but the bore it with patience. After a while, feeing things fo well ordered, and in fo fine a way of thriving upon my island, and confidering that they had neither bufinefs or acquaintance in the Eaft Indies, or reafon for taking fo long a voyage; I fay, confidering all this, both of them came to me, and defired I would give them leave to remain on the island, and be entered among my family, as they called it. I agreed to it readily; and they had a little plot of ground allotted to them, where they had three tents or houses fet up, furrounded with a basketwork, palifaded like Atkins's, and adjoining to his plantation; their tents were contrived fo, that they had each of them a room, a part to lodge in, and a middle tent, like a great ftore-houfe, to lay all their goods in, and to eat and drink in: And now the other two Englishmen moved their habitation to the fame place; and so the island was divided into three colonies, and no more; viz. The Spaniards, with old Friday, and the first fervants, at my old habitation under the hill, which was, in a word, the capital city, and where they had fo enlarged and extended their works, as well under as on the out-fide of the hill, that they lived, though perfectly concealed, yet full at large. Never was there fuch a little city in a wood, and fo hid, I believe, in any part of the world: For, I verily believe, 1000 men might have ranged the island a month, and, if they had not known there was fuch a thing, and looked on purpose for it, they would not have found it; for the trees flood fo thick, and fo clofe, and grew To fast matted into one another, that nothing but cutting K 4 them them down firft, could difcover the place, except the two narrow entrances where they went in and out, could be found; which was not very easy: One of them was just down at the water's edge, on the fide of the creek; and it was afterwards above 200 yards to the place; and the other was up the ladder at twice, as I have already formerly defcribed it; and they had a large wood, thick planted, alfo 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 fide. The other colony was that of Will Atkins's, where there were four families of Englifhmen, I mean those I had left there, with their wives and children; three favages, that were flaves; the widow and children of the Englishman that was killed; the young man and the maid; and, by the way, we made a wife of her alfo, before we went away: There were also the two carpenters and the taylor, who I brought with me for them; alfo the fmith, who was a very neceffary man to them, efpecially as the gunfmith, to take care of their arms; and my other man, man, whom I called Jack of all trades; who was himself as good almoft as twenty men, for he was not only a very ingenious fellow, but a very merry fellow; and, before I went away, we married him to the honest maid that came with the youth in the fhip, whom I mentioned before. And now I speak of marrying, it brings me naturally to fay fomething of the French ecclefiaftic that I had brought with me out of the ship's crew, whom whom I took at fea. It is true, this man was a Roman, and perhaps, it may give offence to fome hereafter, if I leave any thing extraordinary upon record, of a man, whom, before I begin, I must (to fet him out in just colours) represent in terms very much to his difadvantage, in the account of Proteftants; as first, that he was a Papift; fecondly, a Popish priest; and thirdly, a French Popish priest. But juftice demands of me to give him a due character; and I must say, he was a grave, fober, pious, and most religious perfon; exact in his life, extensive in his charity, and exemplary in almost every thing he did: What, then, can any one fay against my being very fenfible of the value of fuch a man, notwithstanding his profeffion? Though it may be my opinion, perhaps, as well as the opinion of others, who fhall read this, that he was mistaken. The first hour that I began to converse with him, after he had agreed to go with me to the East Indies, I found reafon to delight exceedingly in his conversation: And he first began with me about religion, in the moft obliging manner imaginable. Sir, fays he, you have not only, under GoD (and at that he croffed his breaft) faved my life, but you have admitted me to go this voyage in your fhip, and by your obliging civility, have taken me into your family, giving me an opportunity of free converfation: Now, Sir, fays he, you fee by my habit, what my profeffion is; and I guefs by your nation, what your's is: I may think it is my duty, and doubtless it is fo, to ufe my utmost endeavours, on all occafions, to bring all the fouls that I can to the knowledge of the truth, and to embrace the Catholic doctrine; doctrine; but, as I am here under your permiffion, and in your family, I am bound in justice to your kindness, as well as in decency and good manners, to be under your government; and therefore I shall not, without your leave, enter into any debates on the points of religion, in which we may not agree, farther than you fhall give me leave. I told him, his carriage was fo modeft, that I could not but acknowledge it; that it was true, we were fuch people as they call heretics; but that he was not the firft Catholic that I had converfed with, without falling into any inconveniencies, or carrying the queftions to any height in debate; that he should not find himself the worse used for being of a different opinion from us; and if we did not converfe without any dislike on either fide, upon that score, it would be his fault, not ours. He replied, That he thought our converfation might be easily separated from disputes; that it was not his business to cap principles with every man he difcourfed with; and that he rather defired me to ; converse with him as a gentleman, than as a religieux; that if I would give him leave, at any time, to difcourfe upon religious fubjects, 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 my leave, he would not break in upon me with any fuch thing. 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 Chriftian, to procure the goods of the fhip, and the safety of all that was in her; and though, perhaps, we would not join with him, and he he could not pray with us, he hoped he might pray for us, which he would do upon all occafions. In this manner we converfed; and, as he was of a most obliging gentleman-like behaviour, fo he was, if I may be allowed to say fo, a man of good sense, and, as I believe, of great learning. He gave me a most diverting account 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 par. ticularly this was very remarkable; viz. That during the voyage he was now engaged in, he had the misfortune to be five times fhipped and unshipped, and never to go to the place whither any of the fhips he was in were at firft defigned: That his first intent was, to have gone to Martinico; and that he went on board a fhip bound thither at St. Maloes; but being forced into Lisbon in bad weather, the ship received fome damage, by running aground in the mouth of the river Tagus, and was obliged to unload her cargo there: That finding a Portuguese fhip there, bound to the Madeiras, and ready to fail, and fuppofing he should easily meet with a veffel there bound to Martinico, he went on board, in order to fail to the Madeiras; but the master of the Portuguefe fhip, being but an indifferent mariner, had been out in his reckoning, and they drove to Fial; where, however, he happened to find a very good market for his cargo, which was corn; and therefore refolved not to go to the Madeiras, but to load falt at the Isle of May, to go away to Newfoundland: He had no remedy in the exigence, but to go with the fhip; and had a pretty good voyage as far as the Banks, |
