When she was come to herself enough to talk again, I told her we must

consider of a method how to bring this to pass, and that it must not be

done by publishing there that she was my wife before, for that would

expose us both, but that I would openly marry her again. This she

agreed was very rational, and accordingly, about two months after, we

were married again, and no man in the world ever enjoyed a better wife

or lived more happy than we both did for several years after.

And now I began to think my fortunes were settled for this world, and I

had nothing before me but to finish a life of infinite variety, such as

mine had been, with a comfortable retreat, being both made wiser by our

sufferings and difficulties, and able to judge for ourselves what kind

of life would be best adapted to our present circumstances, and in what

station we might look upon ourselves to be most completely happy.

But man is a short-sighted creature at best, and in nothing more than

in that of fixing his own felicity, or, as we may say, choosing for

himself. One would have thought, and so my wife often suggested to me,

that the state of life that I was now in was as perfectly calculated to

make a man completely happy as any private station in the world could

be. We had an estate more than sufficient, and daily increasing, for

the supporting any state or figure that in that place we could propose

to ourselves or even desire to live in; we had everything that was

pleasant and agreeable, without the least mortification in any

circumstances of it; every sweet thing, and nothing to embitter it;

every good, and no mixture of evil with it; nor any gap open where we

could have the least apprehensions of any evil breaking out upon us.

Nor indeed was it easy for either of us, in our phlegmatic, melancholy

notions, to have the least imagination how anything disastrous could

happen to us in the common course of things, unless something should

befall us out of the ordinary way of Providence, or of its acting in

the world.

But, an unseen mine blew up all this apparent tranquillity at once; and

though it did not remove my affairs there from me, yet it effectually

removed me from them and sent me a-wandering into the world again—a

condition full of hazards, and always attended with circumstances

dangerous to mankind, while he is left to choose his own fortunes and

be guided by his own short-sighted measures.

I must now return to a circumstance of my history which had been past

for some time, and which relates to my conduct while I was last in

England.

I mentioned how my faithful wife Moggy, with her tears and her

entreaties, had prevailed with me not to play the madman and openly

join in the rebellion with the late Lord Derwentwater and his party

when they entered Lancashire, and thereby, as I may say, saved my life.

But my curiosity prevailed so much at last that I gave her the slip

when they came to Preston, and at least thought I would go and look at

them, and see what they were likely to come to.

My former wife’s importunities, as above, had indeed prevailed upon me

from publicly embarking in that enterprise and joining openly with them

in arms; and by this, as I have observed, she saved my life to be sure,

because I had then publicly espoused the rebellion, and had been known

to have been among them, which might have been as fatal to me

afterwards, though I had not been taken in the action, as if I had.

But when they advanced and came nearer to us to Preston, and there

appeared a greater spirit among the people in their favour, my old

doctor, whom I mentioned before, who was a Romish priest, and had

married us, inspired me with new zeal, and gave me no rest till he

obliged me, with only a good horse and arms, to join them the day

before they entered Preston, he himself venturing in the same posture

with me.

I was not so public here as to be very well known, at least by any one

that had knowledge of me in the country where I lived; and this was

indeed my safety afterwards, as you will soon hear. But yet I was known

too among the men, especially among the Scots, with some of whom I had

been acquainted in foreign service. With these I was particularly

conversant, and, passing for a French officer, I talked to them of

making a select detachment to defend the pass between Preston and the

river and bridge, upon maintaining which, as I insisted, depended the

safety of the whole party.

It was with some warmth that I spoke of that affair, and as I passed

among them, I say, for a French officer and a man of experience, it

caused several debates among them. But the hint was not followed, as is

well known, and from that moment I gave them all up as lost, and

meditated nothing but how to escape from them, which I effected the

night before they were surrounded by the royal cavalry. I did not do

this without great difficulty, swimming the river Ribble at a place

where, though I got well over, yet I could not for a long while get to

a place where my horse could land himself—that is to say, where the

ground was firm enough for him to take the land. However, at length I

got on shore, and riding very hard, came the next evening in sight of

my own dwelling. Here, after lying by in a wood till the depth of

night, I shot my horse in a little kind of a gravel pit, or marl pit,

where I soon covered him with earth for the present, and marching all

alone, I came about two in the morning to my house, where my wife,

surprised with joy and yet terribly frighted, let me in; and then I

took immediate measures to secure myself upon whatever incident might

happen, but which, as things were ordered, I had no need to make use

of, for the rebels being entirely defeated, and either all killed or

taken prisoners, I was not known by anybody in the country to have been

among them; no, nor so much as suspected. And thus I made a narrow

escape from the most dangerous action, and most foolishly embarked in,

of any that I had ever been engaged in before.

It was very lucky to me that I killed and buried my horse, for he would

have been taken two days after, and would, to be sure, have been known

by those who had seen me upon him at Preston. But now, as none knew I

had been abroad, nor any such circumstance could discover me, I kept

close, and as my excursion had been short and I had not been missed by

any of my neighbours, if anybody came to speak with me, behold I was at

home.

However, I was not thoroughly easy in my mind, and secretly wished I

was in my own dominions in Virginia, to which, in a little time, other

circumstances occurring, I made preparations to remove with my whole

family.

In the meantime, as above, the action at Preston happened, and the

miserable people surrendered to the king’s troops. Some were executed

for examples, as in such cases is usual, and the government extending

mercy to the multitude, they were kept in Chester Castle, and other

places a considerable time, till they were disposed of, some one way,

some another, as we shall hear.

Several hundreds of them after this were, at their own request,

transported, as it is vulgarly expressed, to the plantations—that is to

say, sent to Virginia and other British colonies to be sold after the

usual manner of condemned criminals, or, as we call them there,

convicts, to serve a limited time in the country, and then be made

freemen again. Some of these I have spoken of above; but now, to my no

little uneasiness, I found, after I had been there some time, two ships

arrived with more of these people in the same river where all my

plantations lay.

I no sooner heard of it but the first step I took was to resolve to let

none of them be bought into my work or to any of my plantations; and

this I did, pretending that I would not make slaves every day of

unfortunate gentlemen who fell into that condition for their zeal to

their party only, and the like. But the true reason was, that I

expected several of them would know me, and might perhaps betray me,

and make it public that I was one of the same sort, but had made my

escape; and so I might be brought into trouble, and, if I came off with

my life, might have all my effects seized on, and be reduced to misery

and poverty again at once, all which I thought I had done enough to

deserve.

This was a just caution, but, as I found quickly, was not a sufficient

one, as my circumstances stood, for my safety; for though I bought none

of these poor men myself, yet several of my neighbours did, and there

was scarce a plantation near me but had some of them, more or less,

among them; so that, in a word, I could not peep abroad hardly but I

was in danger to be seen, and known too, by some or other of them.

I may be allowed to say that this was a very uneasy life to me, and

such that, in short, I found myself utterly unable to bear; for I was

now reduced from a great man, a magistrate, a governor or master of

three great plantations, and having three or four hundred servants at

my command, to be a poor self-condemned rebel, and durst not show my

face; and that I might with the same safety, or rather more, have

skulked about in Lancashire where I was, or gone up to London and

concealed myself there till things had been over. But now the danger

was come home to me, even to my door, and I expected nothing but to be

informed against every day, be taken up, and sent to England in irons,

and have all my plantations seized on as a forfeited estate to the

Crown.

I had but one hope of safety to trust to, and that was, that having

been so little a while among them, done nothing for them, and passing

for a stranger, they never knew my name, but only I was called the

French colonel, or the French officer, or the French gentleman by most,

if not by all, the people here. And as for the doctor that went with

me, he had found means to escape too, though not the same way that I

did, finding the cause not likely to be supported, and that the king’s

troops were gathering on all sides round them like a cloud.

But to return to myself; this was no satisfaction to me, and what to do

I really knew not, for I was more at a loss how to shift in such a

distressed case as this, now it lay so close to me, than ever I was in

any difficulty in my life. The first thing I did was to come home and

make a confidence of the whole affair to my wife; and though I did it

generously without conditions, yet I did not do it without first

telling her how I was now going to put my life into her hands, that she

might have it in her power to pay me home for all that she might think

had been hard in my former usage of her; and that, in short, it would

be in her power to deliver me up into the hands of my enemies, but that

I would trust her generosity, as well as her renewed affection, and put

all upon her fidelity, and without any more precaution I opened the

whole thing to her, and particularly the danger I was now in.

A faithful counsellor is life from the dead, gives courage where the

heart is sinking, and raises the mind to a proper use of means; and

such she was to me indeed upon every step of this affair, and it was by

her direction that I took every step that followed for the extricating

myself out of this labyrinth.

“Come, come, my dear,” says she, “if this be all, there is no room for

any such disconsolate doings as your fears run you upon;” for I was

immediately for selling off my plantations and all my stock and

embarking myself forthwith, and to get to Madeira or to any place out

of the king’s dominions.

But my wife was quite of another opinion, and encouraging me on another

account, proposed two things, either my freighting a sloop with

provisions to the West Indies, and so taking passage from thence to

London, or letting her go away directly for England and endeavour to

obtain the king’s pardon, whatever it might cost.

I inclined to the last proposal; for though I was unhappily prejudiced

in favour of a wrong interest, yet I had always a secret and right

notion of the clemency and merciful disposition of his Majesty, and,

had I been in England, should, I believe, have been easily persuaded to

have thrown myself at his foot.

But going to England as I was circumstanced must have been a public

action, and I must have made all the usual preparations for it, must

have appeared in public, have stayed till the crop was ready, and gone

away in form and state as usual, or have acted as if something

extraordinary was the matter, and have filled the heads of the people

there with innumerable suggestions of they knew not what.

But my wife made all this easy to me from her own invention; for,

without acquainting me of any thing, she comes merrily to me one

morning before I was up: “My dear,” says she, “I am very sorry to hear

that you are not very well this morning. I have ordered Pennico” (that

was a young negro girl which I had given her) “to make you a fire in

your chamber, and pray lie still where you are a while till it is

done.” At the same instant the little negro came in with wood and a

pair of bellows, &c., to kindle the fire, and my wife, not giving me

time to reply, whispers close to my ear to lie still and say nothing

till she came up again to me.

I was thoroughly frighted, that you may be sure of, and thought of

nothing but of being discovered, betrayed, and carried to England,

hanged, quartered, and all that was terrible, and my very heart sunk

within me. She perceived my disorder and turned back, assuring me there

was no harm, desired me to be easy, and she would come back again

presently and give me satisfaction in every particular that I could

desire. So I composed myself a while as well as I could, but it was but

a little while that I could bear it, and I sent Pennico downstairs to

find out her mistress, and tell her I was very ill and must speak with

her immediately; and the girl was scarce out of the room before I

jumped out of bed and began to dress me, that I might be ready for all

events.

My wife was as good as her word, and was coming up as the girl was

coming down. “I see,” says she, “you want patience, but pray do not

want government of yourself, but take that screen before your face, and

go to the window and see if you know any of those Scotchmen that are in

the yard, for there are seven or eight of them come about some business

to your clerk.”

I went and looked through the screen, and saw the faces of them all

distinctly, but could make nothing of them other than that they were

Scotchmen, which was easy to discern. However, it was no satisfaction

to me that I knew not their faces, for they might know mine for all

that, according to the old English proverb, “That more knows Tom Fool

than Tom Fool knows;” so I kept close in my chamber till I understood

they were all gone.

After this my wife caused it to be given out in the house that I was

not well; and when this not being well had lasted three or four days, I

had my leg wrapped up in a great piece of flannel and laid upon a

stool, and there I was lame of the gout; and this served for about six

weeks, when my wife told me she had given it out that my gout was

rather rheumatic than a settled gout, and that I was resolved to take

one of my own sloops and go away to Nevis or Antigua, and use the hot

baths there for my cure.

All this was very well, and I approved my wife’s contrivance as

admirably good, both to keep me within doors eight or ten weeks at

first, and to convey me away afterwards without any extraordinary

bustle to be made about it; but still I did not know what it all tended

to, and what the design of it all was. But my wife desired me to leave

that to her; so I readily did, and she carried it all on with a

prudence not to be disputed; and after she had wrapped my legs in

flannel almost three months, she came and told me the sloop was ready

and all the goods put on board. “And now, my dear,” says she, “I come

to tell you all the rest of my design; for,” added she, “I hope you

will not think I am going to kidnap you, and transport you from

Virginia, as other people are transported to it, or that I am going to

get you sent away and leave myself in possession of your estate; but

you shall find me the same faithful, humble creature which I should

have been if I had been still your slave, and not had any hopes of

being your wife, and that in all my scheme which I have laid for your

safety, in this new exigence, I have not proposed your going one step

but where I shall go and be always with you, to assist and serve you on

all occasions, and to take my portion with you, of what kind soever our

lot may be.”

This was so generous, and so handsome a declaration of her fidelity,

and so great a token, too, of the goodness of her judgment in

considering of the things which were before her, and of what my present

circumstances called for, that, from that time forward, I gave myself

cheerfully up to her management without any hesitation in the least,

and after about ten days’ preparation we embarked in a large sloop of

my own of about sixty tons.

I should have mentioned here that I had still my faithful tutor, as I

called him, at the head of my affairs; and, as he knew who to

correspond with, and how to manage the correspondence in England, we

left all that part to him, as I had done before; and I did this with a

full satisfaction in his ability as well as in his integrity. It is

true he had been a little chagrined in that affair of my wife, who, as

I hinted before, had married me, after telling him, in answer to his

solicitations, that she had a husband alive. Now, though this was

literally true, yet, as it was a secret not fit to be opened to him, I

was obliged to put him off with other reasons, as well as I could,

perhaps not much to the purpose, and perhaps not much to his

satisfaction, so that I reckoned he looked on himself as not very

kindly used several ways. But he began to get over it, and to be easy,

especially at our going away, when he found that the trust of

everything was still left in his hands as it was before.

When my wife had thus communicated everything of the voyage to me, and

we began to be ready to go off, she came to me one morning, and, with

her usual cheerfulness, told me she now came to tell me the rest of her

measures for the completing my deliverance; and this was, that while we

made this trip, as she called it, to the hot springs at Nevis, she

would write to a particular friend at London, whom she could depend

upon, to try to get a pardon for a person on account of the late

rebellion, with all the circumstances which my case was attended with,

viz., of having acted nothing among them but being three days in the

place; and, while we were thus absent, she did not question but to have

an answer, which she would direct to come so many ways that we would be

sure to have the first of it as soon as it was possible the vessels

could go and come. And in the meantime the expense should be very

small, for she would have an answer to the grand question first,

whether it could be obtained or no; and then an account of the expense

of it, that so I might judge for myself whether I would part with the

needful sum or no, before any money was disbursed on my account.

I could not but be thoroughly satisfied with her contrivance in this

particular, and I had nothing to add to it but that I would not have

her limit her friend so strictly, but that if he saw the way clear, and

that he was sure to obtain it, he should go through stitch with it, if

within the expense of two or three or four hundred pounds, and that,

upon advice of its being practicable, he should have bills payable by

such a person on delivery of the warrant for the thing.

To fortify this, I enclosed in her packet a letter to one of my

correspondents, whom I could particularly trust, with a credit for the

money, on such-an-such conditions; but the honesty and integrity of my

wife’s correspondence was such as prevented all the expense, and yet I

had the wished-for security, as if it had been all paid, as you shall

hear presently.

All these things being fixed to our minds, and all things left behind

in good posture of settlement as usual, we embarked together and put to

sea, having the opportunity of an English man-of-war being on the coast

in pursuit of the pirates, and who was just then standing away towards

the Gulf of Florida, and told us he would see us safe as far as New

Providence, on the Bahama Islands.

And now having fair weather and a pleasant voyage, and my flannels

taken off my legs, I must hint a little what cargo I had with me; for

as my circumstances were very good in that country, so I did not go

such a voyage as this, and with a particular reserve of fortunes

whatever might afterwards happen, without a sufficient cargo for our

support, and whatever exigence might happen.

Our sloop, as I said, was of about sixty or seventy tons; and as

tobacco, which is the general produce of the country, was no

merchandise at Nevis, that is to say, for a great quantity, so we

carried very little, but loaded the sloop with corn, peas, meal, and

some barrels of pork; and an excellent cargo it was, most of it being

the produce of my own plantation. We took also a considerable sum of

money with us in Spanish gold, which was, as above, not for trade, but

for all events. I also ordered another sloop to be hired, and to be

sent after me, loaden with the same goods, as soon as they should have

advice from me that I was safe arrived.

We came to the latitude of the island of Antigua, which was very near

to that of Nevis, whither we intended to go, on the eighteenth day

after our passing the Capes of Virginia, but had no sight of the

island; only our master said he was sure if he stood the same course as

he then was, and the gale held, I say he told me he was sure he should

make the island in less than five hours’ sail; so he stood on fair for

the islands. However, his account had failed him, for we held on all

the evening, made no land, and likewise all night, when in the grey of

the morning we discovered from the topmast-head a brigantine and a

sloop making sail after us, at the distance of about six leagues, fair

weather, and the wind fresh at S.E.

Our master soon understood what they were, and came down into the cabin

to me to let me know it. I was much surprised, you may be sure, at the

danger, but my poor wife took from me all the concern for myself to

take care of her, for she was frighted to that degree that I thought we

should not have been able to keep life in her.

While we were thus under the first hurry and surprise of the thing,

suddenly another noise from the deck called us up to look out, and that

was, “Land! land!” The master and I—for by this time I had got out of

my cabin—run upon the deck, and there we saw the state of our case very

plain. The two rogues that stood after us laid on all the canvas they

could carry, and crowded after us amain, but at the distance, as I have

said, of about six leagues, rather more than less. On the other hand,

the land discovered lay about nine leagues right ahead, so that if the

pirates could get of us, so as to sail three feet for our two, it was

evident they would be up with us before we could make the island. If

not, we should escape them and get in; but even then we had no great

hope to do any more than to run the ship ashore to save our lives, and

so, stranding our vessel, spoil both sloop and cargo.

When we were making this calculation our master came in cheerfully, and

told me he had crowded on more sail, and found the sloop carried it

very well, and that he did not find the rogues gained much upon us, and

that especially if one of them did not, that was the sloop, he found he

could go away from the brigantine as he pleased. Thus we gave them what

they call a stern chase, and they worked hard to come up with us till

towards noon, when on a sudden they both stood away and gave us over,

to our great satisfaction you may be sure.

We did not, it seems, so easily see the occasion of our deliverance as

the pirate did; for while we went spooning away large with the wind for

one of the islands, with those two spurs in our heels, that is, with

the two thieves at our sterns, there lay an English man-of-war in the

road of Nevis, which was the same island from whence they espied the

pirates, but the land lying between, we could not see them.

As the man-of-war discovered them she immediately slipped her cable and

put herself under sail in chase of the rogues; and they as soon

perceived her, and being windward, put themselves upon a wind to escape

her; and thus we were delivered, and in half-an-hour more we knew who

was our deliverer, seeing the man-of-war stretch ahead clear of the

island, and stand directly after the pirates, who now crowded from us

as fast as they crowded after us before; and thus we got safe into

Antigua, after the terrible apprehension we had been in of being taken.

Our apprehensions of being taken now were much more than they would

have been on board a loaden ship from or to London, where the most they

ordinarily do is to rifle the ship, take what is valuable and portable,

and let her go. But ours being but a sloop, and all our loading being

good provisions, such as they wanted, to be sure, for their ship’s

store, they would certainly have carried us away, ship and all, taken

out the cargo and the men, and perhaps have set the sloop on fire; so

that, as to our cargo of gold, it had been inevitably lost, and we

hurried away, nobody knows where, and used as such barbarous fellows

are wont to use innocent people as fall into their hands.

But we were now out of their hands, and had the satisfaction a few days

after to hear that the man-of-war pursued them so close,

notwithstanding they changed their course in the night, that the next

day they were obliged to separate and shift for themselves; so the

man-of-war took one of them, namely, the brigantine, and carried her

into Jamaica, but the other, viz., the sloop, made her escape.

Being arrived here, we presently disposed of our cargo, and at a

tolerable good price; and now the question was, what I should do next.

I looked upon myself to be safe here from the fears I had been under of

being discovered as a rebel, and so indeed I was; but having been now

absent five months, and having sent the ship back with a cargo of rum

and molasses, which I knew was wanting in my plantations, I received

the same vessel back in return loaden, as at first, with provisions.

With this cargo my wife received a packet from London from the person

whom she had employed, as above, to solicit a pardon, who very honestly

wrote to her that he would not be so unjust to her friend, whoever he

was, as to put him to any expense for a private solicitation; for that

he was very well assured that his Majesty had resolved, from his own

native disposition to acts of clemency and mercy to his subjects, to

grant a general pardon, with some few exceptions to persons

extraordinary, and he hoped her friend was none of the extraordinary

persons to be excepted.

This was a kind of life from the dead to us both, and it was resolved

that my wife should go back in the sloop directly to Virginia, where

she should wait the good news from England, and should send me an

account of it as soon as she received it.

Accordingly she went back, and came safe with the sloop and cargo to

our plantation, from whence, after above four months’ more expectation,

behold the sloop came to me again, but empty and gutted of all her

cargo, except about a hundred sacks of unground malt, which the

pirates, not knowing how to brew, knew not what to do with, and so had

left in her. However, to my infinite satisfaction, there was a packet

of letters from my wife, with another to her from England, as well one

from her friend as one from my own correspondent; both of them inti

mating that the king had signed an act of grace, that is to say, a

general free pardon, and sent me copies of the act, wherein it was

manifest that I was fully included.

And here let me hint, that having now, as it were, received my life at

the hands of King George, and in a manner so satisfying as it was to

me, it made a generous convert of me, and I became sincerely given in

to the interest of King George; and this from a principle of gratitude

and a sense of my obligation to his Majesty for my life; and it has

continued ever since, and will certainly remain with me as long as any

sense of honour and of the debt of gratitude remains with me. I mention

this to hint how far in such cases justice and duty to ourselves

commands us; namely, that to those who graciously give us our lives

when it is in their power to take them away, those lives are a debt

ever after, and ought to be set apart for their service and interest as

long as any of the powers of life remain, for gratitude is a debt that

never ceases while the benefit received remains; and if my prince has

given me my life, I can never pay the debt fully, unless such a

circumstance as this should happen, that the prince’s life should be in

my power, and I as generously preserved it. And yet neither would the

obligation be paid then, because the cases would differ; thus, that my

preserving the life of my prince was my natural duty, whereas the

prince on his side, my life being forfeited to him, had no motive but

mere clemency and beneficence.

Perhaps this principle may not please all that read it; but as I have

resolved to guide my actions in things of such a nature by the rules of

strict virtue and principles of honour, so I must lay it down as a rule

of honour, that a man having once forfeited his life to the justice of

his prince and to the laws of his country, and receiving it back as a

bounty from the grace of his sovereign, such a man can never lift up

his hand again against that prince without a forfeiture of his virtue

and an irreparable breach of his honour and duty, and deserves no

pardon after it either from God or man. But all this is a digression: I

leave it as a sketch of the laws of honour, printed by the laws of

nature in the breast of a soldier or a man of honour, and which, I

believe, all impartial persons who understand what honour means will

subscribe to.

But I return now to my present circumstances. My wife was gone, and

with her all my good fortune and success in business seemed to have

forsaken me; and I had another scene of misery to go through, after I

had thought that all my misfortunes were over and at an end.

My sloop, as I have told you, arrived, but having met with a pirate

rogue in the Gulf of Florida, they took her first; then finding her

cargo to be all eatables, which they always want, they gutted her of

all her loading, except, as I have said, about a hundred sacks of malt,

which they really knew not what to do with; and, which was still worse,

they took away all the men except the master and two boys, who they

left on board just to run the vessel into Antigua, where they said they

were bound.

But the most valuable part of my cargo, viz., a packet of letters from

England, those they left, to my inexpressible comfort and satisfaction;

and, particularly, that by those I saw my way home to return to my wife

and to my plantations, from which I promised myself never to wander any

more.

In order to this, I now embarked myself and all my effects on board the

sloop, resolving to sail directly to the Capes of Virginia. My captain

beating it up to reach the Bahama channel, had not been two days at sea

but we were overtaken by a violent storm, which drove us so far upon

the coast of Florida as that we twice struck upon the shore, and had we

struck a third time we had been inevitably lost. A day or two after

that, the storm abating a little, we kept the sea, but found the wind

blowing so strong against our passing the gulf, and the sea going so

high, we could not hold it any longer. So we were forced to bear away

and make what shift we could; in which distress, the fifth day after,

we made land, but found it to be Cape ——, the north-west part of the

isle of Cuba. Here we found ourselves under a necessity to run in under

the land for shelter, though we had not come to an anchor, so we had

not touched the king of Spain’s territories at all. However, in the

morning we were surrounded with five Spanish barks, or boats, such as

they call _barco longos_, full of men, who instantly boarded us, took

us and carried us into the Havannah, the most considerable port

belonging to the Spaniards in that part of the world.

Here the sloop was immediately seized, and in consequence plundered, as

any one that knows the Spaniards, especially in that country, will

easily guess. Our men were made prisoners and sent to the common gaol;

and as for myself and the captain, we were carried before the Alcade

Major, or intendant of the place, as criminals.

I spoke Spanish very well, having served under the king of Spain in

Italy, and it stood me in good stead at this time; for I so effectually

argued the injustice of their treatment of me that the governor, or

what I ought to call him, frankly owned they ought not to have stopped

me, seeing I was in the open sea pursuing my voyage, and offered no

offence to anybody, and had not landed or offered to land upon any part

of his Catholic Majesty’s dominions till I was brought as a prisoner.

It was a great favour that I could obtain thus much; but I found it

easier to obtain an acknowledgment that I had received wrong than to

get any satisfaction for that wrong, and much less was there any hope

or prospect of restitution; and I was let know that I was to wait till

an account could be sent to the viceroy of Mexico, and orders could be

received back from him how to act in the affair.

I could easily foresee what all this tended to, namely, to a

confiscation of the ship and goods by the ordinary process at the

place; and that my being left to the decision of the viceroy of Mexico

was but a pretended representation of things to him from the

corregidore or judge of the place.

However, I had no remedy but the old insignificant thing called

patience, and this I was better furnished with because I did not so

much value the loss as I made them believe I did. My greatest

apprehensions were that they would detain me and keep me as a prisoner

for life, and perhaps send me to their mines in Peru, as they have done

many, and pretended to do to all that come on shore in their dominions,

how great soever the distresses may have been which have brought them

thither, and which has been the reason why others who have been forced

on shore have committed all manner of violence upon the Spaniards in

their turn, resolving, however dear they sold their lives, not to fall

into their hands.

But I got better quarter among them than that too, which was, as I have

said, much of it owing to my speaking Spanish, and to my telling them

how I had fought in so many occasions in the quarrel of his Catholic

Majesty in Italy; and, by great good chance, I had the king of France’s

commission for lieutenant-colonel in the Irish brigade in my pocket,

where it was mentioned that the said brigade was then serving in the

armies of France, under the orders of his Catholic Majesty, in Italy.

I failed not to talk up the gallantry and personal bravery of his

Catholic Majesty on all occasions, and particularly in many battles

where, by the way, his Majesty had never been at all, and in some where

I had never been myself. But I found I talked to people who knew

nothing of the matter, and so anything went down with them if it did

but praise the king of Spain and talk big of the Spanish cavalry, of

which, God knows, there was not one regiment in the army, at least

while I was there.

However, this way of managing myself obtained me the liberty of the

place, upon my parole that I would not attempt an escape; and I

obtained also, which was a great favour, to have two hundred pieces of

eight allowed me out of the sale of my cargo for subsistence till I

could negotiate my affairs at Mexico. As for my men, they were

maintained as prisoners at the public charge.

Well, after several months’ solicitation and attendance, all I could

obtain was the satisfaction of seeing my ship and cargo confiscated and

my poor sailors in a fair way to be sent to the mines. The last I

begged off, upon condition of paying three hundred pieces of eight for

their ransom, and having them set on shore at Antigua, and myself to

remain hostage for the payment of the said three hundred pieces of

eight, and for two hundred pieces of eight, which I had already had,

and for five hundred pieces of eight more for my own ransom, if, upon a

return from Mexico, the sentence of confiscation, as above, should be

confirmed by the viceroy.

These were hard articles indeed, but I was forced to submit to them;

nor, as my circumstances were above all such matters as these, as to

substance, did I lay it much to heart. The greatest difficulty that lay

in my way was, that I knew not how to correspond with my friends in any

part of the world, or which way to supply myself with necessaries or

with money for the payment I had agreed to, the Spaniards being so

tenacious of their ports that they allowed nobody to come on shore, or

indeed near the shore, from any part of the world, upon pain of seizure

and confiscation, as had been my case already. Upon this difficulty I

began to reason with the corregidore, and tell him that he put things

upon us that were impossible, and that were inconsistent with the

customs of nations; that, if a man was prisoner at Algiers, they would

allow him to write to his friends to pay his ransom, and would admit

the person that brought it to come and go free as a public person, and

if they did not, no treaty could be carried on for the ransom of a

slave, nor the conditions be performed when they are agreed upon.

I brought it then down to my own case, and desired to know, upon

supposition, that I might, within the time limited in that agreement,

have the sums of money ready for the ransom of my men and of myself,

how I should obtain to have notice given me of it, or how it should be

brought, seeing the very persons bringing that notice, or afterwards

presuming to bring the money, might be liable to be seized and

confiscated, as I had been, and the money itself be taken as a second

prize, without redeeming the first.

Though this was so reasonable a request that it could not be withstood

in point of argument, yet the Spaniard shrunk his head into his

shoulders, and said they had not power sufficient to act in such a

case; that the king’s laws were so severe against the suffering any

strangers to set their foot on his Catholic Majesty’s dominions in

America, and they could not dispense with the least tittle of them

without a particular _assiento_, as they called it, from the Consulado,

or Chamber of Commerce, at Seville, or a command under the hand and

seal of the viceroy of Mexico.

“How! signior corregidore,” said I, with some warmth, and, as it were,

with astonishment, “have you not authority enough to sign a passport

for an agent, or ambassador, to come on shore here, from any of the

king of Great Britain’s governors in these parts, under a white flag,

or flag of truce, to speak with the governor of this place, or with any

other person in the king’s name, on the subject of such business as the

governor may have to communicate? Why,” said I, “if you cannot do that,

you cannot act according to the law of nations.”

He shook his head, but still said no, he could not do even so much as

that; but here one of the military governors put in and opposed him,

and they two differed warmly, the first insisting that their orders

were deficient in that particular; but the other said that, as they

were bound up to them, it could not be in their power to act otherwise,

and that they were answerable for the ill consequences.

“Well, then,” says the governor to the corregidore, “now you have kept

this Englishman as hostage for the ransom of the men that you have

dismissed, suppose he tells you the money is ready, either at such, or

such, or such a place, how shall he bring it hither? You will take all

the people prisoners that offer to bring it; what must he do? If you

say you will send and fetch it, what security shall he have that he

shall have his liberty when it is paid you? and why should he trust you

so far as to pay the money, and yet remain here a prisoner?”

This carried so much reason with it that the corregidore knew not what

to say, but that so was the law, and he could act no otherwise but by

the very letter of it; and here each was so positive that nothing could

determine it but another express to be sent to the viceroy of Mexico.

Upon this the governor was so kind as to say he would get me a passport

for anybody that should bring the money, and any vessel they were in,

by his own authority, and for their safe returning, and taking me with

them, provided I would answer for it that they should bring no European

or other goods whatever with them, and should not set foot on shore

without his express permission, and provided he did not receive orders

to the contrary, in the meantime, from any superior hand; and that,

even in such a case, they should have liberty to go back freely from

whence they came, under the protection of a white flag.

I bowed very respectfully to the governor in token of my acknowledging

his justice, and then presented my humble petition to him that he would

allow my men to take their own sloop; that it should be rated at a

certain value, and would be obliged they should bring specie on board

with them, and that they should either pay it for the sloop or leave

the sloop again.

Then he inquired to what country he would send them for so much money,

and if I could assure him of the payment; and when he understood it was

no farther than to Virginia he seemed very easy; and, to satisfy the

corregidore, who still stood off, adhering with a true Spanish

stiffness to the letter of the law, the said governor calls out to me:

“Signior,” says he, “I shall make all this matter easy to you, if you

agree to my proposal. Your men shall have the sloop, on condition you

shall be my hostage for her return; but they shall not take her as your

sloop, though she shall in the effect be yours on the payment of the

money; but you shall take two of my men on board with you, upon your

parole for their safe return, and when she returns she shall carry his

Catholic Majesty’s colours, and be entered as one of the sloops

belonging to the Havannah; one of the Spaniards to be commander, and to

be called by such a name as he shall appoint.”

This the corregidore came into immediately, and said this was within

the letter, of the king’s commanderie or precept; upon condition,

however, that she should bring no European goods on board. I desired it

might be put in other words; namely, that she should bring no European

goods on shore. It cost two days’ debate between these two whether it

should pass that no European goods should be brought in the ship or

brought on shore; but having found means to intimate that I meant not

to trade there, but would not be tied from bringing a small present to

a certain person in acknowledgment of favours—I say, after I had found

room to place such a hint right where it should be placed, I found it

was all made easy to me; and it was all agreed presently that, after

the ransom was paid, and the ship also bought, it was but reasonable

that I should have liberty to trade to any other country not in the

dominions of the king of Spain, so to make up my losses; and that it

would be hard to oblige my men to bring away the vessel light, and so

lose the voyage, and add so much to our former misfortunes; that, so

long as no goods were brought on shore in the country belonging to his

Catholic Majesty’s dominions, which was all that they had to defend,

the rest was no business of theirs.

Now I began to see my way through this unhappy business, and to find,

that as money would bring me out of it, so money would bring it to turn

to a good account another way. Wherefore I sent the sloop away under

Spanish colours, and called her the _Nuestra Signiora de la Val de

Grace_, commanded by Signior Giraldo de Nesma, one of the two

Spaniards.

With the sloop I sent letters to my wife and to my chief manager with

orders to load her back, as I there directed, viz., that she should

have two hundred barrels of flour, fifty barrels of pease; and, to

answer my other views, I ordered a hundred bales to be made up of all

sorts of European goods, such as not my own warehouses only would

supply, but such as they could be supplied with in other warehouses

where I knew they had credit for anything.

In this cargo I directed all the richest and most valuable English

goods they had, or could get, whether linen, woollen, or silk, to be

made up; the coarser things, such as we use in Virginia for clothing of

servants, such I ordered to be left behind for the use of the

plantation. In less than seven weeks’ time the sloop returned, and I,

that failed not every day to look out for her on the strand, was the

first that spied her at sea at a distance, and knew her by her sails,

but afterwards more particularly by her signals.

When she returned she came into the road with her Spanish ancient

flying, and came to an anchor as directed; but I, that had seen her

some hours before, went directly to the governor and gave him an

account of her being come, and fain I would have obtained the favour to

have his excellency, as I called him, go on board in person, that he

might see how well his orders were executed. But he declined that,

saying he could not justify going off of the island, which was, in

short, to go out of his command of the fort, which he could not

reassume without a new commission from the king’s own hand.

Then I asked leave to go on board myself, which he granted me; and I

brought on shore with me the full sum in gold which I had conditioned

to pay for the ransom both of my men and myself, and for the purchase

of the sloop; and as I obtained leave to land in a different place, so

my governor sent his son with six soldiers to receive and convey me

with the money to the castle, where he commanded, and therein to his

own house. I had made up the money in heavy parcels, as if it had been

all silver, and gave it to two of my men who belonged to the sloop,

with orders to them that they should make it seem, by their carrying

it, to be much heavier than it was. This was done to conceal three

parcels of goods which I had packed up with the money to make a present

to the governor as I intended.

When the money was carried in and laid down on a table, the governor

ordered my men to withdraw, and I gave the soldiers each of them a

piece of eight to drink, for which they were very thankful, and the

governor seemed well pleased with it also. Then I asked him presently

if he would please to receive the money. He said no, he would not

receive it but in presence of the corregidore and the other people

concerned. Then I begged his excellency, as I called him, to give me

leave to open the parcels in his presence, for that I would do myself

the honour to acknowledge his favours in the best manner I could.

He told me no, he could not see anything be brought on shore but the

money; but, if I had brought anything on shore for my own use, he would

not be so strict as to inquire into that, so I might do what I pleased

myself.

Upon that I went into the place, shut myself in, and having opened all

the things, placed them to my mind. There was five little parcels, as

follows:—

1, 2. A piece of twenty yards fine English broad cloth, five yards

black, five yards crimson, in one parcel; and the rest of fine mixtures

in another parcel.

3. A piece of thirty ells of fine Holland linen.

4. A piece of eighteen yards of fine English brocaded silk.

5. A piece of black Colchester bays.

After I had placed these by themselves, I found means, with some

seeming difficulties and much grimace, to bring him to know that this

was intended for a present to himself. After all that part was over,

and he had seemed to accept them, he signified, after walking a hundred

turns and more in the room by them, by throwing his hat, which was

under his arm, upon them, and making a very stiff bow; I say, after

this he seemed to take his leave of me for a while, and I waited in an

outer room. When I was called in again, I found that he had looked over

all the particulars, and caused them to be removed out of the place.

But when I came again I found him quite another man. He thanked me for

my present; told me it was a present fit to be given to a viceroy of

Mexico rather than to a mere governor of a fort; that he had done me no

services suitable to such a return, but that he would see if he could

not oblige me further before I left the place.

After our compliments were over I obtained leave to have the

corregidore sent for, who accordingly came, and in his presence the

money stipulated for the ransom of the ship and of the men was paid.

But here the corregidore showed that he would be as severely just on my

side as on theirs, for he would not admit the money as a ransom for us

as prisoners, but as a deposit for so much as we were to be ransomed

for if the sentence of our being made prisoners should be confirmed.

And then the governor and corregidore, joining together, sent a

representation of the whole affair—at least we were told so—to the

viceroy of Mexico; and it was privately hinted to me that I would do

well to stay for the return of the _aviso_—that is, a boat which they

send over the bay to Vera Cruz with an express to Mexico, whose return

is generally performed in two months.

I was not unwilling to stay, having secret hints given me that I should

find some way to go with my sloop towards Vera Cruz myself, where I

might have an occasion to trade privately for the cargo which I had on

board. But it came about a nearer way; for, about two days after this

money being deposited, as above, the governor’s son invited himself on

board my sloop, where I told him I would be very glad to see him, and

whither, at the same time, he brought with him three considerable

merchants, Spaniards, two of them not inhabitants of the place.

When they were on board they were very merry and pleasant, and I

treated them so much to their satisfaction that, in short, they were

not well able to go on shore for that night, but were content to take a

nap on some carpets, which I caused to be spread for them; and that the

governor’s son might think himself well used, I brought him a very good

silk nightgown, with a crimson velvet cap, to lie down in, and in the

morning desired him to accept of them for his use, which he took very

kindly.

During that merry evening one of the merchants, not so touched with

drink as the young gentleman, nor so as not to mind what it was he came

about, takes an occasion to withdraw out of the great cabin and enter

into a parley with the master of the sloop in order to trade for what

European goods we had on board. The master took the hint, and gave me

notice of what had passed, and I gave him instructions what to say and

what to do; according to which instructions they made but few words,

bought the goods for about five thousand pieces of eight, and carried

them away themselves, and at their own hazards.

This was very agreeable to me, for now I began to see I should lick

myself whole by the sale of this cargo, and should make myself full

amends of Jack Spaniard for all the injuries he had done me in the

first of these things. With this view I gave my master or captain of

the sloop instructions for sale of all the rest of the goods, and left

him to manage by himself, which he did so well that he sold the whole

cargo the next day to the three Spaniards; with this additional

circumstance, that they desired the sloop might carry the goods, as

they were on board, to such part of the _terra firma_ as they should

appoint between the Honduras and the coast of La Vera Cruz.

It was difficult for me to make good this part of the bargain, but

finding the price agreed for would very well answer the voyage, I

consented. But then how to send the sloop away and remain among the

Spaniards when I was now a clear man, this was a difficulty too, as it

was also to go away, and not wait for a favourable answer from the

viceroy of Mexico to the representation of the governor and the

corregidore. However, at last I resolved to go in the sloop, fall out

what would; so I went to the governor and represented to him that,

being now to expect a favourable answer from Mexico, it would be a

great loss to me to keep the sloop there all the while, and I desired

his leave for me to go with the sloop to Antigua to sell and dispose of

the cargo, which he well knew I was obliged not to bring on shore there

at the Havannah, and which would be in danger of being spoiled by lying

so long on board. This I obtained readily, with license to come again

into the road, and, for myself only, to come on shore in order to hear

the viceroy’s pleasure in my case, which was depending.

Having thus obtained a license or passport for the sloop and myself, I

put to sea with the three Spanish merchants on board with me. They told

me they did not live at the Havannah, but it seems one of them did; and

some rich merchants of the Havannah, or of the parts thereabouts in the

same island, were concerned with them, for they brought on board, that

night we put to sea, a great sum of money in pieces of eight; and, as I

understood afterwards, that these merchants bought the cargo of me, and

though they gave me a very great price for everything, yet that they

sold them again to the merchants, who they procured on the coast of La

Vera Cruz, at a prodigious advantage, so that they got above a hundred

per cent, after I had gained very sufficiently before.

We sailed from the Havannah directly for Vera Cruz. I scrupled

venturing into the port at first, and was very uneasy lest I should

have another Spanish trick put upon me; but as we sailed under Spanish

colours, they showed us such authentic papers from the proper officers

that there was no room to fear anything.

However, when we came in sight of the Spanish coast, I found they had a

secret clandestine trade to carry on, which, though it was secret, yet

they knew the way of it so well that it was but a mere road to them.

The case was this: we stood in close under the shore in the night,

about six leagues to the north of the port, where two of the three

merchants went on shore in the boat, and in three hours or there abouts

they came on board again with five canoes and seven or eight merchants

more with them, and as soon as they were on board we stood off to sea,

so that by daylight we were quite out of sight of land.

I ought to have mentioned before that as soon as we were put to sea

from the Havannah, and during our voyage into the Gulf of Mexico, which

was eight days, we rummaged the whole cargo, and opening every bale as

far as the Spanish merchants desired, we trafficked with them for the

whole cargo, except the barrels of flour and pease.

This cargo was considerable in itself, for my wife’s account or

invoice, drawn out by my tutor and manager, amounted to £2684, 10s.,

and I sold the whole, including what had been sold in the evening, when

they were on board first, as I have said, for thirty-eight thousand

five hundred and ninety-three pieces of eight, and they allowed me

twelve hundred pieces of eight for the freight of the sloop, and made

my master and the seamen very handsome presents besides; and they were

well able to do this too, as you shall hear presently.

After we were gotten out of sight of land the Spaniards fell to their

traffic, and our three merchants opened their shop, as they might say,

for it was their shop. As to me, I had nothing to do with it or with

their goods. They drove their bargain in a few hours, and at night we

stood in again for the shore, when the five canoes carried a great part

of the goods on shore, and brought the money back in specie, as well

for that they carried as for all the rest, and at their second voyage

carried all away clear, leaving me nothing on board but my barrels of

flour and pease, which they bade me money for too, but not so much as I

expected.

Here I found that my Spanish merchants made above seventy thousand

pieces of eight of the cargo I had sold them, upon which I had a great

mind to be acquainted with those merchants on the _terra firma_, who

were the last customers; for it presently occurred to me that I could

easily go with a sloop from Virginia, and taking a cargo directed on

purpose from England of about £5000 or £6000, I might easily make four

of one. With this view I began to make a kind of an acquaintance with

the Spaniards which came in the canoes, and we became so intimate that

at last, with the consent of the three Spaniards of the Havannah, I

accepted an invitation on shore to their house, which was a little

villa, or rather plantation, where they had an _ingenio_, that is to

say, a sugar-house, or sugar-work, and there they treated us like

princes.

I took occasion at this invitation to say that, if I knew how to find

my way thither again, I could visit them once or twice a year, very

much to their advantage and mine too. One of the Spaniards took the

hint, and taking me into a room by myself, “Seignior,” says he, “if you

have any thoughts of coming to this place again, I shall give you such

directions as you shall be sure not to mistake; and, upon either coming

on shore in the night and coming up to this place, or upon making the

signals which we shall give you, we will not fail to come off to you,

and bring money enough for any _cargaison_” (so they call it) “that you

shall bring.”

I took all their directions, took their paroles of honour for my

safety, and, without taking any notice to my first three merchants,

laid up the rest in my most secret thoughts, resolving to visit them

again in as short a time as I could; and thus having, in about five

days, finished all our merchandising, we stood off to sea, and made for

the island of Cuba, where I set my three Spaniards on shore with all

their treasure, to their heart’s content, and made the best of my way

to Antigua, where, with all the despatch I could, I sold my two hundred

barrels of flour, which, however, had suffered a little by the length

of the voyage; and having laden the sloop with rum, molasses, and

sugar, I set sail again for the Havannah.

I was now uneasy indeed, for fear of the pirates, for I was a rich

ship, having, besides goods, near forty thousand pieces of eight in

silver.

When I came back to the Havannah, I went on shore to wait on the

governor and the corregidore, and to hear what return was had from the

viceroy, and had the good fortune to know that the viceroy had

disallowed that part of the sentence which condemned us as prisoners

and put a ransom on us, which he insisted could not be but in time of

open war. But as to the confiscation, he deferred it to the Chamber or

Council of Commerce at Seville, and the appeal to the king, if such be

preferred.

This was, in some measure, a very good piece of justice in the viceroy;

for, as we had not been on shore, we could not be legally imprisoned;

and for the rest, I believe if I would have given myself the trouble to

have gone to Old Spain, and have preferred my claim to both the ship

and the cargo, I had recovered them also.

However, as it was, I was now a freeman without ransom, and my men were

also free, so that all the money which I had deposited, as above, was

returned me; and thus I took my leave of the Havannah, and made the

best of my way for Virginia, where I arrived after a year and a half’s

absence; and notwithstanding all my losses, came home above forty

thousand pieces of eight richer than I went out.

As to the old affair about the Preston prisoners, that was quite at an

end, for the general pardon passed in Parliament made me perfectly

easy, and I took no more thought about that part. I might here very

usefully observe how necessary and inseparable a companion fear is to

guilt. It was but a few months before that the face of a poor Preston

transport would have frighted me out of my wits; to avoid them I

feigned myself sick, and wrapped my legs in flannel, as if I had the

gout; whereas now they were no more surprise to me, nor was I any more

uneasy to see them, than I was to see any other of the servants of the

plantations.

And that which was more particular than all was, that, though before I

fancied every one of them would know me and remember me, and

consequently betray and accuse me, now, though I was frequently among

them, and saw most of them, if not all of them, one time or other, nay,

though I remembered several of their faces, and even some of their

names, yet there was not a man of them that ever took the least notice

of me, or of having known or seen me before.

It would have been a singular satisfaction to me if I could have known

so much as this of them before, and have saved me all the fatigue,

hazard, and misfortune that befell me afterwards; but man, a short

sighted creature, sees so little before him that he can neither

anticipate his joys nor prevent his disasters, be they ever so little a

distance from him.

I had now my head full of my West India project, and I began to make

provision for it accordingly. I had a full account of what European

goods were most acceptable in New Spain; and, to add to my speed, I

knew that the Spaniards were in great want of European goods, the

galleons from Old Spain having been delayed to an unusual length of

time for the two years before. Upon this account, not having time, as I

thought, to send to England for a cargo of such goods as were most

proper, I resolved to load my sloop with tobacco and rum, the last I

brought from Antigua, and go away to Boston in New England, and to New

York, and see if I could pick up a cargo to my mind.

Accordingly, I took twenty thousand pieces of eight in money, and my

sloop laden as above, and taking my wife with me, we went away. It was

an odd and new thing at New England to have such a quantity of goods

bought up there by a sloop from Virginia, and especially to be paid for

in ready money, as I did for most of my goods; and this set all the

trading heads upon the stretch, to inquire what and who I was; to which

they had an immediate and direct answer, that I was a very considerable

planter in Virginia, and that was all any of my men on board the sloop

could tell of me, and enough too.

Well, it was the cause of much speculation among them, as I heard at

second and third hands. Some said, “He is certainly going to Jamaica;”

others said, “He is going to trade with the Spaniards;” others that “He

is going to the South Sea and turn half merchant, half pirate, on the

coast of Chili and Peru;” some one thing, some another, as the men

gossips found their imaginations directed; but we went on with our

business, and laid out twelve thousand pieces of eight, besides our

cargo of rum and tobacco, and went from thence to New York, where we

laid out the rest.

The chief of the cargo we bought here was fine English broadcloth,

serges, druggets, Norwich stuffs, bays, says, and all kinds of woollen

manufactures, as also linen of all sorts, a very great quantity, and

near £1000 in fine silks of several sorts. Being thus freighted, I came

back safe to Virginia, and with very little addition to my cargo, began

to prepare for my West India voyage.

I should have mentioned that I had built upon my sloop and raised her a

little, so that I had made her carry twelve guns, and fitted her up for

defence; for I thought she should not be attacked and boarded by a few

Spanish _barco longos_, as she was before; and I found the benefit of

it afterwards, as you shall hear.

We set sail the beginning of August, and as I had twice been attacked

by pirates in passing the Gulf of Florida, or among the Bahama Islands,

I resolved, though it was farther about, to stand off to sea, and so

keep, as I believed it would be, out of the way of them.

We passed the tropic, as near as we could guess, just where the famous

Sir William Phipps fished up the silver from the Spanish plate wreck,

and, standing in between the islands, kept our course W. by S., keeping

under the isle of Cuba, and so running away, trade, as they call it,

into the great Gulf of Mexico, leaving the island of Jamaica to the S.

and S.E., by this means avoiding, as I thought, all the Spaniards of

Cuba or the Havannah.

As we passed the west point of Cuba three Spanish boats came off to

board us, as they had done before, on the other side of the island. But

they found themselves mistaken; we were too many for them, for we run

out our guns, which they did not perceive before, and firing three or

four shots at them, they retired.

The next morning they appeared again, being five large boats and a

barque, and gave us chase; but we then spread our Spanish colours, and

brought to to fight them, at which they retired; so we escaped this

danger by the addition of force which we had made to our vessel.

We now had a fair run for our port, and as I had taken very good

directions, I stood away to the north of St. John d’Ulva, and then

running in for the shore, found the place appointed exactly; and going

on shore, I sent the master of my sloop directly to the _ingenio_,

where he found the Spanish merchant at his house, and where he dwelt

like a sovereign prince, who welcomed him, and understanding that I was

in a particular boat at the creek, as appointed, he came immediately

with him, and bringing another Spaniard from a villa not far off, in

about four hours they were with me.

They would have persuaded me to go up to their houses and have stayed

there till the next night, ordering the sloop to stand off as usual,

but I would not consent to let the sloop go to sea without me, so we

went on board directly, and, as the night was almost run, stood off to

sea; so by daybreak we were quite out of sight of land.

Here we began, as I said before, to open shop, and I found the

Spaniards were extremely surprised at seeing such a cargo—I mean so

large; for, in short, they had cared not if it had been four times as

much. They soon ran through the contents of all the bales we opened

that night, and, with very little dispute about the price, they

approved and accepted all that I showed them; but as they said they had

not money for any greater parcel, they agreed to go on shore the next

evening for more money.

However, we spent the remainder of the night in looking over and making

inventories or invoices of the rest of the cargo, that so they might

see the goods, know the value, and know what more money they had to

bring.

arrival announced Colonel Jacque’s arrival is announced

Accordingly, in the evening we stood in for the shore, and they carried

part of the cargo with them, borrowing the sloop’s boat to assist them;

and after they had lodged and landed the goods they came on board

again, bringing three of the other merchants with them who were

concerned before, and money enough to clear the whole ship—ay, and ship

and all, if I had been willing to sell her.

To give them their due, they dealt with me like men of honour. They

were indeed sensible that they bought everything much cheaper of me

than they did before of the three merchants of the Havannah, these

merchants having been, as it were, the hucksters, and bought them first

of me, and then advanced, as I have said, above one hundred per cent,

upon the price they gave me. But yet, at the same time, I advanced in

the price much more now than I did before to the said Spaniards; nor

was it without reason, because of the length and risk of the voyage,

both out and home, which now lay wholly upon me.

In short, I sold the whole cargo to them, and for which I received near

two hundred thousand pieces of eight in money; besides which, when they

came on board the second time, they brought all their boats loaden with

fresh provisions, hogs, sheep, fowls, sweetmeats, &c., enough for my

whole voyage, all which they made a present of to me. And thus we

finished our traffic to our mutual satisfaction, and parted with

promises of further commerce, and with assurances on their part of all

acts of friendship and assistance that I could desire if any disaster

should befall me in any of these adventures—as indeed was not

improbable, considering the strictness and severity of their customs in

case any people were trading upon their coast.

I immediately called a council with my little crew which way we should

go back. The mate was for beating it up to windward and getting up to

Jamaica; but as we were too rich to run any risks, and were to take the

best course to get safe home, I thought, and so did the master of the

sloop, that our best way was to coast about the bay, and, keeping the

shore of Florida on board, make the shortest course to the gulf, and so

make for the coast of Carolina, and to put in there into the first port

we could, and wait for any English men-of-war that might be on the

coast to secure us to the capes.

This was the b—-est course we could take, and proved very safe to us,

excepting that, about the cape of Florida, and on the coast in the

gulf, till we came to the height of St. Augustine, we were several

times visited with the Spaniards’ _barco longos_ and small barks, in

hopes of making a prize of us; but carrying Spanish colours deceived

most of them, and a good tier of guns kept the rest at a distance, so

that we came safe, though once or twice in danger of being run on shore

by a storm of wind—I say, we came safe into Charles River in Carolina.

From hence I found means to send a letter home, with an account to my

wife of my good success; and having an account that the coast was clear

of pirates, though there were no men-of-war in the place, I ventured

forward, and, in short, got safe into the Bay of Chesapeake, that is to

say, within the capes of Virginia, and in a few days more to my own

house, having been absent three months and four days.

Never did any vessel on this side the world make a better voyage in so

short a time that I made in this sloop; for by the most moderate

computation I cleared in these three months £25,000 sterling in ready

money, all the charges of the voyages to New England also being

reckoned up.

Now was my time to have sat still, contented with what I had got, if it

was in the power of man to know when his good fortune was at the

highest. And more, my prudent wife gave it as her opinion that I should

sit down satisfied and push the affair no farther, and earnestly

persuaded me to do so. But I, that had a door open, as I thought, to

immense treasure, that had found the way to have a stream of the golden

rivers of Mexico flow into my plantation of Virginia, and saw no

hazards more than what were common to all such things in the

prosecution—I say, to me these things looked with another face, and I

dreamed of nothing but millions and hundreds of thousands; so, contrary

to all moderate measures, I pushed on for another voyage, and laid up a

stock of all sorts of goods that I could get together proper for the

trade. I did not indeed go again to New England, for I had by this time

a very good cargo come from England pursuant to a commission I had sent

several months before; so that, in short, my cargo, according to the

invoice now made out, amounted to above £10,000 sterling first cost,

and was a cargo so sorted and so well bought that I expected to have

advanced upon them much more in proportion than I had done in the cargo

before.

With these expectations we began our second voyage in April, being

about five months after our return from the first. We had not indeed

the same good speed, even in our beginning, as we had at first; for

though we stood off to sea about sixty leagues in order to be out of

the way of the pirates, yet we had not been above five days at sea but

we were visited and rifled by two pirate barks, who, being bound to the

northward, that is to say, the banks of Newfoundland, took away all our

provisions and all our ammunition and small arms, and left us very ill

provided to pursue our voyage; and it being so near home, we thought it

advisable to come about and stand in for the capes again, to restore

our condition and furnish ourselves with stores of all kinds for our

voyage. This took us up about ten days, and we put to sea again. As for

our cargo, the pirates did not meddle with it, being all bale goods,

which they had no present use for, and knew not what to do with if they

had them.

We met with no other adventure worth naming till, by the same course

that we had steered before, we came into the Gulf of Mexico; and the

first misfortune we met with here was, that, on the back of Cuba,

crossing towards the point of the _terra firma_, on the coast of

Yucatan, we had sight of the flota of New Spain, that is, of the ships

which come from Carthagena or Porto Bello, and go to the Havannah, in

order to pursue their voyage to Europe.

They had with them one Spanish man-of-war and three frigates. Two of

the frigates gave us chase; but, it being just at the shutting in of

the day, we soon lost sight of them, and standing to the north, across

the Bay of Mexico, as if we were going to the mouth of Mississippi,

they lost us quite, and in a few days more we made the bottom of the

bay, being the port we were bound for.

We stood in as usual in the night, and gave notice to our friends; but

instead of their former readiness to come on board, they gave us notice

that we had been seen in the bay, and that notice of us was given at

Vera Cruz and at other places, and that several frigates were in quest

of us, and that three more would be cruising the next morning in search

for us. We could not conceive how this could be; but we were afterwards

told that those three frigates, having lost sight of us in the night,

had made in for the shore, and had given the alarm of us as of

privateers.

Be that as it would, we had nothing to do but to consider what course

to take immediately. The Spanish merchant’s advice was very good if we

had taken it, namely, to have unladen as many of our bales as we could

that very night by the help of our boat and their canoes, and to make

the best of our way in the morning to the north of the gulf, and take

our fate.

This my skipper or master thought very well of, but when we began to

put it into execution, we were so confused and in such a hurry, being

not resolved what course to take, that we could not get out above

sixteen bales of all sorts of goods before it began to be too light and

it behoved us to sail. At last the master proposed a medium, which was,

that I should go on shore in the next boat, in which were five bales of

goods more, and that I should stay on shore if the Spanish merchants

would undertake to conceal me, and let them go to sea and take their

chance.

The Spanish merchants readily undertook to protect me, especially it

being so easy to have me pass for a natural Spaniard, and so they took

me on shore with twenty-one bales of my goods, and the sloop stood off

to sea. If they met with any enemies they were to stand in for the

shore the next night; and we failed not to look well out for them, but

to no purpose, for the next day they were discovered and chased by two

Spanish frigates. They stood from them, and the sloop, being an

excellent sailer, gained so much that they would certainly have been

clear of them when night came on, but a small picaroon of a sloop kept

them company in spite of all they could do, and two or three times

offered to engage them, thereby to give time to the rest to come up;

but the sloop kept her way, and gave them a chase of three days and

nights, having a fresh gale of wind at S.W., till she made the Rio

Grand, or, as the French call it, the Mississippi, and there finding no

remedy, they ran the vessel on shore not far from the fort which the

Spaniards call Pensacola, garrisoned at that time with French. Our men

would have entered the river as a port, but having no pilot, and the

current of the river being strong against them, the sloop ran on shore,

and the men shifted as well as they could in their boats.

I was now in a very odd condition indeed. My circumstances were in one

sense, indeed, very happy—namely, that I was in the hands of my

friends, for such really they were, and so faithful that no men could

have been more careful of their own safety than were they of mine; and

that which added to the comfort of my new condition was the produce of

my goods, which were gotten on shore by their own advice and direction,

which was a fund sufficient to maintain me with them as long as I could

be supposed to stay there; and if not, the first merchant to whose

house I went assured me that he would give me credit for twenty

thousand pieces of eight if I had occasion for it.

My greatest affliction was, that I knew not how to convey news to my

wife of my present condition, and how, among many misfortunes of the

voyage, I was yet safe and in good hands.

But there was no remedy for this part but the great universal cure of

all incurable sorrows, viz., patience; and, indeed, I had a great deal

of reason, not for patience only, but thankfulness, if I had known the

circumstances which I should have been reduced to if I had fallen into

the hands of the Spaniards; the best of which that I could reasonably

have expected had been to have been sent to the mines, or, which was

ten thousand times worse, the Inquisition; or, if I had escaped the

Spaniards, as my men in the sloop did, the hardships they were exposed

to, the dangers they were in, and the miseries they suffered were still

worse in wandering among savages, and the more savage French, who

plundered and stripped them, instead of relieving and supplying them in

their long wilderness journey over the mountains till they reached the

S.W. parts of South Carolina, a journey which, indeed, deserves to have

an account to be given of it by itself. I say, all these things, had I

known of them, would have let me see that I had a great deal of reason,

not only to be patient under my present circumstances, but satisfied

and thankful.

Here, as I said, my patron, the merchant, entertained me like a prince;

he made my safety his peculiar care, and while we were in any

expectation of the sloop being taken and brought into Vera Cruz, he

kept me retired at a little house in a wood, where he kept a fine

aviary of all sorts of American birds, and out of which he yearly sent

some as presents to his friends in Old Spain.

This retreat was necessary lest, if the sloop should be taken and

brought into Vera Cruz, and the men be brought in prisoners, they

should be tempted to give an account of me as their supercargo or

merchant, and where both I and the twenty-one bales of goods were set

on shore. As for the goods, he made sure work with them, for they were

all opened, taken out of the bales, and separated, and, being mixed

with other European goods which came by the galleons, were made up in

new package, and sent to Mexico in several parcels, some to one

merchant, some to another, so that it was impossible to have found them

out, even if they had had information of them.

In this posture, and in apprehension of some bad news of the sloop, I

remained at the villa, or house in the vale—for so they called it—about

five weeks. I had two negroes appointed to wait on me, one of which was

my purveyor, or my cook, the other my valet; and my friend, the master

of all, came constantly every evening to visit and sup with me, when we

walked out together into the aviary, which was, of its kind, the most

beautiful thing that ever I saw in the world.

After above five weeks’ retreat of this kind, he had good intelligence

of the fate of the sloop, viz., that the two frigates and a sloop had

chased her till she ran on ground near the fort of Pensacola; that they

saw her stranded and broke in pieces by the force of the waves, the men

making their escape in their boat. This news was brought, it seems, by

the said frigates to La Vera Cruz, where my friend went on purpose to

be fully informed, and received the account from one of the captains of

the frigates, and discoursed with him at large about it.

I was better pleased with the loss of the sloop and all my cargo, the

men being got on shore and escaping, than I should have been with the

saving the whole cargo, if the men had fallen into the hands of the

Spaniards; for now I was safe, whereas then, it being supposed they

would have been forced to some discovery about me, I must have fled,

and should have found it very difficult to have made my escape, even

with all that my friends could have done for me too.

But now I was perfectly easy, and my friend, who thought confining me

at the house in the vale no longer needful, brought me publicly home to

his dwelling-house, as a merchant come from Old Spain by the last

galleons, and who, having been at Mexico, was come to reside with him.

Here I was dressed like a Spaniard of the better sort, had three

negroes to attend me, and was called Don Ferdinand de Villa Moresa, in

Castilia Feja—that is to say, in Old Castile.

Here I had nothing to do but to walk about and ride out into the woods,

and come home again to enjoy the pleasantest and most agreeable

retirement in the world; for certainly no men in the world live in such

splendour and wallow in such immense treasures as the merchants of this

place.

They live, as I have said, in a kind of country retreat at their

villas, or, as we would call them in Virginia, their plantations, and,

as they do call them, their _ingenios_, where they make their indigo

and their sugars. But they have also houses and warehouses at Vera

Cruz, where they go twice a year, when the galleons arrive from Old

Spain, and when those galleons relade for their return. And it was

surprising to me, when I went to La Vera Cruz with them, to see what

prodigious consignments they had from their correspondents in Old

Spain, and with what despatch they managed them; for no sooner were the

cases, packs, and bales of European goods brought into their warehouses

but they were opened and repacked by porters and packers of their

own—that is to say, negroes and Indian servants—and being made up into

new bales and separate parcels, were all despatched again by horses for

Mexico, and directed to their several merchants there, and the

remainder carried home, as above, to the _ingenio_ where they lived,

which was near thirty English miles from Vera Cruz, so that in about

twenty days their warehouses were again entirely free. At La Vera Cruz,

all their business was over there, and they and all their servants

retired; for they stayed no longer there than needs must, because of

the unhealthiness of the air.

After the goods were thus despatched, it was equally surprising to see

how soon, and with what exactness, the merchants of Mexico to whom

those cargoes were separately consigned made the return, and how it

came all in silver or in gold, so that their warehouses in a few months

were piled up, even to the ceiling, with chests of pieces of eight and

with bars of silver.

It is impossible to describe in the narrow compass of this work with

what exactness and order, and yet with how little hurry, and not the

least confusion, everything was done, and how soon a weight of business

of such importance and value was negotiated and finished, the goods

repacked, invoices made, and everything despatched and gone; so that in

about five weeks all the goods they had received from Europe by the

galleons were disposed of and entered in their journals to the proper

account of their merchant to whom they were respectively consigned;

from thence they had book-keepers who drew out the invoices and wrote

the letters, which the merchant himself only read over and signed, and

then other hands copied all again into other books.

I can give no estimate of the value of the several consignments they

received by that flota; but I remember that, when the galleons went

back, they shipped on board, at several times, one million three

hundred thousand pieces of eight in specie, besides a hundred and

eighty bales or bags of cochineal and about three hundred bales of

indigo; but they were so modest that they said this was for themselves

and their friends. That is to say, the several merchants of Mexico

consigned large quantities of bullion to them, to ship on board and

consign according to their order; but then I know also that, for all

that, they were allowed commission, so that their gain was very

considerable even that way also.

I had been with them at La Vera Cruz, and came back again before we

came to an account for the goods which I had brought on shore in the

twenty-one bales, which, by the account we brought them to (leaving a

piece of everything to be governed by our last market), amounted to

eight thousand five hundred and seventy pieces of eight, all which

money my friend—for so I must now call him—brought me in specie, and

caused his negroes to pile them up in one corner of my apartment; so

that I was indeed still very rich, all things considered.

There was a bale which I had caused to be packed up on purpose in

Virginia, and which indeed I had written for from England, being

chiefly of fine English broadcloths, silk, silk druggets, and fine

stuffs of several kinds, with some very fine hollands, which I set

apart for presents, as I should find occasion; and as, whatever hurry I

was in at carrying the twenty-one bales of goods on shore, I did not

forget to let this bale be one of them, so, when we came to a sale for

the rest, I told them that this was a pack with clothes and necessaries

for my own wearing and use, and so desired it might not be opened with

the rest, which was accordingly observed, and that bale or pack was

brought into my apartment.

This bale was, in general, made up of several smaller bales, which I

had directed, so that I might have room to make presents, equally

sorted as the circumstance might direct me. However, they were all

considerable, and I reckoned the whole bale cost me near £200 sterling

in England; and though my present circumstances required some limits to

my bounty in making presents, yet the obligation I was under being so

much the greater, especially to this one friendly, generous Spaniard, I

thought I could not do better than, by opening two of the smaller

bales, join them together, and make my gift some thing suitable to the

benefactor, and to the respect he had shown me. Accordingly, I took two

bales, and, laying the goods together, the contents were as follows:—

Two pieces of fine English broadcloth, the finest that could be got in

London, divided, as was that which I gave to the governor at the

Havannah, into fine crimson in grain, fine light mixtures, and fine

black.

Four pieces of fine holland, of 7s. to 8s. per ell in London.

Twelve pieces of fine silk drugget and duroys, for men’s wear.

Six pieces of broad silks, two damasks, two brocaded silks, and two

mantuas.

With a box of ribands and a box of lace; the last cost about £40

sterling in England.

This handsome parcel I laid open in my apartment, and brought him

upstairs one morning, on pretence to drink chocolate with me, which he

ordinarily did; when, as we drank chocolate and was merry, I said to

him, though I had sold him almost all my cargo and taken his money, yet

the truth was, that I ought not to have sold them to him, but to have

laid them all at his feet, for that it was to his direction I owed the

having anything saved at all.

He smiled, and, with a great deal of friendship in his face, told me

that not to have paid me for them would have been to have plundered a

shipwreck, which had been worse than to have robbed an hospital.

At last I told him I had two requests to make to him, which must not be

denied. I told him I had a small present to make him, which I would

give him a reason why he should not refuse to accept; and the second

request I would make after the first was granted. He said he would have

accepted my present from me if I had not been under a disaster, but as

it was it would be cruel and ungenerous. But I told him he was obliged

to hear my reason for his accepting it. Then I told him that this

parcel was made up for him by name by my wife and I in Virginia, and

his name set on the marks of the bale, and accordingly I showed him the

marks, which was indeed on one of the bales, but I had doubled it now,

as above, so that I told him these were his own proper goods; and, in

short, I pressed him so to receive them that he made a bow; and I said

no more, but ordered my negro, that is to say, his negro that waited on

me, to carry them all, except the two boxes, into his apartments, but

would not let him see the particulars till they were all carried away.

After he was gone about a quarter of an hour, he came in raving and

almost swearing, and in a great passion, but I could easily see he was

exceedingly pleased; and told me, had he known the particulars, he

would never have suffered them to have gone as he did, and at last used

the very same compliment that the governor at the Havannah used, viz.,

that it was a present fit for a viceroy of Mexico rather than for him.

When he had done, he then told me he remembered I had two requests to

him, and that one was not to be told till after the first was granted,

and he hoped now I had something to ask of him that was equal to the

obligation I laid upon him.

I told him I knew it was not the custom in Spain for a stranger to make

presents to the ladies, and that I would not in the least doubt but

that, whatever the ladies of his family required as proper for their

use, he would appropriate to them as he thought fit; but that there

were two little boxes in the parcel which my wife with her own hand had

directed to the ladies; and I begged he would be pleased with his own

hand to give them in my wife’s name, as directed; that I was only the

messenger, but that I could not be honest if I did not discharge myself

of the trust reposed in me.

These were the two boxes of ribands and lace, which, knowing the nicety

of the ladies in Spain, or rather of the Spaniards about their women, I

had made my wife pack up, and directed with her own hand, as I have

said.

He smiled, and told me it was true the Spaniards did not ordinarily

admit so much freedom among the women as other nations; but he hoped,

he said, I would not think the Spaniards thought all their women

whores, or that all Spaniards were jealous of their wives; that, as to

my present, since he had agreed to accept of it, I should have the

direction of what part I pleased to his wife and daughters; for he had

three daughters.

Here I strained courtesies again, and told him by no means; I would

direct nothing of that kind. I only begged that he would with his own

hand present to his donna, or lady, the present designed her by my

wife, and that he would present it in her name, now living in Virginia.

He was extremely pleased with the nicety I used; and I saw him present

it to her accordingly, and could see, at the opening of it, that she

was extremely pleased with the present itself, as indeed might very

well be, for in that country it was worth a very considerable sum of

money.

Though I was used with an uncommon friendship before, and nothing could

well be desired more, yet the grateful sense I showed of it in the

magnificence of this present was not lost, and the whole family

appeared sensible of it; so that I must allow that presents, where they

can be made in such a manner, are not without their influence, where

the persons were not at all mercenary either before or after.

I had here now a most happy and comfortable retreat, though it was a

kind of an exile. Here I enjoyed everything I could think of that was

agreeable and pleasant, except only a liberty of going home, which, for

that reason perhaps, was the only thing I desired in the world; for the

grief of one absent comfort is oftentimes capable of embittering all

the other enjoyments in the world.

Here I enjoyed the moments which I had never before known how to

employ—I mean that here I learned to look back upon a long ill-spent

life, blessed with infinite advantage, which I had no heart given me

till now to make use of, and here I found just reflections were the

utmost felicity of human life.

Here I wrote these memoirs, having to add to the pleasure of looking

back with due reflections the benefit of a violent fit of the gout,

which, as it is allowed by most people, clears the head, restores the

memory, and qualifies us to make the most, and just, and useful remarks

upon our own actions.

Perhaps when I wrote these things down I did not foresee that the

writings of our own stories would be so much the fashion in England, or

so agreeable to others to read, as I find custom and the humour of the

times has caused it to be. If any one that reads my story pleases to

make the same just reflections which I acknowledge I ought to have

made, he will reap the benefit of my misfortunes perhaps more than I

have done myself. ’Tis evident by the long series of changes and turns

which have appeared in the narrow compass of one private, mean person’s

life, that the history of men’s lives may be many ways made useful and

instructing to those who read them, if moral and religious improvement

and reflections are made by those that write them.

There remains many things in the course of this unhappy life of mine,

though I have left so little a part of it to speak of, that is worth

giving a large and distinct account of, and which gives room for just

reflections of a kind which I have not made yet. Particularly, I think

it just to add how, in collecting the various changes and turns in my

affairs, I saw clearer than ever I had done before how an invincible

overruling Power, a hand influenced from above, governs all our actions

of every kind, limits all our designs, and orders the events of

everything relating to us.

And from this observation it necessarily occurred to me how just it was

that we should pay the homage of all events to Him; that as He guided,

and had even made the chain of cause and consequences, which nature in

general strictly obeyed, so to Him should be given the honour of all

events, the consequences of those causes, as the first Mover and Maker

of all things.

I, who had hitherto lived, as might be truly said, without God in the

world, began now to see farther into all those things than I had ever

yet been capable of before, and this brought me at last to look with

shame and blushes upon such a course of wickedness as I had gone

through in the world. I had been bred, indeed, to nothing of either

religious or moral knowledge. What I gained of either was, first, by

the little time of civil life which I lived in Scotland, where my

abhorrence of the wickedness of my captain and comrade, and some sober,

religious company I fell into, first gave me some knowledge of good and

evil, and showed me the beauty of a sober, religious life, though, with

my leaving that country, it soon left me too; or, secondly, the modest

hints and just reflections of my steward, whom I called my tutor, who

was a man of sincere religion, good principles, and a real, true

penitent for his past miscarriages. Oh! had I with him sincerely

repented of what was past, I had not for twenty-four years together

lived a life of levity and profligate wickedness after it.

But here I had, as I said, leisure to reflect and to repent, to call to

mind things past, and, with a just detestation, learn, as Job says, to

abhor myself in dust and ashes.

It is with this temper that I have written my story. I would have all

that design to read it prepare to do so with the temper of penitents,

and remember with how much advantage they may make their penitent

reflections at home, under the merciful dispositions of Providence, in

peace, plenty, and ease, rather than abroad, under the discipline of a

transported criminal, as my wife and my tutor, or under the miseries

and distresses of a shipwrecked wanderer, as my skipper or captain of

the sloop, who, as I hear, died a very great penitent, labouring in the

deserts and mountains to find his way home to Virginia, by the way of

Carolina, whither the rest of the crew reached after infinite dangers

and hardships; or in exile, however favourably circumstanced, as mine,

in absence from my family, and for some time in no probable view of

ever seeing them any more.

Such, I say, may repent with advantage; but how few are they that

seriously look in till their way is hedged up and they have no other

way to look!

Here, I say, I had leisure to repent. How far it pleases God to give

the grace of repentance where He gives the opportunity of it is not for

me to say of myself. It is sufficient that I recommend it to all that

read this story, that, when they find their lives come up in any degree

to any similitude of cases, they will inquire by me, and ask

themselves, Is not this the time to repent? Perhaps the answer may

touch them.

I have only to add to what was then written, that my kind friends the

Spaniards, finding no other method presented for conveying me to my

home—that is to say, to Virginia—got a license for me to come in the

next galleons, as a Spanish merchant, to Cadiz, where I arrived safe

with all my treasure; for he suffered me to be at no expenses in his

house; and from Cadiz I soon got my passage on board an English

merchantship for London, from whence I sent an account of my adventures

to my wife, and where, in about five months more, she came over to me,

leaving with full satisfaction the management of all our affairs in

Virginia in the same faithful hands as before.

END OF THE LIFE OF COLONEL JACQUE

THE TRUE-BORN ENGLISHMAN

AN EXPLANATORY PREFACE

It is not that I see any reason to alter my opinion in anything I have

written which occasions this epistle, but I find it necessary, for the

satisfaction of some persons of honour as well as wit, to pass a short

explication upon it, and tell the world what I mean, or rather what I

do not mean, in some things wherein I find I am liable to be

misunderstood.

I confess myself something surprised to hear that I am taxed with

bewraying my own nest and abusing our nation by discovering the

meanness of our original, in order to make the English contemptible

abroad and at home; in which I think they are mistaken. For why should

not our neighbours be as good as we to derive from? And I must add

that, had we been an unmixed nation, I am of opinion it had been to our

disadvantage. For, to go no further, we have three nations about us as

clear from mixtures of blood as any in the world, and I know not which

of them I could wish ourselves to be like—I mean the Scots, the Welsh,

and Irish; and if I were to write a reverse to the satire, I would

examine all the nations of Europe, and prove that those nations which

are most mixed are the best, and have least of barbarism and brutality

among them; and abundance of reasons might be given for it, too long to

bring into a preface.

But I give this hint to let the world know that I am far from thinking

it is a satire upon the English nation to tell them they are derived

from all the nations under heaven—that is, from several nations. Nor is

it meant to undervalue the original of the English, for we see no

reason to like them the worse, being the relics of Nomans, Danes,

Saxons, and Normans, than we should have done if they had remained

Britons; that is, than if they had been all Welshmen.

But the intent of the satire is pointed at the vanity of those who talk

of their antiquity and value themselves upon their pedigree, their

ancient families, and being true-born; whereas it is impossible we

should be true-born, and if we could, should have lost by the bargain.

Those sort of people who call themselves true-born and tell long

stories of their families, and, like a nobleman of Venice, think a

foreigner ought not to walk on the same side of the street with them,

are owned to be meant in this satire. What they would infer from their

own original I know not, nor is it easy to make out whether they are

the better or the worse for their ancestors. Our English nation may

value themselves for their wit, wealth, and courage, and I believe few

will dispute it with them; but for long originals and ancient true-born

families of English, I would advise them to waive the discourse. A true

Englishman is one that deserves a character, and I have nowhere

lessened him that I know of; but as for a true-born Englishman, I

confess I do not understand him.

From hence I only infer that an Englishman, of all men, ought not to

despise foreigners as such, and I think the inference is just, since

what they are to-day we were yesterday, and to-morrow they will be like

us. If foreigners misbehave in their several stations and employments,

I have nothing to do with that; the laws are open to punish them

equally with natives, and let them have no favour.

But when I see the town full of lampoons and invectives against

Dutchmen only because they are foreigners, and the King reproached and

insulted by insolent pedants and ballad-making poets for employing

foreigners, and for being a foreigner himself, I confess myself moved

by it to remind our nation of their own original, thereby to let them

see what a banter is put upon ourselves in it, since, speaking of

Englishmen _ab origine_, we are really foreigners ourselves.

I could go on to prove it is also impolitic in us to discourage

foreigners, since it is easy to make it appear that the multitudes of

foreign nations who have taken sanctuary here have been the greatest

additions to the wealth and strength of the nation, the great essential

whereof is the number of its in habitants. Nor would this nation have

ever arrived to the degree of wealth and glory it now boasts of if the

addition of foreign nations, both as to manufactures and arms, had not

been helpful to it. This is so plain that he who is ignorant of it is

too dull to be talked with.

The satire, therefore, I must allow to be just till I am otherwise

convinced, because nothing can be more ridiculous than to hear our

people boast of that antiquity which, if it had been true, would have

left us in so much worse a condition than we are in now; whereas we

ought rather to boast among our neighbours that we are a part of

themselves, or the same original as they, but bettered by our climate,

and, like our language and manufactures, derived from them and improved

by us to a perfection greater than they can pretend to.

This we might have valued ourselves upon without vanity; but to disown

our descent from them, talking big of our ancient families and long

originals, and stand at a distance from foreigners, like the enthusiast

in religion, with a “Stand off; I am more holy than thou!”—this is a

thing so ridiculous in a nation, derived from foreigners as we are,

that I could not but attack them as I have done.

And whereas I am threatened to be called to a public account for this

freedom, and the publisher of this has been new-papered in gaol already

for it, though I see nothing in it for which the Government can be

displeased, yet if at the same time those people who, with an unlimited

arrogance in print, every day affront the King, prescribe the

Parliament, and lampoon the Government may be either punished or

restrained, I am content to stand and fall with the public justice of

my native country which I am not sensible I have anywhere injured.

Nor would I be misunderstood concerning the clergy, with whom, if I

have taken any license more than becomes a satire, I question not but

those gentlemen, who are men of letters, are also men of so much

candour as to allow me a loose at the crimes of the guilty without

thinking the whole profession lashed, who are innocent. I profess to

have very mean thoughts of those gentlemen who have deserted their own

principles, and exposed even their morals as well as loyalty, but not

at all to think it affects any but such as are concerned in the fact.

Nor would I be misrepresented as to the ingratitude of the English to

the King and his friends, as if I meant the English as a nation are so.

The contrary is so apparent, that I would hope it should not be

suggested of me; and, therefore, when I have brought in Britannia

speaking of the King, I suppose her to be the representative or mouth

of the nation as a body. But if I say we are full of such who daily

affront the King and abuse his friends, who print scurrilous pamphlets,

virulent lampoons, and reproachful public banter against both the

King’s person and Government, I say nothing but what is too true. And

that the satire is directed at such I freely own, and cannot say but I

should think it very hard to be censured for this satire while such

remain unquestioned and tacitly approved. That I can mean none but such

is plain from these few lines:—

“Ye Heavens, regard! Almighty Jove, look down,

And view thy injured monarch on the throne.

On their ungrateful heads due vengeance take Who sought his aid and

then his part forsake.”

If I have fallen upon our vices, I hope none but the vicious will be

angry. As for writing for interest, I disown it. I have neither place,

nor pension, nor prospect; nor seek none, nor will have none. If matter

of fact justifies the truth of the crimes, the satire is just. As to

the poetic liberties, I hope the crime is pardonable. I am content to

be stoned provided none will attack me but the innocent.

If my countrymen would take the hint and grow better-natured from my

ill-natured poem, as some call it, I would say this of it, that though

it is far from the best satire that ever was written, it would do the

most good that ever satire did.

And yet I am ready to ask pardon of some gentlemen too, who, though

they are Englishmen, have good-nature enough to see themselves

reproved, and can bear it. Those are gentlemen in a true sense that can

bear to be told of their _faux pas_ and not abuse the reprover. To such

I must say this is no satire; they are exceptions to the general rule;

and I value my performance from their generous approbation more than I

can from any opinion I have of its worth.

The hasty errors of my verse I made my excuse for before; and since the

time I have been upon it has been but little, and my leisure less, I

have all along strove rather to make the thoughts explicit than the

poem correct. However, I have mended some faults in this edition, and

the rest must be placed to my account.

As to answers, banters, true English Billingsgate, I expect them till

nobody will buy, and then the shop will be shut. Had I wrote it for the

gain of the press, I should have been concerned at its being printed

again and again by pirates, as they call them, and paragraph-men; but

would they but do it justice and print it true according to the copy,

they are welcome to sell it for a penny if they please.

The pence indeed is the end of their works. I will engage, if nobody

will buy, nobody will write. And not a patriot-poet of them all now

will, in defence of his native country—which I have abused, they

say—print an answer to it, and give it about for God’s sake.

THE PREFACE

The end of satire is reformation; and the author, though he doubts the

work of conversion is at a general stop, has put his hand to the

plough.

I expect a storm of ill language from the fury of the town, and

especially from those whose English talent it is to rail. And without

being taken for a conjuror, I may venture to foretell that I shall be

cavilled at about my mean style, rough verse, and incorrect language;

things I might indeed have taken more care in, but the book is printed;

and though I see some faults, it is too late to mend them. And this is

all I think needful to say to them.

Possibly somebody may take me for a Dutchman, in which they are

mistaken. But I am one that would be glad to see Englishmen behave

themselves better to strangers and to governors also, that one might

not be reproached in foreign countries for belonging to a nation that

wants manners.

I assure you, gentlemen, strangers use us better abroad; and we can

give no reason but our ill-nature for the contrary here.

Methinks an Englishman, who is so proud of being called a good fellow,

should be civil; and it cannot be denied but we are in many cases, and

particularly to strangers, the churlishest people alive.

As to vices, who can dispute our intemperance, while an honest drunken

fellow is a character in a man’s praise? All our reformations are

banters, and will be so till our magistrates and gentry reform

themselves by way of example. Then, and not till then, they may be

expected to punish others without blushing.

As to our ingratitude, I desire to be understood of that particular

people who, pretending to be Protestants, have all along endeavoured to

reduce the liberties and religion of this nation into the hands of King

James and his Popish Powers; together with such who enjoy the peace and

protection of the present Government, and yet abuse and affront the

King, who procured it, and openly profess their uneasiness under him.

These, by whatsoever names or titles they are dignified or

distinguished, are the people aimed at; nor do I disown but that it is

so much the temper of an Englishman to abuse his benefactor that I

could be glad to see it rectified.

Those who think I have been guilty of any error in exposing the crimes

of my own countrymen to themselves may, among many honest instances of

the like nature, find the same thing in Mr. Cowley, in his imitation of

the second Olympic ode of Pindar. His words are these—

“But in this thankless world the givers

Are envied even by the receivers:

’Tis now the cheap and frugal fashion Rather to hide than pay an

obligation.

Nay, ’tis much worse than so; It now an artifice doth grow Wrongs and

outrages to do,

Lest men should think we owe.”

THE INTRODUCTION

Speak, Satire; for there’s none can tell like thee

Whether ’tis folly, pride, or knavery

That makes this discontented land appear

Less happy now in times of peace than war?

Why civil feuds disturb the nation more

Than all our bloody wars have done before?

Fools out of favour grudge at knaves in place

And men are always honest in disgrace:

The Court preferments make men knaves in course;

But they which would be in them would be worse.

’Tis not at foreigners that we repine,

Would foreigners their perquisites resign:

The grand contention ’s plainly to be seen,

To get some men put out, and some put in.

For this our Senators make long harangues,

And florid Members whet their polished tongues.

Statesmen are always sick of one disease,

And a good pension gives them present ease:

That’s the specific makes them all content

With any King and any Government.

Good patriots at Court abuses rail,

And all the nation’s grievances bewail;

But when the sovereign balsam’s once applied,

The zealot never fails to change his side;

And when he must the golden key resign,

The railing spirit comes about again.

Who shall this bubbled nation disabuse,

While they their own felicities refuse,

Who at the wars have made such mighty pother,

And now are falling out with one another:

With needless fears the jealous nation fill,

And always have been saved against their will:

Who fifty millions sterling have disbursed,

To be with peace and too much plenty cursed:

Who their old monarch eagerly undo,

And yet uneasily obey the new?

Search, Satire, search: a deep incision make;

The poison’s strong, the antidote’s too weak.

’Tis pointed Truth must manage this dispute,

And downright English, Englishmen confute.

Whet thy just anger at the nation’s pride,

And with keen phrase repel the vicious tide;

To Englishmen their own beginnings show,

And ask them why they slight their neighbours so.

Go back to elder times and ages past,

And nations into long oblivion cast;

To old Britannia’s youthful days retire,

And there for true-born Englishmen inquire.

Britannia freely will disown the name,

And hardly knows herself from whence they came

Wonders that they of all men should pretend

To birth and blood, and for a name contend.

Go back to causes where our follies dwell,

And fetch the dark original from hell:

Speak, Satire, for there’s none like thee can tell.

THE TRUE-BORN ENGLISHMAN