Part 34 (2/2)

However just our ainst them in it, and I always after that tie; for I looked upon the blood they shed that night to be h it is true that they killed Thoressor, had broken the truce, and had violated or debauched a young woman of theirs, who came to our camp innocently, and on the faith of their capitulation

The boatswain defended this quarrel ere afterwards on board He said, it was true that we seemed to break the truce, but really had not, and that the as begun the night before by the natives themselves, who had shot at us, and killed one of our men without any just provocation; so that as ere in a capacity to fight theht also be in a capacity to do ourselves justice upon theh the poor ht not to have been murdered, and that in such a villanousbut as just, and that the laws of God allowed to be done to h to have warned us against going on shore a heathens and barbarians; but it is impossible to make mankind wise but at their own experience; and their experience seeht

We were now bound to the Gulf of Persia, and from thence to the coast of Coroo's design lay at the Bay of Bengal, where if he o up to China, and return to the coast as he came home

The first disaster that befel us was in the Gulf of Persia, where five of ouron shore on the Arabian side of the Gulf were surrounded by the Arabs, and either all killed or carried away into slavery; the rest of the boat's creere not able to rescue thean to upbraid them with the just retribution of Heaven in this case; but the boatswain very warht I went farther in my censures than I could show any warrant for in Scripture, and referred to the thirteenth of St

Luke, ver 4, 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 silence in this case was, that none of these five men ere now lost were of the nuascar (so I always called it, though our men could not bear the word _massacre_ with any patience:) and indeed this last circumstance, as I have said, putto 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 ht that affair upon the stage, that I made unjust reflections upon it, and had used the men very ill on that account, and hier, and had no coe, they were not obliged to bear it; that they did not know but I n in my head, and perhaps call theland; and that therefore, unless I would resolve to have done with it, and also not to concern myself farther with him, or any of his affairs, he would leave the shi+p; for he did not think it was safe to sail with h till he had done, and then told hi opposed the ascar, for such I would always call it; and that I had on all occasions spoken h notno command in the shi+p, that was true, nor did I exercise any authority, only took the liberty of speaking s which publicly concerned us all: as to what concern I had in the voyage, that was none of his business; I was a considerable owner of the shi+p, and in that claiht to speak, even farther than I had yet done, and would not be accountable to hian to be a little ith hiht that affair had been over We were at this ti to see the place, I went on shore with the supercargo, in the shi+p's boat, to divert o on board, when one of the men came to me, and told me he would not have me trouble myself to come down to the boat, for they had orders not to carry uess what a surprise I was in at so insolent a e; and I asked the man who bade him deliver that errand to me? He told me, the coxswain I said no more to the fellow, but bid hiiven him no answer to it

I io, and told hi, what I presently foresaw, viz that there would certainly be a o immediately on board the shi+p in an Indian boat, and acquaint the captain of it: but I ence, for before I had spoken to him on shore the unner, the carpenter, and, in a word, all the inferior officers, as soon as I was gone off in the boat, came up to the quarter-deck, and desired to speak with the captain; and there the boatswain ue, (for the fellow talked very well) and repeating all he had said to one peaceably on shore, they were loath to use any violence with one on shore, they would otherwise have done, to oblige ht fit to tell him, that as they shi+pped themselves to serve in the shi+p under his command, they would perform it faithfully; but if I would not quit the shi+p, or the captain oblige me to quit it, they would all leave the shi+p, and sail no farther with him; and at that word All, he turned his face about towards the reed on between theether, they cried out, ”One and All, One and All!”

My nephew, the captain, was a h he was surprised, you , yet he told them calmly he would consider of thein it till he had spoken to uments with them, to shew the, 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 on board the shi+p

This was a hard article upon hiht take it; so he began to talk cavalierly to them; told them that I was a very considerable owner of the shi+p, and that in justice he could not putme as the famous pirate Kid had done, who made the mutiny in the shi+p, set the captain on shore in an uninhabited island, and ran aith the shi+p; that let theland again it would cost them dear; that the shi+p was mine, and that he would not put me out of it; and that he would rather lose the shi+p, and the voyage too, than disoblige ht do as they pleased However, he would go on shore, and talk with o with hiht accommodate the matter with me

But they all rejected the proposal; and said, they would have nothing to do with me any more, neither on board nor on shore; and if I cao on shore ”Well,” said the captain, ”if you are all of this o on shore, and talk with him:” so away he cae had been brought to lad to see my nephew I must confess, for I was not without apprehensions that they would confine him by violence, set sail, and run aith the shi+p; and then I had been stripped naked, in a re 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 coreat 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 shi+p, if I was suffered to come on board, I told him he should not be concerned at it at all, for I would stay onshore; I only desired he would take care and send s on shore, and leave land as well as I could

This was a heavy piece of news to my nephew; but there was no way to help it, but to coain, and satisfied the men that his uncle had yielded to their ioods from on board the shi+p So the matter was over in a very few hours; the un to consider what course I should steer

I was now alone in the remotest part of the world, as I think I ues, by sea, farther off froht travel here by land, over the Great Mogul's country to Surat, o from thence to Bassora by sea, up the Gulf of Persia, and froht take the way of the caravans, over the deserts of Arabia, to Aleppo and Scanderoon, and froain to Italy, and so overland into France; and this, put together, lobe; but, if it were to be reat deal more

I had another way before lish shi+ps, which were coet passage on board theland: but as I calish East India Coo froreat favour of the captains of the shi+ps, or of the Coer

Here I had the particular pleasure, speaking by contrarieties, to see the shi+p set sail without me; a treatment, I think, a man in my circu aith a shi+p, and setting those that would not agree with their villany on shore: indeed this was the next door to it both ways However, my nephew left me two servants, or rather, one companion and one servant: the first was clerk to the purser, whoo with ood lodging in the house of an English woed, solishht not be said to run rashly upon any thing, I stayed here above nine e oods with me of value, and a considerable su ht, and a letter of credit for ht not be straitened, whatever oods, and to advantage too; and, as I originally intended, I bought here sos, was the ht always carrystay here, andto ed with me, and hom I had contracted an inti: ”Countryman,” says he, ”I have a project to cohts, ht I know, suit with yours also, when you shall have thoroughly considered 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 ot: if you will put a thousand pounds to my thousand pounds, ill hire a shi+p here, the first we can get to our o a trading voyage to China; for what should we stand still for? The whole world is inround and round; all the creatures of God, heavenly bodies and earthly, are busy and vibrant: why should we be idle? There are no drones,” says he, ”living in the world but men: why should we be of that number?”

I liked this proposal very well; and the ood will, and in so friendly a ht, by ed circumstances, be the fitter to e else; or otherwise trade was none of ht, perhaps, say with so was; and no proposal for seeing any part of the world, which I had never seen before, could possibly come aet a shi+p to our lish sailors; that is to say, so e the sailors which we should pick up there After solish; a Dutch carpenter, and three Portuguese fore Indian seamen, such as they are, to make up

There are so es and travels this way, that it would be but very little diversion to any body, to give a long account of the places ent to, and the people who inhabit there: those things I leave to others, and refer the reader to those journals and travels of Englishmen, many of which, I find, are published, and h for e to Achin, in the island of Sued some of our wares for opiureat price a the Chinese, and which, at that time, was very much wanted there: in a word, ent up to Sushaht al: and I was very well satisfied with land often admire how the officers, which the Coenerally stay there, get such very good estates as they do, and sometimes come home worth sixty, seventy, and a hundred thousand pounds at a time But it is no wonder, or, at least, we shall see so much farther into it, e consider the innumerable ports and places where they have a free commerce, that it will then be no wonder; and much less will it be so, e consider, that at all those places and ports where the English shi+ps corowth of all other countries, that there is a certain vent for the return, as well as a oods carried out

In short, we ot so ht into the er, I should have been teside of threescore, that was rich enough, and ca the world, than a covetous desire of getting in it? And indeed I think it is with great justice that I now call it a restless desire, for it was so: when I was at hoo abroad; and noas abroad, I was restless to be at hoh already; nor had I any uneasy desires about getting e toht, that by this voyage I had ht call it, to the place from whence I came, as to a home; whereas my eye, which, like that which Solo, was stillI was come into a part of the world which I never was in before; and that part in particular which I had heard much of; and was resolved to see as ht say I had seen all the world that orth seeing