; and they ought to have been ſure it was ſo, before they had ventur'd to attack us by Sur⯑prize, and oblige us to reſiſt them; adding that they [279] would have the Blood of thoſe Men, who we kill'd there in our juſt Defence, to anſwer for.

The old Man was amaz'd at this Relation, and told us, we were very much in the Right to go away to the North, and that if he might adviſe us, it ſhould be to ſell the Ship in China, which we might very well do, and buy or build another in the Country; and, ſaid he, though you will not get ſo good a Ship, yet you may get one able enough to cary you and all your Goods back again to Bengale, or any where elſe.

I told him, I would take his Advice, when I came to any Port where I could find a Ship for my Turn, or get any Cuſtomer to buy this: He reply'd, I ſhould meet with Cuſtomers enough for the Ship at Nanquin, and that a Chineſe Jonk would ſerve me very well to go back again; and that he would procure me People, both to buy one and ſell the other.

Well, but Seignior, ſays I, as you ſay they know the Ship ſo well, I may perhaps, if I follow your Meaſures, be inſtrumental to bring ſome honeſt innocent Men into a terrible Broil, and perhaps to be murther'd in cold Blood; for wherever they find the Ship, they will prove the Guilt upon the Men, by proving this was the Ship, and ſo inno⯑cent Men may probably be overpower'd and murther'd: Why, ſays the old Man, I'll find out a Way to prevent that alſo; for as I know all thoſe Commanders you ſpeak of very well, and ſhall ſee them all as they paſs by, I will be ſure to ſet them to Rights in the Thing, and let them know that they had been ſo much in the Wrong; that tho' the People, who were on board at firſt, [280] might run away with the Ship, yet it was not true that they had turned Pirates; and that in par⯑ticular, theſe were not the Men that firſt went off with the Ship, but innocently bought her for their Trade; and I am perſuaded they will ſo far be⯑lieve me, as at leaſt to act more cautiouſly for the Time to come. Well, ſays I, And will you deliver one Meſſage to them from me? Yes, I will, ſays he, if you will give it under your Hand in Writing, that I may be able to prove, that it came from you, and not out of my own Head. I anſwered, That I would readily give it him under my Hand; ſo I took a Pen, and Ink, and Paper, and wrote at large the Story of aſſaulting me with the Long-Boats, &c. the pretended Reaſon of it, and the unjuſt cruel Deſign of it; and concluded to the Commanders, that they had done what they not only ſhould ha' been aſham'd of, but alſo, that if ever they came to England, and I liv'd to ſee them there, they ſhould all pay dearly for it, if the Laws of my Country were not grown out of Uſe before I arrived there.

My old Pilot read this over and over again, and ask'd me ſeveral Times if I would ſtand to it? I anſwer'd, I would ſtand to it as long as I had any Thing left in the World, being ſenſible that I ſhould one Time or other find an Opportunity to put it home to them: But we had no Occaſi⯑on ever to let the Pilot carry this Letter; for he never went back again: While thoſe Things were paſſing between us, by Way of Diſcourſe, we went forward, directly for Nanquin, and in about thirteen Days Sail came to an An⯑chor at the South Weſt Point of the great Gulph of Nanquin, where, by the Way, I came by Ac⯑cident to underſtand, that two Dutch Ships were [281] gone the length before me, and that I ſhould cer⯑tainly fall into their Hands; I conſulted my Partner again in this Exigency, and he was as much at a Loſs as I was, and would very gladly have been ſafe on Shore almoſt any where; however, I was not in ſuch Perplexity neither, but I ask'd the old Pilot, if there was no Creek or Harbour, which I might put into, and pur⯑ſue my Buſineſs with the Chineſe privately, and be in no Danger of the Enemy: he told me, if I would ſail to the Southward about two and forty Leagues, there was a little Port call'd Quinchang, where the Fathers of the Miſſion uſu⯑ally landed from Macao, on their Progreſs to teach the Chriſtian Religion to the Chineſes, and where no European Ships ever put in; and if I thought to put in there, I might conſider what farther Courſe to take when I was on Shore: He con⯑feſs'd, he ſaid, it was not a Place for Merchants, except that at ſome certain Times, they had a kind of a Fair there, when the Merchants from Japan came over thither to buy the Chineſe Merchandizes.

We all agreed to go back to this Place; the Name of the Port, as he call'd it, I may perhaps ſpell wrong; for I do not particularly remem⯑ber it, having loſt this, together with the Names of many other Places, ſet down in a little Pocket-Book, which was ſpoil'd by the Water, on an Accident, which I ſhall relate in its Order; but this I remember, that the Chineſe, or Japoneſe Merchants we correſponded with, call'd it by a differing Name from that which our Portugueſe Pilot gave it, and pronounc'd it as above, Quinchang.

[282] As we were unanimous in our Reſolutions to go to this Place, we weigh'd the next Day, ha⯑ving only gone twice on Shore, where we were to get freſh Water; on both which Occaſions, the People of the Country were very civil to us, and brought us abundance of Things to ſell to us; I mean, of Proviſions, Plants, Roots, Tea, Rice, and ſome Fowls; but nothing without Money.

We came to the other Port, (the Wind being contrary) not 'till five Days, but it was very much to our Satisfaction; and I was joyful, and I may ſay, thankful, when I ſet my Foot ſafe on Shore; reſolving, and my Partner too, that if it was poſſible to diſpoſe of our ſelves and Effects, any other Way, tho' not every Way to our Satisfa⯑ction, we would never ſet one Foot on board that unhappy Veſſel more; and indeed I muſt acknowledge, that of all the Circumſtances of Life, that ever I had any Experience of, nothing makes Mankind ſo compleatly miſerable, as that, of being in conſtant Fear: Well does the Scrip⯑ture ſay, the Fear of Man brings a Snare; it is a Life of Death, and the Mind is ſo entirely ſup⯑preſs'd by it, that it is capable of no Relief; the animal Spirits ſink, and all the Vigour of Na⯑ture, which uſually ſupports Men under other Afflictions, and is preſent to them in the grea⯑teſt Exigencies, fails them here.

Nor did it fail of its uſual Operations upon the Fancy, by heightening every Danger, repre⯑ſenting the Engliſh and Dutch Captains, to be Men uncapable of hearing Reaſon, or of diſtin⯑guiſhing between honeſt Men and Rogues; or between a Story calculated for our own Turn, made out of nothing, on Purpoſe to deceive; [283] and a true genuine Account of our whole Voy⯑age, Progreſs, and Deſign; for we might many Ways have convinc'd any reaſonable Creature, that we were not Pirates; the Goods we had on board, the Courſe we ſteer'd, or frankly ſhew⯑ing our ſelves, and entring into ſuch and ſuch Ports; and even our very Manner, the Force we had, the Number of Men, the few Arms, little Ammunition, ſhort Proviſions; all theſe would have ſerv'd to convince any Men, that we were no Pirates; the Opium, and other Goods we had on board, would make it appear, the Ship had been at Bengale; the Dutch Men, who it was ſaid, had the Names of all the Men that was in the Ship, might eaſily ſee that we were a Mixture of Engliſh, Portugueſe, and Indians, and but two Dutch Men on board: Theſe, and many other particular Circumſtances, might have made it evident to the Underſtanding of any Comman⯑der, whoſe Hands we might fall into, that we were no Pirates.

But Fear, that blind uſeleſs Paſſion, work'd a⯑nother Way, and threw us into the Vapours; it bewildred our Underſtandings, and ſet the Ima⯑gination at Work, to form a thouſand terrible Things, that perhaps might never happen; we firſt ſuppos'd, as indeed every Body had related to us, that the Seamen on board the Engliſh and Dutch Ships, but eſpecially the Dutch, were ſo en⯑raged at the Name of a Pirate, and eſpecially at our beating of their Boats, and eſcaping, that they would not give themſelves leave to enquire, whether we were Pirates or no; but would ex⯑ecute us off Hand, as we call it, without giving us any Room for a Defence; we reflected that there was really ſo much apparent Evidence be⯑fore [284] them, that they would ſcarce enquire after any more; as firſt, That the Ship was certainly the ſame, and that ſome of the Seamen among them knew her, and had been on board her; and ſecondly, That when we had Intelligence at the River of Cambodia, that they were coming down to examine us, we fought their Boat and fled; ſo that we made no doubt but they were fully ſatisfy'd of our being Pirates, as we were ſa⯑tisfy'd of the contrary; and as I often ſaid, I know not but I ſhould have been apt to have taken thoſe Circumſtances for Evidence, if the Tables were turn'd, and my Caſe was theirs, and have made no Scruple of cutting all the Crew to Pie⯑ces, without believing, or perhaps conſidering, what they might have to offer in their Defence.

But let that be how it will, thoſe were our Apprehenſions; and both my Partner and I too, ſcarce ſlept a Night, without dreaming of Hal⯑ters, and Yard-Arms; that is to ſay, Gibbets, of fighting, and being taken; of killing and be⯑ing kill'd; and one Night I was in ſuch a Fury in my Dream, fancying the Dutch Men had boarded us, and I was knocking one of their Seamen down, that I ſtruck my double Fiſt a⯑gainſt the Side of the Cabin I lay in, with ſuch a Force, as wounded my Hand moſt grievouſly, broke my Knuckles, and cut and bruiſed the Fleſh; ſo that it not only wak'd me out of my Sleep, but I was once afraid I ſhould have loſt two of my Fingers.

Another Apprehenſion I had, was of the cruel Uſage we might meet with from them, if we fell into their Hands; then the Story of Am⯑boyna came into my Head, and how the Dutch, [285] might perhaps torture us, as they did our Coun⯑trymen there; and make ſome of our Men, by Extremity of Torture, confeſs thoſe Crimes they never were guilty of; own themſelves, and all of us to be Pirates, and ſo they would put us to Death, with a formal Appearance of Ju⯑ſtice; and that they might be tempted to do this, for the Gain of our Ship and Cargo, which was worth four or five thouſand Pound, put al⯑together.

Theſe Things tormented me and my Partner too, Night and Day; nor did we conſider that the Captains of Ships have no Authority to act thus; and if we had ſurrender'd Priſoners to them, they could not anſwer the deſtroying us, or torturing us, but would be accountable for it, when they came into their own Country: This I ſay, gave me no Satisfaction; for if they will act thus with us, what Advantage would it be to us, that they would be call'd to an Account for it; or if we were firſt to be murthered, what Satisfaction would it be to us to have them puniſh'd when they came Home?

I cannot refrain taking Notice here, what Re⯑flections I now had upon the paſt Variety of my particular Circumſtances; how hard I thought it was, that I who had ſpent forty Years in a Life of continu'd Difficulties, and was at laſt come as it were to the Port or Haven, which all Men drive at, (viz.) to have Reſt and Plenty, ſhould be a Voluntier in new Sorrows, by my own un⯑happy Choice; and that I, who had eſcaped ſo many Dangers in my Youth, ſhould now come to be hang'd in my old Age, and in ſo remote a Place, for a Crime I was not in the leaſt inclin'd [286] to, much leſs really guilty of; and in a Place and Circumſtance, were Innocence was not like to be any Protection at all to me.

After theſe Thoughts, ſomething of Religion would come in; and I ſhould be conſidering, that this ſeem'd to me to be a Diſpoſition of immediate Providence, and I ought to look up⯑on it, and ſubmit to it as ſuch; that although I was innocent as to Men, I was far from being innocent as to my Maker; and I ought to look in and examine, what other Crimes in my Life, were moſt obvious to me; and for which, Pro⯑vidence might juſtly inflict this Puniſhment, as a Retribution; and that I ought to ſubmit to this, juſt as I would to a Ship-wreck, if it had pleaſed God to have brought ſuch a Diſaſter upon me.

In its Turn, Natural Courage would ſome⯑times take its Place; and then I would be talk⯑ing my ſelf up to vigorous Reſolutions, that I would not be taken, to be barbarouſly uſed by a Parcel of mercyleſs Wretches, in cold Blood; that it were much better to have fallen into the Hands of the Savages, who were Man-Eaters, and who, I was ſure, would feaſt upon me, when they had taken me; than by thoſe, who would perhaps glut their Rage upon me, by in⯑human Tortures and Barbarities; that in the Caſe of the Savages, I always reſolv'd to die fighting, to the laſt Gaſp; and why ſhould I not do ſo, ſeeing it was much more dreadful to me at leaſt, to think of falling into theſe Mens Hands, than ever it was to think of being eaten by Men; for the Savages, give them their due, would not eat a Man till he was dead, and kill'd them firſt, as we do a Bullock; but that theſe Men had [287] many Arts beyond the Cruelty of Death: When ever theſe Thoughts prevail'd, I was ſure to put my ſelf in a kind of Fever, with the Agitations of a ſuppoſed Fight; my Blood would boil, and my Eyes ſparkle, as if I was engag'd; and I al⯑ways reſolv'd that I would take no Quarter at their Hands; but even at laſt, if I could reſiſt no longer, I would blow up the Ship and all that was in her, and leave them but little Booty to boaſt of.

By how much the greater Weight, the Anxie⯑ties and Perplexities of theſe Things were to our Thoughts while we were at Sea, by ſo much the greater was our Satisfaction, when we ſaw our ſelves on Shore; and my Partner told me he dream'd, that he had a very heavy Load upon his Back, which he was to carry up a Hill, and found that he was not able to ſtand long under it; but that the Portugueſe Pilot came and took it off his Back, and the Hill diſappear'd, the Ground before him ſhewing all ſmooth and plain, and truly it was ſo, we were all like Men, who had a Load taken off their Backs.

For my Part, I had a Weight taken off from my Heart, that I was not able any longer to bear; and as I ſaid above, we reſolv'd to go no more to Sea in that Ship: When we came on Shore, the old Pilot, who was now our Friend, got us a Lodging and a Ware-Houſe for our Goods, which by the Way, was much the ſame; it was a little Houſe or Hut, with a large Houſe joyning to it, all built with Canes, and palliſadoed round with large Canes, to keep out pilſering Thieves, of which, it ſeems there were not a few in that Country; however, the Magiſtrates allowed us [288] alſo a little Guard, and we had a Sentinel with a kind of Halberd, or Half pike, who ſtood Sentinel at our Door; to whom we allow'd a Pint of Rice, and a little Piece of Money, about the Value of three Pence per Day, ſo that our Goods were kept very ſafe.

The Fair or Mart, uſually kept in this Place, had been over ſome Time; however, we found that there were three or four Jonks in the Ri⯑ver, and two Jappanners, I mean, Ships from Jappan, with Goods which they had bought in China, and were not gone away, having Jappo⯑neſe Merchants on Shore.

The firſt Thing our old Portugueſe Pilot did for us, was to bring us acquainted with three miſſionary Romiſh Prieſts, who were in the Town, and who had been there ſome Time, converting the People to Chriſtianity; but we thought they made but poor Work of it, and made them but ſorry Chriſtians when they had done; however, that was none of our Buſineſs: One of theſe was a French Man, who they call'd Father Simon; he was a jolly well condition'd Man, very free in his Converſation, not ſeeming ſo ſerious and grave, as the other two did; one of whom was a Portugueſe, and the other a Genoeſe; but Father Simon was courteous, eaſy in his Manner, and very agreeable Company; the other two were more reſerv'd, ſeem'd rigid and auſtere, and ap⯑ply'd ſeriouſly to the Work they came about, (viz.) to talk with, and infinuate themſelves a⯑mong the Inhabitants, where-ever they had Op⯑portunity; we often eat and drank with thoſe Men, and tho' I muſt confeſs, the Converſion as they call it, of the Chineſes to Chriſtianity, [289] is ſo far from the true Converſion requir'd, to bring Heathen People to the Faith of Chriſt, that it ſeems to amount to little more, than letting them know the Name of Chriſt, and ſay ſome Prayers to the Virgin Mary, and her Son, in a Tongue which they underſtand not, and to croſs themſelves and the like; yet it muſt be confeſs'd that theſe Religious, who we call Miſſionaries, have a firm Belief that theſe People ſhall be ſav'd, and that they are the Inſtruments of it; and on this Account, they undergo not only the Fatigue of the Voyage, and Hazards of liv⯑ing in ſuch Places, but oftentimes Death it ſelf, with the moſt violent Tortures, for the Sake of of this Work; and it would be a great Want of Charity in us, whatever Opinion we have of the Work it ſelf, and the Manner of their do⯑ing it, if we ſhould not have a good Opinion of their Zeal, who undertook it with ſo many Hazards, and who have no Proſpect of the leaſt Temporal Advantage to themſelves.

But to return to my Story; this French Prieſt, Father Simon, was appointed it ſeems, by Or⯑der of the Chief of the Miſſion, to go up to Peking, the Royal Seat of the Chineſe Emperor, and waited only for another Prieſt, who was order'd to come to him from Macao, to go a⯑long with him; and we ſcarce ever met toge⯑ther, but he was inviting me to go that Jour⯑ney, telling me, how he would ſhew me all the glorious Things of that mighty Empire; and a⯑mong the reſt, the greateſt City in the World; a City, ſaid he, that your London and our Paris put together, cannot be equal to: This was the City of Peking, which I confeſs is very great, and infinitely full of People; but as I look'd on thoſe [290] Things with different Eyes from other Men, ſo I ſhall give my Opinion of them in few Words, when I come in the Courſe of my Travels, to ſpeak more particularly of them.

But firſt, I come to my Fryar or Miſſionary; dining with him one Day, and being very mer⯑ry together, I ſhew'd ſome little Inclination to go with him, and he preſs'd me and my Partner very hard, and with a great many Per⯑ſwaſions to conſent; why Father Simon, ſays my Partner, why ſhould you deſire our Company ſo much: You know we are Hereticks, and you do not love us, nor cannot keep us Com⯑pany with any Pleaſure? O! ſays he, You may perhaps be good Catholicks in Time; my Bu⯑ſineſs here is to convert Heathens, and who knows but I may convert you too. Very well, Father, ſaid I, ſo you will preach to us all the Way; I won't be troubleſome to you, ſays he; our Religion does not diveſt us of good Manners; beſides, ſays he, we are here like Countrymen, and ſo we are compared to the Place we are in; and if you are Hugonots, and I a Catholick, we may be all Chriſtians at laſt; at leaſt, ſaid he, we are all Gentlemen, and we may converſe ſo, without being uneaſy to one another. I lik'd that Part of his Diſcourſe very well, and it be⯑gan to put me in Mind of my Prieſt, that I had left in the Braſils; but this Father Simon did not come up to his Character, by a great deal; for tho' Father Simon had no Appearance of a Cri⯑minal Levity in him neither, yet he had not that Fund of Chriſtian Zeal, ſtrict Piety, and ſincere Affection to Religion, that my other good Eccle⯑ſiaſtick had, of whom I have ſaid ſo much.

[291] But to leave him a little, tho' he never left us, nor ſoliciting us to go with him; but we had ſomething elſe before us at firſt; for we had all this while our Ship, and our Merchan⯑dize to diſpoſe of, and we began to be very doubt⯑ful what we ſhould do, for we were now in a Place of very little Buſineſs; and once I was a⯑bout to venture to ſail for the River of Kilam, and the City of Nanquin: But Providence ſeem'd now more viſibly as I thought, than ever, to concern it ſelf in our Affair; and I was encou⯑raged from this very Time, to think, I ſhould one Way or other get out of this tangled Cir⯑cumſtance, and be brought Home to my own Country again, tho' I had not the leaſt View of the Manner: and when I began ſometimes to think of it, could not imagine by what Me⯑thod it was to be done: Providence, I ſay, be⯑gan here to clear up our Way a little; and the firſt Thing that offered was, that our old Por⯑tugueſe Pilot brought a Japan Merchant to us, who began to enquire what Goods we had; and in the firſt Place, he bought all our Opium, and gave us a very good Price for it, paying us in Gold by Weight, ſome in ſmall Pieces of their own Coin, and ſome in ſmall Wedges, of a⯑bout ten or eleven Ounces each. While we were dealing with him for our Opium, it came into my Head, that he might perhaps deal with us for the Ship too, and I ordered the Inter⯑preter to propoſe it to him; he ſhrunk up his Shoulders at it, when it was firſt propos'd to him; but in a few Days after, he came to me with one of the miſſionary Prieſts for his Interpreter, and told me, he had a Propoſal to make to me, and that was this; he had bought [292] a great Quantity of Goods of us, when he had no Thoughts (or Propoſals made to him) of buy⯑ing the Ship; and that therefore, he had not Money enough to pay for the Ship; but if I would let the ſame Men who were in the Ship navigate her, he would hire the Ship to go to Japan, and would ſend them from thence to the Philippine Iſlands with another Loading, which he would pay the Freight of, before they went from Japan; and that at their Return, he would buy the Ship: I began to liſten to his Pro⯑poſal, and ſo eager did my Head ſtill run up⯑on Rambling, that I could not but begin to en⯑tertain a Notion of going my ſelf with him, and ſo to ſail from the Philippine Iſlands, away to the South Seas; and accordingly I ask'd the Ja⯑paneſe Merchant, if he would not hire us to the Philippine Iſlands, and diſcharge us there; he ſaid, no he could not do that, for then he could not have the return of his Cargo; but he would diſcharge us in Japan, he ſaid, at the Ship's Ret urn. Well, ſtill I was for taking him at that Propoſal, and going my ſelf; but my Partner, wiſer than my ſelf, perſuaded me from it, repreſenting the Dangers as well of the Seas, as of the Japaneſes, who are a falſe, cruel, and treacherous People; and then of the Spaniards, at the Philippines, more falſe, more cruel, and more treacherous than they.

But to bring this long Turn of our Affairs to a Concluſion; the firſt Thing we had to do, was to conſult with the Captain of the Ship, and with his Men, and know if they were wil⯑ling to go to Japan; and while I was doing this, the young Man, who, as I ſaid, my Ne⯑phew had left with me as my Companion for [293] my Travels, came to me, and told me, that he thought that Voyage promiſed very fair, and that there was a great Proſpect of Ad⯑vantage, and he would be very glad if I under⯑took it; but that if I would not, and would give him leave, he would go as a Merchant, or how I pleas'd to order him; that if ever he came to England, and I was there and alive; he would render me a faithful Account of his Succeſs, and it ſhould be as much mine as I pleas'd.

I was really loth to part with him, but con⯑ſidering the Proſpect of Advantage which was really conſiderable, and that he was a young Fellow, as likely to do well in it, as any I knew, I inclin'd to let him go; but firſt I told him, I would conſult my Partner, and give him an Anſwer the next Day; my Partner and I diſcours'd about it, and my Partner made a moſt generous Offer; he told me, you know it has been an unlucky Ship, and we both reſolve not to go to Sea in it again; if your Steward, ſo he call'd my Man, will venture the Voyage, I'll leave my Share of the Veſſel to him, and let him make his beſt of it; and if we live to meet in England, and he meets with Succeſs abroad, he ſhall account for one Half of the Profits of the Ship's Freight to us, the other ſhall be his own.

If my Partner, who was no Way concerned with my young Man, made him ſuch an Offer, I could do no leſs than offer him the ſame; and all the Ship's Company being willing to go with him, we made over Half the Ship to him in Property, and took a Writing from him, obli⯑ging [294] him to account for the other, and away he went to Japan: The Japan Merchant prov'd a very punctual honeſt Man to him, protected him at Japan, and got him a Licenſe to come on Shore, which the Europeans in general have not lately obtained; pay'd him his Freight very punctually, ſent him to the Philippines, loaded with Japan, and China Wares, and a Supra-Cargo of their own, who trafficking with the Spaniards, brought back European Goods again, and a great Quantity of Cloves, and other Spice; and there he was not only pay'd his Freight ve⯑ry well, and at a very good Price, but being not willing to ſell the Ship then, the Merchant furniſh'd him with Goods, on his own Account; that for ſome Money, and ſome Spices of his own, which he brought with him, he went back to the Manillas to the Spaniards, where he ſold his Cargo very well: Here having gotten a good Acquaintance at Manilla, he got his Ship made a free Ship; and the Governor of Manilla hired him, to go to Accapulco, in America, on the Coaſt of Mexico, and gave him a Licenſe to Land there, and travel to Mexico, and to paſs in any Spaniſh Ship to Europe, with all his Men.

He made the Voyage to Accapulco very happily, and there he ſold his Ship; and having there alſo obtained Allowance to travel by Land, to Porto Bello, he found Means ſome how or other, to get to Jamaica, with all his Treaſure; and about eight Years after, came to England ex⯑ceeding Rich; of the which, I ſhall take Notice in its Place; in the mean Time, I return to our particular Affairs.

[295] Being now to part with the Ship, and Ship's Com⯑pany; it came before us of Courſe, to conſider what Recompence we ſhould give to the two Men, that gave us ſuch timely Notice of the Deſign againſt us in the River of Cambodia: The Truth was, they had done us a conſiderable Service, and deſerv'd well at our Hands; tho' by the Way, they were a Couple of Rogues too; for as they believ'd the Story of our being Pirates, and that we had really run away with the Ship, they came down to us, not only to betray the De⯑ſign that was form'd againſt us, but to go to Sea with us as Pirates; and one of them confeſs'd afterwards, that nothing elſe but the Hopes of going a Roguing brought him to do it; how⯑ever, the Service they did us was not the leſs; and therefore, as I had promis'd to be grateful to them, I firſt order'd the Money to be pay'd to them, which they ſaid was due to them on board their reſpective Ships; that is to ſay, the Engliſh Man nineteen Months Pay, and to the Dutch Man ſeven; and over and above that, I gave them, each of them, a ſmall Sum of Mo⯑ney in God, and which contented them very well; then I made the Engliſh Man Gunner in the Ship, the Gunner being now made Second Mate, and Purſer; the Dutch Man I made Boat⯑ſwain; ſo they were both very well pleas'd, and prov'd very ſerviceable, being both able Seamen, and very ſtout Fellows.

We were now on Shore in China; if I thought my ſelf baniſh'd, and remote from my own Country at Bengale, where I had many Ways to get home for my Money; what could I think of my ſelf now? When I was gotten about a [296] thouſand Leagues farther off from Home, and perfectly deſtitute of all manner of Proſpect of Return.

All we had for it was this, that in about four Months Time, there was to be another Fair at the Place where we were; and then we might be able to purchaſe all ſorts of the Manufactures of the Country, and withal, might poſſibly find ſome Chineſe Jonks or Veſſels from Tonquin, that would be to be ſold, and would carry us and our Goods, whither we pleas'd; this I lik'd very well, and reſolv'd to wait; beſides, as our particular Perſons were not obnoxious, ſo if any Engliſh or Dutch Ships came thither, perhaps we might have an Opportunity to load our Goods, and get Paſſage to ſome other Place in India, nearer Home.

Upon theſe Hopes we reſolv'd to continue here; but to divert our ſelves, we took two or three Journeys into the Country; firſt we went ten Days Journey to ſee the City of Nanquin, and a City well worth ſeeing indeed; they ſay it has a Million of People in it; which however, I do not believe; it is regularly built, the Streets all exactly ſtrait, and croſs one another, in direct Lines, which gives the Figure of it great Ad⯑vantage.

But when I come to compare the miſerable People of theſe Countries with ours, their Fa⯑bricks, their manner of Living, their Govern⯑ment, their Religion, their Wealth, and their Glory, (as ſome call it) I muſt confeſs, I do not ſo much as think it is worth naming, or worth my while to write of, or any that ſhall come after me to read.

[297] It is veryobſervable that we wonder at the Grandeur, the Riches, the Pomp, the Ceremo⯑nies, the Government, the Manufactures, the Commerce, and the Conduct of theſe People; not that it is to be wonder'd at, or indeed in the leaſt to be regarded; but becauſe, having firſt a true Notion of the Barbarity of thoſe Countries, the Rudeneſs and the Ignorance that prevails there, we do not expect to find any ſuch things ſo far off.

Otherwiſe, what are their Buildings to the Palaces and Royal Buildings of Europe? What their Trade, to the univerſal Commerce of England, Holland, France and Spain? What are their Cities to ours, for Wealth, Strength, Gaiety of Appa⯑rel, rich Furniture, and an infinite Variety? What are their Ports, ſupply'd with a few Jonks and Barks, to our Navigation, our Merchant Fleets, our large and powerful Navys? Our City of London has more Trade than all their mighty Empire: One Engliſh, or Dutch, or French Man of War of 80 Guns, would fight and deſtroy all the Shipping of China: But the Greatneſs of their Wealth, their Trade, the Power of their Govern⯑ment, and Strength of their Armies, is ſurpriſing to us, becauſe, as I have ſaid, conſidering them as a barbarous Nation of Pagans, little better than Savages, we did not expect ſuch Things among them; and this indeed is the Advantage with which all their Greatneſs and Power is repre⯑ſented to us; otherwiſe it is in it ſelf nothing at all; for as I have ſaid of their Ships, ſo may be ſaid of their Armies and Troops; all the Forces of their Empire, tho' they were to bring two Mil⯑lions of Men into the Field together, would [298] be able to do nothing but ruin the Country, and ſtarve themſelves: If they were to beſiege a ſtrong Town in Flanders, or to fight a diſciplin'd Army, one Line of German Curiaſſiers, or of French Caval⯑ry, would overthrow all the Horſe of China; A Mil⯑lion of their Foot could not ſtand before one em⯑battled Body of our Infantry, poſted ſo as not to be ſurrounded, tho' they were to be not One to Twenty in Number; nay, I do not boaſt, if I ſay that 30000 German or Engliſh Foot, and 10000 French Horſe, would fairly beat all the Forces of China: And ſo of our fortified Towns, and of the Art of our Engineers in aſſaulting and defending Towns; there's not a fortified Town in China, could hold out one Month againſt the Batteries and Attacks of an European Army; and at the ſame time, all the Armies of China could never take ſuch a Town as Dunkirk, provided it was not ſtarv'd; no, not in a ten Years Siege. They have Fire-Arms, 'tis true, but they are awkward, clumſy, and uncertain in going off: They have Powder, but it is of no Strength: They have neither Diſcipline in the Field, Exerciſe to their Arms, Skill to Attack, or Temper to Retreat; and therefore, I muſt confeſs, it ſeem'd ſtrange to me, when I came home, and heard our People ſay ſuch fine Things of the Power, Riches, Glo⯑ry, Magnificence, and Trade of the Chineſe; be⯑cauſe I ſaw, and knew, that they were a contemp⯑tible Herd or Crowd of ignorant ſordid Slaves, ſubjected to a Government qualified only to rule ſuch a People; and in a word, for I am now launch'd quite beſide my Deſign, I ſay, in a word, were not its Diſtance inconceivably great from Muſcovy, and was not the Muſcovite Empire almoſt as rude, impotent, and ill govern'd a Crowd of Slaves as they, the Czar of Muſcovy might with [299] much Eaſe drive them all out of their Country, and conquer them in one Campaign; and had the Czar, who I ſince hear is a growing Prince, and begins to appear formidable in the World, fallen this Way, inſtead of attacking the Warlike Swedes, in which Attempt none of the Powers of Europe would have envy'd or interrupted him; he might by this time have been Emperor of China, inſtead of being beaten by the King of Sweden at Narva, when the latter was not One to Six in Number. As their Strength and their Grandeur, ſo their Na⯑vigation, Commerce, and Husbandry, is imper⯑fect and impotent, compar'd to the ſame Things in Europe; alſo in their Knowledge, their Learn⯑ing, their Skill in the Sciences; they have Globes and Spheres, and a Smatch of the Knowledge of the Mathematicks; but when you come to enquire into their Knowledge, how ſhort-ſight⯑ed are the wiſeſt of their Students! they know nothing of the Motion of the Heavenly Bodies; and ſo groſly abſurdly ignorant, that when the Sun is eclips'd, they think 'tis a great Dragon has aſſaulted, and run away with it, and they fall a clattering with all the Drums and Kettles in the Country, to fright the Monſter away, juſt as we do to hive a Swarm of Bees.

As this is the only Excurſion of this kind which I have made in all the Account I have given of my Travels, ſo I ſhall make no more Deſcriptions of Countrys and People, 'tis none of my Buſineſs, or any part of my Deſign; but giving an Account of my own Adventures, through a Life of inimi⯑table Wandrings, and a long Variety of Changes, which perhaps few that come after me will have heard the like of; I ſhall therefore ſay very little of all the mighty Places, deſart Countrys, and [300] numerous People, I have yet to paſs thro' more than relates to my own Story, and which my Con⯑cern among them will make neceſſary. I was now, as near as I can compute, in the heart of China, about the Latitude of thirty Degrees North of the Line, for we were return'd from Nanquin; I had indeed a mind to ſee the City of Peking, which I had heard ſo much of, and Father Simon importun'd me daily to do it; at length his Time of going away being ſet, and the other Miſſionary, who was to go with him, being arriv'd from Macao, it was neceſſary that we ſhould reſolve, either to go, or not to go; ſo I referr'd him to my Partner, and left it wholly to his Choice, who at length reſolv'd it in the Affirmative, and we prepar'd for our Journey. We ſet out with very good Advan⯑tage, as to finding the Way, for we got leave to travel in the Retinue of one of their Mandarins, a kind of Viceroy, or principal Magiſtrate in the Province where they reſide, and who take great State upon them, travelling with great Atten⯑dance, and with great Homage from the People, who are ſometimes greatly impoveriſh'd by them, becauſe all the Countries they paſs thro' are oblig'd to furniſh Proviſions for them and all their At⯑tendance: That which I particularly obſerved, as to our travelling with his Baggage, was this, that tho' we receiv'd ſufficient Proviſions, both for our ſelves and our Horſes, from the Country, as belonging to the Mandarin, yet were oblig'd to pay for every thing we had, after the Mar⯑ket Price of the Country, and the Mandarin's Steward, or Commiſſary of the Proviſions, col⯑lected it duly from us; ſo that our travelling in the Retinue of the Mandarin, tho' it was a very great Kindneſs to us, was not ſuch a mighty Favour in him, but was indeed a great Advantage [301] to him, conſidering there were above thirty o⯑ther People travell'd in the ſame Manner beſides us, under the Protection of his Retinue, or as we may call it, under his Convoy: This, I ſay, was a great Advantage to him, for the Country furniſh'd all the Proviſions for nothing, and he took all our Money for them.

We were five and twenty Days travelling to Peking, through a Country infinitely populous, but miſerably cultivated; the Husbandry, the Oe⯑conomy, and the Way of living miſerable, tho' they boaſt ſo much of the Induſtry of the People; I ſay, miſerable; and ſo it is, if we who under⯑ſtand how to live were to endure it, or to com⯑pare it with our own, but not ſo to theſe poor Wretches who know no other: The Pride of theſe People is infinitely great, and exceeded by nothing, but their Poverty, which adds to that which I call their Miſery; and I muſt needs think the naked Savages of America live much more happy, becauſe, as they have nothing, ſo they deſire nothing; whereas theſe are proud and inſolent, and in the main are meer Beggars and Drudges; their Oſtentation is inexpreſſible, and is chiefly ſhew'd in their Cloaths and Building, and in the keeping Multitudes of Servants or Slaves, and, which is to the laſt Degree ridiculous, their Contempt of all the World but themſelves.

I muſt confeſs, I travell'd more pleaſantly after⯑wards in the Deſarts and vaſt Wilderneſſes of Grand Tartary, than here; and yet the Roads here are well pav'd, and well kept, and very con⯑venient for Travellers; but nothing was more aukward to me, than to ſee ſuch a haughty, im⯑perious, inſolent People, in the midſt of the groſ⯑ſeſt [302] Simplicity and Ignorance, for all their fam'd Ingenuity is no more: And my Friend Father Simon and I us'd to be very merry upon theſe Occaſions, to ſee the beggarly Pride of thoſe People; for Example: Coming by the Houſe of a Country Gentleman, as Father Simon call'd him, about ten Leagues off of the City of Nanquin, we had firſt of all the Honour to ride with the Maſter of the Houſe about two Miles: The State he rode in, was a perfect Don Quixotiſm, being a Mixture of Pomp and Poverty.

The Habit of this greaſy Don was very pro⯑per for a Scaramouch or Merry-Andrew, being a dirty Callicoe, with all the Tawdry and Trap⯑ping of a Fool's-Coat, ſuch as Hanging-Sleeves, Toſſels, and Cuts and Slaſhes almoſt on every Side; it cover'd a Taffaty Veſt, as greaſy as a Butcher, and which teſtify'd that his Honour muſt needs be a moſt exquiſite Sloven.

His Horſe was a poor, lean, ſtarv'd, hobbling Creature, ſuch as in England might ſell for about 30 or 40 Shillings, and he had two Slaves fol⯑low'd him on Foot, to drive the poor Creature along; he had a Whip in his Hand, and he be⯑labour'd the Beaſt as faſt about the Head, as his Slaves did about the Tail, and thus he rode by us with about ten or twelve Servants, and we were told he was going from the City to his Country Seat, about half a League before us: We travell'd on gently, but this Figure of a Gentleman rode away before us, and as we ſtop'd at a Village about an Hour to refreſh us, when we came by the Country Seat of this great Man, we ſaw him in a little Place, before his Door, eating his Repaſt; it was a kind of a Garden, [303] but he was eaſy to be ſeen, and we were given to underſtand that the more we look'd on him, the better he would be pleas'd.

He ſat under a Tree, ſomething like the Pal⯑metto Tree, which effectually ſhaded him over the Head, and on the South Side, but under the Tree alſo, was plac'd a large Umbrello, which made that Part look well enough; he ſat lolling back in a great Elbow-Chair, being a heavy cor⯑pulent Man, and his Meat being brought him by two Women Slaves; he had two more, whoſe Office, I think, few Gentlemen in Europe would accept of their Service in, (viz.) One fed the Squire with a Spoon, and the other held the Diſh with one Hand, and ſcrap'd off what he let fall upon his Worſhip's Beard and Taf⯑faty Veſt, while the great fat Brute thought it below him to employ his own Hands in any of thoſe familiar Offices, which Kings and Mo⯑narchs would rather do, than be troubled with the clumſy Fingers of their Servants.

I took this Time to think what Pain Mens Pride puts them to; and how troubleſome a haugh⯑ty Temper, thus ill-manag'd, muſt be to a Man of common Senſe; and leaving the poor Wretch to pleaſe himſelf with our looking at him, as if we admir'd his Pomp, whereas we really pity'd and contemn'd him, we perſu'd our Journey; only Father Simon had the Curioſity to ſtay to inform himſelf what Dainties the Country Juſtice had to feed on, in all his State, which he ſaid he had the Honour to taſte of, and which was, I think, a Doſe that an Engliſh Hound would ſcarce have eaten, if it had been offer'd him, (viz.) a Meſs of boil'd Rice, with a great Piece of Garlick in it, [304] and a little Bag fill'd with Green Pepper, and another Plant which they have there, ſomething like our Ginger, but ſmelling like Musk, and taſting like Muſtard; all this was put together, and a ſmall Lump or Piece of lean Mutton boil'd in it; and this was his Worſhip's Repaſt, four or five Servants more attending at a Diſtance. If he fed them meaner than he was fed himſelf, the Spice excepted, they muſt fare very coarſely indeed.

As for our Mandarin, with whom we travell'd, he was reſpected like a King; ſurrounded always with his Gentlemen, and attended in all his Ap⯑pearances with ſuch Pomp, that I ſaw little of him but at a Diſtance; but this I obſerv'd, that there was not a Horſe in his Retinue, but that our Carriers Pack-Horſes in England ſeem to me to look much better, but they were ſo cover'd with Equipage, Mantles, Trappings and ſuch like Trumpery, that you cannot ſee whether they are fat or lean; in a Word, we could ſee ſcarce any thing but their Feet and their Heads.

I was now light-hearted, and all my Trouble and Perplexity that I have given an Account of being over, I had no anxious Thoughts about me, which made this Journey the pleaſanter to me, nor had I any ill Accident attended me, only in the paſſing or fording a ſmall River, my Horſe fell, and made me free of the Country, as they call it, that is to ſay, threw me in; the Place was not deep, but it wetted me all over; I men⯑tion it becauſe it ſpoil'd my Pocket-Book, where⯑in I had ſet down the Names of ſeveral People and Places which I had Occaſion to remember, and which, not taking due Care of, the Leaves rotted, and the Words were never after to be read, to my [305] great Loſs, as to the Names of ſome Places I touch'd at in this Voyage.

At length we arriv'd at Peking; I had no Body with me but the Youth, who my Nephew, the Captain, had given me to attend me as a Servant, and who proved very truſty and diligent; and my Partner had no body with him but one Ser⯑vant, who was a Kinſman: as for the Portugueſe Pi⯑lot, he being deſirous to ſee the Court, we gave him his Paſſage, that is to ſay, bore his Charges for his Company; and to uſe him as an Interpreter, for he underſtood the Language of the Country, and ſpoke good French, and a little Engliſh; and indeed, this old Man was a moſt uſeful Impliment to us every where; for we had not been above a Week at Peking, when he came laughing, Ah, Seignior Ingliſe, ſays he, I have ſomething to tell you will make your Heart glad. My Heart glad, ſays I, What can that be? I don't know any thing in this Coun⯑try can either give me Joy or Grief to any great degree. Yes, yes, ſaid the old Man in broken Engliſh, make you glad, me ſorrow; ſorry he would have ſaid. This made me more inquiſitive. Why, ſaid I, will it make you ſorry? Becauſe, ſaid he, you have brought me here 25 days Journey, and will leave me to go back alone, and which way ſhall I get to my Port after⯑wards without a Ship, without a Horſe, without Pec⯑cune? So he called Money, being his broken La⯑tin, of which he had abundance to make us mer⯑ry with.

In ſhort, he told us there was a great Caravan of Muſcovite and Poliſh Merchants in the City, and they were preparing to ſet out on their Jour⯑ney by Land to Muſcovy within four or five Weeks, and he was ſure we would take the Opportunity [306] to go with them, and leave him behind to go back all alone. I confeſs, I was ſurpris'd with his News, a ſecret Joy ſpread it ſelf over my whole Soul, which I cannot deſcribe, and never felt before or ſince, and I had no power for a good while to ſpeak a Word to the old Man; but at laſt I turn'd to him; How do you know this, ſaid I, are you ſure it is true? Yes, ſays he, I met this Morning in the Street an old Acquain⯑tance of mine, an Armenian, or one you call a Grecian, who is among them; he came laſt from Aſtracan, and was deſigning to go to Tonquin, where I formerly knew him, but has alter'd his mind, and is now reſolv'd to go with the Caravan to Muſcow, and ſo down the River Wolga to Aſtra⯑can. Well, Segnior, ſays I, do not be uneaſy a⯑bout being left to go back alone, if this be a Me⯑thod for my return to England, it ſhall be your Fault if you go back to Macao at all. We then went to conſulting together what was to be done, and I ask'd my Partner what he thought of the Pilot's News, and whether it would ſuit with his Affairs? He told me he would do juſt as I would, for he had ſettled all his Affairs ſo well at Bengale, and left his Effects in ſuch good Hands, that as we had made a good Voyage here, if he could veſt it in China Silks, wrought and raw, ſuch as might be worth the Carriage, he would be content to go England, and then make his Voyage back to Bengale, by the Company's Ships.

Having reſolv'd upon this, we agreed, that if our Portugal Pilot would go with us, we would bear his Charges to Muſcow, or to England if he pleas'd; nor indeed were we to be eſteem'd over generous in that Part neither, if we had not re⯑warded [307] him farther, for the Service he had done us was really worth all that, and more; for he had not only been a Pilot to us at Sea, but he had been like a Broker for us on Shore; and his pro⯑curing for us the Japan Merchant, was ſome hundreds of Pounds in our Pocket: So we con⯑ſulted together about it, and being willing to gratify him, which was indeed but doing him Juſtice, and very willing alſo to have him with us beſides, for he was a moſt neceſſary Man on all Occaſions, we agreed to give him a Quantity of coin'd Gold, which, as I compute it, came to a⯑bout 175 Pounds Sterling between us, and to bear all his Charges, both for himſelf and Horſe, ex⯑cept only a Horſe to carry his Goods.

Having ſettled this among our ſelves, we call'd him to let him know what we had reſolv'd; I told him, he had complain'd of our being to let him go back alone, and I was now to tell him we was reſolv'd he ſhould not go back at all: that as we had reſolv'd to go to Europe with the Caravan, we reſolv'd alſo he ſhould go with us, and that we call'd him, to know his mind. He ſhook his Head, and ſaid, it was a long Journey, and he had no Pecune to carry him thither, or to ſubſiſt himſelf when he came there. We told him, we believ'd it was ſo, and therefore we had reſolv'd to do ſomething for him, that ſhould let him ſee how ſenſible we were of the Service he had done us, and alſo how agreeable he was to us; and then I told him what we had reſolv'd to give him here, which he might lay out as we would do our own; and that as for his Charges, if he would go with us, we would ſet him ſafe a-ſhore, (Life and Caſualties excepted) either in [308] Muſcovy or England, which he would, at our own Charge, except only the Carriage of his Goods.

He receiv'd the Propoſal like a Man tranſported, and told us he would go with us over the whole World; and ſo, in ſhort, we all prepar'd our ſelves for the Journey: However, as it was with us, ſo it was with the other Merchants, they had many things to do, and inſtead of being ready in five Weeks, it was four Months and ſome odd Days, before all Things were got together.

It was the Beginning of February, our Stile, when we ſet out from Peking; my Partner and the old Pilot had gone expreſs back to the Port where we had firſt put in, to diſpoſe of ſome Goods which we had left there; and I with a Chineſe Merchant, who I had ſome Knowledge of at Nanquin, and who came to Peking on his own Affairs, went to Nanquin, where I bought ninety Pieces of fine Damasks, with about two hundred Pieces of other very fine Silks, of ſeveral Sorts, ſome mix'd with Gold, and had all theſe brought to Peking againſt my Partner's Return; beſides this, we bought a very large Quantity of Raw Silk, and ſome other Goods, our Cargo a⯑mounting in theſe Goods only to about three thou⯑ſand five hundred Pounds Sterling, which, together with Tea and ſome fine Callicoes, and three Camels Loads of Nutmegs and Cloves, loaded in all eighteen Camels for our Share, beſides thoſe we rodeupon; which with two or three ſpare Horſes, and two Horſes loaded with Proviſions, made us in ſhort 26 Camels and Horſes in our Retinue.

The Company was very great, and, as near as I can remember, made between three and [309] four hundred Horſe, and upwards of a hundred and twenty Men, very well armed and provided for all Events: for as the Eaſtern Caravans are ſubject to be attacked by the Arabs, ſo are theſe by the Tartars; but they are not altogether ſo dangerous as the Arabs, nor ſo barbarous when they prevail.

The Company conſiſted of People of ſeveral Nations, ſuch as Muſcovites chiefly, for there were above Sixty of them who were Merchants or In⯑habitants of Moſcow, tho' of them, ſome were Livonians, and to our particular Satisfaction, Five of them were Scots, who appeared alſo to be Men of great Experience in Buſineſs, and Men of very good Subſtance.

When we had travelled one Days Journey, the Guides, who were Five in Number, called all the Gentlemen and Merchants, that is to ſay, all the Paſſengers, except the Servants, to a great Council, as they called it: At this great Coun⯑cil every one depoſited a certain Quantity of Money to a common Stock, for the neceſſary Ex⯑pence of buying Forage on the Way, where it was not otherwiſe to be had, and for ſatisfying the Guides, getting Horſes, and the like: And here they conſtituted the Journey, as they call it, (viz.) They named Captains and Officers, to draw us all up, and give the Command in caſe of an Attack, and gave every one their turn of Com⯑mand: nor was this forming us into Order any more than what we found needful upon the Way, as ſhall be obſerved in its Place.

The Road all on this Side of the Country is very populous, and is full of Potters and Earth⯑makers, [310] that is to ſay, People that tamper'd the Earth for the China Ware; and as I was coming along, our Portugal Pilot, who had always ſome⯑thing or other to ſay to make us merry, came ſneering to me, and told me he would ſhow me the greateſt Rarity in all the Country, and that I ſhould have this to ſay of China, after all the ill-humour'd things I had ſaid of it, that I had ſeen one thing which was not to be ſeen in all the World beſide. I was very importunate to know what it was: At laſt he told me it was a Gentleman's Houſe built all with China Ware. Well, ſays I, are not the Materials of their Build⯑ing the Product of their own Country; and ſo it is all China Ware, is not it? No no, ſays he, I mean, it is a Houſe all made of China Ware, ſuch as you call it in England; or as it is call'd in our Country, Porcellain. Well, ſays I, ſuch a thing may be; how big is it? Can we carry it in a Box upon a Camel? If we can, we will buy it. Upon a Camel! ſays the old Pilot, holding up both his Hands, why there is a Family of Thirty People lives in it.

I was then curious indeed to ſee it, and when I came to it, it was nothing but this; it was a Timber-Houſe, or a Houſe built, as we call it in England, with Lath and Plaiſter, but all the Plaiſtering was really China Ware, that is to ſay, it was plaiſter'd with the Earth that makes China Ware.

The Outſide, which the Sun ſhone hot upon, was glazed, and look'd very well, perfect white, and painted with blue Figures, as the large China Ware in England is painted, and hard, as if it had been burnt: As to the Inſide, all the Walls, in⯑ſtead [311] of Wainſcot, were lined up with harden'd and painted Tiles, like the little ſquare Tiles we call Galley-Tiles in England, all made of the fineſt China, and the Figures exceeding fine indeed, with extraordinary Variety of Colours mix'd with Gold, many Tiles making but one Figure, but join'd ſo artificially, the Mortar being made of the ſame Earth, that it was very hard to ſee where the Tiles met: The Floors of the Rooms were of the ſame Compoſition, and as hard as the earthen Floors we have in uſe in ſeveral Parts of England, eſpecially Lincolnſhire, Nottinghamſhire, Leiceſterſhire, &c. as hard as Stone, and ſmooth, but not burnt and painted, except ſome ſmaller Rooms, like Cloſets, which were all as it were paved with the ſame Tile; the Cielings, and in a word, all the plaiſtering Work in the whole Houſe were of the ſame Earth; and after all, the Roof was cover'd with Tiles of the ſame, but of a deep ſhining black.

This was a China-Warehouſe indeed, truly and literally to be call'd ſo; and had I not been upon the Journey, I could have ſtaid ſome Days to ſee and examine the Particulars of it: they told me there were Fountains and Fiſh-ponds in the Gar⯑den, all paved at the Bottom and Sides with the ſame, and fine Statues ſet up in Rows on the Walks, entirely form'd of the Porcellain Earth, and burnt whole.

As this is one of the Singularities of China, ſo they may be allow'd to excel in it; but I am very ſure they excel in their Accounts of it; for they told me ſuch incredible things of their Performance in Crockery Ware, for ſuch it is, that I care not to relate, as knowing it could not be true; they told [312] me in particular of one Workman that made a Ship with all its Tackle, and Maſts, and Sails, in Earthen Ware, big enough to carry fifty Men: If he had told me he launched it, and made a Voyage to Japan in it, I might have ſaid ſome⯑thing to it indeed; but as it was, I knew the whole of the Story, which was in ſhort, asking Pardon for the Word, that the Fellow lyed; ſo I ſmiled, and ſaid nothing to it.

This odd Sight kept me two Hours behind the Caravan, for which, the Leader of it for the Day, fined me about the Value of three Shillings, and told me, if it had been three Days Journey without the Wall, as it was three Days within, he muſt have fined me four times as much, and made me ask Pardon the next Council Day; ſo I promiſed to be more orderly; for indeed I found afterward the Orders made for keeping all to⯑gether, were abſolutely neceſſary for our com⯑mon Safety.

In two Days more, we paſs'd the great China Wall, made for a Fortification againſt the Tar⯑tars; and a very great Work it is, going over Hills and Mountains in a needleſs Track, where the Rocks are impaſſible, and the Precipices ſuch as no Enemy could poſſibly enter, or indeed climb up, or where if they did, no Wall could hinder them: They tell us, its Length is near a thouſand Engliſh Miles, but that the Country is five hundred in a ſtrait meaſured Line, which the Wall bounds, without meaſuring the Windings and Turnings it takes; 'tis about four Fathom high, and as many thick in ſome Places.

[313] I ſtood ſtill an Hour or thereabout, without treſpaſſing our Orders, for ſo long the Caravan was in paſſing the Gate; I ſay, I ſtood ſtill an Hour to look at it on every Side, near, and far off, I mean, that was within my View; and the Guide of our Caravan, who had been extolling it for the Wonder of the World, was mighty eager to hear my Opinion of it; I told him it was a moſt ex⯑cellent thing to keep off the Tartars; which he happen'd not to underſtand as I meant it, and ſo took it for a Compliment; but the old Pilot laugh'd: O Seignior Ingleſe, ſays he, you ſpeak in Colours: In Colours, ſaid I, what do you mean by that? Why, you ſpeak what looks white this way, and black that way; gay one way, and dull another way; you tell him it is a good Wall to keep out Tartars; you tell me by that, it is good for nothing but to keep out Tartars, or it will keep out none but Tartars; I underſtand you, Seig⯑nior Ingleſe, I underſtand you, ſays he, but Seig⯑nior Chineſe underſtood you his own way.

Well, ſays I, Seignior, do you think it would ſtand out an Army of our Country People, with a good Train of Artillery; or our Engineers, with two Companies of Miners; would not they bat⯑ter it down in ten Days, that an Army might enter in Battalia, or blow it up in the Air, Foun⯑dation and all, that there ſhould be no Sign of it left? Ay, ay, ſays he, I know that. The Chineſe wanted mightily to know what I ſaid, and I gave him leave to tell him a few Days after, for we was then almoſt out of their Country, and he was to leave us in a little time afterward; but when he knew what I had ſaid, he was dumb all the reſt of the way, and we heard no more of his fine [314] Story of the Chineſe Power and Greatneſs, while he ſtay'd.

After we had paſs'd this mighty Nothing call'd a Wall, ſomething like the Picts Wall, and ſo fa⯑mous in Northumberland, and built by the Romans, we began to find the Country thinly inhabited, and the People rather confined to live in fortified Towns and Cities, as being ſubject to the Inroads and Depredations of the Tartars, who rob in great Armies, and therefore are not to be reſiſted by the naked Inhabitants of an open Country.

And here I began to find the Neceſſity of keep⯑ing together in a Caravan as we travelled; for we ſaw ſeveral Troops of Tartars roving about; but when I came to ſee them diſtinctly, I won⯑der'd more that the Chineſe Empire could be con⯑quer'd by ſuch contemptible Fellows; for they are a meer Hoord or Crowd of wild Fellows, keeping no Order, and underſtanding no Diſci⯑pline, or manner of Fight.

Their Horſes are poor lean ſtarved Creatures, taught nothing, and fit for nothing; and this we ſaid, the firſt Day we ſaw them, which was af⯑ter we entered the wilder Part of the Country; our Leader for the Day, gave Leave for about ſixteen of us to go a hunting, as they call it; and what was this, but hunting of Sheep; however, it may be call'd hunting too; for the Creatures are the wildeſt and ſwifteſt of Foot that ever I ſaw of their Kind; only they will not run a great way, and you are ſure of Sport when you begin the Chace; for they appear generally thirty or forty in a Flock, and like true Sheep, always keep together when they fly.

[315] In purſuit of this odd ſort of Game, it was our hap to meet with about forty Tartars; whe⯑ther they were hunting Mutton as we were, or whether they look'd for another kind of Prey, I know not; but as ſoon as they ſaw us, one of them blew a kind of a Horn very loud, but with a barbarous Sound, that I had never heard before, and by the way, never care to hear again: we all ſuppos'd this was to call their Friends about them, and ſo it was; for in leſs than Half a Quarter of an Hour, a Troop of forty or fifty more appear'd, at about a Mile diſtance, but our Work was over firſt, as it happen'd.

One of the Scots Merchants of Muſcow, hap⯑pen'd to be amongſt us, and as ſoon as he heard the Horn, he told us in ſhort, that we had no⯑thing to do, but to charge them immediately without loſs of Time; and drawing us up in a Line, he ask'd if we were reſolv'd? we told him we were ready to follow him; ſo he rode di⯑rectly up to them: they ſtood gazing at us like a meer Crowd, drawn up in no Order, nor ſhew⯑ing the Face of any Order at all; but as ſoon as they ſaw us advance, they let fly their Arrows, which however miſs'd us very happily; it ſeems they miſtook not their Aim, but their Diſtance; for their Arrows all fell a little ſhort of us, but with ſo true an Aim, that had we been about twenty Yards nearer, we muſt have had ſeveral Men wounded, if not kill'd.

Immediately we halted, and tho' it was at a great Diſtance, we fir'd, and ſent them Leaden Bullets, for Wooden Arrows, following our Shot full Gallop, to fall in among them Sword in [316] Hand, for ſo our bold Scot that led us directed: He was indeed but a Merchant, but he behav'd with that Vigour and Bravery on this occaſion, and yet, with ſuch a cool Courage too, that I never ſaw any Man in Action fitter for Com⯑mand. As ſoon as we came up to them, we fir'd our Piſtols in their Faces, and then drew, but they fled in the greateſt Confuſion imagina⯑ble; the only Stand any of them made, was on our Right, where three of them ſtood, and by ſigns call'd the reſt to come back to them, having a kind of Scymiter in their Hands, and their Bows hanging at their Backs. Our brave Commander, without asking any body to fol⯑low him, gallops up cloſe to them, and with his Fuzee knocks one of them off his Horſe, kill'd the ſecond with his Piſtol, and the third ran away, and thus ended our Fight; but we had this Misfortune attending it, (viz.) that all our Mutton that we had in chace, got away: We had not a Man kill'd or hurt; but as for the Tartars, there was about five of them kill'd; who were wounded, we knew not; but this we knew, that the other Party was ſo frighted with the Noiſe of our Guns, that they made off, and never made any attempt upon us.

We were all this while in the Chineſe Domi⯑nion, and therefore the Tartars were not ſo bold as afterwards; but in about five Days we en⯑ter'd a vaſt great wild Deſart, which held us three Days and Nights March; and we were oblig'd to carry our Water with us in great Leather Bottles, and to encamp all Night, juſt as I have heard they do in the Deſart of A⯑rabia.

[317] I ask'd whoſe Dominion this was in, and they told me, this was a kind of Border, that might be called no Man's Land; being a Part of the Great Karakathie, or Grand Tartary, but that however it was all reckon'd to China; but that there was no Care taken here, to preſerve it from the Inroads of Thieves, and therefore it was reckon'd the worſt Deſart in the whole World; tho' we were to go over ſome much larger.

In paſſing this Wilderneſs, which I confeſs was at the firſt very frightful to me, we ſaw two or three times little Parties of the Tartars, but they ſeem'd to be upon their own Affairs, and to have no Deſign upon us; and ſo like the Man who met the Devil, if they had nothing to ſay to us, we had nothing to ſay to them; we let them go.

Once however, a Party of them came ſo near, as to ſtand and gaze at us; whether it was to conſider what they ſhould do, whether attack us, or not attack us, that we knew not; but when we were paſs'd at ſome diſtance by them, we made a Rear-Guard of forty men, and ſtood ready for them, letting the Caravan paſs half a Mile, or thereabouts, before us; but after a while they march'd off, only we found they ſaluted us with five Arrows at their parting; one of which wounded a Horſe, ſo that it diſabled him; and we left him the next Day, poor Creature, in great need of a good Farrier; we ſuppoſe they might ſhoot more Arrows, which might fall ſhort of us, but we ſaw no more Arrows or Tartars, that time.

[318] We travell'd near a Month after this, the Ways being not ſo good as at firſt, tho' ſtill in the Do⯑minions of the Emperor of China, but lay for the moſt part in Villages, ſome of which were for⯑tified, becauſe of the Incurſions of the Tartars. When we came to one of theſe Towns, (it was about two Days and a Half Journey before we were to come to the City Naum) I wanted to buy a Camel, of which there are plenty to be ſold all the way upon that Road, and of Horſes alſo, ſuch as they are, becauſe ſo many Caravans coming that way, they are often wanted: The Perſon that I ſpoke to to get me a Camel, would have gone and fetch'd it for me, but I like a Fool muſt be officious, and go my ſelf along with him: The Place was about two Miles out of the Vil⯑lage, where, it ſeems, they kept the Camels and Horſes feeding under a Guard.

I walk'd it on Foot with my old Pilot, being very deſirous, forſooth, of a little Variety: When we came to the Place, it was a low marſhy Ground, wall'd round with a ſtone Wall, piled up dry, without Mortar or Earth among it, like a Park, with a little Guard of Chineſe Soldiers at the Door. Having bought a Camel, and a⯑greed for the Price, I came away, and the Chineſe Man that went with me, led the Camel; when on a ſudden came up five Tartars on Horſe⯑back; two of them ſeized the Fellow, and took the Camel from him, while other three ſtep'd up to me; and my old Pilot, ſeeing us as it were unarm'd, for I had no Weapon about me but my Sword, which could but ill defend me againſt three Horſe-men; the firſt that came up, ſtop'd ſhort upon my drawing my Sword; (for they are [319] errant Cowards) but a Second coming upon my Left, gave me a Blow on the Head, which I ne⯑ver felt till afterward, and wondered when I came to my ſelf, what was the matter with me, and where I was, for he laid me flat on the Ground; but my never failing old Pilot, the Portugueſe (ſo Providence unlooked for directs Deliverances from Dangers, which to us are unforeſeen) had a Piſtol in his Pocket, which I knew nothing of, nor the Tartars; neither if they had, I ſuppoſe they would not have attack'd us: But Cowards are always boldeſt when there is no Danger.

The old Man ſeeing me down, with a bold Heart ſtep'd up to the Fellow that had ſtruck me, and laying hold of his Arm with one Hand, and pulling him down by main Force a little to⯑wards him with the other, ſhot him into the Head, and laid him dead upon the Spot; he then immediately ſtep'd up to him who had ſtop'd us, as I ſaid, and before he could come forward a⯑gain, (for it was all done as it were in a moment) made a Blow at him with a Scymeter which he al⯑ways wore, but miſſing the Man, cut his Horſe into the Side of his Head, cut one of his Ears off by the Root, and a great Slice down the Side of his Face; the poor Beaſt enraged with the Wound, was no more to be governed by his Rider, tho' the Fellow ſat well enough too; but away he flew, and carried him quite out of the Pilot's Reach, and at ſome Diſtance riſing up upon his hind Legs, threw down the Tartar, and fell upon him.

In this Interval the poor Chineſe came in, who had loſt the Camel, but he had no Weapon; how⯑ever, ſeeing the Tartar down, and his Horſe fallen [320] upon him, away he runs to him, and ſeizing upon an ugly ill-favour'd Weapon he had by his Side, ſomething like a Pole-ax, but not a Pole-ax nei⯑ther, he wrench'd it from him, and made ſhift to knock his Tartarian Brains out with it. But my old Man had the third Tartar to deal with ſtill, and ſeeing he did not fly, as he expected, nor come on to fight him, as he apprehended, but ſtand ſtock ſtill, the old Man ſtood ſtill too, and falls to work with his Tackle to charge his Piſtol again; but as ſoon as the Tartar ſaw the Piſtol, whether he ſuppoſed it to be the ſame, or another, I know not, but away he ſcowered, and left my Pilot, my Champion I call'd him afterward, a com⯑pleat Victory.

By this time I was a little awake, for I thought when firſt I began to wake, that I had been in a ſweet Sleep; but as I ſaid above, I wondered where I was, how I came upon the Ground, and what was the matter: In a word, a few moments after, as Senſe returned, I felt Pain, tho' I did not know where; I clap'd my Hand to my Head, and took it away bloody; then I felt my Head ach, and then in another Moment, Memory returned, and every thing was preſent to me again.

I jump'd up upon my Feet inſtantly, and got hold of my Sword, but no Enemies in view: I found a Tartar lie dead and his Horſe ſtanding very quietly by him; and looking farther, I ſaw my Champion and Deliverer, who had been to ſee what the Chineſe had done, coming back with his Hanger in his Hand; the old Man ſeeing me on my Feet, came running to me and embraced me with a great deal of Joy, being afraid before that I had been killed, and ſeeing me bloody, would [321] ſee how I was hurt, but it was not much, only what we call a broken Head; neither did I af⯑terwards find any great Inconvenience from the Blow, other than the Place which was hurt, and which was well again in two or three Days.

We made no great Gain however by this Vi⯑ctory, for we loſt a Camel, and gained a Horſe; but that which was remarkable, when we came back to the Village, the Man demanded to be paid for the Camel; I diſputed it, and it was brought to a hearing before the Chineſe Judge of the Place; that is to ſay, in Engliſh, we went before a Juſtice of the Peace: Give him his due, he acted with a great deal of Prudence and Im⯑partiality; and having heard both Sides, he gravely ask'd the Chineſe Man, that went with me to buy the Camel, whoſe Servant he was? I am no Servant, ſays he, but went with the Stranger. At whoſe Requeſt, ſays the Juſtice? At the Stranger's Requeſt, ſays he. Why then, ſays the Juſtice, you were the Stranger's Ser⯑vant for the Time, and the Camel being de⯑liver'd to his Servant, it was delivered to him, and he muſt pay for it.

I confeſs the Thing was ſo clear, that I had not a Word to ſay; but admiring to ſee ſuch juſt Reaſoning upon the Conſequence, and ſo accu⯑rate ſtating the Cauſe, I pay'd willingly for the Camel, and ſent for another; but you may ob⯑ſerve, I ſent for it, I did not go to fetch it my ſelf any more; I had enough of that.

The City of Naum is a Frontier of the Chi⯑neſe Empire; they call it fortified, and ſo it is, as Fortifications go there; for this I will venture [322] to affirm, that all the Tartars in Karakathaie, which I believe, are ſome Millions, could not batter down the Walls with their Bows and Ar⯑rows; but to call it ſtrong, if it were attacked with Cannon, would be to make thoſe who un⯑derſtand it, laugh at you.

We wanted, as I have ſaid, above two Days Journey of this City, when Meſſengers were ſent Expreſs to every Part of the Road, to tell all Travellers and Caravans, to halt till they had a Guard ſent for them; for that an unuſual Body of Tartars, making ten thouſand in all, had ap⯑peared in the Way, about thirty Miles beyond the City.

This was very bad News to Travellers; how⯑ever, it was carefully done of the Governour, and we were very glad to hear we ſhould have a Guard; accordingly, two Days after, we had two hundred Soldiers ſent us from a Garriſon of the Chineſes, on our left, and three hundred more from the City of Naum, and with thoſe we ad⯑vanced boldly; the three hundred Soldiers from Naum, march'd in our Front, the two hundred in our Rear, and our Men on each Side of our Camels with our Baggage, and the whole Cara⯑van in the Center; in this Order, and well pre⯑pared for Battle, we thought our ſelves a Match for the whole ten thouſand Mongul Tartars, if they had appeared; but the next day when they did appear, it was quite another thing.

It was early in the Morning, when marching from a little well ſituated Town call'd Changu, we had a River to paſs, where we were obliged to ferry; and had the Tartars had any Intelli⯑gence, [323] then had been the Time to have attack'd us, when the Caravan being over, the Rear-Guard, was behind; but they did not appear.

About three Hours after, when we were en⯑ter'd upon a Deſart of about fifteen or ſixteen Miles over, behold, by a Cloud of Duſt they rais'd, we ſaw an Enemy was at Hand, and they were at Hand indeed, for they came on upon the Spur.

The Chineſes, our Guard on the Front, who had talk'd ſo big the Day before, began to ſtag⯑ger, and the Soldiers frequently look'd behind them, which is a certain Sign in a Soldier, that he is juſt ready to run away; my old Pilot was of my mind, and being near me, he call'd out, Seignior Ingleſe, ſays he, thoſe Fellows muſt be encourag'd, or they will ruin us all; for if the Tartars come on, they will never ſtand it: I am of your Mind, ſaid I, but what Courſe muſt be done? Done! ſays he, let fifty of our Men ad⯑vance, and flank them on each Wing, and en⯑courage them, and they will fight like brave Fellows in brave Company; but without, they will every man turn his back; immediately I rode up to our Leader, and told him, who was exactly of our mind; and accordingly, fifty of us march'd to the right Wing, and fifty to the left, and the reſt made a Line of Reſcue; and ſo we march'd, leaving the laſt two hundred Men to make another Body by themſelves, and to guard the Camels; only that if need were, they ſhould ſend a hundred Men, to aſſiſt the laſt fifty.

[324] In a word, the Tartars came on, and an in⯑numerable Company they were; how many, we could not tell, but ten thouſand we thought was the leaſt: A Party of them came on firſt, and view'd our Poſture, traverſing the Ground in the Front of our Line; and as we found them within Gun-ſhot, our Leader ordered the two Wings to advance ſwiftly, and give them a Sal⯑vo on each Wing with their Shot, which was done; but they went off, and I ſuppoſe back to give an Account of the Reception they were like to meet with: and indeed that Salute clogg'd their Stomach, for they immediately halt⯑ed, ſtood a while to conſider of it, and wheel⯑ing off to the left, they gave over the Deſign, and ſaid no more to us for that time; which was very agreeable to our Circumſtances, which were but very indifferent for a Battel with ſuch a Number.

Two Days after this, we came to the City Naun, or Naum; we thank'd the Governour for his Care for us, and collected to the Value of a hundred Crowns, or thereabouts, which we gave to the Soldiers ſent to guard us; and here we reſted one Day. This is a Garriſon indeed, and there were nine hundred Soldiers kept here; but the Reaſon of it was, that formerly the Muſcovite Frontiers lay nearer to them than they do now, the Muſcovites having abandon'd that Part of the Country (which lies from this City Weſt, for about two hundred Miles) as deſo⯑late and unfit for Uſe; and more eſpecially, be⯑ing ſo very remote, and ſo difficult to ſend Troops thither for its Defence; for we had yet above [325] two thouſand Miles to Muſcovy, properly ſo call'd.

After this, we paſs'd ſeveral great Rivers, and two dreadful Deſarts, one of which we were ſix⯑teen Days paſſing over, and which, as I ſaid, was to be call'd no Man's Land; and on the 13th of April we came to the Frontiers of the Muſcovite Dominions: I think the firſt City, or Town, or Fortreſs, whatever it might be call'd, that be⯑long'd to the Czar of Muſcovy, was call'd Argun, being on the Weſt Side of the River Argun.

I could not but diſcover an infinite Satisfaction, that I was ſo ſoon arrived in, as I call'd it, a Chri⯑ſtian Country, or at leaſt in a Country governed by Chriſtians; for tho' the Muſcovites do, in my Opinion, but juſt deſerve the Name of Chriſtians, yet ſuch they pretend to be, and are very devout in their Way: It would certainly occur to any Man who travels the World as I have done, and who had any Power of Reflection; I ſay, it would occur to him, to reflect what a Bleſſing it is to be brought into the World, where the Name of God, and of a Redeemer is known, worſhip'd and ador'd; and not where the People given up by Heaven to ſtrong Deluſions, worſhip the De⯑vil, and proſtrate themſelves to Stocks and Stones, worſhip Monſters, Elements, horrible ſhaped Animals, and Statues, or Images of Mon⯑ſters: not a Town or City we paſs'd thro', but had their Pagods, their Idols, and their Tem⯑ples, and ignorant People worſhipping, even the Works of their own Hands.

Now we came where at leaſt a Face of the Chriſtian Worſhip appear'd, where the Knee was [326] bow'd to Jeſus; and whether ignorantly or not, yet the Chriſtian Religion was own'd, and the Name of the true God was call'd upon, and adored; and it made the very Receſſes of my Soul rejoice to ſee it: I ſaluted the brave Scots Mer⯑chant I mentioned above, with my firſt acknow⯑ledgment of this; and taking him by the Hand, I ſaid to him, Bleſſed be God, we are once again come among Chriſtians: He ſmiled, and an⯑ſwered, do not rejoice too ſoon Countryman, theſe Muſcovites are but an odd ſort of Chriſtians; and but for the Name of it, you may ſee very little of the Subſtance, for ſome Months farther of our Journey.

Well, ſays I, but ſtill 'tis better than Paganiſm, and worſhipping of Devils. Why, I'll tell you, ſays he, except the Ruſſian Soldiers in Garriſons, and a few of the Inhabitants of the Cities upon the Road, all the reſt of this Country, for above a thouſand Miles farther, is inhabited by the worſt, and moſt ignorant of Pagans; and ſo in⯑deed we found it.

We were now launch'd into the greateſt Piece of ſolid Earth, if I underſtand any thing of the Surface of the Globe, that is to be found in any Part of the Earth; we had at leaſt twelve hun⯑dred Miles to the Sea, Eaſtward; we had at leaſt two thouſand to the Bottom of the Bal⯑tick Sea, Weſtward; and above three thouſand Miles, if we left that Sea, and went on Weſt to the Britiſh and French Channels: We had full five thouſand Miles to the Indian, or Perſian Sea, South; and about eight hundred Miles to the Frozen Sea, North; nay, if ſome People may be believed, there might be no Sea North-Eaſt, [327] till we came round the Pole, and conſequently into the North-Weſt, and ſo had a Continent of Land into America, the Lord knows where, tho' I could give ſome Reaſons, why I believe that to be a Miſtake.

As we enter'd into the Muſcovite Dominions, a good while before we came to any conſi⯑derable Towns, we had nothing to obſerve there but this; firſt, that all the Rivers that run to the Eaſt, as I underſtood by the Charts, which ſome in our Caravan had with them; it was plain, all thoſe Rivers ran into the Great River Ya⯑mour, or Gammour: This River, by the natural Courſe of it muſt run into the Eaſt Sea, or Chi⯑neſe Ocean. The Story they tell us, that the Month of this River, is choak'd up with Bull⯑ruſhes, of a monſtruous Growth, (viz.) three Foot about, and twenty or thirty Foot high, I muſt be allow'd to ſay, I believe nothing of; but as its Navigation is of no Uſe, becauſe there is no Trade that way, the Tartars, to whom alone it belongs, dealing in nothing but Cattle, ſo no Body that ever I heard of, has been curious enough, either to go down to the Mouth of it in Boats, or come up from the Mouth of it in Ships; but this is certain, that this River run⯑ning due Eaſt, in the Latitude of car⯑ries a vaſt Concourſe of Rivers along with it, and finds an Ocean to empty it ſelf in that Lati⯑tude; ſo we are ſure of Sea there.

Some Leagues to the North of this River, there are ſeveral conſiderable Rivers, whoſe Streams run as due North as the Yamour runs Eaſt, and theſe are all found to join there Wa⯑ters with the Great River Tartarus, nam'd ſo, [328] from the northernmoſt Nations of the Mongul Tar⯑tars, who the Chineſe ſay, were the firſt Tartars in the World; and who, as our Geographers alledge, are the Gog and Magog, mention'd in ſacred Story.

Theſe Rivers running all Northward, as well as all the other Rivers, I am yet to ſpeak of, make it evident, that the Northern Ocean bounds the Land alſo on that ſide; ſo that it does not ſeem rational in the leaſt to think, that the Land can extend it ſelf to join with America on that ſide, or that there is not a Communication between the Northern and the Earſtern Ocean; but of this I ſhall ſay no more, it was my Obſervation at that time, and therefore I take Notice of it in this Place. We now advanc'd from the River Arguna by eaſy and moderate Journeys, and were very viſibly oblig'd to the Care the Czar of Muſcovy has taken to have Cities and Town built in as many Places as are poſſible to place them, where his Soldiers keep Garriſon ſomething like the Stationary Soldi⯑ers plac'd by the Romans in the remoteſt Countries of their Empire, ſome of which I had read particu⯑larly were plac'd in Britain for the Security of Com⯑merce, and for the lodging Travellers; and thus it was here; for where-ever we came, tho' at theſe Towns and Stations, the Garriſons and Governor were Ruſſians, and profeſs'd Chriſtians, yet the Inhabitants of the Country were meer Pagans, ſa⯑crificing to Idols, and worſhipping the Sun, Moon, and Stars, or all the Hoſt of Heaven, and not only ſo, but were of all the Heathens and Pagans that ever I met with, the moſt barbarous, except only that they did not eat Man's Fleſh, as our Sa⯑vages of America did.

[329] Some Inſtances of this we met with in the Coun⯑try between Arguna, where we enter the Muſcovite Dominions, and a City of Tartars and Ruſſians to⯑gether, call'd Nortziuskoy, in which is a continu'd Deſart or Foreſt, which coſt us twenty Days to travel over it: in a Village near the laſt of thoſe Places I had the Curioſity to go and ſee their Way of Living, which is moſt brutiſh and unſufferable; they had I ſuppoſe a great Sacrifice that Day, for there ſtood out upon an old Stump of a Tree, an Idol made of Wood, frightful as the Devil, at leaſt as any Thing we can think of to repreſent the Devil, can be made; it had a Head certainly not ſo much as reſembling any Creature that the World ever ſaw; Ears as big as Goats Horns, and as high; Eyes as big as a Crown-Piece; a Noſe like a crook⯑ed Ram's Horn, and a Mouth extended four cor⯑ner'd, like that of a Lion, with horrible Teeth, hooked like a Parrot's under Bill; it was dreſſed up in the filthieſt manner that you could ſuppoſe; its upper Garment was of Sheep-Skins, with the Wool outward, a great Tartar Bonnet on the Head, with two Horns growing through it; it was about eight Foot high, yet had no Feet or Legs, or any other Proportion of Parts.

This Scare-crow was ſet up at the outer Side of the Village, and when I came near to it, there was ſixteen or ſeventeen Creatures, whe⯑ther Men or Women, I could not tell, for they make no Diſtinction by their Habits, either of Body or Head: Theſe lay all flat on the Ground, round this formidable Block of ſhape⯑leſs Wood: I ſaw no Motion among them any more, than if they had been all Logs of Wood like the Idol, and at firſt, really thought they [330] had been ſo; but when I came a little nearer, they ſtarted up upon their Feet, and rais'd a howling Cry, as if it had been ſo many deep⯑mouth'd Hounds, and walk'd away as if they were diſpleas'd at our diſturbing them: A little way off from the Iſland, and at the Door of that Tent or Hutt, made all of Sheep-Skins and Cow-Skins, dry'd, ſtood three Butchers, I thought they were ſuch; when I came nearer to them, I found they had long Knives in their Hands, and in the middle of the Tent ap⯑pear'd three Sheep kill'd, and one young Bul⯑lock or Steer: Theſe it ſeems, were Sacrifices to that ſenſleſs Log of an Idol, and theſe three Men, Prieſts belonging to it; and the ſeventeen proſtrated Wretches, were the People who brought the Offering, and were making their Prayers to that Stock.

I confeſs I was more mov'd at their Stupidity and brutiſh Worſhip of a Hobgoblin, than ever I was at any Thing in my Life; to ſee God's moſt glorious and beſt Creature, to whom he had granted ſo many Advantages, even by Crea⯑tion, above the reſt of the Works of his Hands, veſted with a reaſonable Soul, and that Soul a⯑dorn'd with Faculties and Capacities, adapted both to honour his Maker, and be honoured by him, ſunk and degenerated to a Degree ſo more than ſtupid, as to proſtrate it ſelf to a frightful Nothing, a meer imaginary Object dreſs'd up by them⯑ſelves, and made terrible to themſelves by their own Contrivance; adorn'd only with Clouts and Rags; and that this ſhould be the Effect of meer Ig⯑norance, wrought up into helliſh Devotion by the Devil himſelf; who envying (to his Ma⯑ker) the Homage and Adoration of his Crea⯑tures, [331] had deluded them into ſuch groſs, ſurfeiting, ſordid and brutiſh things, as one would think ſhould ſhock Nature it ſelf.

But what ſignify'd all the Aſtoniſhment and Re⯑flection of Thoughts; thus it was, and I ſaw it before my Eyes, and there was no room to won⯑der at it, or think it impoſſible; all my Admira⯑tion turn'd to Rage, and I rid up to the Image, or Monſter, call it what you will, and with my Sword cut the Bonnet that was on its Head in two in the middle, ſo that it hung down by one of the Horns; and one of our Men that was with me took hold of the Sheep-Skin that cover'd it, and pull'd at it, when behold a moſt hideous Outcry and Howling run thro' the Village, and two or three hundred People came about my Ears, ſo that I was glad to ſcour for it; for we ſaw ſome had Bows and Arrows; but I reſolved from that moment to viſit them again.

Our Caravan reſted three Nights at the Town, which was about four Miles off, in order to pro⯑vide ſome Horſes which they wanted, ſeveral of the Horſes having been lam'd, and jaded with the badneſs of the Way and long March over the laſt Deſart; ſo we had ſome Leiſure here to put my Deſign in Execution: I communicated my Project to the Scots Merchant of Muſcow, of whoſe Courage I had had ſufficient Teſtimony, as above: I told him what I had ſeen, and with what Indig⯑nation I had ſince thought that human Nature could be ſo degenerate: I told him, I was reſolv'd if I could get but four or five Men well arm'd to go with me, I was reſolv'd to go and deſtroy that vile, abominable Idol, and let them ſee that it had no Power to help it ſelf, and conſequently could [332] not be an Object of Worſhip, or to be pray'd to, much leſs help them that offer'd Sacrifices to it.

He laugh'd at me; ſays he, Your Zeal may be good, but what do you propoſe to yourſelf by it? Propoſe, ſaid I, to vindicate the Honour of God, which is inſulted by this Devil Worſhip. But how will it vindicate the Honour of God, ſaid he? While the People will not be able to know what you mean by it, unleſs you could ſpeak to them and tell them ſo, and then they will fight you, and beat you too, I'll aſſure you, for they are deſpe⯑rate Fellows, and that eſpecially in Defence of their Idolatry. Can we not, ſaid I, do it in the Night, and then leave them the Reaſons and Cauſes in Writing in their own Language? Writing! ſaid he, why there is not a Man in five Nations of them that know any thing of a Letter, or how to read a Word in any Language, or in their own, Wretched Ignorance! ſaid I to him; however I have a great mind to do it; perhaps Nature may draw Inferences from it to them, to let them ſee how brutiſh they are, to worſhip ſuch horrid Things. Look you, Sir, ſaid he, if your Zeal prompts you to it ſo warmly, you muſt do it; but in the next place I would have you conſider, theſe wild Nations of People are ſubjected by Force to the Czar of Muſcovy's Dominions, and if you do this, 'tis ten to one but they will come by Thou⯑ſands to the Governour of Nertſinskay, and com⯑plain, and demand Satisfaction; and if he cannot give them Satisfaction, 'tis ten to one but they revolt, and it will occaſion a new War with all the Tartars in the Country.

This, I confeſs, put new Thoughts into my Head for a while; but I harp'd upon the ſame [333] String ſtill, and all that Day I was uneaſy to put my Project in Execution: Towards the Evening the Scots Merchant met me by Accident in our Walk about the Town, and deſir'd to ſpeak with me; I believe, ſaid he, I have put you off of your good Deſign; I have been a little concern'd about it ſince, for I abhor the Idol and the Idolatry as much as you can do: Truly, ſays I, you have put it off a little as to the Execution of it, but you have not put it all out of my Thoughts, and I believe I ſhall do it ſtill before I quit this Place, tho' I were to be deliver'd up to them fot Satiſ⯑faction. No, no, ſays he, God forbid they ſhould deliver you up to ſuch a Crew of Monſters; they ſhall not do that neither, that would be murdering you indeed. Why, ſays I, how would they uſe me? Uſe you! ſays he; I'll tell you how they ſerv'd a poor Ruſſian, who affronted them in their Wor⯑ſhip juſt as you did, and who they took Priſoner; after they had lam'd him with an Arrow that he could not run away, they took him and ſtripp'd him ſtark naked, and ſet him up on the top of the Idol Monſter, and ſtood all round him, and ſhot as many Arrows into him as would ſtick over his whole Body, and then they burnt him and all the Arrows ſticking in him as a Sacrifice to the Idol. And was this the ſame Idol? Yes, ſays he, the very ſame. Well, ſays I, I'll tell you a Story; ſo I related the Story of our Men at Madagaſcar, and how they burnt and ſack'd the Village there, and kill'd Man, Woman and Child, for their mur⯑dering one of our Men, juſt as it is related before; and when I had done, I added, that I thought we ought to do ſo to this Village.

He liſten'd very attentively to the Story; but when I talk'd of doing ſo to that Village, ſays he, [334] You miſtake very much, it was not this Village, it was almoſt a hundred Mile from this place, but it was the ſame Idol, for they carry him about in Proceſſion all over the Country: Well, then, ſays I, then that Idol ought to be puniſh'd for it, and it ſhall, ſays I, if I live this Night out.

In a word, finding me reſolute, he lik'd the Deſign, and told me I ſhould not go alone, but he would go with me, and bring a ſtout Fellow, one of his Countrymen, to go alſo with us; and one, ſays he, as famous for his Zeal as you can deſire any one to be, againſt ſuch Deviliſh things as theſe. In a word, he brought me his Comrade, a Scots Man, who he call'd Captain Richardſon, and I gave him a full account of what I had ſeen; and in a word, of what I intended; and he told me readily, he would go with me if it coſt him his Life; ſo we agreed to go only us three. I had indeed propos'd it to my Partner, but he declin'd it; he ſaid, he was ready to aſſiſt me to the ut⯑moſt, and upon all occaſions for my defence; but that this was an Adventure quite out of his way; ſo, I ſay, we reſolv'd upon our Work only us three and my Man-Servant, and to put it in Exe⯑cution that Night about Midnight, with all the Secrecy imaginable.

However, upon ſecond Thoughts, we were willing to delay it till the next Night, becauſe the Caravan being to ſet forward in the Morning, we ſuppos'd the Governour could not pretend to give them any Satisfaction upon us when we were out of his Power. The Scots Merchant, as ſteady in his Reſolution for the Enterprize, as bold in executing, brought me a Tartar's Robe or Gown of the Sheep-Skins, and a Bonnet, with [335] a Bow and Arrows, and had provided the ſame for himſelf and his Countryman, that the People, if they ſaw us, ſhould not be able to determine who we were.

All the firſt Night we ſpent in mixing up ſome combuſtible Matter with Aqua-vitae, Gun-powder, and ſuch other Materials as we could get, and ha⯑ving a good Quantity of Tar in a little Pot, a⯑bout an Hour after Night we ſet out upon our Expedition.

We came to the Place about eleven a Clock at Night, and found that the People had not the leaſt Jealouſy of Danger attending their Idol; the Night was cloudy, yet the Moon gave us Light enough to ſee that the Idol ſtood juſt in the ſame Poſture and Place that it did before: The People ſeemed to be all at their Reſt, only, that in the great Hutt, or Tent, as we called it, where we ſaw the three Prieſts, who we miſtook for Butch⯑ers, we ſaw a Light, and going up cloſe to the Door, we heard People talking, as if there were five or ſix of them; we concluded therefore, that if we ſet the Wild-fire to the Idol, theſe Men would come out immediately, and run up to the Place to reſcue it from the Deſtruction that we intended for it, and what to do with them we knew not; once we thought of carrying it away and ſetting Fire to it at a Diſtance; but when we came to handle it, we found it it too bulky for our Carriage, ſo we were at a Loſs again: The ſecond Scots Man was for ſetting Fire to the Tent or Hutt, and knocking the Creatures that were there on the Head when they came out; but I could not joyn with that; I was againſt killing them, if it was poſſible to be avoided: Well then, ſaid the Scots Merchant, I'll [336] tell you what we will do, we will try to take them Priſoners, tye their Hands behind them, and make them ſtand ſtill, and ſee their Idol de⯑ſtroy'd.

As it happen'd, we had Twine or Packthread enough about us, which was uſed to tye our Fire-Works together with; ſo we reſolved to attack theſe People firſt, and with as little Noiſe as we could: The firſt Thing we did, we knocked at the Door, which iſſued juſt as we deſired it; for one of their Idol Prieſts came to the Door: we imme⯑diately ſeized upon him, ſtop'd his Mouth, and ty'd his Hands behind him, and led him to the Idol, where we gagg'd him, that he might not make a Noiſe; ty'd his Feet alſo together, and left him on the Ground.

Two of us then waited at the Door, expe⯑cting that another would come out to ſee what the Matter was; but we waited ſo long 'till the third Man came back to us; and then no Body coming out, we knock'd again gently, and immediately out came two more, and we ſerved them juſt in the ſame manner, but was oblig'd to go all with them, and lay them down by the Idol ſome Diſtance from one another; when go⯑ing back, we found two more were come out to the Door, and a third ſtood behind them within the Door: We ſeiz'd the two, and immediately ty'd them, when the third ſtepping back, and crying out, my Scots Merchant went in after him, and taking out a Compoſition we had made, that would only ſmoke and ſtink, he ſet Fire to it, and threw it in among them; by that Time the other Scots Man and my Man taking Charge of the two Men who were already bound, and ty'd together [337] alſo by the Arm, led them away to the Idol, and left them there, to ſee if their Idol would relieve them, making haſt back to us.

When the Fuze we had thrown in had fill'd the Hutt with ſo much Smoak, that they were al⯑moſt ſuffocated, we then threw in a ſmall Leather Bag of another kind, which flam'd like a Can⯑dle, and following it in, we found there was but four People left, who, it ſeems, were two Men and two Women, and, as we ſuppoſed, had been a⯑bout ſome of their Diabolick Sacrifices: They appear'd, in ſhort, frighted to Death, at leaſt ſo as to ſit trembling and ſtupid, and not able to ſpeak neither, for the Smoak.

In a word, we took them, bound them as we had the other, and all without any Noiſe: I ſhould have ſaid, we brought them out of the Houſe or Hutt firſt; for indeed we were not able to bear the Smoak any more than they were. When we had done this, we carry'd them all together to the Idol: when we came there, we fell to work with him; and firſt we daub'd him all over, and his Robes alſo, with Tar and ſuch other Stuff as we had, which was Tallow mix'd with Brimſtone; then we ſtopp'd his Eyes, and Ears, and Mouth full of Gun-Powder, and then we wrapp'd up a great piece of Wild-fire in his Bonnet, and then ſticking all the Combuſtibles we had brought with us upon him, we look'd about to ſee if we could find any thing elſe to help to burn him, when my Man remembred, that by the Tent or Hutt where the Men were, there lay a heap of dry Forage, whether Straw or Ruſhes I do not re⯑member; away he and one of the Scots Men run, and fetch'd their Arms full of that: When we had [338] done this, we took all our Priſoners, and brought them, having unty'd their Feet, and ungagg'd their Mouths, and made them ſtand up, and ſet them juſt before their monſtrous Idol, and then ſet fire to the whole.

We ſtay'd by it a quarter of an Hour, or there⯑abouts, 'till the Powder in the Eyes, and Mouth, and Ears of the Idol blew up, and we could per⯑ceive had ſplit and deformed the Shape; and in a word, 'till we ſaw it burn into a meer Block or Log of Wood, and then ſetting the dry Forage to it, we found it would be quite conſum'd, when we began to think of going away; but the Scots Man ſaid no, we muſt not go, for theſe poor de⯑luded Wretches will all throw themſelves into the Fire, and burn themſelves with the Idol; ſo we reſolved to ſtay 'till the Forage was burnt down too, and then we came away and left them.

In the Morning we appear'd among our Fel⯑low Travellers exceeding buſy, in getting ready for our Journey; nor could any Man ſuggeſt that we had been any where but in our Beds, as Tra⯑vellers might be ſuppos'd to be, to fit themſelves for the Fatigues of that Day's Journey.

But it did not end ſo; the next Day came a great Multitude of the Country People, not on⯑ly of this Village, but of a hundred more, for ought I know, to the Town-Gates, and in a moſt outragious manner, demanded Satisfa⯑ction of the Ruſſian Governour, for the inſult⯑ing their Prieſts, and burning their Great Cham-Chi-Thaungu, ſuch a hard Name they gave the monſtrous Creature they worſhip'd; the People of Nertſinskay, were at firſt in a great Conſterna⯑tion, [339] for they ſaid, the Tartars were no leſs than thirty thouſand, and that in a few days more, would be one hundred thouſand ſtrong.

The Ruſſian Governour ſent out Meſſengers to appeaſe them, and gave them all the good words imaginable: He aſſured them, he knew nothing of it, and that there had not a Soul of his Gar⯑riſon been abroad: that it could not be from any body there; and if they would let him know who it was, they ſhould be examplarily puniſhed. They return'd haughtily, that all the Country reverenced the Great Cham-Chi-Thaungu, who dwelt in the Sun, and no Mortal would have decreed to offer Violence to his Image, but ſome Chriſtian Miſcreant, ſo they call'd them it ſeems; and they therefore denounc'd War againſt him, and all the Ruſſians, who, they ſaid, were Miſ⯑creants and Chriſtians.

The Governour ſtill patient, and unwilling to make a Breach, or to have any Cauſe of War alledged to be given by him, the Czar having ſtraitly charged them to treat the con⯑quer'd Country with Gentleneſs and Civility, gave them ſtill all the good Words he could; at laſt he told them, there was a Caravan gone towards Ruſſia that Morning, and perhaps it was ſome of them, who had done them this In⯑jury; and that if they would be ſatisfied with that, he would ſend after them, to enquire into it: This ſeem'd to appeaſe them a little; and accordingly the Governour ſent after us, and gave us a particular Account how the Thing was; intimating withal, that if any in our Caravan had done it, they ſhould make their Eſcape; but that whether they had done it or no, [340] we ſhould make all the haſt forward that was poſ⯑ſible; and that in the mean time, he would keep them in play as long as he could.

This was very friendly in the Governour; however, when it came to the Caravan, there was no Body knew any Thing of the Matter; and as for us that were guilty, we were the leaſt of all ſuſpected; none ſo much as ask'd us the Queſtion; however, the Captain of the Caravan for the Time, took the Hint that the Governour gave us, and we marched or travelled two Days and two Nights, without any conſiderable Stop; and then we lay at a Village called Plothus; nor did make any long Stop here, but haſten'd on towards Jarawena, another of the Czar of Muſcovy's Colonies, and where we expected we ſhould be ſafe; but it is to be obſerv'd, that here we began for two or three Days march, to enter upon the vaſt nameleſs Deſart, of which I ſhall ſay more in its Place; and which, if we had now been up⯑on it, 'tis more than probable, we had been all deſtroy'd: It was the ſecond Day's march from Plothus, that by the Clouds of Duſt behind us at a great Diſtance, ſome of our People began to be ſenſible we were purſued; we had enter'd the Deſart, and had paſs'd by a great Lake call'd Schaks-Oſer when we perceiv'd a very great Bo⯑dy of Horſe appear on the other Side of the Lake to the North, we travelling Weſt: We obſerv'd they went away Weſt as we did, but had ſuppoſed we would have taken that Side of the Lake, whereas, we very happily took the South Side; and in two Days more, we ſaw them not, for they believing we were ſtill be⯑fore them, puſh'd on till they came to the Ri⯑ver [341] Udda; this is a very great River when it paſſes farther North; but where we came to it, we found it narrow, and fordable.

The third Day they either found their Mi⯑ſtake, or had Intelligence of us, and came pour⯑ing in upon us, towards the Dusk of the Even⯑ing: We had, to our great Satisfaction, juſt pitch'd upon a Place for our Camp, which was very convenient for the Night; for as we were up⯑on a Deſart, tho' but at the beginning of it, that was above five hundred Miles over, we had no Towns to lodge at, and indeed expected none but the City Jarawena, which we had yet two Days march to; the Deſart however, had ſome few Woods in it on this Side, and little Rivers, which ran all into the great River Udda: It was in a narrow Strait between two little, but very thick Woods, that we pitch'd our little Camp for that Night, expecting to be attack'd in the Night.

No body knew but ourſelves, what we were purſued for; but as it was uſual for the Mongul Tartars to go about in Troops in that Deſart, ſo the Caravans always fortify themſelves every Night againſt them, as againſt Armies of Rob⯑bers; and it was therefore no new thing to be purſued.

But we had this Night, of all the Nights of our Travels, a moſt advantageous Camp; for we lay between two Woods, with a little Rivu⯑let running juſt before our Front; ſo that we could not be ſurrounded, or attack'd any way, but in our Front or Rear; we took care alſo to make our Front as ſtrong as we could, by [342] placing our Packs, with our Camels and Hor⯑ſes, all in a Line on the Inſide of the River, and felling ſome Trees in our Rear.

In this Poſture we encamp'd for the Night, but the Enemy was upon us before we had fi⯑niſh'd our Situation: They did not come on us like Thieves as we expected, but ſent three Meſſen⯑gers to us, to demand the Men to be delivered to them, that had abus'd their Prieſts, and burn'd their God, Cham-Chi-Thaungu with Fire, that they might burn them with Fire; and upon this, they ſaid they would go away, and do us no farther harm, otherwiſe, they would burn us all with Fire. Our Men look'd very blank at this Meſſage, and began to ſtare at one ano⯑ther, to ſee who look'd with moſt Guilt in their Faces; but no Body was the Word, no Body did it. The Leader of the Caravan ſent Word, he was well aſſur'd, it was not done by any of our Camp; that we were peaceable Merchants, tra⯑velling on our Buſineſs; that we had done no harm to them, or to any one elſe; and that therefore, they muſt look farther for their Ene⯑mies who had injur'd them, for we were not the People; ſo deſir'd them not to diſturb us, for if they did, we ſhould defend our ſelves.

They were far from being ſatisfy'd with this for an Anſwer, but a great Crowd of them came down in the Morning by break of Day to our Camp; but ſeeing us in ſuch an unaccountable Situation, they durſt come no farther than the Brook in our Front, where they ſtood and ſhew'd us ſuch a Number, that indeed terrify'd us very much; for thoſe that ſpoke leaſt of them, ſpoke of ten thouſand: here they ſtood and look'd [343] at us a while, and then ſetting up a great Howl, they let fly a Cloud of Arrows among us; but we were well enough fortified for that; for we ſhelter'd under our Baggage, and I do not re⯑member that one Man of us was hurt.

Some Time after this, we ſee them move a little to our Right, and expected them on the Rear, when a cunning Fellow, a Coſſack, as they call them, of Jarawena, in the Pay of the Muſcovites, calling to the Leader of the Caravan, ſaid to him, I'll go ſend all theſe People away to Siheilka; this was a City, four or five Days Journey at leaſt to the South, and rather behind us: ſo he takes his Bow and Arrows, and getting on Horſe-back, he rides away from our Rear directly, as it were back to Nertsſinskay; after this, he takes a great Circuit about, and comes to the Army of the Tartars, as if he had been ſent Expreſs to tell them a long Story; that the People who had burnt the Cham-Chi-Thaungu, were gone to Siheilka, with a Caravan of Miſcreants, as he call'd them, that is to ſay, Chriſtians; and that they had re⯑ſolv'd to burn the God Schal-Iſar, belonging to the Tongueſes.

As this Fellow was himſelf a meer Tartar, and perfectly ſpoke their Language, he counterfeited ſo well, that they all took it from him, and away they drove in a moſt violent Hurry to Siheilka, which it ſeems was five Days Journey to the North, and in leſs than three Hours, they were entirely out of our Sight, and we never heard any more of them; and we never knew whether they went to that other Place called Si⯑heilka, or no.

[344] So we paſs'd ſafely on to the City of Jarawena, where there was a Garriſon of Muſcovites, and there we reſted five Days, the Caravan being ex⯑ceedingly fatigued with the laſt Day's hard march, and with want of Reſt in the Night.

From this City we had a frightful Deſart, which held us three and twenty Days march: We furniſh'd our ſelves with ſome Tents here, for the better accommodating our ſelves in the Night; and the Leader of the Caravan, procu⯑red ſixteen Carriages or Waggons of the Coun⯑try, for carrying our Water and Proviſions, and theſe Carriages were our Defence every Night round our little Camp; ſo that had the Tartars appeared, unleſs they had been very numerous indeed, they would not have been able to hurt us.

We may well be ſuppoſed to want Reſt again after this long Journey; for in this Deſart we ſaw neither Houſe or Tree, or ſcarce a Buſh; we ſaw abundance of the Sable-Hunters, as they call'd them: Theſe are all Tartars of the Mongul Tartary, of which this County is a part, and they frequently attack ſmall Caravans, but we ſaw no Numbers of them together: I was curious to ſee the Sable Skins they catched, but could never ſpeak with any of them, for they durſt not come near us, neither durſt we ſtraggle from our Com⯑pany, to go near them.

After we had paſs'd this Deſart, we came in⯑to a Country pretty well inhabited; that is to ſay, we found Towns and Caſtles, ſettled by the Czar of Muſcovy, with Garriſons of Stationa⯑ry [345] Soldiers to protect the Caravans, and defend the Country againſt the Tartars, who would other⯑wiſe make it very dangerous travelling; and his Czariſh Majeſty has given ſuch ſtrict Orders for the well guarding the Caravans and Merchants, that if there are any Tartars heard of in the Country, Detachments of the Garriſons are al⯑ways ſent to ſee the Travellers ſafe from Station to Station.

And thus the Governour of Adinskoy, who I had Opportunity to make a Viſit to, by means of the Scots Merchant who was acquainted with him, offer'd us a Guard of fifty Men, if we thought there was any Danger to the next Station.

I thought long before this, that as we came nearer to Europe we ſhould find the Country better peopled, and the People more civiliz'd, but I found my ſelf miſtaken in both, for we had yet the Na⯑tion of the Tongueſes to paſs through; where we ſaw the ſame Tokens of Paganiſm and Barbarity, or worſe, than before, only as they were conquer'd by the Muſcovites, and entirely reduc'd, they were not ſo dangerous; but for Rudeneſs of Manners, Idolatry, and Multitheiſm no People in the World ever went beyond them: They are cloath'd all in Skins of Beaſts, and their Houſes are built of the ſame: You know not a Man from a Woman, nei⯑ther by the Ruggedneſs of their Countenances or their Cloaths; and in the Winter, when the Ground is cover'd with Snow, they live under Ground in Houſes like Vaults, which have Cavities going from one to another.

If the Tartars had their Cham-Chi-Tongu for a whole Village or Country, theſe had Idols in eve⯑ry [346] Hutt and in every Cave; beſides, they worſhip the Stars, the Sun, the Water, the Snow, and in a word, every thing that they do not underſtand, and they underſtand but very little; ſo that almoſt every Element, every uncommon thing, ſets them a ſacrificing.

But I am no more to deſcribe People than Coun⯑tries, any farther than my own Story comes to be concerned in them: I met with nothing peculiar to my ſelf in all this Country, which I reckon was from the Deſart which I ſpoke of laſt, at leaſt 400 Miles, half of it being another Deſart, which took us up twelve Days ſevere travelling, without Houſe, or Tree, or Buſh, but were oblig'd again to carry our own Proviſions, as well Water as Bread. After we were out of this Deſart, and had travell'd two Days, we came to Janezay, a Muſcovite City or Station, on the great River Jane⯑zay: this River they told us parted Europe from Aſia, tho' our Map-makers, as I am told, do not a gree to it; however, it is certainly the Eaſtern Boundary of the ancient Siberia, which now makes up a Province only of the vaſt Muſcovite Empire, but is it ſelf equal in Bigneſs to the whole Empire of Germany.

And yet here I obſerv'd Ignorance and Paganiſm ſtill prevailed, except in the Muſcovite Garriſons; all the Country between the River Oby and the River Janezay is as entirely Pagan, and the People as barbarous, as the remoteſt of the Tartars, nay, as any Nation for ought I know in Aſia or America: I alſo found, which I obſerv'd to the Muſcovite Governours who I had Opportunity to converſe with, that the poor Pagans are not much the wiſer or the nearer Chriſtianity for being under the Muſ⯑covite [347] Government; which they acknowledg'd was true enough, but, as they ſaid, was none of their Buſineſs: That if the Czar expected to convert his Siberian, or Tongueſe, or Tartar Subjects, it ſhould be done by ſending Clergymen among them, not Soldiers; and they added, with more Sincerity than I expected, that they found it was not ſo much the Concern of their Monarch to make the People Chriſtians, as it was to make them Subjects.

From this River to the great River Oby, we croſs'd a wild uncultivated Country: I cannot ſay 'tis a barren Soil; 'tis only barren of People, and good Management, otherwiſe it is in itſelf a moſt pleaſant, fruitful and agreeable Country: What Inhabitants we found in it are all Pagans, except ſuch as are ſent among them from Ruſſia; for this is the Country I mean on both ſides the River Oby, whither the Muſcovite Criminals, that are not put to Death, are baniſh'd, and from whence it is next to impoſſible they ſhould ever come away.

I have nothing material to ſay of my particular Affairs, till I came to Tobolski, the Capital City of Siberia, where I continued ſome time on the following Occaſion.

We had been now almoſt ſeven Months on our Journey, and Winter began to come on apace; whereupon my Partner and I call'd a Council a⯑bout our particular Affairs, in which we found it proper, conſidering that we were bound for Eng⯑land, and not for Muſcow, to conſider how to diſ⯑poſe of our ſelves: They told us of Sledges and Rane Deer to carry us over the Snow in the Win⯑ter time; and indeed they have ſuch things, that it [348] would be incredible to relate the Particulars of, by which means the Ruſſians travel more in the Win⯑ter than they can in Summer, becauſe in theſe Sleds they are able to run Night and Day; the Snow being frozen, is one univerſal Covering to Nature, by which the Hills, the Vales, the Rivers, the Lakes, all are ſmooth, and hard as a Stone, and they run upon the Surface, without any regard to what is underneath.

But I had no occaſion to puſh at a Winter Journey of this kind: I was bound to England, not to Muſcow, and my Rout lay two ways, either I muſt go on as the Caravan went till I came to Jeroſlaw, and then go off Weſt for Narva, and the Gulph of Finland; and ſo either by Sea or Land to Dantzick, where I might poſſibly ſell my China Cargo to good Advantage, or I muſt leave the Caravan at a little Town on the Dwi⯑na, from whence I had but ſix Days by Water to Arch-Angel, and from thence might be ſure of Ship⯑ping, either to England, Holland, or Hamburgh.

Now to go any of theſe Journeys in the Winter, would ha'been prepoſterous; for as to Dantzick, the Baltick would be frozen up, and I could not get Paſſage, and to go by Land in thoſe Countries, was far leſs ſafe than among the Mongul Tartars; likewiſe to go to Arch-Angel in October, all the Ships would be gone from thence, and even the Merchants who dwell there in Summer, retire South to Muſcow in the Winter when the Ships are gone; ſo that I ſhould have nothing but Ex⯑tremity of Cold to encounter, with a Scarcity of Proviſions, and muſt lie there in an empty Town all the Winter: ſo that upon the whole I thought it much my better way to let the Cara⯑van [349] go, and to make Proviſion to Winter where I was, (viz.) at Tobolski in Siberia, in the Lati⯑tude of Degrees, where I was ſure of three Things to wear out a cold Winter with, (viz.) Plenty of Proviſion ſuch as the Country afforded; a warm Houſe, with Fuel enough, and excellent Company; of all which I ſhall give a full Account in its Place.

I was now in a quite different Climate from my belov'd Iſland, where I never felt Cold except when I had my Ague; on the contrary, I had much to do to bear any Cloaths on my Back, and never made any Fire but without doors, and for my neceſſity in dreſſing my Food, &c. Now I made me three good Veſts, with large Robes or Gowns over them to hang down to the Feet, and button cloſe to the Wriſts, and all theſe lin'd with Furs to make them ſufficiently warm.

As to a warm Houſe, I muſt confeſs I greatly diſlik'd our way in England of making Fires in every Room in the Houſe, in open Chimneys, which when the Fire was out, always kept the Air in the Room cold as the Climate: But taking an Appartment in a good Houſe in the Town, I order'd a Chimney to be built like a Furnace, in the Center of ſix ſeveral Rooms, like a Stove, the Funnel to carry the Smoak went up one Way, the Door to come at the Fire went in another, and all the Rooms were kept equally warm, but no Fire ſeen; juſt as they heat the Bagnios in England.

By this means we had always the ſame Climate in all the Rooms, and an equal Heat was preſerv'd; and how cold ſoever it was without, it was al⯑ways [350] ways warm within, and yet we ſaw no Fire, nor was ever incommoded with any Smoke.

The moſt wonderful thing of all was, that it ſhould be poſſible to meet with good Company here, in a Country ſo barbarous as that of the moſt Northerly Parts of Europe, near the frozen Ocean, and within but a very few Degrees of Nova Zembla.

But this being the Country where the State Criminals of Muſcovy, as I obſerv'd before, are all baniſh'd, this City was full of Noblemen, Princes, Gentlemen, Colonels, and in ſhort all Degrees of the Nobility, Gentry, Soldiery and Courtiers of Muſcovy: Here was the famous Prince Galliozen, the old General Roboſtiski, and ſeveral other Per⯑ſons of note, and ſome Ladies.

By means of my Scots Merchant, who neverthe⯑leſs I parted with here, I made an Acquaintance here with ſeveral of theſe Gentlemen, and ſome of them of the firſt Rank, and from theſe in the long Winter Nights in which I ſtay'd here, I receiv'd ſeveral very agreeable Viſits: It was talking one Night with Prince..... one of the baniſh'd Miniſters of State belonging to the Czar of Muſ⯑covy, that my Talk of my particular Caſe began: He had been telling me abundance of fine Things of the Greatneſs, the Magnificence, the Domi⯑nions, and the abſolute Power of the Emperor of the Ruſſians. I interrupted him, and told him I was a greater and more powerful Prince than ever the Czar of Muſcovy was, tho' my Dominions were not ſo large, or my People ſo many. The Ruſſian Grandee look'd a little ſurpriz'd, and fixing [351] his Eyes ſteddily upon me, began to wonder what I meant.

I told him, his Wonder would ceaſe when I had explain'd myſelf: Firſt, I told him, I had the ab⯑ſolute Diſpoſal of the Lives and Fortunes of all my Subjects: That notwithſtanding my abſolute Power, I had not one Perſon diſaffected to my Government, or to my Perſon, in all my Domi⯑nions. He ſhook his Head at that, and ſaid, there indeed I outdid the Czar of Muſcovy. I told him, That all the Lands in my Kingdom were my own, and all my Subjects were not only my Tenants, but Tenants at Will: That they would all fight for me to the laſt Drop; and that never Tyrant, for ſuch I acknowledged myſelf to be, was ever ſo univerſally beloved, and yet ſo horribly feared by his Subjects.

After amuſing them with theſe Riddles in Go⯑vernment for a while, I open'd the Caſe, and told them the Story at large of my living in the Iſland, and how I managed both myſelf and the People there that were under me, juſt as I have ſince mi⯑nuted it down. They were exceedingly taken with the Story, and eſpecially the Prince, who told me with a Sigh, that the true Greatneſs of Life was to be Maſter of ourſelves: That he would not have exchanged ſuch a State of Life as mine, to have been Czar of Muſcovy; and that he found more Felicity in the Retirement he ſeem'd to be baniſh'd to there, than ever he found in the high⯑eſt Authority he enjoy'd in the Court of his Maſter the Czar: That the Heighth of human Wiſdom was to bring our Tempers down to our Circum⯑ſtances; and to make a Calm within, under the Weight of the greateſt Scorns without. When he [352] came firſt hither, he ſaid he uſed to tear the Hair from his Head, and the Cloaths from his Back, as others had done before him; but a little Time and Conſideration had made him look into himſelf, as well as round him to things without: That he found the Mind of Man, if it was but once brought to reflect upon the State of univerſal Life, and how little this World was concern'd in its true Felicity, was perfectly capable of making a Fe⯑licity for itſelf, fully ſatisfying to itſelf, and ſuitable to its own beſt Ends and Deſires, with but very little Aſſiſtance from the World: That Air to breath in, Food to ſuſtain Life, Cloaths for Warmth, and Liberty for Exerciſe in order to Health, compleated, in his Opinion, all that the World could do for us; and tho' the Greatneſs, the Authority, the Riches, and the Pleaſures which ſome enjoy'd in the World, and which he had enjoy'd his Share of, had much in them that was agreeable to us; yet he obſerv'd that all thoſe things chiefly gratify'd the coarſeſt of our Affe⯑ctions, ſuch as our Ambition, our particular Pride, our Avarice, our Vanity, and our Senſuality; all which were indeed the meer Product of the worſt part of Man, were in themſelves Crimes, and had in them the Seeds of all manner of Crimes, but neither were related to, or concern'd with any of thoſe Virtues that conſtituted us wiſe Men, or of thoſe Graces which diſtinguiſh'd us as Chri⯑ſtians: That being now deprived of all the fancy'd Felicity which he enjoy'd in the full Exerciſe of all thoſe Vices, he ſaid he was at leiſure to look upon the dark Side of them, where he found all manner of Deformity, and was now convinced, that Virtue only makes a Man truly wiſe, rich, and great, and preſerves him in the way to a ſu⯑perior Happineſs in a future State. And in this [353] he ſaid, they were more happy in their Baniſh⯑ment, than all their Enemies were, who had the full Poſſeſſion of all the Wealth and Power that they (the Baniſh'd) had left behind them.

Nor, Sir, ſays he, do I bring my Mind to this politically, by the Neceſſity of my Circumſtances, which ſome call miſerable; but if I know any thing of my ſelf, I would not now go back, tho' the Czar, my Maſter, ſhould call me, and re-inſtate me in all my former Grandeur; I ſay, I would no more go back to it, than I believe my Soul, when it ſhall be deliver'd from this Priſon of the Body, and has had a Taſte of the glorious State beyond Life, would come back to the Jayl of Fleſh and Blood it is now enclos'd in, and leave Heaven to deal in the Dirt and Crime of human Affairs.

He ſpoke this with ſo much Warmth in his Temper, ſo much Earneſtneſs and Motion of his Spirits, which were apparent in his Countenance, that it was evident it was the true Senſe of his Soul: There was no room to doubt his Since⯑rity.

I told him, I once thought my ſelf a kind of a Monarch in my old Station, of which I had given him an Account, but that I thought he was not a Monarch only, but a great Conqueror; for that he that has got a Victory over his own exorbitant Deſires, and has the abſolute Dominion over him⯑ſelf, whoſe Reaſon entirely governs his Will, is certainly greater than he that conquers a City. But, my Lord, ſaid I, ſhall I take the Liberty to ask you a Queſtion? With all my Heart, ſays he. If he Door of your Liberty was open'd, ſaid I, [354] would you not take hold of it to deliver your ſelf from this Exile.

Hold, ſaid he, your Queſtion is ſubtle, and re⯑quires ſome ſerious juſt Diſtinctions, to give it a ſincere Anſwer; and I'll give it you from the Bot⯑tom of my Heart. Nothing that I know of in this World would move me to deliver my ſelf from this State of Baniſhment, except theſe two, Firſt, the Enjoyment of my Relations, and Secondly, a lit⯑tle warmer Climate; but I proteſt to you, that to go back to the Pomp of the Court, the Glory, the Power, the Hurry of a Miniſter of State, the Wealth, the Gaiety, and the Pleaſures, that is to ſay, Follies of a Courtier; if my Maſter ſhould ſend me Word this Moment, that he reſtores me to all he baniſh'd me from; I proteſt, If I know my ſelf at all, I would not leave this Wilderneſs, theſe Deſarts, and theſe frozen Lakes, for the Palace at Muſcow.

But, my Lord, ſaid I, perhaps you not only are baniſh'd from the Pleaſures of the Court, and from the Power, and Authority, and Wealth you enjoy'd before, but you may be abſent too from ſome of the Conveniences of Life, your Eſtate perhaps confiſcated and your Effects plunder'd, and the Supplies left you here may not be ſuitable to the ordinary Demands of Life.

Ay, ſays he, that is as you ſuppoſe me to be a Lord, or a Prince, &c. So indeed I am; but you are now to conſider me only as a Man, a human Creature, not at all diſtinguiſh'd from another, and ſo I can ſuffer no Want, unleſs I ſhould be viſited with Sickneſs and Diſtempers. However, to put the Queſtion out of Diſpute; you ſee our [355] Manner; we are in this Place five Perſons of Rank we live perfectly retir'd, as ſuited to a State of Ba⯑niſhment; we have ſomething reſcu'd from the Shipwreck of our Fortunes, which keeps us from the meer Neceſſity of hunting for our Food; but the poor Soldiers who are here, without that Help, live in as much Plenty as we, who go into the Woods and catch Sables and Foxes; the Labour of a Month will maintain them a Year; and as the Way of living is not expenſive, ſo it is not hard to get ſufficient to our ſelves. So that Objection is out of Doors.

I have not room to give a full Account of the moſt agreeable Converſation I had with this truly great Man; in all which he ſhew'd, that his Mind was ſo inſpir'd with a ſuperior Knowledge of Things, ſo ſupported by Religion, as well as by a vaſt Share of Wiſdom; that his Contempt of the World was really as much as he had ex⯑preſs'd, and that he was always the ſame to the laſt, as will appear in the Story I am going to tell.

I had been here 8 Months, and a dark dreadful Winter I thought it to be, the Cold ſo intenſe, that I could not ſo much as look abroad without being wrapt in Furs, and a Mask of Fur before my Face, or rather a Hood with only a Hole for Breath, and two for Sight: The little Day-light we had, was, as we reckon'd, for three Months, not above five Hours a day, and ſix at moſt; only that the Snow lying on the Ground continually, and the Weather clear, it was never quite dark: Our Horſes were kept (or rather ſtarv'd) under Ground, and as for our Servants, for we hir'd three Servants here to look after our Horſes and ſelves, we had [356] every now and then their Fingers and Toes to thaw and take care of, leſt they ſhould mortify and fall off.

It is true, within Doors we were warm, the Houſes being cloſe, the Walls thick, the Lights ſmall, and the Glaſs all double; our Food was chiefly the Fleſh of Deer dry'd and cur'd in the Seaſon; good Bread enough, but bak'd as Biskets; dry'd Fiſh of ſeveral Sorts, and ſome Fleſh of Mutton, and of the Buffeloes, which is pretty good Beef: All the Stores of Proviſion for the Winter are laid up in the Summer, and well cur'd; our Drink was Water mix'd with Aqua-vitae in⯑ſtead of Brandy, and for a Treat, Mead inſtead of Wine, which, however, they have excellent good: The Hunters, who venture abroad all Wea⯑thers, frequently brought us in freſh Veniſon, ve⯑ry fat and good, and ſometimes Bears Fleſh, but we did not much care for the laſt: We had a good Stock of Tea, with which we treated our Friends, as above; and in a word, we liv'd very chearfully and well, all things conſider'd.

It was now March, and the Days grown conſi⯑derably longer, and the Weather, at leaſt, tolera⯑ble, ſo the other Travellers began to prepare Sleds to carry them over the Snow, and to get things ready to be going; but my Meaſures being fix'd, as I have ſaid, for Arch-Angel, and not for Muſcovy or the Baltick, I made no Motion; knowing very well that the Ships from the South do not ſet out for that Part of the World till May or June, and that if I was there by the beginning of Auguſt, it would be as ſoon as any Ships would be ready to go away; and therefore, I ſay, I made no haſte to be gone, as others did; in a word, I ſaw a great many Peo⯑ple, [357] nay, all the Travellers go away before me: It ſeems every Year they go from thence to Muſ⯑cow for Trade, (viz.) to carry Furs, and buy Ne⯑ceſſaries with them, which they bring back to fur⯑niſh their Shops; alſo others went of the ſame Errand to Arch-Angel, but then they alſo be⯑ing to come back again above 800 Miles, went all out before me.

In ſhort, about the latter End of May I began to make all ready to pack up; and as I was doing this, it occurr'd to me, that ſeeing all theſe People were baniſh'd by the Czar of Muſcovy to Siberia, and yet when they came there, were left at Liberty to go whither they would; why did they not then go away to any Part of the World where⯑ever they thought fit, and I began to examine what ſhould hinder them from making ſuch an At⯑tempt.

But my Wonder was over, when I enter'd upon that Subject with the Perſon I have mention'd, who anſwer'd me thus: Conſider, Firſt, Sir, ſaid he, the Place where we are; and Secondly, the Condition we are in; eſpecially, ſaid he, the Ge⯑nerality of the People who are baniſh'd hither; we are ſurrounded, ſaid he, with ſtronger Things than Bars and Bolts; on the North Side an unna⯑vigable Ocean, where Ship never ſail'd, and Boat never ſwam; neither, if we had both, could we know where to go with them: Every other Way, ſaid he, we have above a Thouſand Miles to paſs through the Czar's own Dominions, and By-Ways utterly unpaſſable, except by the Roads made by the Governour, and by the Towns garriſon'd by his Troops; ſo that we could neither paſs undiſ⯑cover'd [358] by the Road, or ſubſiſt any other Way, ſo that it is in vain to attempt it.

I was ſilenc'd indeed at once, and found that they were in a Priſon, every Jot as ſecure as if they had been lock'd up in the Caſtle at Muſcow; however, it came into my Thought, that I might certainly be made an Inſtrument to procure the Eſcape of this excellent Perſon, and that what⯑ever Hazard I run, I would certainly try if I could carry him off. Upon this I took an Occaſion one Evening to tell him my Thoughts: I repreſented to him, that it was very eaſy for me to carry him away, there being no Guard over him in the Coun⯑try, and as I was not going to Muſcow, but to Arch-Angel, and that I went in the nature of a Caravan, by which I was not oblig'd to lye in the ſtationa⯑ry Towns in the Deſart, but could encamp every Night where I would, we might eaſily paſs unin⯑terrupted to Arch-Angel, where I would immedi⯑ately ſecure him on board an Engliſh or Dutch Ship, and carry him off ſafe along with me; and as to his Subſiſtence, and other Particulars, it ſhould be my Care till he could better ſupply himſelf.

He heard me very attentively, and look'd ear⯑neſtly on me all the while I ſpoke, nay, I could ſee in his very Face, that what I ſaid put his Spirits into an exceeding Ferment; his Colour frequently chang'd, his Eyes look'd red, and his Heart flut⯑ter'd, that it might be even perceiv'd in his Coun⯑tenance; nor could he immediately anſwer me. When I had done, and as it were expected what he would ſay to it; but after he had paus'd a little he embrac'd me, and ſaid, how unhappy are we unguarded Creatures as we are, that even our greateſt Acts of Friendſhip are made Snares to us, [359] and we are made Tempters of one another! My dear Friend, ſaid he, your Offer is ſo ſincere, has ſuch Kindneſs in it, is ſo diſintereſted in it ſelf, and is ſo calculated for my Advantage, that I muſt have very little Knowledge of the World, if I did not both wonder at it, and acknowledge the Obligation I have upon me to you for it. But did you believe I was ſincere in what I have ſo often ſaid to you of my Contempt of the World? Did you believe I ſpoke my very Soul to you, and that I had really obtain'd that Degree of Felicity here, that had plac'd me above all that the World could give me, or do for me? Did you believe I was ſincere, when I told you I would not go back, if I was re-call'd even to be all, that once I was in the Court with the Favour of the Czar my Maſter? Did you believe me, my Friend, to be an honeſt Man, or did you think me to be a boaſting Hypo⯑crite? Here he ſtopp'd, as if he would hear what I would ſay, but indeed, I ſoon after perceiv'd, that he ſtopp'd becauſe his Spirits were in Motion, his great Heart was full of Struggles, and he could not go on. I was, I confeſs, aſtoniſh'd at the thing as well as at the Man, and I us'd ſome Ar⯑guments with him to urge him to ſet himſelf free: That he ought to look upon this as a Door open'd by Heaven for his Deliverance, and a Summons by Providence, who has the Care and Diſpoſition of all Events, to do himſelf good, and to render himſelf uſeful in the World.

He had by this time recover'd himſelf: How do you know Sir, ſays he warmly, that inſtead of a Summons from Heaven, it may not be a Feint of another Inſtrument? Repreſenting in all the allu⯑ring Colours to me the Shew of Felicity as a Deli⯑verance, which may in itſelf be my Snare, and [360] tends directly to my Ruin: Here I am free from the Temptation of returning to my former miſera⯑ble Greatneſs; there I am not ſure but that all the Seeds of Pride, Ambition, Avarice and Luxury, which I know remain in Nature, may revive and take Root, and in a Word, again overwhelm me, and then the happy Priſoner, who you ſee now Maſter of his Soul's Liberty, ſhall be the miſerable Slave of his own Senſes, in the Full of all perſonal Liberty: Dear Sir, let me remain in this bleſſed Confinement, baniſh'd from the Crimes of Life, rather than purchaſe a Shew of Freedom, at the Expence of the Liberty of my Reaſon, and at the Expence of the future Happineſs which now I have in my View, but ſhall then, I fear, quickly loſe Sight of; for I am but Fleſh, a Man, a meer Man, have Paſſions and Affections as likely to poſſeſs and overthrow me as any Man: O be not my Friend and my Tempter both together!

If I was ſurpriz'd before, I was quite dumb now, and ſtood ſilent, looking at him, and indeed ad⯑mir'd at what I ſaw; the Struggle in his Soul was ſo great, that tho' the Weather was extreamly cold, it put him into a moſt violent Sweat, and I found he wanted to give Vent to his Mind; ſo I ſaid a Word or two, that I would leave him to conſider of it, and wait on him again, and then I withdrew to my own Apartment.

About two Hours after I heard ſome Body at, or near, the Door of my Room, and I was going to open the Door, but he had open'd it, and came in: My dear Friend, ſays he, you had almoſt over⯑ſet me, but I am recover'd; do not take it ill that I do not cloſe with your Offer, I aſſure you, 'tis not for want of a Senſe of the Kindneſs [361] of it in you, and I came to make the moſt ſin⯑cere Acknowledgment of it to you; but I hope I have got the Victory over my ſelf.

My Lord, ſaid I, I hope you are fully ſatisfy'd that you do not reſiſt the Call of Heaven. Sir, ſaid he, if it had been from Heaven, the ſame Power would have influenc'd me to accept it; but I hope, and am fully ſatisfy'd, that it is from Heaven that I decline it, and I have an infi⯑nite Satisfaction in the Parting, that you ſhall leave me an honeſt Man ſtill, tho' not a free Man.

I had nothing to do but to acquieſce, and make Profeſſions to him of my having no End in it, but a ſincere Deſire to ſerve him: He em⯑brac'd me very paſſionately, and aſſur'd me, he was ſenſible of that, and ſhould always acknow⯑ledge it, and with that he offer'd me a very fine Preſent of Sables, too much indeed for me to accept from a Man in his Circumſtances, and I would have avoided them, but he would not be refus'd.

The next Morning I ſent my Servant to his Lordſhip, with a ſmall Preſent of Tea, and two Pieces of China Damask, and four little Wedges of Japan Gold, which did not all weigh above ſix Ounces, or thereabour, but were far ſhort of the Value of his Sables, which, indeed, when I came to England, I found worth near 200 l. He accepted the Tea, and one Piece of the Damask, and one of the Pieces of Gold, which had a fine Stamp upon it, of the Japan Coinage, which I found he took for the Rarity of it, but would not take any more, and he ſent word by my Ser⯑vant that he deſir'd to ſpeak with me.

[362] When I came to him, he told me, I knew what had paſs'd between us, and hop'd I would not move him any more in that Affair; out that ſince I had made ſuch a generous Offer to him, he ask'd me, if I had Kindneſs enough to offer the ſame to another Perſon that he would name to me, in whom he had a great Share of Concern; I told him, that I could not ſay I en⯑clin'd to do ſo much for any one but himſelf, for whom I had a particular Value, and ſhould have been glad to have been the Inſtrument of his Deliverance; however, if he would pleaſe to name the Perſon to me, I would give him my Anſwer, and hop'd he would not be diſplea⯑ſed with me, if he was with my Anſwer; he told me, it was only his Son, who, tho' I had not ſeen, yet was in the ſame Condition with himſelf, and above two hundred Miles from him, on the other Side the Oby; but that if I con⯑ſented, he would ſend for him.

I made no Heſitation, but told him I would do it: I made ſome Ceremony in letting him underſtand that it was wholly on his Account, and that ſeeing I could not prevail on him, I would ſhew my Reſpect to him, by my Concern for his Son; but theſe Things are too tedious to repeat here: He ſent away the next Day for his Son, and in about twenty Days he came back with the Meſſenger, bringing ſix or ſeven Horſes, loaded with very rich Furs, and which in the whole, amounted to a very great Value.

His Servants brought the Horſes into the Town, but left the young Lord at a Diſtance, till Night, when he came incognito into our [363] Apartment, and his Father preſented him to me; and in ſhort, we concerted there the man⯑ner of our travelling, and every Thing proper for the Journey.

I had bought a conſiderable Quantity of Sables, black Fox Skins, fine Ermines, and ſuch other Furs as are very rich; I ſay, I had bought them in that City in Exchange for ſome of the Goods I brought from China; in particular for the Cloves and Nutmegs, of which, I ſold the greateſt Part here, and the reſt afterwards at Arch-Angel, for a much better Price than I could have done at London; and my Partner who was ſenſible of the Profit, and whoſe Buſineſs more particular⯑ly than mine was Merchandize, was mightily pleas'd with our Stay, on Account of the Traf⯑fick we made here.

It was the beginning of June, when I left this remote Place, a City, I believe, little heard of in the World; and indeed it is ſo far out of the Road of Commerce, that I know not how it ſhould be much talk'd of. We were now come to a very ſmall Caravan, being only thirty two Horſes and Camels in all, and all of them paſs'd for mine, tho' my new Gueſt was Propri⯑etor of eleven of them; it was moſt natural alſo that I ſhould take more Servants with me than I had before, and the young Lord paſs'd for my Steward; what great Man I paſs'd for my ſelf, I know not, neither did it concern me to en⯑quire; we had here, the worſt and the largeſt Deſart to paſs over that we met with in all the Journey; indeed I call it the worſt, becauſe the Way was very deep in ſome Places, and very uneven in others; the beſt we had to ſay for [364] it, was, that we thought we had no Troops of Tar⯑tars and Robbers to fear, and that they never came on this Side the River Oby, or at leaſt, but very ſeldom, but we ſound it otherwiſe.

My young Lord had with him, a faithful Muſcovite Servant, or rather a Siberian Servant, who was perfectly acquainted with the Country, and led us by private Roads, that we avoided coming in to the principal Towns and Cities, upon the great Road, ſuch as Tumen, Soly-Kam⯑skoi, and ſeveral others; becauſe the Muſcovite Garriſons which are kept there, are very cu⯑rious and ſtrict in their Obſervation upon Travellers; and ſearching leaſt any of the ba⯑niſh'd Perſons of Note ſhould make their Eſcape that Way into Muſcovy; but by this Means, as we were kept out of the Cities, ſo our whole Journey was a Deſart, and we were oblig'd to encamp and lye in our Tents, when we might have had very good Accommodation in the Cities on the Way: This the young Lord was ſo ſenſible of, that he would not allow us to lye abroad, when we came to ſeveral Cities, on the Way, but lay abroad himſelf with his Servant in the Woods, and met us always at the appointed Places.

We were juſt enter'd Europe, having paſs'd the River Kama, which in theſe Parts, is the Boundary between Europe and Aſia, and the firſt City on the European Side was call'd Soloy-Kamaskoy, which is as much as to ſay, the great City, on the River Kama; and here we thought to have ſeen ſome evident Alteration in the People, their Manner, their Habit, their Re⯑ligion, and their Buſineſs; but we were mi⯑ſtaken, [365] for as we had a vaſt Deſart to paſs, which by Relation, is near ſeven hundred Miles long in ſome Places, but not above two hun⯑dred Miles over where we paſs'd it; ſo till we came paſt that horrible Place, we found very little Difference between that Country and the Mogul Tartary; the People, moſtly Pagans, and little better than the Savages of America, their Hou⯑ſes and Towns full of Idols, and their Way of Living, wholly barbarous, except in the Cities as above, and the Villages near them; where they are Chriſtians as they call themſelves, of the Greek Church, but have their Religion mingled with ſo many Reliques of Superſtition, that it is ſcarce to be known in ſome Places from meer Sorcery and Witchcraft.

In paſſing this Forreſt, I thought indeed we muſt, after all our Dangers were in our Imagination e⯑ſcap'd, as before, have been plunder'd and robb'd, and perhaps murther'd by a Troop of Thieves; of what Country they were, whether the ro⯑ving Bands of the Oſtiachi, a Kind of Tartars or wild People on the Bank of the Obi, had rang'd thus far, or whether they were the Sable-Hunters of Siberia, I am yet at a Loſs to know; but they were all on Horſeback, carry'd Bows and Arrows, and were at firſt about five and forty in Number; they came ſo near to us, as within about two Muſquet Shot, and asking no Queſtions, they ſurrounded us with their Horſe, and look'd very earneſtly upon us twice; at length they plac'd themſelves juſt in our Way, upon which, we drew up in a little Line before our Camels, being not above ſixteen Men in all; and being drawn up thus, we halted and ſent out the Siberian Servant, who attended his [366] Lord, to ſee who they were; his Maſter was the more willing to let him go, becauſe he was not a little apprehenſive, that they were a Sy⯑berian Troop ſent out after him: The Man came up near them with a Flag of Truce, and call'd them, but tho' he ſpoke ſeveral of their Languages or Dialects of Languages ra⯑ther, he could not underſtand a Word they ſaid; however, after ſome Signs to him, not to come nearer to them at his Peril; ſo he ſaid, he underſtood them to mean offering to ſhoot at him if he advanc'd; the Fellow came back no wiſer than he went, only that by their Dreſs, he ſaid, he believ'd them to be ſome Tartars of Kalmuck, or of the Circaſſian Hoords; and that there muſt be more of them upon the great Deſart, tho' he never heard that any of them ever were ſeen ſo far North before.

This was ſmall Comfort to us; however, we had no Remedy; there was on our left Hand at about a Quarter of a Mile's Diſtance, a little Grove or Clump of Trees which ſtood cloſe together, and very near the Road; I immediately reſolv'd we would advance to thoſe Trees, and fortify our ſelves as well as we could there; for firſt I con⯑ſidered, that the Trees would in a great Mea⯑ſure cover us from their Arrows, and in the next Place, they could not come to charge us in a Bo⯑dy; it was indeed my old Portugueſe Pilot who propoſed it, and who had this Excellency at⯑tending him, namely, that he was always readieſt and moſt apt to direct and encourage us in Ca⯑ſes of the moſt Danger; we advanc'd immedi⯑ately with what Speed we could, and gain'd that little Wood, the Tartars or Thieves, for we know not what to call them, keeping their Stand, [367] and not attempting to hinder us; when we came thither, we found to our great Satisfaction, that it was a ſwampy ſpringy Piece of Ground, and on the one Side, a very great Spring of Water, which running out in a little Rill or Brook, was a little farther, joyn'd by another of the like Bigneſs, and was in ſhort, the Head or Source of a conſiderable River, call'd afterwards the Wirt⯑ska; the Trees which grew about this Spring, were not all above two hundred, but were very large, and ſtood pretty thick; ſo that as ſoon as we got in, we ſaw our ſelves perfectly ſafe from the Enemy, unleſs they alighted and attack'd us on Foot.

But to make this more difficult, our Portu⯑gueze, with indefatigable Application, cut down great Arms of the Trees, and laid them hang⯑ing not quite cut off from one Tree to another, ſo that he made a continued Fence almoſt round us.

We ſtay'd here waiting the Motion of the Ene⯑my ſome Hours, without perceiving they made any Motion; when about two Hours before Night, they came down directly upon us, and tho' we had not perceiv'd it, we found they had been join'd by ſome more of the ſame, ſo that they were near fourſcore Horſe, where of how⯑ever, we fancy'd ſome were Women: They came on till they were within half Shot of our little Wood, when we fir'd one Muſquet without Ball, and call'd to them in the Ruſſian Tongue, to know what they wanted, and bid them keep off; but as if they knew nothing of what we ſaid, they came on with a double Fury direct⯑ly up to the Wood ſide, not imagining we were [368] ſo barricado'd that they could not break in; our old Pilot was our Captain, as well as he had been our Engineer, and deſir'd of us not to fire upon them till they came within Piſtol-Shot, and that we might be ſure to kill, and that when we did fire, we ſhould be ſure to take good Aim; we bad him give the Word of Command, which he delay'd ſo long, that they were ſome of them within two Pikes length of us when we fir'd.

We aim'd ſo true, (or Providence directed our Shot ſo ſure) that we kill'd fourteen of them, and wounded ſeveral others, as alſo ſeveral of their Horſes; for we had all of us loaded our Pieces with two or three Bullets at leaſt..

They were terribly ſurpriz'd with our Fire, and retreated immediately about one Hundred Rods from us; in which Time, we loaded our Pieces again, and ſeeing them keep that Diſtance, we ſally'd out and catch'd four or five of their Horſes, whoſe Riders we ſuppoſe were kill'd, and coming up to the dead, we could eaſily perceive they were Tartars, but knew not from what Country, or how they came to make an Excurſion ſuch an unuſual Length.

About an Hour after they made a Motion to attack us again, and rode round our little Wood, to ſee where elſe they might break in; but finding us always ready to Face them, they went off again, and we reſolv'd not to ſtir from the Place for that Night.

We ſlept little you may be ſure, but ſpent the moſt Part of the Night in ſtrengthning our [369] Situation, and barricadoing the Entrances into the Wood, and keeping a ſtrict Watch, we waited for Day-Light, and when it came, it gave us a very unwelcome Diſcovery indeed; for the Enemy, who we thought were diſ⯑courag'd with the Reception they had met with, were now encreas'd to no leſs than three hundred, and had ſet up eleven or twelve Huts and Tents, as if they were reſolv'd to be⯑ſiege us; and this little Camp they had pitch'd upon the open Plain, at about three Quarters of a Mile from us. We were indeed ſurpriz'd at this Diſcovery; and now I confeſs, I gave my ſelf over for loſt, and all that I had: The Loſs of my Effects did not lye ſo near me, (tho' they were very conſiderable) as the Thoughts of falling into the Hands of ſuch Barbarians, at the lat⯑ter End of my Journey, after ſo many Difficul⯑ties and Hazards as I had gone thro'; and even in Sight of our Port, where we expected Safety and Deliverance; as for my Partner, he was ra⯑ging; he declar'd, that to loſe his Goods would be his Ruin; and he would rather die than be ſtarv'd; and he was for fighting to the laſt Drop.

The young Lord, as gallant as ever Fleſh ſhew'd it ſelf, was for fighting to the laſt alſo; and my old Pilot was of the Opinion we were able to reſiſt them all, in the Situation we were then in; and thus we ſpent the Day in Debates of what we ſhould do; but towards Evening, we found that the Number of our Enemies ſtill encreas'd, perhaps as they were abroad in ſeveral Parties for Prey; the firſt had ſent out Scouts to call for Help, and to acquaint them of the Booty, and we did not know, but by the Morning they [370] might ſtill be a greater Number; ſo I began to enquire of thoſe People we had brought from Tobolski, if there was no other, or more private Ways by which we might avoid them in the Night, and perhaps either retreat to ſome Town, or get Help to guard us over the Deſart.

The Syberian, who was Servant to the young Lord, told us, if we deſign'd to avoid them and not fight, he would engage to carry us off in the Night, to a Way that went North towards the Pe⯑trou, by which he made no Queſtion, but we might get away, and the Tartars never the wi⯑ſer; but he ſaid, his Lord had told him, he would not retreat, but would rather chuſe to fight. I told him, he miſtook his Lord, for that he was too wiſe a Man to love Fighting for the ſake of it; that I knew his Lord was brave enough by what he had ſhew'd already; but that his Lord knew better, than to deſire to have ſeventeen or eighteen Men fight five hundred, unleſs an unavoidable Neceſſity forc'd them to it; and that if he thought it poſſible for us to eſcape in the Night, we had nothing elſe to do but to attempt it. He anſwer'd, if his Lord gave him ſuch Orders, he would loſe his Life if he did not perform it; we ſoon brought his Lord to give that Order, tho' privately, and we immediately prepar'd for the putting it in Practice.

And firſt, as ſoon as it began to be dark, we kindled a Fire in our little Camp, which we kept burning, and prepar'd ſo as to make it burn all Night, that the Tartars might conclude we were ſtill there; but as ſoon as it was dark, (that is to ſay) ſo as we could ſee the Stars) for [371] our Guide would not ſtir before) having all our Horſes and Camels ready loaden, we followed our new Guide, who I ſoon found ſteer'd himſelf by the Pole, or North Star, all the Country being level for a long Way.

After we had travell'd two Hours very hard, it began to be lighter ſtill, not that it was quite dark all Night, but the Moon began to riſe, ſo that in ſhort, it was rather lighter than we wiſh'd it to be; but by ſix a Clock the next Morning we were gotten near forty Miles, tho' the Truth is, we almoſt ſpoil'd our Horſes. Here we found a Ruſſian Village named Kerma⯑zinskoy, where we reſted, and heard nothing of the Calmuck Tartars that Day; about two Hours before Night we ſet out again, and travell'd till eight the next Morning, tho' not quite ſo quite as before, and about ſeven a Clock we paſs'd a little River call'd Kirtza, and came to a good large Town inhabited by Ruſſians, and very po⯑pulous, call'd Ozomoys; there we heard that ſe⯑veral Troops or Hoords of Calmucks had been abroad upon the Deſart, but that we were now compleatly out of Danger of them, which was to our great Satisfaction you may be ſure. Here we were oblig'd to get ſome freſh Horſes, and having need enough of Reſt, we ſtay'd five Days; and my Partner and I agreed to give the honeſt Syberian, who brought us thither, the Value of ten Piſtoles, for his conducting us.

In five Days more we came to Veuſlima, upon the River Witzogda, and running into the Dwina, we were there very happily near the end of our Travels by Land, that River being navigable in ſeven Days Paſſage to Arch-Angel: From hence we came to [372] Lawrenskoy the 3d of July, and providing our ſelves with two Luggage Boats, and a Barge for our own Convenience, we embark'd the 7th, and ar⯑riv'd all ſafe at Arch-Angel the 18th, having been a Year and five Months and three Days on the Journey, including our Stay of eight Months and odd Days at Tobolski.

We were oblig'd to ſtay at this Place ſix Weeks for the Arrival of the Ships, and muſt have tarry'd longer, had not a Hamburgher come in above a Month ſooner than any of the Engliſh Ships; when after ſome Conſideration, that the City of Ham⯑burgh might happen to be as good a Market for our Goods as London, we all took Freight with him, and having put my Goods on board, it was moſt natural for me to put my Steward on board to take care of them, by which means my young Lord had a ſufficient Opportunity to conceal him⯑ſelf, never coming on Shore in all the time we ſtay'd there; and this he did, that he might not be ſeen in the City, where ſome of the Muſcow Merchants would certainly have ſeen and diſco⯑ver'd him.

We ſail'd from Arch-Angel the 20th of Auguſt the ſame Year, and after no extraordinary bad Voyage, arriv'd in the Elbe the 13th of September. Here my Partner and I found a very good Sale for our Goods, as well thoſe of China, as the Sables, &c. of Syberia; and dividing the Produce of our Effects, my Share amounted to 3475—17—3d. notwithſtanding ſo many Loſſes we had ſuſtain'd, and Charges we had been at; only remembring that I had included in this, about ſix hundred Pounds worth of Diamonds which I had purchas'd at Bengal.

[373] Here the young Lord took his leave of us, and went up the Elbe in order to go to the Court of Vienna, where he reſolv'd to ſeek Protection, and where he could correſpond with thoſe of his Fa⯑ther's Friends who were left alive: He did not part without all the Teſtimonies he could give me of Gratitude for the Service I had done him, and his Senſe of my Kindneſs to the Prince his Father.

To conclude, having ſtay'd near four Months in Hamburgh, I came from thence over Land to the Hague, where I embark'd in the Pacquet, and arriv'd in London the 10th of January, 1705, ha⯑ving been gone from England ten Years and nine Months.

And here, reſolving to harraſs my ſelf no more, I am preparing for a longer Journey than all theſe, having liv'd 72 Years a Life of infinite Variety, and learn'd ſufficiently to know the Value of Re⯑tirement, and the Bleſſing of ending our Days in Peace.