Part 28 (1/2)

After this feast, at which ere very innocently oods, wherein, that there , I shewed them that there was sufficient for theht all take an equal quantity of the goods that were for wearing; that is to say, equal when made up As first, I distributed linen sufficient to make every one of them four shi+rts; and, at the Spaniards' request, afterwardsco been what, as I ot the use of, or what it was to wear thelish stuffs, which I ht coat like a frock, which I judged fittest for the heat of the season, cool and loose; and ordered, that whenever they decayed, they should ht fit The like for pus, and hats, &c

I cannot express what pleasure, what satisfaction, sat upon the countenances of all these poor men when they saw the care I had taken of them, and hoell I had furnished the such a correspondent as I was, in so reet that they were left in a desolate place; and they all voluntarily engaged to me not to leave the place without my consent

Then I presented to theht with me, particularly the tailor, the smith, and the two carpenters, all of theeneral artificer, than who that was more needful to them; and the tailor, to shew his concern for them, went to work immediately, and, withhe did; and, which was still ht the women not only how to sew and stitch, and use the needle, but made them assist to make the shi+rts for their husbands and for all the rest

As for the carpenters, I scarce need mention how useful they were, for they took in pieces all s, and made them clever convenient tables, stools, bedsteads, cupboards, lockers, shelves, and every thing they wanted of that kind

But to let them see how nature made artificers at first, I carried the carpenters to see William Atkins's basket house, as I called it, and they both owned 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 the about to me, ”I am sure,” says he, ”that ive hiht the spade, a shovel, and a rake, for we had no harrows or ploughs; and to every separate place a pickaxe, a crow, a broadaxe, and a saays appointing, that as often as any were broken, or worn out, they should be supplied, without grudging, out of the general stores that I left behind

Nails, staples, hinges, hammers, chisels, knives, scissors, and all sorts of tools and iron-work, they had without tale as they required; for no man would care to take more than he wanted, and he must be a fool that would waste or spoil them on any account whatever And for the use of the sht iron for a supply

My ht them, was such, even to profusion, that they could not but rejoice at them; for now they could march, as I used to do, with a musket upon each shoulder, if there was occasion; and were able to fight a thousand savages, if they had but soes of situation, which also they could not miss of if they had occasion

I carried on shore withman whose mother was starved to death, and thewoood word She had, indeed, an unhappy life with us, there being no woman in the shi+p but herself; but she bore it with patience After a while, seeing things so well ordered, and in so fine a way of thriving uponthat they had neither business nor acquaintance in the East Indies, or reason for taking so long a voyage; I say, considering all this, both of theive the reed to it readily, and they had a little plot of ground allotted to them, where they had three tents or houses set up, surrounded with a basket-work, palisaded like Atkins's, and adjoining to his plantation

Their tents were contrived so, that they had each of thereat storehouse, to lay all their goods in, and to eat and drink in And now the other two Englishmen moved 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 enlarged and extended their works, as well under as on the outside of the hill, that they lived, though perfectly concealed, 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 ed the island a , and looked on purpose for it, they would not have found it; for the trees stood so thick and so close, and grew so fastthem down first, could discover the place, except the two narrow entrances where they went in and out, could be found, which was not very easy One of thee, on the side 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 fore wood, thick planted, also on the top of the hill, which contained above an acre, which grew apace, and covered the place from all discovery there, with only one narrow place between two trees, not easy to be discovered, to enter on that side

The other colony was that of Will Atkins, where there were four falishmen, I mean those I had left there, with their wives and children; three savages that were slaves; theand children of the English man and the maid; and by the e made a wife of her also before ent away There were also the two carpenters and the tailor, whoht with me for them; also the smith, as a very necessary unsmith, to take care of their arms; and my other ood alenious fellow, but a very merry fellow; and before I went ae married him to the honest maid that came with the youth in the shi+p, who, it bringsof the French ecclesiastic that I had brought with me out of the shi+p's crehom I took at sea It is true, this ive offence to so extraordinary upon record of a in, I must (to set him out in just colours) represent in tere in the account of Protestants; as, first, that he was a Papist; secondly, a Popish priest; and thirdly, a French Popish priest

But justice deive hirave, sober, pious, and ious person; exact in his life, extensive in his charity, and exe he did What then can any one say againstvery sensible of the value of such a h it may be my opinion, perhaps as well as the opinion of others who shall read this, that he was an to converse with hio with ly in his conversation; and he first began with inable

”Sir,” says he, ”you have not only, under God” (and at that he crossed his breast), ”saved e in your shi+p, and by your obliging civility have takenme an opportunity of free conversation Now, Sir,” says he, ”you see by uess by your nation what yours is I may think it is my duty, and doubtless it is so, to useall the souls that I can to the knowledge of the truth, and to embrace the Catholic doctrine; but as I am here under your permission, and in your family, I am bound in justice to your kindness, as well as in decency and good overnment; and therefore I shall not, without your leave, enter into any debates on the points of religion, in which we ive e was so e it; that it was true, ere such people as they call heretics, but that he was not the first Catholic that I had conversed ithout falling into any inconveniencies, or carrying the questions to any height in debate; that he should not find hi of a different opinion from us; and if we did not converse without any dislike on either side, upon that score, it would be his fault, not ours

He replied, that he thought our conversation ht be easily separated from disputes; that it was not his business to cap principles with every man he discoursed with; and that he rather desired ieux_; that if I would give hiious 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

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 shi+p, and the safety of all that was in her; and though perhaps ould not join with hiht pray for us, which he would do upon all occasions In this entleman-like behaviour, so he was, if I ood sense, and, as I believe, of great learning

He gaveaccount 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 reed in he had the misfortune to be five tio to the place whither any of the shi+ps he was in were at first designed: that his first intent was to have gone to Martinico, and that he went on board a shi+p bound thither at St Maloes; but being forced into Lisbon in bad weather, the shi+p received sous, and was obliged to unload her cargo there: that finding a Portuguese shi+p there, bound to the Madeiras, and ready to sail, and supposing he should easily meet with a vessel there bound to Martinico, he went on board in order to sail to the Madeiras; but thebut an indifferent , and they drove to Fyal; where, however, he happened to find a very good o, which was corn, and therefore resolved not to go to the Madeiras, but to load salt at the isle of May, to go away to Newfoundland He had no reo with the shi+p, and had a pretty good voyage as far as the Banks, (so they call the place where they catch the fish) wherewith a French shi+p bound from France to Quebec, in the river of Canada, and froht he should have an opportunity to con

But when he came to Quebec the master of the shi+p died, and the shi+p proceeded no farther So the next voyage he shi+pped himself for France, in the shi+p that was burnt, e took them up at sea, and then shi+pped them with us for the East Indies, as I have already said Thus he had been disappointed in five voyages, all, as I e, besides what I shall have occasion to mention farther of the saressions into other men's stories which have no relation to my own I return to what concerns our affair in the island

He ca us all the while ere upon the island, and it happened to be just when I was going to visit the Englishmen's colony at the farthest part of the island; I say, he carave countenance, that he had for two or three days desired an opportunity of so to ht in son, which was the prosperity of ht put it at least

I looked a little surprised 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 wonderful deliverances as we have seen here, and of which I have given you a large account?”

”If you had pleased, Sir,” said he, with a world of reat readiness, ”to have heard me, you would have found no room to have been displeased, est, 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 prosper But, Sir,” said he, ”though it were more so than is even possible to you, yet there ht in their actions; and you know that in the story of Israel, one Achan, in the ca froainst theh not concerned in the criht of that punishment”

I was sensibly touched with this discourse, and told hin seeious in its own nature, that I was very sorry I had interrupted hio on; and in the ht take up solishht discourse of it by the way He told ly wait onwas acted which he desired to speak to me about So alked on, and I pressed him to be free and plain with me in what he had to say

”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 h weopinions in the practice of particulars First, Sir, though we differ in soion, and it is very unhappy that it is so, especially in the case before us, as I shall shew afterwards, yet there are soree; viz

first, that there is a God, and that this God, having given us soht not willingly and knowingly to offend hi to do what he has co what he has expressly forbidden; and let our different religions be what they will, this general principle is readily owned by us all, that the blessing of God does not ordinarily follow a presuood Christian will be affectionately concerned to prevent any that are under his care, living in a total neglect of God and his co Protestants, whateverconcerned for their souls, and fro, if it lies before me, that they should live in as little distance froive me leave to ine, what he airanted all he had said; and thanked hied he would explain the particulars of what he had observed, that, like Joshua, (to take his own parable) Ifrom us