478 THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES

 

useful implement to us everywhere; for we had not been above a week
at Pekin, when he came laughing: “Ah, Seignior Inglese,” suid he,
“1 have something to tell you, will make your heart glad.”—‘ My
heart glad!” said I; “what can that be? I don’t know any thing in
this country can either give me joy or grief, to any great degree.”-—
“Yes, yes,” said the old man, in broken English, “‘make you glad, me
sorrow ;” sorry, he would have said.—This made me more inquisitive.
“Why,” said I, “will it make you sorry ?’—“ Because,’’ said he,
‘you have brought me here twenty-five days’ journey, and will leave -
me to go back alone; and which way shall I get to my port after-
wards, without a ship, without a horse, without pecune?’’ so he called
. money; being his broken Latin, of which he had abundance to make
‘us merry with.

In short, he told us there was a great caravan of Muscovy and Polish
merchants in the city, and that they were preparing to set out on their
journey by land, to Muscovy, within four or five weeks, and he was
sure we would take the opportunity to go with them, and leave him
behind to go back alone. I confess I was surprised with this news; a
secret joy spread itself over my whole soul, which I cannot describe,
and never felt before or since, and I had no power, for a good while,
to speak a word to the old man; but at last I turned to him: “ How

do you know this?” said I; “are you sure it is true ?’—“ Yes,” he
said, “1 met this morning in the street, an old acquaintance of mine,
an Armenian, or one you call a Grecian, who is among them; he came
last from Astracan, and was designing to go to Tonquin, where I for-
merly knew him, but has altered his mind, and is now resolved to go
back with the caravan to Moscow, and so down the river of Wolga to
Astracan.”—“ Well, Seignior,” said I, ‘do not be uneasy about being
left to go back alone; if this be a method for my return to England,
it shall be your fault if you go back to Macao at all.”—We then went
to consult together what was to be done, and I asked my partner what
he thought of the pilot’s news, and whether it would suit with his
affairs: he told me he would do just as I would; for he had settled all
his affairs so well at Bengal, and left his effects in such good hands,
that as we made a good voyage here, if he could vest it in China silks
wrought and raw, such as might be worth the carriage, he would be
content to go to England, and then make his voyage back to Bengal

' by the Company’s ships.