Part 36 (1/2)
Not being able to put the old man out of his talk, of which he was very opinionated, or conceited, I told hientleo and see the great city of Pekin, and the famous court of the o to Ningpo, where, by the river that runs into the sea there, you reat canal This canal is a navigable h the heart of all that vast empire of China, crosses all the rivers, passes sooes up to the city of Pekin, being in length near two hundred and seventy 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 Pekin afterwards?” Yes, he said, he could do so very well, and there was a great Dutch shi+p gone up that way just before This gave me a little shock; a Dutch shi+p was now our terror, and we had much rather have htful a figure; we depended upon it that a Dutch shi+p would be our destruction, for ere in no condition to fight thereat burden, and of reater force than ere
The old man found me a little confused, and under some concern, when he named a Dutch shi+p: and said to me, ”Sir, you need be under no apprehension of the Dutch; I suppose they are not noith your nation”--”No,” said I, ”that's true; but I know not what liberties men may take when they are out of the reach of the laws of their country”--”Why,” said he, ”you are no pirates, what need you fear? They will not meddle with peaceable merchants, sure”
If I had any blood in my body that did not fly up into my face at that word, it was hindered by some stop in the vessels appointed by nature to circulate it; for it put inable; nor was it possible for me to conceal it so, but that the old man easily perceived it
”Sir,” said he, ”I find you are in soo which way you think fit, and depend upon it I'll do you all the service I can”--”Why, Seignior,” said I, ”it is true, I am a little unsettled in o in particular; and I a 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 manned”
”O Sir,” said he, ”do not be concerned; I do not know that there have been any pirates in these seas these fifteen years, except one, which was seen, as I hear, in the bay of Siaone to the southward; nor was she a shi+p of any great force, or fit for the work; she was not built for a privateer, but was run aith by a reprobate crew that were on board, after the captain and some of his men had been murdered by the Malaccans, at or near the island of Su of the matter, ”did they murder the captain?”--”No,” said he, ”I do not understand that they murdered hienerally believed they betrayed him into the hands of the Malaccans, who did murder him; and, perhaps, they procured them to do it”--”Why then,”
said I, ”they deserved death, as much as if they had done it themselves”--”Nay,” said the old man, ”they do deserve it, and they will certainly have it if they light upon any English or Dutch shi+p; for they have all agreed together that if they ive him no quarter”
”But,” said I to hione out of these seas; how can they meet with him then?”--”Why, that is true,” said he, ”they do say so; but he was, as I tell you, in the bay of Siam, in the river Caed to the shi+p, and ere left on shore when they ran aith her; and so in the river, they ithin a little of taking him Nay,” said he, ”if the foremost boats had been well seconded by the rest, they had certainly taken hi only two boats within reach of him, tacked about, and fired at these two, and disabled the off to sea, the others were not able to follow hiot away But they have all so exact a description of the shi+p, that they will be sure to know hiive no quarter to either the captain or the sea them all up at the yard-arht or wrong; hang thee them afterwards?”--”O Sir!” said the old pilot, ”there is no need to ues as those; let the; it is no htly deserve”
I knew I had my old man fast aboard, and that he could do nior,” said I, ”and this is the very reason why I would have you carry us to Nanquin, and not to put back to Macao, or to any other part of the country where the English or Dutch shi+ps canior, those captains of the English and Dutch shi+ps are a parcel of rash, proud, insolent fellows, that neither knohat belongs to justice, or how to behave the proud of their offices, and not understanding their power, they would get the murderers to punish robbers; would take upon theuilty without due inquiry; and perhaps I may live to call soht how justice is to be executed; and that no ht to be treated as a criminal till some evidence may be had of the crime, and that he is the man”
With this I told hiave him a full account of the skirmish we had with their boats, and how foolishly and coward-like they had behaved I told hi the shi+p, and how the Dutchmen served us I told hi theaith the shi+p; but that it was all a fiction of their own, to suggest that the ht to have been sure it was so, before they had ventured to attack us by surprise, and oblige us so resist the, that they would have the blood of those men ere killed there, in our just defence, to answer for
The old man was amazed at this relation; and told us, ere very ht advise us, it should be to sell the shi+p in China, which we ht very well do, and buy or build another in the country; ”And,” said he, ”though you will not get so good a shi+p, yet you oods back again to Bengal, or any where else”
I told him I would take his advice when I caet any customer to buy this He replied, I should h for the shi+p at Nanquin, and that a Chinese junk would serve ain; 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 shi+p so well, I may, perhaps, if I follow yoursome honest innocent men into a terrible broil, and, perhaps, be murdered in cold blood; for wherever they find the shi+p they will prove the guilt upon thethis was the shi+p, and so innocent men may probably be overpowered and murdered”--”Why,” said 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 thehts in the thing, and let theh the people ere on board at first ht run aith the shi+p, yet it was not true that they had turned pirates; and that in particular those were not the ht her for their trade; and I am persuaded they will so far believe me, as, at least, to act more cautiously for the tie to theive it under your hand in writing, that I may be able to prove it came from you, and not out of ive it him under e the story of assaulting -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 have been ashaland, and I lived to see them there, they should all pay dearly for it, if the laws of rown out of use before I arrived there
My old pilot read this over and over again, and asked me several times if I would stand to it I answered, 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 occasion 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, ent forward directly for Nanquin, and, in about thirteen days sail, caulf of Nanquin; where, by the way, I came by accident to understand, that the two Dutch shi+ps were gone that length before me, and that I should certainly fall into their hands I consulted ency, and he was as ladly have been safe on shore almost any where However, I was not in such perplexity neither, but I asked the old pilot if there was no creek or harbour, which I ht put into, and pursue er of the enemy He told ues, there was a little port called Quinchang, where the fathers of the ress to teach the Christian religion to the Chinese, and where no European shi+ps ever put in: and, if I thought proper to put in there, I ht consider what farther course to take when I was on shore
He confessed, 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 o back to this place: the na, for I do not particularly reether with the names of many other places set down in a little pocket-book, which was spoiled by the water, on an accident which I shall relate in its order; but this I remember, that the Chinese or japanese merchants we correspond with call it by a different naave it, and pronounced it as above, Quinchang
As ere unanihed the next day, having only gone twice on shore, where ere 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 so withoutcontrary) not till five days; but it was very much to our satisfaction, and I was joyful, and I may say thankful, when I set , and my partner too, that if it was possible to dispose of ourselves and effects any other way, though not every way to our satisfaction, ould never set one foot on board that unhappy vessel again: and indeed I e, that of all the circuin constant fear Well does the Scripture say, ”The fear of s a snare;” it is a life of death, and the mind is so entirely suppressed by it, that it is capable of no relief; the aniour of nature, which usually supports reatest exigencies, fails them here
Nor did it fail of its usual operations upon the fancy, by heightening every danger; representing the English and Dutch captains to bebetween honest ues; or between a story calculated for our own turn, enuine account of our whole voyage, progress, and design; for we ht many ways have convinced any reasonable creature that ere not pirates; the goods we had on board, the course we steered, our frankly shewing ourselves, and entering into such and such ports; even our very manner, the force we had, the number of men, the few arms, little ammunition, and short provisions; all these would have served to convince any oods we had on board, would al; the Dutchmen, who, it was said, had the naht easily see that ere a uese, and Indians, and but two Dutchmen on board
These, and ht haveof any coht fall into, that ere no pirates
But fear, that blind useless passion, worked another way, and threw us into the vapours; it bewildered our understandings, and set the is, that, perhaps, ht never happen We first supposed, as indeed every body had related to us, that the sealish and Dutch shi+ps, but especially the Dutch, were so enraged at the na off their boats, and escaping, that they would not give themselves leave to inquire whether ere pirates or no; but would execute 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 before them, that they would scarce inquire after any more: as, first, that the shi+p was certainly the sa them knew her, and had been on board her; and, secondly, that e had intelligence at the river Caht their boats, and fled: so that wepirates as ere satisfied of the contrary; and I often said, I knew not but I should have been apt to have taken the like circumstances for evidence, if the tables were turned, andall the crew to pieces, without believing, or perhaps considering, what they ht have to offer in their defence