ATTACKED BY A TURKISH PIRATE. 67

my friend the captain, under whom also I got a competent
knowledge of the mathematics and the rules of navigation, learned
now to keep an account of the ship’s course, take an observation,
and, in short, to understand some things that were needful to be
understood by a sailor. For, as he took delight to introduce me,
I took delight to learn; and, in a word, this voyage made me both
a sailor and a merchant; for I brought home five pounds nine
ounces of gold dust for my adventure, which yielded me in London
at my return almost £300, and this filled me with those aspiring
thoughts which have since so completed my ruin.

Yet even in this voyage I had my misfortunes too, particularly
that I was continually sick, being thrown into a violent calenture
by the excessive heat of the climate, our principal trading being
upon the coast, from the latitude of fifteen degrees north even to
the line itself. ;

I was now set up for a Guinea trader; and my friend, to my
great misfortune, dying soon after his arrival, I resolved to go the
same voyage again, and I embarked in the same vessel with one
who was his mate in the fornier voyage, and had now got the
command of the ship. This was the unhappiest voyage that ever
man made; for though I did not carry quite £100 of my new
gained wealth, so that I had £200 left, and which I lodged with
my friend’s widow, who was very just to me, yet I fell into
terrible misfortunes in this voyage ; and the first was this—namely,
our ship making her course towards the Canary Islands, or rather
between those islands and the African shore, was surprised ingth
gray of the morning by a Turkish rover of Sallee, who gave ch
to us with all the sail she could make. We crowded also as mit
canvas as our yards would spread or our masts carry to have got
clear; but finding the pirate gained upon us, and would certainly
come up with us in a few hours, we prepared to fight, our ship
having twelve guns and the rogue eighteen. About three in the
afternoon he came up with us, and bringing to by mistake just
athwart our quarter, instead of athwart our stern, as he intended,
we brought eight of our guns to bear on that side, and poured in
a broadside upon him, which made him sheer off again, after
returning our fire and pouring in also his small shot from near