第98章

I left them my Fire Arms，viz. Five Muskets，three Fowling Pieces，and three Swords. I had above a Barrel and half of Powder left；for after the first Year or two，I used but little，and wasted none. I gave them a Deion of the Way I manag'd the Goats，and Directions to milk and fatten them，and to make both Butter and Cheese.

In a Word，I gave them every Part of my own Story；and I told them，I would prevail with the Captain to leave them two Barrels of Gun-Powder more，and some Garden-Seeds，which I told them I would have been very glad of；also I gave them the Bag of Pease which the Captain had brought me to eat，and bad them be sure to sow and encrease them.

Having done all this，I left them the next Day，and went an Board the Ship：We prepared immediately to sail，but did not weigh that Night：The next Morning early，two of the five Men came swimming to the Ship's Side，and making a most lamentable Complaint of the other three，begged to be taken into the Ship，for God's Sake，for they should be murthered，and begg'd the Captain to take them on Board，tho' he hang'd them immediately.

Upon this the Captain pretended to have no Power without me；But after some Difficulty，and after their solemn Promises off Amendment，they were taken on Board，and were some time after soundly whipp'd and pickl'd；after which，they prov'd very honest and quiet Fellows.

Some time after this，the Boat was order'd on Shore，the Tide being up，with the things promised to the Men，to which the Captain at my Intercession caused their Chests and Cloaths to be added，which they took，and were very thankful for；I also encourag'd them，by telling them，that if it lay in my Way to send any Vessel to take them in，I would not forget them.

When I took leave of this Island，I carry'd on board for Reliques，the great Goat's-Skin-Cap I had made，my Umbrella，and my Parrot；also I forgot not to take the Money I formerly mention'd，which had lain by me so long useless，that it was grown rusty，or tarnish'd，and could hardly pass for Silver，till it had been a little rubb'd，and handled；as also the Money I found in the Wreck of the Spanish Ship.

And thus I left the Island，the Nineteenth of December，as I found by the Ship's Account，in the Year 1686，after I had been upon it eight and twenty Years，two Months，and 19 Days；being deliver'd from this second Captivity，the same Day of the Month，that I first made my Escape in the Barco-Longo，from among the Moors of Sallee.

In this Vessel，after a long Voyage，I arriv'd in England，the Eleventh of June，in the Year 1687，having been thirty and five Years absent.

When I came to England，I was as perfect a Stranger to all the World，as if I had never been known there. My Benefactor and faithful Steward，who I had left in Trust with my Money，was alive；but had had great Misfortunes in the World；was become a Widow the second Time，and very low in the World：I made her easy as to what she ow'd me，assuring her，I would give her no Trouble；but on the contrary，in Gratitude to her former Care and Faithfulness to me，I reliev'd her as my little Stock would afford，which at that Time would indeed allow me to do but little for her；abut I assur'd her，I would never forget her former Kindness to me；nor did I forget her，when I had sufficient to help her，as shall be observ'd in its Place.

I went down afterwards into Yorkshire；but my Father was dead，and my Mother，and all the Family extinct，except that I found two Sisters，and two of the Children of one of my Brothers；and as I had been long ago given over for dead，there had been no Provision made for me；so that in a Word，I found nothing to relieve，or assist me；and that little Money I had，would not do much for me，as to settling in the World.

I met with one Piece of Gratitude indeed，which I did not expect；and this was，That the Master of the Ship，who I had so happily deliver'd，and by the same Means sav'd the Ship and Cargo，having given a very handsome Account to the Owners，of the Manner how I had sav'd the Lives of the Men，and the Ship，they invited me to meet them，and some other Merchants concern'd，and altogether made me a very handsome Compliment upon the Subject，and a Present of almost two hundred Pounds Sterling.

But after making several Reflections upon the Circumstances of my Life，and how little way this would go towards settling me in the World，I resolv'd to go to Lisbon，and see if I might not come by some Information of the State of my Plantation in the Brasils，and of what was become of my Partner，who I had reason to suppose had some Years now given me Over for dead.

With this View I took Shipping for Lisbon，where I arriv'd in April following；my Man Friday accompanying me very honestly in all these Ramblings，and proving a most faithful Servant upon all Occasions.

When I came to Lisbon，I found out by Enquiry，and to my particular Satisfaction，my old Friend the Captain of the Ship，who first took me up at Sea，off of the Shore of Africk：He was now grown old，and had left off the Sea，having put his Son，who was far from a young Man，into his Ship；and who still used the Brasil Trade. The old Man did not know me，and indeed，I hardly knew him；but I soon brought him to my Remembrance，and as soon brought my self to his Remembrance，when I told him who I was.