Latest / Classic Adventure Books - Daily / 13 - The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe

Transcript

13 - The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

0:00
Speaker 1: Chapter twelve, The Carpenter's Whimsical Contrivance. The inhabitants came wandering
0:06
Speaker 1: down the shore to look at us, and seeing the
0:09
Speaker 1: ship lie down on one side in such a manner,
0:11
Speaker 1: and heeling in towards the shore, and not seeing our
0:14
Speaker 1: men who were at work on her bottom with stages
0:17
Speaker 1: and with their boats on the off side, they presently
0:20
Speaker 1: concluded that the ship was cast away and lay fast
0:23
Speaker 1: on the ground. On this supposition, they came about us
0:27
Speaker 1: in two or three hours time with ten or twelve
0:30
Speaker 1: large boats, having some of them eight some ten men
0:33
Speaker 1: in a boat, intending no doubt to have come on
0:36
Speaker 1: board and plundered the ship, and if they found us there,
0:39
Speaker 1: to have carried us away for slaves. When they came
0:43
Speaker 1: up to the ship and began to row round her,
0:46
Speaker 1: they discovered us all hard at work on the outside
0:48
Speaker 1: of the ship's bottom and side, washing and graving and stopping.
0:53
Speaker 1: As every seafaring man knows how, they stood for a
0:56
Speaker 1: while gazing at us, and we, who were a little surprised,
1:00
Speaker 1: could not imagine what their design was, But being willing
1:03
Speaker 1: to be sure, we took this opportunity to get some
1:06
Speaker 1: of us into the ship. And others to hand down
1:09
Speaker 1: arms and ammunition to those that were at work to
1:13
Speaker 1: defend themselves with if there should be occasion, and it
1:16
Speaker 1: was no more than need for. In less than a
1:19
Speaker 1: quarter of an hour's consultation, they agreed, it seems that
1:22
Speaker 1: the ship was really a wreck, and that we were
1:25
Speaker 1: all at work endeavoring to save her, or to save
1:28
Speaker 1: our lives by the help of our boats. And when
1:30
Speaker 1: we handed our arms into the boat, they concluded by
1:34
Speaker 1: that act that we were endeavoring to save some of
1:36
Speaker 1: our goods. Upon this they took it for granted we
1:39
Speaker 1: all belonged to them, and away they came directly upon
1:43
Speaker 1: our men, as if it had been in a line
1:45
Speaker 1: of battle. Our men, seeing so many of them, began
1:50
Speaker 1: to be frightened, for we lay but in an ill
1:52
Speaker 1: posture to fight, and cried out to us to know
1:55
Speaker 1: what they should do. I immediately called to the men that
1:58
Speaker 1: worked upon the stages to slip them down and get
2:02
Speaker 1: up the side into the ship, and bade those in
2:04
Speaker 1: the boat to row round and come on board. The
2:07
Speaker 1: few who were on board worked with all the strength
2:10
Speaker 1: and hands we had to bring the ship to rights. However,
2:13
Speaker 1: neither the men upon the stages, nor those in the
2:16
Speaker 1: boats could do as they were ordered before the coachin.
2:19
Speaker 1: Chinese were upon them, when two of their boats boarded
2:22
Speaker 1: our longboat and began to lay hold of the men
2:25
Speaker 1: as their prisoners. The first man they laid hold of
2:28
Speaker 1: was an English seaman, a stout, strong fellow, who, having
2:31
Speaker 1: a musket in his hand, never offered to fire it,
2:34
Speaker 1: but laid it down in the boat like a fool,
2:37
Speaker 1: as I thought. But he understood his business better than
2:39
Speaker 1: I could teach him, for he grappled the pagan and
2:42
Speaker 1: dragged him by main force out of their boat into ours, where,
2:46
Speaker 1: taking him by the ears, he beat his head so
2:49
Speaker 1: against the boat's gunnal that the fellow died in his hands.
2:52
Speaker 1: In the meantime, a Dutchman who stood next, took up
2:55
Speaker 1: the musket, and, with the butt end of it so
2:57
Speaker 1: laid about him that he knocked down fire of them
3:00
Speaker 1: who attempted to enter the boat. But this was doing
3:03
Speaker 1: little towards resisting thirty or forty men, who, fearless, because
3:07
Speaker 1: ignorant of their danger, began to throw themselves into the
3:10
Speaker 1: long boat, where we had but five men in all
3:13
Speaker 1: to defend it. But the following accident, which deserved our laughter,
3:18
Speaker 1: gave our men a complete victory. Our carpenter, being prepared
3:22
Speaker 1: to grave the outside of the ship, as well as
3:25
Speaker 1: to pay the seams where he had calked her to
3:27
Speaker 1: stop the leaks, had got two kettles just let down
3:30
Speaker 1: into the boat, one filled with boiling pitch and the
3:34
Speaker 1: other with rosin, tallow and oil and such stuff as
3:37
Speaker 1: the shipwrights used for that work. And the man that
3:40
Speaker 1: attended the carpenter had a great iron ladle in his hand,
3:43
Speaker 1: with which he supplied the men that were at work
3:46
Speaker 1: with the hot stuff. Two of the enemy's men entered
3:49
Speaker 1: the boat just where this fellow stood in the fore sheets.
3:52
Speaker 1: He immediately saluted them with a ladle full of the
3:55
Speaker 1: stuff boiling hot, which so burned and scalded them, being
3:58
Speaker 1: half naked, that they roared down like bulls, and enraged
4:01
Speaker 1: with the fire, leaped both into the sea. The carpenter
4:05
Speaker 1: saw it and cried out, well done, jack, give them
4:08
Speaker 1: some more of it, and, stepping forward himself, takes one
4:11
Speaker 1: of the mops, and dipping it in the pitch pot,
4:14
Speaker 1: he and his man threw it among them so plentifully
4:17
Speaker 1: that in short of all the men in the three boats,
4:20
Speaker 1: there was not one that escaped being scalded in a
4:23
Speaker 1: most frightful manner, and made such a howling and crying
4:26
Speaker 1: that I never heard a worse noise. I was never
4:30
Speaker 1: better pleased with a victory in my life, not only
4:33
Speaker 1: as it was a perfect surprise to me, and that
4:36
Speaker 1: our danger was imminent before, but as we got this
4:39
Speaker 1: victory without any bloodshed, except of that man the seaman
4:43
Speaker 1: killed with his naked hands, and which I was very
4:46
Speaker 1: much concerned at. Although it may be a just thing
4:49
Speaker 1: because necessary, for there is no necessary wickedness in nature,
4:53
Speaker 1: yet I thought it was a sad sort of life
4:56
Speaker 1: when we must be always obliged to be killing our
4:59
Speaker 1: fellow creatures to preserve ourselves. And indeed I think so still,
5:04
Speaker 1: and I would even now suffer a great deal rather
5:07
Speaker 1: than I would take away the life, even of the
5:09
Speaker 1: worst person injuring me. And I believe all considering people
5:13
Speaker 1: who know the value of life would be of my
5:15
Speaker 1: opinion if they entered seriously into the consideration of it.
5:20
Speaker 1: All the while this was doing, my partner and I,
5:23
Speaker 1: who managed the rest of the men on board, had
5:26
Speaker 1: with great dexterity brought the ship almost to rights, and
5:29
Speaker 1: having got the guns into their places again, the gunner
5:32
Speaker 1: called to me to bid our boat to get out
5:35
Speaker 1: of the way, for he would let fly among them.
5:38
Speaker 1: I called back again to him and bid him not
5:40
Speaker 1: offer to fire, for the carpenter would do the work
5:43
Speaker 1: without him, but bid him heat another pitch kettle, which
5:47
Speaker 1: our cook, who was on board, took care of. However,
5:50
Speaker 1: the enemy was so terrified with what they had met
5:53
Speaker 1: with in their first attack, that they would not come
5:55
Speaker 1: on again, and some of them who were farthest off,
5:58
Speaker 1: seeing the ship swim as it were upright, began as
6:02
Speaker 1: we supposed to see their mistake, and gave over the enterprise,
6:06
Speaker 1: finding it was not as they expected. Thus we got
6:09
Speaker 1: clear of this merry fight, and having got some rice
6:12
Speaker 1: and some roots and bread, with about sixteen hogs on
6:16
Speaker 1: board two days before, we resolved to stay here no longer,
6:20
Speaker 1: but go forward whatever came of it, For we made
6:23
Speaker 1: no doubt but we should be surrounded the next day
6:26
Speaker 1: with rogues enough, perhaps more than our pitch kettle would
6:29
Speaker 1: dispose of for us. We therefore got all our things
6:33
Speaker 1: on board the same evening, and the next morning were
6:35
Speaker 1: ready to sail. In the meantime, lying at anchor some
6:39
Speaker 1: distance from the shore, we were not so much concerned,
6:42
Speaker 1: being now in a fighting posture as well as in
6:45
Speaker 1: a sailing posture if any enemy had presented. The next day,
6:49
Speaker 1: having finished our work within board, and finding our ship
6:53
Speaker 1: was perfectly healed of all her leaks, we set sail.
6:56
Speaker 1: We should have gone into the Bay of Tonquin, for
6:59
Speaker 1: we wanted to inform ourselves of what was to be
7:01
Speaker 1: known concerning the Dutch ships that had been there. But
7:04
Speaker 1: we durst not stand in there, because we had seen
7:07
Speaker 1: several ships go in as we supposed but a little before.
7:11
Speaker 1: So we kept on northeast towards the island of Formosa,
7:15
Speaker 1: as much afraid of being seen by a Dutch or
7:17
Speaker 1: English merchant ship as a Dutch or English merchant ship
7:21
Speaker 1: in the Mediterranean is of an Algerine man of war.
7:25
Speaker 1: When we were thus got to sea, we kept on
7:27
Speaker 1: northeast as if we would go to the Manilas or
7:30
Speaker 1: the Philippine Islands. And this we did, that we might
7:33
Speaker 1: not fall into the way of any of the European ships.
7:36
Speaker 1: And then we steered north till we came to the
7:39
Speaker 1: latitude of twenty two degrees thirty seconds, by which means
7:42
Speaker 1: we made the island of Formosa directly where we came
7:45
Speaker 1: to an anchor in order to get water and fresh provisions,
7:49
Speaker 1: which the people there, who are very courteous in their manners,
7:52
Speaker 1: supplied us with willingly, and dealt very fairly and punctually
7:56
Speaker 1: with us in all their agreements and bargains. This is
7:59
Speaker 1: what we did not find among other people, and may
8:02
Speaker 1: be owing to the remains of Christianity, which was once
8:05
Speaker 1: planted here by a Dutch missionary of Protestants. And it
8:09
Speaker 1: is a testimony of what I have often observed, viz.
8:12
Speaker 1: That the Christian religion always civilizes the people and reforms
8:16
Speaker 1: their manners where it is received, whether it works saving
8:19
Speaker 1: effects upon them or no. From thence we sailed still north,
8:24
Speaker 1: keeping the coast of China at an equal distance, till
8:27
Speaker 1: we knew we were beyond all the ports of China
8:30
Speaker 1: where our European ships usually come, being resolved if possible
8:34
Speaker 1: not to fall into any of their hands, especially in
8:37
Speaker 1: this country, where as our circumstances were, we could not
8:41
Speaker 1: fail of being entirely ruined. Being now come to the
8:44
Speaker 1: latitude of thirty degrees, we resolved to put into the
8:48
Speaker 1: first trading port we should come at, and standing in
8:51
Speaker 1: for the shore, a boat came of two leagues to us,
8:54
Speaker 1: with an old Portuguese pilot on board, who, knowing us
8:57
Speaker 1: to be a European ship, came to our for his service,
9:01
Speaker 1: which indeed we were glad of, and took him on board,
9:05
Speaker 1: upon which, without asking us whither we would go, he
9:08
Speaker 1: dismissed the boat he came in and sent it back.
9:11
Speaker 1: I thought it was now so much in our choice
9:13
Speaker 1: to make the old man carry us whither we would
9:16
Speaker 1: that I began to talk to him about carrying us
9:18
Speaker 1: to the Gulf of Nankin, which is the most northern
9:21
Speaker 1: part of the coast of China. The old man said
9:24
Speaker 1: he knew the Gulf of Nankin very well, but smiling
9:27
Speaker 1: asked us what we would do there. I told him
9:30
Speaker 1: we would sell our cargo and purchase China wares, calicoes,
9:34
Speaker 1: raw silks, tea, wrought silks, et cetera, and so we
9:38
Speaker 1: would return by the same course we came. He told
9:41
Speaker 1: us our best port would have been to put in
9:43
Speaker 1: at Macau, where we could not have failed of a
9:45
Speaker 1: market for our opium. To our satisfaction, and might, for
9:49
Speaker 1: our money have purchased all sorts of China goods as
9:52
Speaker 1: cheap as we could. At Nankeen. Not being able to
9:55
Speaker 1: put the old man out of his talk, of which
9:58
Speaker 1: he was very opinionated, Orcans seated, I told him we
10:01
Speaker 1: were gentlemen as well as merchants, and that we had
10:04
Speaker 1: a mind to go and see the great city of
10:06
Speaker 1: Pequin and the famous court of the Monarch of China. Why, then,
10:10
Speaker 1: says the old man, you should go to Ningpo, where
10:13
Speaker 1: by the river which runs into the sea. There you
10:16
Speaker 1: may go up within five leagues of the great Canal.
10:20
Speaker 1: This canal is a navigable stream which goes through the
10:23
Speaker 1: heart of that vast empire of China, crosses all the rivers,
10:27
Speaker 1: passes some considerable hills by the help of sluices and gates,
10:31
Speaker 1: and goes up to the city of Pequin, being in
10:34
Speaker 1: length near two hundred and seventy leagues. Well, said I
10:38
Speaker 1: Signor Portuguese. But that is not our business now. The
10:41
Speaker 1: great question is if you can carry us up to
10:44
Speaker 1: the city of Nankin, from whence we can travel to
10:47
Speaker 1: Pequin afterwards. He said he could do so very well,
10:50
Speaker 1: and that there was a great Dutch ship gone up
10:53
Speaker 1: that way just before. This gave me a little shock,
10:56
Speaker 1: for a Dutch ship was now our terror, and we
10:59
Speaker 1: had much rather have met the devil, at least if
11:01
Speaker 1: he had not come into frightful a figure. And we
11:04
Speaker 1: depended upon it that a Dutch ship would be our destruction,
11:07
Speaker 1: for we were in no condition to fight them, all
11:10
Speaker 1: the ships they trade with into those parts, being of
11:13
Speaker 1: great burden and of much greater force than we were.
11:17
Speaker 1: The old man found me a little confused and under
11:20
Speaker 1: some concern when he named a Dutch ship and said
11:23
Speaker 1: to me, sir, you need be under no apprehensions of
11:26
Speaker 1: the Dutch. I suppose they are not now at war
11:28
Speaker 1: with your nation. No, said I, that's true, But I
11:32
Speaker 1: know not what Liberty's men may take when they are
11:34
Speaker 1: out of the reach of the laws of their own country. Why,
11:38
Speaker 1: says he, you are no pirates, What need you fear?
11:41
Speaker 1: They will not meddle with peaceable merchants. Sure these words
11:45
Speaker 1: put me into the greatest disorder and confusion imaginable, Nor
11:49
Speaker 1: was it possible for me to conceal it. So, but
11:51
Speaker 1: the old man easily perceived it. Sir, says he, I
11:56
Speaker 1: find you are in some disorder in your thoughts. At
11:58
Speaker 1: my talk, he pleased to go which way you think fit,
12:02
Speaker 1: and depend upon it. I'll do you all the service
12:05
Speaker 1: I can. Upon this we fell into further discourse, in which,
12:09
Speaker 1: to my alarm and amazement, he spoke of the villainous
12:12
Speaker 1: doings of a certain pirate ship that had long been
12:15
Speaker 1: the talk of mariners in those seas, no other, in
12:18
Speaker 1: a word, than the very ship he was now on
12:21
Speaker 1: board of, and which we had so unluckily purchased. I
12:25
Speaker 1: presently saw there was no help for it but to
12:27
Speaker 1: tell him the plain truth and explain all the danger
12:30
Speaker 1: and trouble we had suffered through this misadventure, and in
12:34
Speaker 1: particular our earnest wish to be speedily quit of the
12:37
Speaker 1: ship altogether, for which reason we had resolved to carry
12:40
Speaker 1: her up to Nankin. The old man was amazed at
12:44
Speaker 1: this relation, and told us we were in the right
12:46
Speaker 1: to go away to the North, and that if he
12:49
Speaker 1: might advise us, it should be to sell the ship
12:52
Speaker 1: in China, which we might well do, and buy or
12:55
Speaker 1: build another in the country, adding that I should meet
12:58
Speaker 1: with customers enough for the ship at Nana Keen. That
13:00
Speaker 1: a Chinese junk would serve me very well to go
13:03
Speaker 1: back again, and that he would procure me people both
13:06
Speaker 1: to buy one and sell the other. Well. But Signor
13:09
Speaker 1: said I, as you say they know the ship so well,
13:12
Speaker 1: I may, perhaps, if I follow your measures, be instrumental
13:16
Speaker 1: to bring some honest, innocent men into a terrible broil.
13:19
Speaker 1: For wherever they find the ship, they will prove the
13:22
Speaker 1: guilt upon the men by proving this was the ship. Why,
13:25
Speaker 1: says the old man, I'll find out a way to
13:28
Speaker 1: prevent that. For as I know all those commanders you
13:31
Speaker 1: speak of very well, and shall see them all as
13:33
Speaker 1: they pass by, I will be sure to set them
13:36
Speaker 1: to rights in the thing, and let them know that
13:38
Speaker 1: they had been so much in the wrong, that though
13:41
Speaker 1: the people who were on board at first might run
13:43
Speaker 1: away with the ship, yet it was not true that
13:46
Speaker 1: they had turned pirates, and that in particular, these were
13:50
Speaker 1: not the men that first went off with the ship,
13:52
Speaker 1: but innocently bought her for their trade. And I am
13:55
Speaker 1: persuaded they will so far believe me as at least
13:58
Speaker 1: to act more cautiously for them time to come. In
14:01
Speaker 1: about thirteen days Saale, we came to an anchor at
14:05
Speaker 1: the southwest point of the great Gulf of Nankin, where
14:08
Speaker 1: I learned by accident that two Dutch ships were gone
14:11
Speaker 1: the length before me, and that I should certainly fall
14:14
Speaker 1: into their hands. I consulted my partner again in this exigency,
14:18
Speaker 1: and he was as much at a loss as I was.
14:21
Speaker 1: I then asked the old pilot if there was no
14:23
Speaker 1: creek or harbor which I might put into and pursue
14:27
Speaker 1: my business with the Chinese privately and be in no
14:30
Speaker 1: danger of the enemy. He told me, if I would
14:33
Speaker 1: sail to the southward, about forty two leagues, there was
14:35
Speaker 1: a little port called quing Chang, where the fathers of
14:38
Speaker 1: the mission usually landed from Macau on their progress to
14:42
Speaker 1: teach the Christian religion to the Chinese, where no European
14:45
Speaker 1: ships ever put in. And if I thought to put
14:48
Speaker 1: in there, I might consider what further course to take.
14:51
Speaker 1: When I was on shore, he confessed. He said it
14:54
Speaker 1: was not a place for merchants, except that at some
14:57
Speaker 1: certain times they had a kind of fare there when
15:00
Speaker 1: the merchants from Japan came over thither to buy Chinese merchandises.
15:05
Speaker 1: The name of the port I may perhaps spell wrong,
15:07
Speaker 1: having lost this, together with the names of many other places,
15:11
Speaker 1: set down in a little pocket book, which was spoiled
15:14
Speaker 1: by the water by an accident. But this I remember
15:17
Speaker 1: that the Chinese merchants we corresponded with called it by
15:20
Speaker 1: a different name from that which our Portuguese pilot gave it,
15:24
Speaker 1: who pronounced it quin Chang. As we were unanimous in
15:27
Speaker 1: our resolution to go to this place, we weighed the
15:30
Speaker 1: next day, having only gone twice on shore, where we
15:33
Speaker 1: were to get fresh water. On both which occasions the
15:37
Speaker 1: people of the country were very civil and brought abundance
15:40
Speaker 1: of provisions to sell to us, but nothing without money.
15:44
Speaker 1: We did not come to the other port, the wind
15:46
Speaker 1: being contrary, for five days, but it was very much
15:50
Speaker 1: to our satisfaction, and I was thankful when I set
15:53
Speaker 1: my foot on shore, resolving, and my partner too, that
15:57
Speaker 1: if it was possible to dispose of ourselves and effect
16:00
Speaker 1: any other way, though not profitably, we should never more
16:03
Speaker 1: set foot on board that unhappy vessel. Indeed, I must
16:07
Speaker 1: acknowledge that of all the circumstances of life that ever
16:11
Speaker 1: I had any experience of, nothing makes mankind so completely
16:15
Speaker 1: miserable as that of being in constant fear. Well does
16:18
Speaker 1: the scripture say the fear of man brings us snare.
16:22
Speaker 1: It is a life of death, and the mind is
16:24
Speaker 1: so entirely oppressed by it that it is capable of
16:28
Speaker 1: no relief. Nor did it fail of its usual operations
16:32
Speaker 1: upon the fancy by heightening every danger, representing the English
16:36
Speaker 1: and Dutch captains to be men incapable of hearing reason,
16:40
Speaker 1: or of distinguishing between honest men or rogues, or between
16:44
Speaker 1: a story calculated for our own turn, made out of
16:47
Speaker 1: nothing on purpose to deceive, and a true genuine account
16:51
Speaker 1: of our whole voyage, progress and design. For we might
16:55
Speaker 1: many ways have convinced any reasonable creatures that we were
16:58
Speaker 1: not pirates. The goods we have on board, the course
17:01
Speaker 1: we steered, are frankly showing ourselves and entering into such
17:05
Speaker 1: and such ports, and even our very manner, the force
17:08
Speaker 1: we had, the number of men, the few arms, the
17:11
Speaker 1: little ammunition, short provisions, all these would have served to
17:15
Speaker 1: convince any men that we were no pirates. The opium
17:18
Speaker 1: and other goods we had on board would make it
17:20
Speaker 1: appear the ship had been at Bengal. The Dutchmen, who
17:24
Speaker 1: it was said, had the names of all the men
17:26
Speaker 1: that were in the ship might easily see that we
17:28
Speaker 1: were a mixture of English, Portuguese and Indians, and but
17:32
Speaker 1: two dutchmen on board. These and many other particular circumstances
17:36
Speaker 1: might have made it evident to the understanding of any
17:39
Speaker 1: commander whose hands we might fall into, that we were
17:42
Speaker 1: no pirates. But fear that blind, useless passion worked another
17:48
Speaker 1: way and threw us into the vapors. It bewildered our
17:51
Speaker 1: understandings and set the imagination at work to form a
17:54
Speaker 1: thousand terrible things that perhaps might never happen. We first supposed,
17:59
Speaker 1: as indeed everybody had related to us, that the seamen
18:03
Speaker 1: on board the English and Dutch ships, but especially the Dutch,
18:06
Speaker 1: were so enraged at the name of a pirate, and
18:09
Speaker 1: especially at our beating off their boats and escaping, that
18:12
Speaker 1: they would not give themselves leave to inquire whether we
18:15
Speaker 1: were pirates or no, but would execute us off hand,
18:19
Speaker 1: without giving us any room for a defense. We reflected
18:23
Speaker 1: that there really was so much apparent evidence before them
18:26
Speaker 1: that they would scarce inquire after any more, As first
18:30
Speaker 1: that the ship was certainly the same, and that some
18:33
Speaker 1: of the seamen among them knew her and had been
18:36
Speaker 1: on board her. And secondly that when we had intelligence
18:39
Speaker 1: of the River of Cambodia that they were coming down
18:42
Speaker 1: to examine us, we fought their boats and fled. Therefore
18:46
Speaker 1: we made no doubt but that they were as fully
18:48
Speaker 1: satisfied of our being pirates as we were satisfied of
18:51
Speaker 1: the contrary. And as I often said, I know not,
18:55
Speaker 1: but I should have been apt to have taken those
18:57
Speaker 1: circumstances for evidence if the table were turned and my
19:01
Speaker 1: case was theirs, and have made no scruple of cutting
19:04
Speaker 1: all the crew to pieces without believing or perhaps considering
19:08
Speaker 1: what they might have to offer in their defense. But
19:12
Speaker 1: let that be how it will. These were our apprehensions,
19:15
Speaker 1: And both my partner and I scarce slept a night
19:18
Speaker 1: without dreaming of halters and yard arms, of fighting and
19:21
Speaker 1: being taken, of killing and being killed. And one night
19:25
Speaker 1: I was in such a fury in my dream, fancying
19:28
Speaker 1: the Dutchmen had boarded us, and I was knocking one
19:30
Speaker 1: of their seamen down, that I struck my doubled fist
19:33
Speaker 1: against the side of the cabin. I lay in with
19:36
Speaker 1: such a force as wounded my hand, grievously broke my
19:39
Speaker 1: knuckles and cut and bruised the flesh so that it
19:42
Speaker 1: awaked me out of my sleep. Another apprehension I had
19:46
Speaker 1: was the cruel usage we might meet with from them
19:48
Speaker 1: if we fell into their hands. Then the story of
19:51
Speaker 1: Amboyna came into my head, and how the Dutch might
19:54
Speaker 1: perhaps torture us as they did our countrymen there, and
19:58
Speaker 1: make some of our men, by extra remity of torture,
20:01
Speaker 1: confessed to crimes they never were guilty of, or owned themselves,
20:05
Speaker 1: and all of us to be pirates, and so they
20:07
Speaker 1: would put us to death with a formal appearance of justice,
20:10
Speaker 1: And that they might be tempted to do this for
20:13
Speaker 1: the gain of our ship and cargo worth altogether four
20:16
Speaker 1: or five thousand pounds. We did not consider that the
20:19
Speaker 1: captains of ships have no authority to act thus, and
20:22
Speaker 1: if we had surrendered prisoners to them, they could not
20:25
Speaker 1: answer the destroying us or torturing us, but would be
20:29
Speaker 1: accountable for it when they came to their country. However,
20:32
Speaker 1: if they were to act thus with us, what advantage
20:35
Speaker 1: would it be to us that they should be called
20:37
Speaker 1: to an account for it? Or if we were first
20:40
Speaker 1: to be murdered, what satisfaction would it be to us
20:42
Speaker 1: to have them punished when they came home. I cannot
20:46
Speaker 1: refrain taking notice here what reflections I had now upon
20:49
Speaker 1: the vast variety of my particular circumstances. How hard I
20:53
Speaker 1: thought it that I, who had spent forty years in
20:56
Speaker 1: a life of continual difficulties, and was at last come,
21:00
Speaker 1: as it were, to the port or haven which all
21:02
Speaker 1: men drive at viz. To have rest and plenty, should
21:06
Speaker 1: be a volunteer in new sorrows by my own unhappy choice.
21:10
Speaker 1: And that I, who had escaped so many dangers in
21:13
Speaker 1: my youth, should now come to be hanged in my
21:15
Speaker 1: old age, and in so remote a place, for a
21:19
Speaker 1: crime which I was not in the least inclined to,
21:21
Speaker 1: much less guilty of. After these thoughts, something of religion
21:25
Speaker 1: would come in, and I would be considering that this
21:28
Speaker 1: seemed to me to be a disposition of immediate providence,
21:32
Speaker 1: and I ought to look upon it and submit to
21:34
Speaker 1: it as such. For although I was innocent as to men,
21:38
Speaker 1: I was far from being innocent as to my maker.
21:41
Speaker 1: And I ought to look in and examine what other
21:43
Speaker 1: crimes in my life were most obvious to me, and
21:46
Speaker 1: for which Providence might justly inflict this punishment as a retribution.
21:51
Speaker 1: And thus I ought to submit to this, just as
21:54
Speaker 1: I would to a shipwreck, if it had pleased God
21:56
Speaker 1: to have brought such a disaster upon me. In its turn,
22:00
Speaker 1: natural courage would sometimes take its place, and then I
22:04
Speaker 1: would be talking myself up to vigorous resolutions, that I
22:07
Speaker 1: would not be taken to be barbarously used by a
22:10
Speaker 1: parcel of merciless wretches in cold blood, That it were
22:13
Speaker 1: much better to have fallen into the hands of the savages,
22:17
Speaker 1: though I were sure they would feast upon me when
22:19
Speaker 1: they had taken me, than those who would perhaps glut
22:22
Speaker 1: their rage upon me by inhuman tortures and barbarities. That
22:25
Speaker 1: in the case of the savages, I always resolved to
22:28
Speaker 1: die fighting to the last gasp, and why should I
22:31
Speaker 1: not do so now? Whenever these thoughts prevailed, I was
22:35
Speaker 1: sure to put myself into a kind of fever. With
22:37
Speaker 1: the agitation of a supposed fight. My blood would boil
22:41
Speaker 1: and my eyes sparkle, as if I was engaged, and
22:44
Speaker 1: I always resolved to take no quarter at their hands.
22:47
Speaker 1: But even at last, if I could resist no longer,
22:50
Speaker 1: I would blow up the ship and all that was
22:53
Speaker 1: in her, and leave them but little booty to boast of.
22:57
Speaker 1: End of Chapter twelve,