Part 36 (2/2)

But let that be hoill, those were our apprehensions; and bothof halters and yard-ar taken; of killing, and being killed; and one night I was in such a fury inthe Dutch one of their seaainst the side of the cabin I lay in, with such a force as wounded ievously, broke my knuckles, and cut and bruised the flesh, so that it not only waked me out of my sleep, but I was once afraid I should have lost two of ers

Another apprehension I had, was, of the cruel usage we should meet with from them, if we fell into their hands: then the story of Aht, perhaps, torture us, as they did our countrymen there; and make some of our men, by extreuilty of; own themselves, and all of us, to be pirates; and so they would put us to death, with a forht be teo, which orth four or five thousand pounds, put all together

These things torht and day; nor did we consider that the captains of shi+ps have no authority to act thus; and if we had surrendered prisoners to the us, but would be accountable for it when they caave me no satisfaction; for, if they will act thus with us, what advantage would it be to us that they would be called to an account for it? or, if ere first to be murdered, what satisfaction would it be to us to have the notice here what reflections I now had upon the past variety of ht it was, that I, who had spent forty years in a life of continued difficulties, and was at last come, as it were, at the port or haven which all men drive at, viz to have rest and plenty, should be a volunteer in new sorrows, by my own unhappy choice; and that I, who had escaped so ed, in e, and in so remote a place, for a criuilty of; and in a place and circumstance, where innocence was not like to be any protection at all to ion would co that this seemed to ht to look upon it, and subh I was innocent as to ht to look in, and examine what other crimes in ht justly inflict this punishht to submit to this, just as I would to a shi+pwreck, if it had pleased God to have brought such a disaster upon e would so orous resolution, that I would not be taken to be barbarously used by a parcel of merciless wretches in cold blood; that it was es, ere men-eaters, and who, I was sure, would feast upon lut their rage upon me by inhues, I always resolved to die fighting to the last gasp; and why should I not do so now, seeing it wasinto theseeaten by ive them their due, would not eat a man till he was dead; and killed him first, as we do a bullock; but that these men had many arts beyond the cruelty of death

Whenever these thoughts prevailed I was sure to put itations of a supposed fight; ed; and I always resolved that I would take no quarter at their hands; but even at last, if I could resist no longer, I would blow up the shi+p, and all that was in her, and leave thereater weight the anxieties and perplexities of those things were to our thoughts while ere at sea, by so reater was our satisfactionourselves on shore; and my partner told me he dreamed 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 the Portuguese pilot caround before hi all smooth and plain: and truly it was so; ere all like men who had a load taken off their backs

For ht taken off froer to bear; and, as I said above, we resolved to go no more to sea in that shi+p When we caot us a lodging, and a warehouse for our goods, which, by the as e house joining to it, all built with canes, and palisadoed round with large canes, to keep out pilfering thieves, of which it seeistrates allowed us all a little guard, and we had a soldier with a kind of halbert, or half-pike, who stood sentinel at our door, to e allowed a pint of rice, and a little piece of oods 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 junks in the river, and two japanners, I ht in China, and were not gone away, having japanese uese pilot did for us was to bring us acquainted with three missionary Romish priests, ere in the town, and who had been there soht they made but poor work of it, and made them but sorry Christians when they had done However, that was not our business One of these was a Frenchman, whom they called Father Simon; he was a jolly well-conditionedso serious and grave as the other two did, one of as a Portuguese, and the other a Genoese: but Father Sireeable coid and austere, and applied seriously to the work they ca the inhabitants wherever they had opportunity We often ate and drank with those h I must confess, the conversion, as they call it, of the Chinese to Christianity, is so far fro heathen people to the faith of Christ, that it see thein Mary and her Son, in a tongue which they understand not, and to cross themselves, and the like; yet it ious, e call missionaries, have a firm belief that these people should be saved, and that they are the instruo not only the fatigue of the voyage, and hazards of living in such places, but oftentimes death itself, with the most violent tortures, for the sake of this work: and it would be a great want of charity in us, whatever opinion we have of the work itself, and the ood opinion of their zeal, who undertake it with so many hazards, and who have no prospect of the least tee to themselves

But to return to my story: This French priest, Father Simon, was appointed, it seeo up to Pekin, the royal seat of the Chinese emperor; and waited only for another priest, as ordered to co with hio that journey with his of that reatest city in the world; ”A city,” said he, ”that your London and our Paris put together cannot he equal to” This was the city of Pekin, which, I confess, is very great, and infinitely full of people; but as I looked on those things with different eyes froive my opinion of them in feords when I come in the course of my travels to speak more particularly of the with hiether, I showed soo with hireat many persuasions, to consent ”Why, Father Simon,” says my partner, ”why should you desire our company so much? You knoe are heretics, and you do not love us, nor can keep us company with any pleasure”--”O!” says he, ”you ood Catholics in time; my business 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 troublesoood manners; besides,” said he, ”we are all here like countrymen; and so we are, coonots, and I a Catholic, we may be all Christians at last; at least,” said he, ”we are all gentle uneasy to one another” I liked that part of his discourse very well, and it began to put me in mind of my priest that I had left in the Brasils; but this Father Sireat deal; for though Father Simon had no appearance of a criminal levity in him neither, yet he had not that fund of Christian zeal, strict piety, and sincere affection to religion, that ood ecclesiastic had, of whoh he never left us, nor soliciting us to go with hi else before us at that time; for we had all this while our shi+p and our an to be very doubtful e should do, for ere now in a place of very little business; and once I was about to venture to sail for the river of Kilam, and the city of Nanquin: but Providence seeht, than ever, to concern itself in our affairs; and I was encouraged froet out of this entangled circuh I had not the least view of the an soine by what an here to clear up our way a little; and the first thing that offered was, that our old Portuguese pilot brought a japan oods we had; and, in the first place, he bought all our opiuold by weight, soes, of about ten or eleven ounces each While ere dealing with hiht, perhaps, deal with us for the shi+p too; and I ordered the interpreter to propose it to him He shrunk up his shoulders at it, when it was first proposed 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 reat quantity of goods of us when he had no thoughts (or proposalsthe shi+p, and that, therefore, he had not h to pay for the shi+p; but if I would let the saate her, he would hire the shi+p to go to japan, and would send the, which he would pay the freight of before they went from japan; and that, at their return, he would buy the shi+p

I began to listen to this proposal; and so eager did in to entertain a notionwith him, and so to sail froly I asked the japanese 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 shi+p's return Well, still I was for taking hi myself; but my partner, wiser than ers, as well of the seas, as of the japanese, who are a false, cruel, treacherous people; and then of the Spaniards at the Philippines, more false,this long turn of our affairs to a conclusion, the first thing we had to do was to consult with the captain of the shi+p, and with the o to japan; and, while I was doing this, the young man whom, as I said, my nephew had left with me as my coht that voyage proreat prospect of advantage, and he would be very glad if I undertook it; but that if I would not, and would give hio as a merchant, or how I pleased to order hiland, 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 pleased

I was really loath to part with hie, which was really considerable, and that he was a young fellow as likely to do well in it as any I knew, I inclined to let hiive him an answer the next day My partner and I discoursed about it, and enerous offer: he told me, ”You know it has been an unlucky shi+p, and we both resolve not to go to sea in it again; if your steward (so he called e, I'll leave my share of the vessel to him, and let hiland, and he meets with success abroad, he shall account for one half of the profits of the shi+p's freight to us, the other shall be his own”

Ifman, made him such an offer, I could do no less than offer hio with him, we made over half the shi+p to hi him to account for the other; and away he went to japan The japan merchant proved a very punctual honest ot hieneral have not lately obtained, paid hiht very punctually, sent him to the Philippines, loaded hio of their oho trafficking with the Spaniards, brought back European goods again, and a great quantity of cloves and other spice; and there he was not only paid his freight very well, and at a very good price, but being not willing to sell the shi+p then, the oods on his own account; that for soht 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 shi+p overnor of Manilla hired hiave him a licence to land there, and travel to Mexico; and to pass in any Spanish shi+p to Europe, with all his e to Acapulco very happily, and there he sold his shi+p; and having there also obtained allowance to travel by land to Porto Bello, he found o to Jaht years after ca rich; of which I shall take notice in its place; in thenow to part with the shi+p and shi+p's company, it came before us, of course, to consider what recoave us such tiainst us in the river of Cambodia The truth was, they had done us a considerable service, and deserved well at our hands; though, by the way, they were a couple of rogues too: for, as they believed the story of our being pirates, and that we had really run aith the shi+p, they can that was foro to sea with us as pirates; and one of theoing a-roguing brought him to do it However, the service they did us was not the less; and therefore, as I had prorateful to them, I first ordered the money to be paid to them, which they said was due to thelishman nineteen months pay, and to the Dutchave each of theold, which contented theunner of the shi+p, the gunner being now made second mate and purser; the Dutchman I made boatswain: so they were both very well pleased, and proved very serviceable, being both able seamen, and very stout fellows

We were now on shore in China If I thought al, where I had et home for otten about a 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 that place where ere, and then we ht be able to purchase all sorts of the ht possibly find some Chinese junks or vessels from Nanquin, that would be to be sold, and would carry us and our goods whither we pleased This I liked very well, and resolved to wait; besides, as our particular persons were not obnoxious, so if any English or Dutch shi+ps caoods, and get passage to some other place in India nearer home

Upon these hopes we resolved to continue here; but, to divert ourselves, we took two or three journies into the country; first, ent ten days journey to see the city of Nanquin, a city orth 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 straight, and cross one another in direct lines, which gives the figure of it great advantage

But when I came to compare the miserable people of these countries with ours; their fabrics, their ion, their wealth, and their glory, (as some call it) I , or worth my while to write of, or any that shall come after me to read

It is very observable, that onder at the grandeur, the riches, the poovernment, the manufactures, the commerce, and the conduct of these people; not that they are to be wondered at, or, indeed, in the least to be regarded; but because, having first a notion of the barbarity of those countries, the rudeness and the ignorance that prevail 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 coland, Holland, France, and Spain? What their cities to ours, for wealth, strength, gaiety of apparel, rich furniture, and an infinite variety?

What are their ports, supplied with a few junks and barks, to our navigation, our e and powerful navies? Our city of London has lish, or Dutch, or French ht with and destroy all the shi+pping of China But the greatness of their wealth, their trade, the power of their govern to us, because, as I have said, considering thees, we did not expect such things ae hich all their greatness and power is represented to us: otherwise, it is in itself nothing at all; for, as I have said of their shi+ps, so it may be said of their arh they were to bring two ether, would be able to do nothing but ruin the country and starve the town in Flanders, or to fight a disciplined army, one line of German cuirassiers, or of French cavalry, would overthrow all the horse of China; a million of their foot could not stand before one embattled body of our infantry, posted so as not to be surrounded, though they were not to be one to twenty in nulish foot, and 10,000 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 is not a fortified town in China could hold out one ainst 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 starved; no, not in ten years siege They have fire-arms, it is true, but they are aard, clu off; they have powder, but it is of no strength; they have neither discipline in the field, exercise in their arms, skill to attack, nor tee to s of the power, riches, glory, nificence, and trade of the Chinese, because I saw and knew that they were a contenorant, sordid slaves, subjected to a government qualified only to rule such a people; and, in a word, for I an, I say, in a word, were not its distance inconceivably great from Muscovy, and were not the Muscovite eoverned a crowd of slaves as they, the czar of Muscovy ht, with much ease, drive then; and had the czar, who I since hear is a growing prince, and begins to appear for the warlike Swedes, in which attempt none of the powers of Europe would have envied or interrupted hiht, by this ti beaten by the king of Sweden at Narva, when the latter was not one to six in nurandeur, so their navigation, commerce, and husbandry, are is in Europe Also, in their knowledge, their learning, their skill in the sciences; they have globes and spheres, and a se of the e, how short-sighted are the wisest of their students! They know nothing of the norant, that when the sun is eclipsed, they think it is a great dragon has assaulted and run aith it; and they fall a-cluttering with all the druht 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 iven of my travels, so I shall make no more descriptions of countries and people: it is none ofan account of s, and a long variety of changes, which, perhaps, few have heard the like of, I shall say nothing of the hty places, desert countries, and nuh,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 ere returned from Nanquin; I had indeed a mind to see the city of Pekin, which I had heard so much of, and Father Si away being set, and the otherarrived froo, or not to go; so I referred hith resolved it in the affirmative; and we prepared for our journey

We set out with very good advantage, as to finding the way; for we got leave to travel in the retinue of one of their istrate, in the province where they reside, and who take great state upon thee froreatly impoverished by theed to furnish provisions for them, and all their attendants That which I particularly observed, as to our travelling with his baggage, was this; that though we received sufficient provisions, both for ourselves and our horses, froed to pay for every thing we had after the market-price of the country, and the mandarin's steward, or commissary of the provisions, collected it duly fro in the retinue of the reat kindness to us, was not such a e to hi in the same manner besides us, under the protection of his retinue, or, as we reat advantage to hi, and he took all our money for them