449 THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES

England, but none falling to my mind, the English merchant, who
lodged with me, and with whom I had contracted an intimate acquaint-
ance, came to me one morning: “Countryman,” says he, “I have a
project to communicate to you, which, as it suits with my thoughts,
may, for aught I know, suit with yours also, when you shall have tho-
roughly considered it. :

“ Here we are posted,” says he, “you by accident, and I by my own
choice, in a part of the world very remote from my own country; but
it is in a country where, by us who understand trade and business, a
great deal of money is to be got: if you will put a thousand pounds
to my thousand pounds, we will hire a ship here, the first we can get
to our minds; you shall be captain, I’ll be merchant, and we will go a
trading voyage to China; for what should we stand still for? The
whole world is in motion, rolling round and round; all the creatures
of God, heavenly bodies and earthly, are busy and diligent: why
should we be idle? There are no drones,” says he, “living in the
world but men: why should we be of that number ?”

I liked this proposal very well; and the more because it seemed to be
expressed with so much good-will,.and in so friendlya manner. I will
not say, but that I might, by my loose and unhinged circumstances, be
the fitter to embrace a proposal for trade, and indeed for any thing else :
or otherwise trade was none of my element; however, I might, per-
haps, say with some truth, that if trade was not my element, rambling
was; and no proposal for seeing any part of the world, which I had
never seen before, could possibly come amiss to me.

It was, however, some time before we could get a ship to our mind;
and when we got a vessel, it was not easy to get English sailors; that
is to say, so many as were necessary to govern the voyage, and manage
the sailors which we should pick up there. After some time we got a
mate, a boatswain, and a gunner, English; a Dutch carpenter, and
three Portuguese foremast-men: with these we found we could do well
enough, having Indian seamen, such as they are, to make up.

There are so many travellers who have written the history of their
voyages and travels this way, that it would be but very little diversion
to anybody, to give a long account of the places we went to, and the
people who inhabit there: those things I leave to others, and refer the
reader to those journals and travels of Englishmen, many of which, 1
find, are published, and more promised every day. It is enough for
me to tell you that we made the voyage to Achin, in the island of Su-
matra, first; and from thence to Siam, where we exchanged some of
our wares for opium, and some for arrack; the first, a commodity which
bears a great price among the Chinese, and which, at that time, wax