Rer Vove’s house was nearly eight yards long, and about six broad, built of boards, as all the great men’s houses are in Saccalauvor. Notwithstanding they have no saws, with a great deal of labour, however, they hew out boards very even with their hatchets. The language is much the same with that in other countries, except as English in Yorkshire, or the west of England, where each place has a particular dialect, and some small difference in its pronunciation.
My post here was a grand one, for I was constituted captain of my master’s guard. There were palisades all round his house, and at the portal, or gateway, was a little house for several young men of a higher degree to lie in, who were his guard, and over whom, as I said before, I was appointed chief, but this did not last above a month; at which time he thought proper to go a shooting wild fowl, and took no one but me with him. In our private conversation, he told me how vicious the people of Saccalauvor were grown within a few years, as their country grew rich; and that young men living so high, and drinking such large quantities of toake, induced them frequently to lie with other men’s wives, by which means murders, and several other misfortunes, have ensued. “As for my part,” said he, “I have no reason, indeed, to suspect my wife Ry Kaley; however, to prevent all jealous thoughts for the future, I will intrust her to your care, and desire that she may never be absent from your charge by night or day, on any pretence, how plausible soever, unless she be with me. I am very well satisfied she will not take this amiss, and you have no occasion to regard any one else.” I returned him thanks for the favourable opinion he had of my integrity; and assured him I would take the same care I had done hitherto, in the due discharge of my duty to him in all things, wherein he thought proper to command me; but I was afraid, lest some of his trusty old servants should envy me my post, and insinuate to him things prejudicial to his honour and my care. “Upon that account,” said he, “you have no cause for fear, since it is always expected here, that marks of favour and distinction be shown to white men.” When we came home, he broke his mind to her, with much such another apology as he did to me. She prevented him, however, from asking her consent, apprehending in a moment what he aimed at; so saying, “I desire nothing more than that you will take all the measures you think proper, in order to retain the same opinion of me you always had; and in case Robin is to be my guardian, I will submit with pleasure to his directions; and from henceforth, Robin,” said she, “I will never be out of your sight, but when I am with Rer Vove himself; and as I am now under your jurisdiction, be sure you discharge your trust as you ought, and don’t imagine that you can displease me by the strictest observance of your orders. On the other hand, I propose abundance of pleasure in your conversation, by telling me stories of your uncommon adventures.” Indeed, she gave me good grounds to think she was not displeased with me. It was my business to attend her on all occasions. Sometimes, indeed, her women slaves were with her, but we were oftener by ourselves, and that too through her own contrivance; and whether my master had, in reality, so great an opinion of her chastity as he pretended, I cannot determine; but I found her to be a very gay, wanton lady, and was forced to exert all the art I was master of, in order to keep her out of other company, as well as to preserve my own innocence. However, as my life lay at stake, I was resolved to be true to my trust. It was full three quarters of a year before I got rid of this troublesome office; during which time, my master took a fancy to another woman who had lately been divorced from a cousin of his, and made her, if we may call her so, his supernumerary wife. He was extremely fond of her at first, but soon quarrelled with her, used her ill, turned her in short quite off, and returned with as much indulgence as ever to my charge, Ry Kaley, again.
Not long after this, Rer Vove proposed to take a tour to the northward, for his pleasure, and to take a survey of his cattle; so ordering his furniture to be removed to his head slave’s till his return, our house was locked up, and away we marched. We were a large company of us, Ry Kaley, his wife, his friend Guy, with several other attendants, besides slaves. It had rained very hard for some time before we set out; so coming to a small river, which was considerably swelled with the floods, the people made a halt, not caring to push forwards with too much precipitation, lest some alligators might have come up into the marshes, as is customary, and return again to their old haunts upon the fall of the waters. As the river was shallow enough to wade through, I was so fool-hardy as out of a bravado to lead the way. Two fine dogs, that were my master’s favourites, went into the water along with me, but kept close to my heels, one on each side of me, for the dogs are very apprehensive of alligators. I was up to my belly in the water, or thereabouts, when an alligator, all on a sudden, gave such a spring at the dog on my left side, that the monster’s nose struck me down. The alligator, dog, and I vanishing, as it were, at once, our people took it for granted I had been carried off; but rising at a small distance and finding myself not hurt, I went directly over; upon which they all followed me. For if a noise be made by a great number of people, an alligator will sink, like a stone, to the bottom, and lie without the least motion, and though you tread on him, he will not stir an inch. As we took our journey for pleasure only, we had no occasion to fatigue ourselves, so we marched but slowly. In a few hours we arrived on the banks of a very large river, called Mernee. Here we came to a town inhabited by a people of a different species, as it were, from the rest of mankind, and of a language peculiar to themselves, though they can speak the general language if they please. Their customs too, and manners, being as different as their persons, of which I shall give a particular detail, according as I was farther informed soon after.
Rer Vove gave orders that one of the houses of these Virzimbers, which is the name they are generally known by, should be made clean for him, and all the old furniture be removed; and as for us, who were of his retinue, we might shift as well as we could. There are very few Saccalauvors care to lie in any of their houses, for fear of an insect like a cow-tick, called poropongee, which is frequently found upon cattle, and this insect is found nowhere else; but these people breed them, on purpose to make their houses shunned by the Saccalauvors; for the Virzimbers, till very lately, were under no government, and often changing their habitations; so that upon their first settlement here, the natives used to come into their houses, and take away whatever they saw convenient; imposing most shamefully upon them, till the king, under whose protection they are at present, redressed their grievances upon hearing their complaints. These poropongees will make those who are bitten by them sick, sometimes for six weeks, or two months together; sticking close to the skin, or penetrating into it for a long time; but when a man has been once tormented by them, and has overcome the sickness, he never has it again, though he lies among ever so many of them; or, at least, like persons who have had the small pox, they never fear a return of their distemper. These Virzimbers are very subject likewise to what they call colah, which is a kind of the yaws, a disease which has been described before. It is so frequent, however, here, that a third part of the people of a town are sometimes spotted like lepers, with dry scabs. We continued here but one night, and passed over this large river in canoes the next morning.
About half a day’s march from hence lives Rer Moume, king Trimmonongarevo’s eldest son, and uncle to Rer Vove, to whom we went to pay a visit. Messengers, for form sake, were sent before; an agreeable answer being received, we approached the town, and found him sitting for the shade sake, in great state under a tamarind tree, as it was excessively hot. He is a very great prince, and extremely well beloved: there were twelve wives, and a great many other people then with him. When Rer Vove, accompanied by his wife Ry Kaley, came to him, they kneeled and licked his knee. After which she soon withdrew among the women, but he sat down on a mat near his uncle. All his aunts in general, except one who was blind, came to him and licked his shoulder, for they had not seen him since his return from his expedition at Feraignher. The toake went about plentifully, and some was given to our principal people, among whom I was constantly with Guy, who had a particular regard for me. My master, however, being not a little proud of his white man, called to me in broken English, for he had just enough to say, “Come hither;” or, “How do you do?” When Rer Moume saw me; “Were it not for his hair and eyes,” said he, “I should scarcely have known him to be white, his skin is so scorched with the sun that it is as swarthy almost as my own: Ry Anzacker there, is as white as he.” And, to confess the truth, there was no great difference in our complexion. This was his second wife, and sister to deaan Tokeoffu, king of Munnongaro, alias Masseleege. Rer Moume was of a copper colour, rather than a black. Though he had no visible distemper upon him, yet he had lost the use of his limbs, and though he had no swelling in his legs or sores about him, and looked well to all outward appearance, yet he could not stand upright. This misfortune was supposed to be brought upon him by poison, which was given him by one of his wives with a treacherous intent to kill him, she having been a captive, and the consort of a neighbouring prince who opposed him, and was killed in battle. He sat on a square seat, or throne, made on purpose for him, but so low that he could rest his legs on the ground if he thought fit.
Perceiving I could speak their language, he was extremely delighted with me, for he was a good-natured, courteous man, which I have just reason to acknowledge: for by his compassion I was redeemed from the hardships of slavery during my continuance here; and, at last, dismissed in a friendly and genteel manner, and by his means sent home to England. The whole discourse now turned on me and my surprising adventures; the women, too, bore a part in the conversation, and expressed their pity, saying, they should be glad to have me among them, and should think they could never do enough for me, if I would oblige them with the agreeable stories of my travels. But this happy time was not yet come, I was to undergo a few more fatigues first, though my state of slavery did not continue long.
My master, Rer Vove, was a gay young man, who pursued his pleasures and was guilty of some vices, like many of our young noblemen in Europe, was always in action, full of fire, and as his constitution was very warm and sanguine, he would be guilty of too many of the follies which youth are prone to. As to his stature he was very tall, for in an army or crowd he might be distinguished at a distance, being a head taller at least than most of the people; however, he was exactly proportioned and well-shaped, his legs and arms were finely tapered. I was obliged sometimes to assist him in his love adventures, of which a pretty remarkable, as well as dangerous one, was on this journey; as follows:—
No sooner had he parted from his uncle, than he determined to visit his cousin, Rer Chemunghoher; but coming near his town, and being informed that he was gone from home as far as Moherbo, a thought came into his head to send his wife one way, whilst he took another under a pretence of business, and to meet about four days after, advising her at the same time to go through some towns of the Virzimbers, who always make one present or another to those of the family, according as their abilities will permit. His attendants, or the greatest part of them, were ordered to accompany his wife; and as for me, whom she expected to have been left her guardian, he bid follow him. When we were at a sufficient distance from the people, he told me he had a secret to communicate to me of no small importance, and desired, likewise, my assistance in a particular affair, which he proposed to put in execution. “You know my fidelity,” said I, “and are sensible that I would scruple nothing but the commission of murder to serve you.” “It is nothing of that nature, I assure you,” said he, “but the consequence may prove fatal if you do not act with discretion: Rer Chemunghoher, in short, has married one who was my consort before Ry Kaley; and, on a quarrel, I put her away a little too rashly, and my kinsman also married her in too much hurry, or we should probably have agreed again. The woman I still have an affection for, and as her husband happens to be abroad, I have some thoughts of your procuring me an interview with her. There is a Maurominter, that is to say, a black man of any other country, who can speak English; you shall pay him a visit, by which means you may come to the speech of her.” I was fond of this opportunity to see this English Maurominter; and for that reason I readily agreed to his proposal; and having my full instruction, and a man for my guide, I left my master at a small village, about two hours’ walk from Rer Chemunghoher’s town, and proceeded immediately on my errand.
Lewis (for that was his name) received and entertained me in a handsome manner. He was born, he said, in Jamaica, followed the sea, and being taken by pirates was set on shore at St. Augustine-bay, where he lived some time, but the troubles of that country coming on, he, as well as many of the natives, came away, not only for their security, but for more plentiful living: so that between the affairs of Feraignher and England, we had subject matter of discourse enough for a long time. His wife going out, I took the opportunity of asking him, if he could possibly introduce me to their lord’s wife? He, knowing the story, guessed at my intention, though I told him no more than what was requisite for my purpose. He went accordingly to her, and she sent word she would come, which she did soon, with one maid only to attend her. I was a good excuse enough for her to say her curiosity led her to see a white man. Lewis and his wife withdrawing, and she saying I might freely speak before her maid, whom she could trust with her life, I soon delivered my message, and told her how disconsolate Rer Vove was ever since he came near the town: I found her, in short, as eager for the interview as himself, and she appointed that very night in a wood at a convenient distance. As soon as she returned home she sent her maid with some toake to me; which, when Lewis and I had drank up, I went with the good news to my master. And as it proved a fine moonlight night, we soon came to the place assigned; though by going over a river, and through a plantation where there were dogs, and they barking, the owner had like to have discovered us; for the wild hogs often making great havoc in the night, they are very attentive if their dogs do but stir.
I left them in the wood, and went to Lewis, for whom she waited. He conducted her through a breach made in the palisade, for the gate was always guarded, and I conducted her to her gallant. Her maid accompanied her with a capon, some rice, and a calabash of toake. They embraced each other with all the passion imaginable; the maid, indeed, was for serving up the supper, but they had affairs of greater moment to talk of first, which we plainly perceiving withdrew, and diverted ourselves for some time as well as we could. In about two hours we heard him whistle, which was the signal for our coming, when we supped all together. Our bellies being full, Lewis and I roved about at a distance, and left them again till it was daybreak. “Now, Robin,” says he, “we must do as the wild boars do, get a great distance from the place where they have been doing their mischief.” So crossing the river again, we walked about till noon; when a man was to come and bring us some provisions. As I was looking out sharply, and listening for the token, which was a whistle, I approached him, but the fellow being silly, and knowing nothing of a white man, threw down the meat, and a whole calabash of toake, and took to his heels. As soon as he got home he told his mistress, that he saw a white spirit, and it ran after him for the meat, which he was forced to leave behind him. This gave us some diversion the next night, when she came again: a capon, rice, and toake were brought this evening likewise; and I could not forbear rallying my master on having patience enough now to sup, and regale himself with toake as soon as it came. When we had drank plentifully they bid us go and watch at a distance, and find out some amusement or other to pass away the night. And, indeed, had we not made ourselves merry, and been as agreeable to one another as such an occasion required, the night would have seemed very long and tedious. We slept a little towards daybreak, and when I went to them they were not up; however, they soon arose, and took their leave too, by rubbing their noses together, and drawing their breath like persons who take snuff. After this they parted well satisfied for the present.