正文预览

第8章 要怼的人

　　a good wall to keep out Tartars; you tell me by that it is good fornothing but to keep out Tartars. I understand you, SeigniorInglese, I understand you; but Seignior Chinese understood you hisown way." - "Well," says I, "do you think it would stand out anarmy of our country people, with a good train of artillery; or ourengineers, with two companies of miners? Would not they batter itdown in ten days, that an army might enter in battalia; or blow itup in the air, foundation and all, that there should be no sign ofit left?" - "Ay, ay," says he, "I know that." The Chinese wantedmightily to know what I said to the pilot, and I gave him leave totell him a few days after, for we were then almost out of theircountry, and he was to leave us a little time after this; but whenhe knew what I said, he was dumb all the rest of the way, and weheard no more of his fine story of the Chinese power and greatnesswhile he stayed.

　　With those thoughts I considered my new engagement; that I had awife, one child born, and my wife then great with child of another;that I had all the world could give me, and had no need to seekhazard for gain; that I was declining in years, and ought to thinkrather of leaving what I had gained than of seeking to increase it;that as to what my wife had said of its being an impulse fromHeaven, and that it should be my duty to go, I had no notion ofthat; so, after many of these cogitations, I struggled with thepower of my imagination, reasoned myself out of it, as I believepeople may always do in like cases if they will: in a word, Iconquered it, composed myself with such arguments as occurred to mythoughts, and which my present condition furnished me plentifullywith; and particularly, as the most effectual method, I resolved todivert myself with other things, and to engage in some businessthat might effectually tie me up from any more excursions of thiskind; for I found that thing return upon me chiefly whe

ilies resided, andparticularly the missionary priests, who usually went thither inorder to their going forward to China.

withoutprovisions; whereas, had they had the common sense to put off tosea again, and gone to another island a little further, they hadfound provisions, though without people: there being an islandthat way, as they had been told, where there were provisions,though no people - that is to say, that the Spaniards of Trinidadhad frequently been there, and had filled the island with goats andhogs at several times, where they had bred in such multitudes, andwhere turtle and sea-fowls were in such plenty, that they couldhave been in no want of flesh, though they had found no bread;whereas, here they were only sustained with a few roots and herbs,which they understood not, and which had no substance in them, andwhich the inhabitants gave them sparingly enough; and they couldtreat them no better, unless they would turn cannibals and eatmen's flesh.

　　They did so, and desperately resolved that they would venture uponthem: but while they were animating one another to the work, threeof them, who were a little before the rest, called out aloud tothem, and told them that they had found - Tom Jeffry: they all ranup to the place, where they found the poor fellow hanging up nakedby one arm, and his throat cut. There was an Indian house just bythe tree, where they found sixteen or seventeen of the principalIndians, who had been concerned in the fray with us before, and twoor three of them wounded with our shot; and our men found they wereawake, and talking one to another in that house, but knew not theirnumber.

　　CHAPTER IX - DREADFUL OCCURRENCES IN MADAGASCAR

　　CHAPTER XV - DESCRIPTION OF AN IDOL, WHICH THEY DESTROY

　　The governor, who found that the having women among them wouldpresently be attended with some inconvenience, and might occasionsome strife, and perhaps blood, asked the three men what theyintended to do with these women, and how they intended to use them,whether as servants or as wives? One of the Englishmen answered,very boldly and readily, that they would use them as both; to whichthe governor said: "I am not going to restrain you from it - youare your own masters as to that; but this I think is but just, foravoiding disorders and quarrels among you, and I desire it of youfor that reason only, viz. that you will all engage, that if any ofyou take any of these women as a wife, he shall take but one; andthat having taken one, none else shall touch her; for though wecannot marry any one of you, yet it is but reasonable that, whileyou stay here, the woman any of you takes shall be maintained bythe man that takes her, and should be his wife - I mean," says he,"while he continues here, and that none else shal

　　The governor, unwilling to make a breach, or to have any cause ofwar alleged to be given by him, the Czar having strictly chargedhim to treat the conquered country with gentleness, gave them allthe good words he could. At last he told them there was a caravangone towards Russia that morning, and perhaps it was some of themwho had done them this injury; and that if they would be satisfiedwith that, he would send after them to inquire into it. Thisseemed to appease them a little; and accordingly the governor sentafter us, and gave us a particular account how the thing was;intimating withal, that if any in our caravan had done it theyshould make their escape; but that whether we had done it or no, weshould make all the haste forward that was possible: and that, inthe meantime, he would keep them in play as long as he could.