had done what they not only fhould have been afhamed of, but alfo, that if ever they came to England, and I lived to see them there, they fhould 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 afked me feveral times, if I would ftand to it. I anfwered, I would stand to it as long as I had any thing left in the world; being fenfible that I should, one time or other, find an opportunity to put it home to them. But we had no occafion ever to let the pilot carry this letter; for he never went back again. While thofe things were paffing between us, by way of discourse, we went forward directly for Nanquin, and, in about thirteen days fail, came to anchor at the south-west point of the great gulph of Nanquin ; where, by the way, I came by accident to underftand, that the two Dutch fhips were gone that length before me, and that I fhould certainly fall into their hands. I confulted my partner again in this exigency, and he was as much at a lofs as I was, and would very gladly have been fafe on fhore almost any where. However, I was not in fuch. perplexity neither, but I asked the old pilot if there was no creek, or harbour, which I might put into, and pursue my business with the Chinese privately, and be in no danger of the enemy? He told me, if I would fail to the fouthward about two and forty leagues, there was a little port called Quinchang, where the fathers of the miflion ufually landed from Macao, on their progress to teach the Chriftian religion to the Chincfe, and where no European fhips ever put in; and, if I thought proper to put in there, I might confider T 2 fider what farther course to take when I was on fhore He confeffed, he faid, 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 mer chandizes. We all agreed to go back to this place: the name of the port, as he called it, I may, perhaps fpell wrong; for I do not particularly remember it, having loft this, together with the names of many other places fet down in a little pocket-book, which was fpoiled by the water, on an accident which I fhall relate in its order; but this I remember, that the Chinese or Japanese merchants we correfpond with call it by a different name from that which our Portuguese pilot gave it, and pronounced it as above, Quinchang. As we were unanimous in our refolutions to go to this place, we weighed the next day, having only gone twice on fhore, where we were to get fresh water; on both which occafions the people of the country were very civil to us, and brought us abundance of things to fell to us; I mean of provifions, plants, roots, tea, rice, and fome fowls; but nothing with- out money. We came to the other port (the wind being contrary) not till five days; but it was very much to our fatisfaction; and I was joyful, and, I may fay, thankful, when I fet my foot safe on fhore; refolving, and my partner too, that if it was poffible to dispose of ourselves and effects any other way, though not every way to our fatisfaction, we would never fet one foot on board that unhappy vessel again: and indeed, I must 1 muft acknowledge, that of all the circumftances of life that ever I had any experience of, nothing makes mankind fo completely miferable as that of being in conftant fear. Well does the fcripture fay, The fear of man brings a fnare;' it is a life of death; and the mind is fo entirely fuppreffed by it, that it is capable of no relief; the animal spirits fink, and all the vigour of nature, which ufually fupports men under other afflictions, and is prefent to them in the greatest exigencies, fails them here. Nor did it fail of its ufual operations upon the fancy, by heightening every danger; reprefenting the English and Dutch captains to be men incapable of hearing reason, or distinguishing between honeft men and rogues; or between a story calculated for our own turn, made out of nothing, on purpose to deceive, and a true genuine account of our whole voyage, progrefs, and defign; for we might many ways have convinced any reasonable creature that we were not pirates; the goods we had on board, the course we steered, our frankly fhewing ourselves, and entering into fuch and fuch 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 man that we were no pirates. The opium, and other goods we had on board, would make it appear the fhip had been at Bengal; the Dutchmen, who, it was faid, had the names of all the men that were in the ship, might easily fee that we were a mixture of English, Portuguese, and Indians, and but two Dutchmen on board. Thefe, and many other particular circumftances, might have made it evident to the understanding of any commander, ހ whofe hands we might fall into, that we were no pirates. But fear, that blind useless paffion, worked another way, and threw us into the vapours; it bewildered our understandings, and set the imagination at work, to form a thoufand terrible things, that, perhaps, might never happen. We firft fuppofed, as indeed every body had related to us, that the feamen on board the English and Dutch ships, but especially the Dutch, were fo enraged at the name of a pirate, and efpecially at our beating off their boats, and escaping, that they would not give themselves leave to enquire whether we were 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 fo much apparent evidence before them, that they would fcarce enquire after any more: as, firft, that the fhip was certainly the fame, and that fome of the feamen among them knew her, and had been on board her; and, fecondly, that when we had intelligence at the river Cambodia, that they were coming down to examine us, we fought their boats, and fled: So that we made no doubt but they were as fully fatisfied of our being pirates, as we were fatisfied of the contrary; and I often faid, I knew not but I fhould have been apt to have taken the little circumftances for evidence, if the tables were turned, and my cafe was theirs ; and have made no fcruple of cutting all the crew to pieces, without believing, or perhaps confidering, what they might have to offer in their defence. But let that be how it will, thofe were our apprehenfions; and both my partner and I too, fcarce slept a night a night without dreaming of halters and yard-arms; that is to fay, gibbets; of fighting, and being taken; of killing, and being killed; and one night I was in fuch a fury in my dream, fancying the Dutchmen had boarded us, and I was knocking one of their feamen down, that I ftruck my double fift against the fide of the cabin I lay in, with fuch a force as wounded my hand moft grievously, broke my knuckles, and cut and bruised the flesh, so that it not only waked me out of my fleep, but I was once afraid I should have loft two of my fingers. Another apprehension I had, was, of the cruel ufage we fhould meet with from them, if we fell into their hands: then the story of Amboyna came into my head, and how the Dutch might, perhaps, torture us, as they did our countrymen there; and make fome of our men, by extremity of torture, confefs those crimes they never were guilty of; own themselves, and all of us, to be pirates; and fo they would put us to death, with a formal appearance of justice; and that they might be tempted to do this, for the gain of our fhip and cargo, which was worth four or five thousand pounds, put all together. These things tormented me, and my partner too, night and day; nor did we confider that the captains of fhips have no authority to act thus; and if we had furrendered prifoners 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 fay, gave me no fatisfaction; 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 we were firft to be murdered, what fatif |