886 THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES

 

thing considerable for him if he outlived me, as it was probable he
would. Then I knew that as I had bred Friday up to be a Protestant,
it would quite confound him to bring him to embrace another profes-
sion; and he would never, while his eyes were open, believe that his
old master was a heretic, and would be damned; and this might in the
end ruin the poor fellow’s principles, and so turn him back again to
his first idolatry.

However, a sudden thought relieved me in this strait, and it was
this: I told him I could not say that I was willing to part with Friday
on any account whatever; though a work that to him was of more
value than his life, ought to me to be of much more value than the
keeping or parting with a servant. But, on the other hand, I was per-
suaded that Friday would by no means consent to part with me; and
then to force him to it without his consent, would be manifest injus-
tice, I had promised I would never put him away, and he had pro-
mised and engaged to me that he would never leave me unless I put
him away.

He seemed very much concerned at it; for he had no rational access
to these poor people, seeing he did not understand one word of their
language, nor they one word of his. To remove this difficulty, I told
him Friday’s father had learned Spanish, which I found he also under-
stood, and he should serve him for an interpreter; so he was much
better satisfied, and nothing could persuade him but he would stay to
endeavour to convert them; but Providence gave another and very
happy turn to all this.

I come back now to the first part of his objections. When we came
to the Englishmen, I sent for them all together; and after some ac-
counts given them of what I had done for them, namely, what neces-
sary things I had provided for them, and how they were distributed,
which they were sensible of, and very thankful for, I began to talk to
them of the scandalous life they led, and gave them a full account of
the notice the clergymen had already taken of it; and arguing how
unchristian and irreligious a life it was, I first asked them if they
were married men or bachelors? They soon explained their condition
to me, and showed me that two of them were widowers, and the other
three were single men, or bachelors. I asked them with what con-
science they could take these women, and lie with them as they had
done, call them their wives, and have so many children by them, and
not be married lawfully to them?

They all gave me the answer that I expected, namely, that there
was nobody to marry them; that they agreed before the governor to
keep them as their wives; and to keep them and own them as their