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14 - The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe · Thrilling Adventures - Daily

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Speaker 1: Chapter thirteen, arrival in China. The greater weight, the anxieties
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Speaker 1: and perplexities of these things were to our thoughts while
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Speaker 1: we were at sea. The greater was our satisfaction when
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Speaker 1: we saw ourselves on shore, and my partner told me
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Speaker 1: he dreamed that he had a very heavy load upon
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Speaker 1: his back, which he was to carry up a hill,
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Speaker 1: and found that he was not able to stand longer
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Speaker 1: under it, but that the Portuguese pilot came and took
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Speaker 1: it off his back, and the hill disappeared, the ground
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Speaker 1: before him, appearing all smooth and plain. And truly it
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Speaker 1: was so. They were all like men who had a
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Speaker 1: load taken off their backs. For my part, I had
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Speaker 1: a weight taken off from my heart that it was
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Speaker 1: not able any longer to bear, And as I said above,
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Speaker 1: we resolved to go no more to sea in that ship.
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Speaker 1: When we came on shore, the old pilot, who was
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Speaker 1: now our friend, got us a lodging, together with a
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Speaker 1: warehouse for our goods. It was a little hut with
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Speaker 1: a larger house adjoining to it, built and also palisadoed
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Speaker 1: round with care haines to keep out pilferers, of which
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Speaker 1: there were not a few in that country. However, the
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Speaker 1: magistrates allowed us a little guard, and we had a
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Speaker 1: soldier with a kind of half pike, who stood sentinel
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Speaker 1: at our door, to whom we allowed a pint of
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Speaker 1: rice and a piece of money about the value of
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Speaker 1: three pence per day, so that our goods were kept
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Speaker 1: very safe. The fair or mart usually kept at this
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Speaker 1: place had been over some time. However, we found that
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Speaker 1: there were three or four junks in the river, and
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Speaker 1: two ships from Japan with goods which they had bought
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Speaker 1: in China and were not gone away, having some Japanese
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Speaker 1: merchants on shore. The first thing our old Portuguese pilot
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Speaker 1: did for us was to get us acquainted with three
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Speaker 1: missionary Romish priests who were in the town, and who
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Speaker 1: had been there some time converting the people to Christianity.
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Speaker 1: But we thought they made but poor work of it,
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Speaker 1: and made them but sorry Christians when they had done.
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Speaker 1: One of these was a Frenchman whom they called Father Simon,
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Speaker 1: another was a Portuguese and a a Genoese. Father Simon
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Speaker 1: was courteous and very agreeable company, but the other two
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Speaker 1: were more reserved, seemed rigid and austere, and applied seriously
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Speaker 1: to the work. They came about, viz. To talk with
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Speaker 1: and insinuate themselves among the inhabitants wherever they had opportunity.
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Speaker 1: We often ate and drank with those men. And though
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Speaker 1: I must confess, the conversion, as they call it, of
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Speaker 1: the Chinese to Christianity, is so far from the true
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Speaker 1: conversion required to bring heathen people to the faith of Christ,
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Speaker 1: that it seems to amount to little more than letting
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Speaker 1: them know the name of Christ and say some prayers
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Speaker 1: to the Virgin Mary and her son in a tongue
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Speaker 1: which they understand not, and to cross themselves and the like.
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Speaker 1: Yet it must be confessed that the religionists whom we
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Speaker 1: call missionaries, have a firm belief that these people will
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Speaker 1: be saved, and that they are the instruments of it.
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Speaker 1: And on this account they undergo not only the fatigue
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Speaker 1: of the voyage and the hazards of living in such places,
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Speaker 1: but often times death itself and the most violent tortures
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Speaker 1: for the sake of this work. Father Simon was appointed,
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Speaker 1: it seems, by order of the chief of the mission,
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Speaker 1: to go up to Pequin, and waited only for another
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Speaker 1: priest who was ordered to come to him from Macao
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Speaker 1: to go along with him. We scarce ever met together,
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Speaker 1: but he was inviting me to go that journey, telling
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Speaker 1: me how he would show me all the glorious things
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Speaker 1: of that mighty empire, and among the rest, Pequin, the
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Speaker 1: greatest city in the world, a city, said he that
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Speaker 1: your London and a Parri put together cannot be equal to.
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Speaker 1: But as I looked on those things with different eyes
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Speaker 1: from other men, so I shall give my opinion of
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Speaker 1: them in a few words when I come in the
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Speaker 1: course of my travels to speak more particularly of them.
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Speaker 1: Dining with Father Simon one day, and being very merry together,
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Speaker 1: I showed some little inclination to go with him, and
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Speaker 1: he pressed me and my partner very hard to consent. Why, father,
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Speaker 1: says my partner, should you desire our company so much?
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Speaker 1: You know we are Heretics, and you do not love us,
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Speaker 1: nor cannot keep us company with any pleasure, Oh, says he.
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Speaker 1: You may perhaps be good Catholics in time. My business
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Speaker 1: here is to convert Heathens, and who knows, but I
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Speaker 1: may convert you too very well, Father, said I. So
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Speaker 1: you will preach to us all the way. I will
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Speaker 1: not be troublesome to you, says he our really Jehan
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Speaker 1: does not divest us of good manners. Besides, we are
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Speaker 1: here like countrymen, and so we are compared to the
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Speaker 1: place we are in. And if you are Huguenots and
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Speaker 1: I a Catholic, we may all be Christians. At last.
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Speaker 1: At least we are all gentlemen, and we may converse
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Speaker 1: so without being uneasy to one another. I liked this
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Speaker 1: part of his discourse very well, and it began to
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Speaker 1: put me in mind of my priest that I had
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Speaker 1: left in the Brazils. But Father Simon did not come
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Speaker 1: up to his character by a great deal. For though
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Speaker 1: this friar had no appearance of a criminal levity in him,
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Speaker 1: yet he had not that fund of Christian zeal, strict piety,
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Speaker 1: and sincere affection to religion that my other good ecclesiastic had.
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Speaker 1: But to leave him a little. Though he never left us,
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Speaker 1: nor solicited us to go with him. We had something
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Speaker 1: else before us at first, for we had all this
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Speaker 1: while our ship and our merchandise to dispose of, and
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Speaker 1: we began to be very doubtful what we should do,
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Speaker 1: for we were now in a place of very little business.
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Speaker 1: Once I was about to venture to sail for the
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Speaker 1: river of Keelam and the city of Nankin. But Providence
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Speaker 1: seemed now more visibly, as I thought, than ever, to
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Speaker 1: concern itself in our affairs, and I was encouraged from
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Speaker 1: this very time to think I should, one way or other,
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Speaker 1: get out of this entangled circumstance and be brought home
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Speaker 1: to my own country again. Though I had not the
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Speaker 1: least view of the manner, Providence I say, began here
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Speaker 1: to clear up our way a little. And the first
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Speaker 1: thing that offered was that our old Portuguese pilot brought
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Speaker 1: a japan merchant to us, who inquired what goods we had,
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Speaker 1: And in the first place he bought all our opium
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Speaker 1: and gave us a very good price for it, paying
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Speaker 1: us in gold by weight, some in small pieces of
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Speaker 1: their own coin, and some in small wedges of about
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Speaker 1: ten or twelve ounces each. While we were dealing with
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Speaker 1: him for our opium, it came into my head that
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Speaker 1: he might perhaps deal for the ship too, and I
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Speaker 1: ordered the interpreter to propose it to him. He shrunk
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Speaker 1: up his shoulders at it when it was first proposed
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Speaker 1: to him, but in a few days after he came
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Speaker 1: to me with one of the missionary priests for his interpreter,
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Speaker 1: and told me he had a proposal to make to me,
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Speaker 1: which was this, he had bought a great quantity of
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Speaker 1: our goods when he had no thoughts of proposals made
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Speaker 1: to him of buying the ship, and that therefore he
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Speaker 1: had not money to pay for the ship. But if
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Speaker 1: I would let the same men who were in the
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Speaker 1: ship navigate her, he would hire the ship to go
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Speaker 1: to Japan, and would send them from thence to the
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Speaker 1: fill Elopeene Islands with another loading, which he would pay
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Speaker 1: the freight of before they went from Japan, and that
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Speaker 1: at their return he would buy the ship. I began
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Speaker 1: to listen to his proposal, and so eager did my
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Speaker 1: head still run upon rambling, that I could not but
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Speaker 1: begin to entertain a notion of going myself with him,
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Speaker 1: And so set sail from the Philippine Islands away to
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Speaker 1: the South Seas. Accordingly, I asked the Japanese merchant if
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Speaker 1: he would not hire us to the Philippine Islands and
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Speaker 1: discharge us there. He said no, he could not do that,
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Speaker 1: for then he could not have the return of his cargo.
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Speaker 1: But he would discharge us in Japan at the ship's return.
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Speaker 1: Well still, I was for taking him at that proposal
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Speaker 1: and going myself, but my partner, wiser than myself, persuaded
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Speaker 1: me from it, representing the dangers as well of the
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Speaker 1: seas as of the Japanese, who are a false, cruel
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Speaker 1: and treacherous people. Likewise those of the Spaniards at the
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Speaker 1: Philippines more false, cruel and treacherous than they. But to
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Speaker 1: bring this long turn of our affairs to a conclusion,
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Speaker 1: the first thing we had to do was to consult
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Speaker 1: with the captain of the ship and with his men,
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Speaker 1: and know if they were willing to go to Japan.
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Speaker 1: While I was doing this, the young man whom my
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Speaker 1: nephew had left with me as my companion, came up
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Speaker 1: and told me that he thought that voyage promised very fair,
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Speaker 1: and that there was a great prospect of advantage, and
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Speaker 1: he would be very glad if I undertook it, but
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Speaker 1: that if I would not, and would give him leave,
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Speaker 1: he would go as a merchant, or as I pleased
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Speaker 1: to order him, that if ever he came to England
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Speaker 1: and I was there and alive, he would render me
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Speaker 1: a faithful account of his success, which should be as
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Speaker 1: much mine as I pleased. I was loath to part
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Speaker 1: with him, but considering the prospect of advantage, which really
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Speaker 1: was considerable, and that he was a young fellow likely
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Speaker 1: to do well in it, I inclined to let him go.
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Speaker 1: But I told him I would consult my partner and
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Speaker 1: give him an answer. The next day I discoursed about
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Speaker 1: it with my partner, who thereupon made me a mostion
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Speaker 1: generous offer. You know it has been an unlucky ship,
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Speaker 1: said he, and we both resolve not to go to
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Speaker 1: sea in it again. If your steward, so he called
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Speaker 1: my man, will venture the voyage, I will leave my
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Speaker 1: share of the vessel to him and let him make
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Speaker 1: the best of it. And if we live to meet
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Speaker 1: in England, and he meets with success abroad, he shall
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Speaker 1: account for one half of the profits of the ship's
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Speaker 1: freight to us. The other shall be his own. If
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Speaker 1: my partner, who was no way concerned with my young man,
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Speaker 1: made him such an offer, I could not do less
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Speaker 1: than offer him the same, And all the ship's company,
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Speaker 1: being willing to go with him, we made over half
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Speaker 1: the ship to him in property, and took a writing
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Speaker 1: from him obliging him to account for the other, and
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Speaker 1: away he went to Japan. The japan merchant proved a
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Speaker 1: very punctual, honest man to him, protected him at Japan,
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Speaker 1: and got him a license to come on shore, which
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Speaker 1: the Europeans in general have not lately obtained. He paid
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Speaker 1: him his freight very punctually, sent him to the Philippines
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Speaker 1: loaded with Japan and China wares and a supercargo of
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Speaker 1: their own, who trafficking with the Spaniards, brought back European
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Speaker 1: goods again and a great quantity of spices. And there
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Speaker 1: he was not only paid his freight very well and
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Speaker 1: at a very good price, but not being willing to
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Speaker 1: sell the ship, then the merchant furnished him with goods
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Speaker 1: on his own account, and with some money and some
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Speaker 1: spices of his own, which he brought with him. He
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Speaker 1: went back to the Manilas, where he sold his cargo
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Speaker 1: very well. Here, having made a good acquaintance at Manila,
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Speaker 1: he got his ship made a free ship, and the
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Speaker 1: governor of Manila hired him to go to Acapulco on
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Speaker 1: the coast of America, and gave him a license to
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Speaker 1: land there and to travel to Mexico, and to pass
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Speaker 1: in any Spanish ship to Europe with all his men.
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Speaker 1: He made the voyage to Acapulco very happily, and there
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Speaker 1: he sold his ship, and, having there also obtained allowance
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Speaker 1: to travel by land to Portobello, he found means to
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Speaker 1: get to Jamaica with all his treasure, and about eight
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Speaker 1: years after came to England, exceeding rich. But to return
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Speaker 1: to our particular affairs. Being now to part with the
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Speaker 1: ship and ship's company, it came before us, of course,
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Speaker 1: to consider what recompense we should give to the two
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Speaker 1: men that gave us such timely notice of the design
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Speaker 1: against us in the River Cambodia. The truth was they
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Speaker 1: had done us a very considerable service and deserved well
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Speaker 1: at our hands. Though by the way they were a
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Speaker 1: couple of rogues too, for as they believed the story
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Speaker 1: of our being pirates, and that we had really run
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Speaker 1: away with the ship, they came down to us not
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Speaker 1: only to betray the design that was formed against us,
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Speaker 1: but to go to sea with us as pirates. One
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Speaker 1: of them confessed afterwards that nothing else but the hopes
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Speaker 1: of going a roguing brought him to do it. However,
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Speaker 1: the service they did us was not the less, and therefore,
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Speaker 1: as I had promised to be grateful to them. I
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Speaker 1: first ordered the money to be paid them, which they
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Speaker 1: said was due to them on board their respective ships.
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Speaker 1: Over and above them. I gave each of them a
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Speaker 1: small sum of money in gold, which contented them very well.
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Speaker 1: I then made the Englishman gunner in the ship, the
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Speaker 1: gunner being now made second mate and purser. The Dutchmen
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Speaker 1: I made bosun. So they were both very well pleased
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Speaker 1: and proved very serviceable, being both able seamen and very
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Speaker 1: stout fellows. We were now on shore in China. If
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Speaker 1: I thought myself banished and remote from my own country
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Speaker 1: at Bengal, where I had many ways to get home
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Speaker 1: for my money, what could I think of myself now,
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Speaker 1: when I was about a thousand leagues farther off from
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Speaker 1: home and destitute of all manner of prospect of return.
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Speaker 1: All we had for it was this that in about
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Speaker 1: four months time there was to be another fare at
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Speaker 1: the place where we were, and then we might be
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Speaker 1: able to purchase some various manufactures of the country, and
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Speaker 1: withal might possibly find some Chinese junks from Tonquin for
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Speaker 1: sale that would carry us and our goods whither we pleased.
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Speaker 1: This I liked very well, and resolved to wait. Besides,
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Speaker 1: as our particular persons were not obnoxious, so if any
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Speaker 1: English or Dutch ships came thither, perhaps we might have
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Speaker 1: an opportunity to load our goods and get passage to
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Speaker 1: some other place in India nearer home. Upon these hopes
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Speaker 1: we resolved to continue here, but to divert ourselves. We
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Speaker 1: took two or three journeys into the country. First, we
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Speaker 1: went ten days journey to Nankeen, a city well worth seeing.
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Speaker 1: They say it has a million of people in it.
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Speaker 1: It is regularly built, and the streets are all straight
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Speaker 1: and cross one another in direct lines. But when I
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Speaker 1: come to compare the miserable people of these countries with ours,
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Speaker 1: their fabrics, their manner of living, their government, their religion,
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Speaker 1: their wealth, and their glory, as some call it, I
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Speaker 1: must confess that I scarcely think it worth my while
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Speaker 1: to mention them. Here we wonder at the grandeur, the riches,
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Speaker 1: the pomp, the ceremonies, the government, the manufactures, the commerce
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Speaker 1: and conduct of these people. Not that there is really
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Speaker 1: any matter for wonder, but because having a true notion
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Speaker 1: of the barbarity of those countries, the rudeness and the
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Speaker 1: ignorance that prevail there. We do not expect to find
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Speaker 1: any such things so far off. Otherwise, What are their
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Speaker 1: buildings to the palaces and royal buildings of Europe? What
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Speaker 1: their trade to the universal commerce of England, Holland, France
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Speaker 1: and Spain. What are their cities to ours for wealth, strength,
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Speaker 1: gaiety of apparel, rich furniture and infinite variety? What are
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Speaker 1: their ports supplied with a few junks and barks to
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Speaker 1: our navigation? Our merchant fleets are large and powerful navies.
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Speaker 1: Our city of London has more trade than half their
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Speaker 1: mighty empire. One English, Dutch or French man of war
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Speaker 1: of eighty guns would be able to fight almost all
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Speaker 1: the shipping belonging to China. But the greatness of their wealth,
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Speaker 1: their trade, the power of their government, and the strength
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Speaker 1: of their armies may be a little surprising to us, because,
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Speaker 1: as I have said, considering them them as a barbarous
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Speaker 1: nation of pagans, little better than savages, we did not
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Speaker 1: expect such things among them. But all the forces of
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Speaker 1: their empire, though they were to bring two millions of
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Speaker 1: men into the field together, would be able to do
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Speaker 1: nothing but ruin the country and starve themselves. A million
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Speaker 1: of their foot could not stand before one embattled body
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Speaker 1: of our infantry posted so as not to be surrounded,
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Speaker 1: though they were not to be one to twenty in number. Nay,
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Speaker 1: I do not boast if I say that thirty thousand
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Speaker 1: German or English foot and ten thousand horse well managed
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Speaker 1: could defeat all the forces of China. Nor is there
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Speaker 1: a fortified town in China that could hold out one
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Speaker 1: month against the batteries and attacks of a European army.
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Speaker 1: They have firearms, it is true, but they are awkward
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Speaker 1: and uncertain in their going off, and their powder has
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Speaker 1: but little strength. Their armies are badly disciplined, and want
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Speaker 1: skilled to attack or temper to retreat. And therefore I
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Speaker 1: must confess it seemed strange to me when I came
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Speaker 1: home and heard our people say such fine things of
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Speaker 1: the power, glory, magnificence and trade of the Chinese, because
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Speaker 1: as far as I saw, they appeared to be a
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Speaker 1: contemptible herd or crowd of ignorant, sordid slaves, subjected to
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Speaker 1: a government qualified only to rule such a people, and
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Speaker 1: were not its distance inconceivably great from Muscovy and that
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Speaker 1: empire in a manner as rude, impotent, and ill governed
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Speaker 1: as they the Tsar of muscovie might with ease drive
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Speaker 1: them all out of their country and conquer them in
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Speaker 1: one campaign. And had the Tsar, who is now a
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Speaker 1: growing prince, fallen this way instead of attacking the warlike Swedes,
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Speaker 1: and equally improved himself in the art of war, as
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Speaker 1: they say he has done, and if none of the
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Speaker 1: powers of Europe had envied or interrupted him, he might
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Speaker 1: by this time have been Emperor of China instead of
16:54
Speaker 1: being beaten by the King of Sweden at Narva, when
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Speaker 1: the latter was not one to six in number. As
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Speaker 1: their strength and their grandeur, so their navigation, commerce, and
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Speaker 1: husbandry are very imperfect compared to the same things in Europe.
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Speaker 1: Also in their knowledge, their learning, and in their skill
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Speaker 1: in the sciences, they are either very awkward or defective.
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Speaker 1: Though they have globes or spheres and a smattering of
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Speaker 1: the mathematics, and think they know more than all the world. Besides,
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Speaker 1: but they know little of the motions of the heavenly bodies.
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Speaker 1: And so grossly and absurdly ignorant are their common people
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Speaker 1: that when the sun is eclipsed they think a great
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Speaker 1: dragon has assaulted it and is going to run away
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Speaker 1: with it, And they fall a clattering with all the
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Speaker 1: drums and kettles in the country to fright the monster away,
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Speaker 1: just as we do to hive a swarm of bees.
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Speaker 1: As this is the only excursion of the kind which
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Speaker 1: I have made in all the accounts I have given
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Speaker 1: of my travels, so I shall make no more such.
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Speaker 1: It is none of my business, nor any part of
17:56
Speaker 1: my design, but to give an account of my own
17:58
Speaker 1: adventures through a life of inimitable wanderings and a long
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Speaker 1: variety of changes, which perhaps few that come after me
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Speaker 1: will have heard the like of. I shall therefore say
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Speaker 1: very little of all the mighty places, desert countries, and
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Speaker 1: numerous people I have yet to pass through, more than
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Speaker 1: relates to my own story, and which my concern among
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Speaker 1: them will make necessary. I was now, as near as
18:23
Speaker 1: I can compute, in the heart of China, about thirty
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Speaker 1: degrees north of the line, for we were returned from Nankin.
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Speaker 1: I had indeed a mind to see the city of Pequin,
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Speaker 1: which I had heard so much of, and Father Simon
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Speaker 1: importuned me daily to do it. At length. His time
18:40
Speaker 1: of going away being set, and the other missionary who
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Speaker 1: was to go with him being arrived from Macao. It
18:46
Speaker 1: was necessary that we should resolve either to go or not,
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Speaker 1: So I referred it to my partner and left it
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Speaker 1: wholly to his choice, who at length resolved it in
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Speaker 1: the affirmative, and we prepared for our journey. We set
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Speaker 1: out with a very good advantage as to finding the way,
19:03
Speaker 1: for we got leave to travel in the retinue of
19:05
Speaker 1: one of their mandarins, a kind of viceroy or principal
19:08
Speaker 1: magistrate in the province where they reside, and who take
19:12
Speaker 1: great state upon them traveling with great attendants and great
19:16
Speaker 1: homage from the people, who are sometimes greatly impoverished by
19:20
Speaker 1: them being obliged to furnish provisions for them and all
19:23
Speaker 1: their attendants in their journeys. I particularly observed in our
19:27
Speaker 1: traveling with his baggage, that though we received sufficient provisions
19:31
Speaker 1: both for ourselves and our horses from the country as
19:34
Speaker 1: belonging to the Mandarin, yet we were obliged to pay
19:37
Speaker 1: for everything we had after the market price of the country,
19:41
Speaker 1: and the mandarin's steward collected it duly from us. Thus,
19:45
Speaker 1: our traveling in the retinue of the Mandarin, though it
19:48
Speaker 1: was a great act of kindness, was not such a
19:50
Speaker 1: mighty favor to us, but was a great advantage to him,
19:54
Speaker 1: considering there were above thirty other people traveled in the
19:57
Speaker 1: same manner besides us, under the protection of of his retinue.
20:01
Speaker 1: For the country furnished all the provisions for nothing to him,
20:04
Speaker 1: and yet he took our money for them. We were
20:07
Speaker 1: twenty five days traveling to Pekin through a country exceeding populace.
20:12
Speaker 1: But I think badly cultivated. The husbandry, the economy, and
20:16
Speaker 1: the way of living miserable though they boast so much
20:19
Speaker 1: of the industry of the people. I say miserable if
20:22
Speaker 1: compared with our own, but not so to these poor
20:25
Speaker 1: wretches who know no other. The pride of the poor
20:28
Speaker 1: people is infinitely great, and exceeded by nothing but their
20:32
Speaker 1: poverty in some parts, which adds to that which I
20:35
Speaker 1: call their misery. And I must needs think the savages
20:38
Speaker 1: of America live more happy than the poorer sort of these,
20:42
Speaker 1: because as they have nothing, so they desire nothing, whereas
20:46
Speaker 1: these are proud and insolent in the main, and are
20:48
Speaker 1: in many parts mere beggars and drudges. Their ostentation is inexpressible,
20:54
Speaker 1: and if they can, they love to keep multitudes of
20:57
Speaker 1: servants or slaves, which is, to the last agree ridiculous,
21:01
Speaker 1: as well as their contempt of all the world but themselves.
21:05
Speaker 1: I must confess I traveled more pleasantly afterwards in the
21:08
Speaker 1: deserts and vast wildernesses of Grand Tartary than here. And
21:12
Speaker 1: yet the roads here are well paved and well kept,
21:15
Speaker 1: and very convenient for travelers. But nothing was more awkward
21:19
Speaker 1: to me than to see such a haughty, imperious, insolent
21:22
Speaker 1: people in the midst of the grossest simplicity and ignorance.
21:26
Speaker 1: And my friend Father Simon, and I used to be
21:29
Speaker 1: very merry upon these occasions to see their beggarly pride.
21:33
Speaker 1: For example, coming by the house of a country gentleman,
21:36
Speaker 1: as Father Simon called him, about ten leagues off the
21:40
Speaker 1: city of Nankeen, we had first of all the honor
21:42
Speaker 1: to ride with the master of the house about two miles.
21:46
Speaker 1: The state he rode in was a perfect don Quixotism,
21:49
Speaker 1: being a mixture of pomp and poverty. His habit was
21:52
Speaker 1: very proper for a merry andrew, being a dirty calico
21:56
Speaker 1: with hanging sleeves, tassels, and cuts and slashes almost on
22:00
Speaker 1: every side. It covered a taffety vest so greasy as
22:04
Speaker 1: to testify that his honor must be a most exquisite sloven.
22:08
Speaker 1: His horse was a poor, starved, hobbling creature, and two
22:11
Speaker 1: slaves followed him on foot to drive the poor creature along.
22:15
Speaker 1: He had a whip in his hand, and he belabored
22:17
Speaker 1: the beast as fast about the head as his slaves
22:20
Speaker 1: did about the tail. And thus he rode by us
22:23
Speaker 1: with about ten or twelve servants, going from the city
22:26
Speaker 1: to his country seat about half a league before us.
22:29
Speaker 1: We traveled on gently, but this figure of a gentleman
22:33
Speaker 1: rode away before us, And as we stopped at a
22:35
Speaker 1: village about an hour to refresh us, when we came
22:38
Speaker 1: by the country seat of this great man, we saw
22:41
Speaker 1: him in a little place before his door, eating a repast.
22:45
Speaker 1: It was a kind of garden, but he was easy
22:47
Speaker 1: to be seen, and we were given to understand that
22:50
Speaker 1: the more we looked at him, the better he would
22:52
Speaker 1: be pleased. He sat under a tree something like the palmetto,
22:56
Speaker 1: which effectually shaded him over the head and on the
22:59
Speaker 1: south side, but under the tree was placed a large umbrella,
23:03
Speaker 1: which made that part look well enough. He sat lolling
23:06
Speaker 1: back in a great elbow chair, being a heavy corpulent man,
23:10
Speaker 1: and had his meat brought him by two women's slaves.
23:13
Speaker 1: He had two more, one of whom fed the squire
23:15
Speaker 1: with a spoon, and the other held the dish with
23:18
Speaker 1: one hand and scraped off what he let fall upon
23:21
Speaker 1: his worship's beard and taffety vest, leaving the poor wretch
23:25
Speaker 1: to please himself. With our looking at him as if
23:28
Speaker 1: we admired his idle pomp, we pursued our journey. Father
23:32
Speaker 1: Simon had the curiosity to stay to inform himself what
23:35
Speaker 1: dainties the country justice had to feed on in all
23:38
Speaker 1: his state, which he had the honor to taste of,
23:41
Speaker 1: and which was I think a mess of boiled rice,
23:44
Speaker 1: with a great piece of garlic in it, and a
23:46
Speaker 1: little bag filled with green pepper, and another plant which
23:50
Speaker 1: they have there, something like our ginger, but smelling like
23:53
Speaker 1: musk and tasting like mustard. All this was put together,
23:57
Speaker 1: and a small piece of lean mutton boiled in it,
23:59
Speaker 1: And this was his worship's repast. Four or five servants
24:03
Speaker 1: more attended at a distance, who we supposed were to
24:05
Speaker 1: eat of the same after their master. As for our
24:08
Speaker 1: Mandarin with whom we traveled, he was respected as a king,
24:12
Speaker 1: surrounded always with his gentlemen, and attended in all his
24:15
Speaker 1: appearances with such pomp that I saw little of him.
24:18
Speaker 1: But at a distance I observed that there was not
24:21
Speaker 1: a horse in his retinue, but that our carrier's pack
24:24
Speaker 1: horses in England seemed to me to look much better,
24:27
Speaker 1: though it was hard to judge rightly, for they were
24:30
Speaker 1: so covered with equipage, mantles, trappings, et cetera, that we
24:34
Speaker 1: could scarce see anything but their feet and their heads
24:37
Speaker 1: as they went along. I was now light hearted, and
24:40
Speaker 1: all my late trouble and perplexity being over, I had
24:44
Speaker 1: no anxious thoughts about me, which made this journey the
24:47
Speaker 1: pleasanter to me, in which no ill accident attended me.
24:51
Speaker 1: Only in passing or fording a small river, my horse
24:54
Speaker 1: fell and made me free of the country, as they
24:56
Speaker 1: call it, that is to say, through me. In The
24:59
Speaker 1: place was not deep, but it wetted me all over.
25:02
Speaker 1: I mention it because it spoiled my pocket book, wherein
25:05
Speaker 1: I had set down the names of several people and places,
25:08
Speaker 1: which I had occasion to remember, and which, not taking
25:12
Speaker 1: due care of the leaves, rotted, and the words were
25:15
Speaker 1: never after to be read at length. We arrived at Pequin.
25:19
Speaker 1: I had nobody with me but the youth whom my
25:22
Speaker 1: nephew had given me to attend me as a servant,
25:24
Speaker 1: and who proved very trusty and diligent. And my partner
25:28
Speaker 1: had nobody with him but one servant, who was a kinsman.
25:32
Speaker 1: As for the Portuguese pilot, he being desirous to see
25:35
Speaker 1: the court, we bore his charges for his company and
25:38
Speaker 1: for our use of him as an interpreter, for he
25:41
Speaker 1: understood the language of the country, and spoke good French
25:44
Speaker 1: and a little English. Indeed, this old man was most
25:47
Speaker 1: useful to us everywhere, for we had not been above
25:50
Speaker 1: a week at Pequin when he came, laughing ah, signor inglazy.
25:54
Speaker 1: Says he, I have something to tell will make your
25:57
Speaker 1: heart glad. My heart glad, said I. What can that be?
26:01
Speaker 1: I don't know anything in this country can either give
26:03
Speaker 1: me joy or grief to any great degree. Yes, yes,
26:07
Speaker 1: says the old man in broken English. Make you glad?
26:11
Speaker 1: Me sorry? Why said I? Will it make you sorry? Because?
26:15
Speaker 1: Said he you have brought me here twenty five days journey,
26:18
Speaker 1: and will leave me to go back alone? And which
26:21
Speaker 1: way shall I get to my port afterwards? Without a ship,
26:24
Speaker 1: without a horse, without pekune so he called money, being
26:28
Speaker 1: his broken Latin, of which he had abundance to make
26:31
Speaker 1: us merry with. In short, he told us there was
26:34
Speaker 1: a great caravan of Muscovite and Polish merchants in the
26:37
Speaker 1: city preparing to set out on their journey by land
26:40
Speaker 1: to Muscovy within four or five weeks, and he was
26:44
Speaker 1: sure we would take the opportunity to go with them
26:47
Speaker 1: and leave him behind to go back alone. I confess
26:51
Speaker 1: I was greatly surprised with this good news, and had
26:53
Speaker 1: scarce power to speak to him for some time. But
26:56
Speaker 1: at last I said to him, how do you know this?
26:59
Speaker 1: Are you sure it is true? Yes, says he. I
27:02
Speaker 1: met this morning in the street an old acquaintance of mine,
27:05
Speaker 1: an Armenian who is among them. He came last from
27:08
Speaker 1: Astra Khan and was designed to go to Tonquin, where I
27:12
Speaker 1: formerly knew him, but has altered his mind and is
27:15
Speaker 1: now resolved to go with the caravan to Moscow and
27:19
Speaker 1: sow down the river Volga to Astrakhan. Well, signor says,
27:23
Speaker 1: I do not be uneasy about being left to go
27:26
Speaker 1: back alone. If this be a method for my return
27:28
Speaker 1: to England, it shall be your fault if you go
27:31
Speaker 1: back to Macau at all. We then went to consult
27:33
Speaker 1: together what was to be done, and I asked my
27:36
Speaker 1: partner what he thought of the pilot's news and whether
27:39
Speaker 1: it would suit with his affairs. He told me he
27:41
Speaker 1: would do just as I would, for he had settled
27:44
Speaker 1: all his affairs so well at Bengal and left his
27:47
Speaker 1: effects in such good hands that as we had made
27:50
Speaker 1: a good voyage, if he could invest it in China
27:53
Speaker 1: silks wrought and raw, he would be content to go
27:56
Speaker 1: to England and then make a voyage back to Bengal
27:59
Speaker 1: by the company the ships. Having resolved upon this, we
28:03
Speaker 1: agreed that if our Portuguese pilot would go with us,
28:06
Speaker 1: we would bear his charges to Moscow or to England
28:09
Speaker 1: if he pleased. Nor, indeed, were we to be esteemed
28:12
Speaker 1: over generous in that either if we had not rewarded
28:16
Speaker 1: him further, the service he had done us being really
28:19
Speaker 1: worth more than that, for he had not only been
28:21
Speaker 1: a pilot to us at sea, but he had been
28:24
Speaker 1: like a broker for us on shore, and his procuring
28:27
Speaker 1: for us a japan merchant was some hundreds of pounds
28:30
Speaker 1: in our pockets. So, being willing to gratify him, which
28:34
Speaker 1: was but doing him justice, and very willing also to
28:37
Speaker 1: have him with us besides, for he was a most
28:39
Speaker 1: necessary man on all occasions, we agreed to give him
28:43
Speaker 1: a quantity of coined gold, which as I computed, it
28:47
Speaker 1: was worth one hundred and seventy five pounds sterling between us,
28:51
Speaker 1: and to bear all his charges, both for himself and horse,
28:55
Speaker 1: except only a horse to carry his goods. Having settled
28:58
Speaker 1: this between ourselves, we called him to let him know
29:01
Speaker 1: what we had resolved. I told him he had complained
29:04
Speaker 1: of our being willing to let him go back alone,
29:07
Speaker 1: and I was now about to tell him we designed
29:09
Speaker 1: he should not go back at all, that as we
29:12
Speaker 1: had resolved to go to Europe with the caravan, we
29:14
Speaker 1: were very willing he should go with us, and that
29:17
Speaker 1: we called him to know his mind. He shook his
29:20
Speaker 1: head and said it was a long journey, and that
29:22
Speaker 1: he had no pecune to carry him thither or to
29:26
Speaker 1: subsist himself when he came there. We told him we
29:29
Speaker 1: believed it was so, and therefore we had resolved to
29:32
Speaker 1: do something for him that should let him see how
29:34
Speaker 1: sensible we were of the service he had done us,
29:37
Speaker 1: and also how agreeable he was to us. And then
29:40
Speaker 1: I told him what we had resolved to give him here,
29:43
Speaker 1: which he might lay out as we would do our own,
29:46
Speaker 1: and that as for his charges, if he would go
29:49
Speaker 1: with us, we would set him safe on shore, life
29:52
Speaker 1: and casualties accepted either in Muscovy or England, as he
29:56
Speaker 1: would choose, at our own charge, except only the carriage
29:59
Speaker 1: of his goods. He received the proposal like a man transported,
30:04
Speaker 1: and told us he would go with us over all
30:06
Speaker 1: the whole world. And so we all prepared for our journey. However,
30:10
Speaker 1: as it was with us, so it was with the
30:12
Speaker 1: other merchants. They had many things to do, and instead
30:16
Speaker 1: of being ready in five weeks, it was four months
30:19
Speaker 1: and some days before all things were got together. End
30:24
Speaker 1: of Chapter thirteen,