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64 THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES

 

with others that are worse, ‘Heaven may oblige them to make the
exchange, and be convinced of their former felicity by their experience ;
I say, how just has it been, that the truly solitary life I reflected on in
an island of mere desolation should be my lot, who had so often
unjustly compared it with the life which I then led, in which, had I
continued, I had, in all probability, been exceeding prosperous and
rich.

I was, in some degree, settled in my measures for carrying on the
plantation, before my kind friend, the captain of the ship, that took
me up at sea, went back; for the ship remained there, in providing his
loading, and preparing for his voyage, near three months; when, tell-
ing him what little stock I had left behind me in London, he gave me
this friendly and sincere advice: ‘‘Seignor Inglese,” says he, for so
he always called me, “if you will give me letters, and a procuration
here in form to me, with orders to the person who has your money in
London, to send your effects to Lisbon, to such persons as I shall direct,
and in such goods as are proper for this country, I will bring you the
produce of them, God willing, at my return; but, since human affairs
are all subject to changes and disasters, I would have you give orders
but for one hundred pounds sterling, which, you say, is half your stock,
and let the hazard be run for the first; so that if it comes safe, you
may order the rest the same way; and if it miscarry, you may have
the other half to have recourse to for your supply.”

This was so wholesome advice, and looked so friendly, that I could
not but be convinced it was the best course I could take; so I accord-
ingly prepared letters to the gentlewoman with whom I had left my
money, and a procuration to the Portuguese captain, as he desired.

I wrote the English captain’s widow a full account of all my adven-
tures, my slavery, escape, and how I had met with the Portugal cap-
tain at sea, the humanity of his behaviour, and what condition I was
now in, with all other necessary directions for my supply ; and when
this honest captain came to Lisbon, he found means, by some of the
English merchants there, to send over, not the order only, but a full
account of my story, to a merchant at London, who represented it
effectually to her; whereupon, she not only delivered the money, but,
out of her own pocket, sent the Portugal captain a very handsome pre-
sent for his humanity and charity to me.

The merchant in London vesting this hundred pounds in English
goods, such as the captain had writ for, sent them directly to him at
Lisbon, and he brought them all safe to me to the Brazils; among
which, without my direction (for I was too young in my business to
think o* them), he had taken care to have all sort of tools, iron-work,