A CARAVAN FOR MUSCOVY. 681

know anything 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 afterwards, 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 Muscovite and
Polish merchants in the city, and 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 hack all alone. I confess I was sur-
prised with his 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,” sayshe: “I met this morn-
ing in the street an old acquaintance of mine, an Armenian, or
one you calla Grecian, who is among them. He came last from
Astracan, and was designing to go to Tonquin, where I formerly
knew him, but has altered his mind, and is now resolved to go
with the caravan to Moscow, and so down the river Volga to
Astracan.” ‘ Well, seignior,” says 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 consulting together what was to be done, and 1
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 #0 well at
Bengal, and left his effects in such good hands, that as we had
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.