“Z—ds, says Loe, and seem’d a little angry, I left no-body, and ordered no-body but the Boy Jack, and him I bid stay at the Cabbin-Door, with-out-side, and not go in, nor stir from the Door, ’till I bid him. But, I said, Sir, my three Companions were not humane Bodies, but those which you left on the Table, to wit, a Pipe of Tobacco, a Bottle of French Claret, and a Bowl of Punch; at which they all laugh’d, and Loe said, I was right: So after some Discourses had pass’d by way of Diversion, Russel said to me. Master, your Sloop is very Leaky; I said, Yes, she made Water. Water! says he, I do not know what you could do with her, suppose we were to give her to you. Besides, you have no Hands, for all your Hands now belong to us. I said, Sirs, if you please to give her to me, I do not fear, with God’s Blessing, but to manage her well enough, if you let me have only those which are on Board, which I hope you will: namely, my Mate and the two Boys. Well, says he, and suppose we did, you have no Cargo, for we have taken, to replenish our Stores, all the Rum, Sugar, Tobacco, Rice, Flower, and, in short, all your Cargo and Provisions. I told him, I would do as well as I could, and if the worst came to the worst, I could load the Sloop with Salt, and carry it to the Canaries, where, I knew, they were in great Want of Salt at present, and therefore was sure it would come to a good Market there: Ay, but, says he, how will you do to make your Cargo of Salt, having no Hands, and having nothing wherewith to hire the Natives to help you to make it, or to pay for their bringing it down on their Asses; for you must believe, said he, I understand Trade. I told him, If it did come to that Extremity, I had so good Interest both at the Island of Bona Vist, as likewise at the Isle of May, that I was sure the Inhabitants would assist me all that they could, and trust me for their Pay till I return’d again; especially when they came to know the Occasion that oblig’d me to it; and that, upon the Whole, I did not fear, with God’s Blessing, to get a Cargo of Salt on Board, if they would be so generous as to give me the Sloop again. Well but, says Russel, suppose we should let you have the Sloop, and that you could do as you say, what would you do for Provisions? for we shall leave you none; and I suppose I need not tell you, for, without doubt, you know it already, that all these Islands to Windward are in great Scarcity of Victuals, and especially the two Islands that produce the Salt, which have been oppress’d for many Years with a sore Famine. I told him, I was very sensible that all he said last was true, but hop’d, if they gave me the Sloop, they would also be so generous as to give me some Provisions, a small quantity of which would serve my little Company; but if not, I could go down to the Leeward Islands, where, likewise, I had some small Interest, and I did not doubt but I could have a small Matter of such Provisions as the Islands afforded, namely, Maiz, Pompions, Feshunes, &c. with which, by God’s Assistance, we would endeavour to make shift, ’till it pleased God we could get better. Ay but, says he, perhaps your Mate and Boys will not be willing to run that Hazard with you, nor care to endure such Hardship. I told him, As for my Boys, I did not fear their Compliance, and hop’d my Mate would also do the same, seeing I requir’d him to undergo no other Hardship but what I partook of myself. Ay, but, says Russel, Your Mate has not the same Reasons as you have, to induce him to bear with all those Hardships, which you must certainly be exposed to in doing what you propose; and therefore you cannot expect him to be very forward in accepting such hard Terms with you; (tho’ I cannot conceive it to be so easie to go through with, in the Manner you propose, as you seem to make it). I answer’d, As for the Mate’s Inclinations, I was not able positively to judge in this Affair, but I believed him to be an honest, as well as a conscientious Man, and as I had been very civil to him in several Respects, in my Prosperity, so I did not doubt, if I had the Liberty to talk with him a little on this Affair, but he would be very willing to undergo as much Hardship to extricate me out of this my Adversity, as he could well bear, or I in Reason require of him, which would be no more than I should bear myself; and when it pleased God to turn the Scales, I would endeavour to make him Satisfaction to the full of what, in reason, he could expect, or, at least, as far as I was able.
“Come, come, says Captain Loe, let us drink about. Boy! how does the Dinner go forward? The Boy answer’d, Very well, Sir. Says Loe, Gentlemen, you must all Dine with me to Day. They unanimously answer’d, Ay: Come then, says Loe, toss the Bowl about, and let us have a fresh One, and call a fresh Cause.
“They all agreed to this, and then began to talk of their past Transactions at Newfoundland, the Western Islands, Canary Islands, &c. What Ships they had taken, and how they serv’d them when in their Possession; and how they oblig’d the Governor of the Island of St. Michael to send them off two Boat-Loads of fresh Meat, Greens, Wine, Fowls, &c. or otherwise, threatened to damnifie the Island, by burning some of the small Vilages: Of their Landing on the Island of Teneriff, to the Northward of Oratavo, in hopes of meeting with a Booty, but got nothing but their Skins full of Wine; and how they had like to have been surpriz’d by the Country, which was raised upon that Occasion, but got all off safe, and without any Harm, except one Man, who receiv’d a Shot in his Thigh after they were got into their Boats; but, they said, they caused several of the Spaniards to drop; and, That they should have been certainly lost, if they had tarried but half a quarter of an Hour longer in the House where they were drinking, and where they expected to get the Booty, which they Landed in quest of, according to the Information given them by one of the Inhabitants of the Island, who was taken by them in a Fishing-Boat, and told them, that, that Gentleman had an incredible Quantity of Money, as well as Plate, in his House: And on this Occasion they threatened the poor Fisherman how severely they would punish him for giving them a false Information, if ever they should light of him again; but, I suppose, the Fellow kept close ashore after they let him go, all the Time they lay lurking about the Island: They also boasted how many French Ships they had taken upon the Banks of Newfoundland, and what a vast Quantity of Wine, especially French Claret, they took from them; with abundance of such like Stuff; which, as it did not immediately concern me, so I shall not trouble myself with particularizing: And, indeed, my Attention was so wholly taken up with the Uncertainty of my own Affairs, that I gave no great Heed to those Subjects that were foreign to me; and which, for that Reason, made but a slight Impression on my Memory.
“In this Manner they pass’d the Time away, drinking and carousing merrily, both before and after Dinner, which they eat in a very disorderly Manner, more like a Kennel of Hounds, than like Men, snatching and catching the Victuals from one another; which, tho’ it was very odious to me, it seem’d one of their chief Diversions, and, they said, look’d Martial-like.
“Before it was quite dark, every one repaired on Board their respective Vessels, and about Eight a-Clock at Night I went to my Hammock, without observing, as I remember, any thing worth remarking, save, that Captain Loe, and I, and three or four more, drank a couple of Bottles of Wine after the Company were gone, before we went to Sleep, in which time we had abundance of Discourse concerning Church and State, as also about Trade, which would be tedious to relate in that confused Manner we talked of these Subjects, besides the Reason I just now mentioned.
“Loe stay’d up after me, and when I was in my Hammock, I heard him give the necessary Orders for the Night, which were, that they were to lie too with their Head to the North Westward, as, indeed, we had ever since I had been on Board of him; to mind the Top-light, and for the Watch, to be sure, above all things, to keep a good Look-out; and to call him if they saw any thing, or if the other Ships made any Signals.
“I passed this Night as the former, ruminating on my present unhappy Condition, not yet being able to dive into, or fathom their Designs, or what they intended to do with me, and often thinking on what the three Men told me, as also on what the Company said, but in a more particular manner, of what Russel told me concerning my Mate, ’till Sleep overpowered my Senses, and gave me a short Recess from my Troubles.
“In the Morning, about five a-Clock, I turned out, and a little after, one of the three Men who spoke to me the Morning before, came to me, and bid me Good-morrow, and ask’d me very courteously how I did? and told me, that they would all three, as before, have come and spoke to me, but were afraid the Company, especially Russel’s Friends, would think they held a secret Correspondence with me, which was against one of their Articles, it being punishable by Death, to hold any secret Correspondence with a Prisoner; but they hop’d all would be well, and that they believ’d I should have my Sloop again; Russel being the only Man who endeavour’d to hinder it, and he only, on the Account of having me to go with them on the Coast of Brasile; but that most of the Company was against it, except the meer Creatures of Russel. He said, I might thank my Mate for it all, who, he much fear’d, would prove a Rogue to me, and Enter with them; and then, if they should give me my Sloop, I should be sadly put to it to manage her myself, with one Boy, and the little Child. He also said, That he, and the other two, heartily wish’d they could go with me in her, but that it was impossible to expect it, it being Death even to motion it, by another of their Articles, which says, That if any of the Company shall advise, or speak any thing tending to the separating or breaking of the Company, or shall by any Means offer or endeavour to desert or quit the Company, that Person shall be shot to Death by the Quarter-Master’s Order, without the Sentence of a Court-Martial. He added, That ’till my Mate had given Russel an Account of my being acquainted on the Coast of Brasile, he seem’d to be my best Friend, and would certainly have prov’d so, and would have prevail’d with the Company to have made a Gathering for me, which, perhaps, might not have come much short in Value of what they had taken from me; for there was but few in the Company but had several Pieces of Linnen Cloth, Pieces of Silk, spare Hats, Shoes, Stockings, gold Lace, and abundance of other Goods, besides the publick Store, which, if Russel had continued my Friend, for one Word speaking, there was not one of them but would have contributed to make up my Loss; it being usual for them to reserve such Things for no other Use but to give to any whom they should take, or that formerly was of their Acquaintance, or that they took a present Liking to: He said farther, That he believ’d Captain Loe would be my Friend, and do what he could for me; but that, in Opposition to Russel, he could do but little, Russel bearing twice the Sway with the Company, that Captain Loe did; and that Russel was always more considerate to those they took, than Loe; but now I must expect no Favour from him, he was so exasperated by the Opposition that the Company, and especially Captain Loe, made to my being forc’d to go with them on the Coast of Brasile: He, however, bid me have a good Heart, and wish’d it lay in his Power to serve me more than it did, and bid me not to take very much Notice, or shew much Freedom with them, but rather a seeming Indifference: Adding, That he and his two Consorts wish’d me as well as Heart could wish, and whatever Service they could do me, while among them, I might assure myself it should not be wanting; desiring me to excuse him, and not take amiss his withdrawing from me; concluding, with Tears in his Eyes, that he did not know whether he should have another Opportunity of private Discourse with me; neither would it be for the Advantage of either of us, except some new Matter offer’d them Occasion to forewarn, or precaution me, which, if it did, one of them would not fail to acquaint me with it: And so he left me.
“Some time after, Captain Loe turn’d out, and after the usual Compliments pass’d, we took a Dram of Rum, and enter’d into Discourse with one or another, on different Subjects; for as a Tavern or Alehouse-keeper endeavours to promote his Trade, by conforming to the Humours of every Customer, so was I forc’d to be pleasant with every one, and bear a Bob with them in almost all their Sorts of Discourse, tho’ never so contrary and disagreeable to my own Inclinations; otherwise I should have fallen under an Odium with them, and when once that happens to be the Case with any poor Man, the Lord have Mercy upon him; for then every rascally Fellow will let loose his Brutal Fancy upon him, and either abuse him with his Tongue (which is the least hurtful) or kick or cuff him, or otherways abuse him, as they are more or less cruel, or artificially raised by Drinking, Passion, &c.
“Captain Russel, with some more, came on Board about ten or eleven a-Clock in the Forenoon, and seem’d to be very pleasant to me, asking me how I did? telling me, that he had been considering of what I said Yesterday, and could not see, how I should be able to go through with it: That it would be very difficult, if not wholly impossible, and I should run a very great Hazard in what I propos’d. He believed, he said, that I was a Man, and a Man of Understanding, but in this Case I rather seem’d to be directed by an obstinate Desperation, than by Reason; and for his Part, since I was so careless of myself as to determine to throw myself away, he did not think it would stand with the Credit or Reputation of the Company, to put it into my Power. He wish’d me well, he said, and did assure me, that the Thoughts of me had taken him up the greatest Part of the Night; and he had hit on a Way which, he was sure, would be much more to my Advantage, and not expose me to so much Hazard and Danger, and yet would be more profitable, than I could expect by having the Sloop, tho’ every thing was to fall out to exceed my Expectation; and did not doubt of the Company’s agreeing to it: And this, says he, is, to take and sink or burn your Sloop, and keep you with us no otherwise than as you are now, viz. a Prisoner; and I promise you, and will engage to get the Company to sign and agree to it, the first Prize we take, if you like her; and if not, you shall stay with us till we take a Prize that you like, and you shall have her with all her Cargo, to dispose of how and where you please, for your own proper Use. He added, that this, perhaps, might be the making of me, and put me in a Capacity of leaving off the Sea, and living ashore, if I was so inclin’d; protesting, that he did all this purely out of Respect to me, because he saw I was a Man of Sense, as he said, and was willing to take Care and Pains to get a Living for myself and Family.