518 A VISIT TO THE CAPE.

vidence, and draw religious consequences from Gud’s justice and
their own mistakes.

Be it I had business, or no business, away I went. “Tis no
time now to enlarge any further upon the reason or absurdity of
my own conduct ; but to come to the history, I was embarked for
the voyage, and the voyage I went.

I should only add here, that my honest and truly pious clergy-
man left me here. A ship being ready to go to Lisbon, he asked
me leave to go thither, being still, as he observed, bound never to
finish any voyage he began. How happy had it been for me if I
had gone with him!

But it was too late now. All things Heaven appoints are best.
Had I gone with him I had never had so many things to be thank-
ful for, and you had never heard of the Second Part of the Travels
and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. So I must leave here the
fruitless exclaiming at myself, and go on with my voyage.

From the Brazils, we made directly away over the Atlantic Sea,
to the Cape de Bon Esperance, or, as we call it, the Cape of Good
Hope, and had a tolerable good voyage, our course generally
south-east ; now and then a storm, and some contrary winds. But
my disasters at sea were at an end. My future rubs and cross
events were to befall me on shore, that it might appear the Jand
was as well prepared to be our scourge as the sea, when Heaven,
who directs the circumstances of things, pleases to appoint it to
be so.

Our ship was on a trading voyage, and had a supercargo on
board, who was to direct all her motions after she arrived at the
Cape, only being limited to certain numbers of days for stay, by
charter-party, at the several ports she was to go to. This was
none of my business, neither did I meddle with it at all ; my
nephew, the captain, and the supercargo adjusting all those
things between them as they thought fit.

We made no stay at the Cape longer than was needful to take
in fresh water, but made the best of our way for the coast of Cor-
omandel. We were indeed informed that a French man-of-war
of fifty guns, and two large merchant-ships, were gone for the
Indies ; and as I knew we were at war with France, I had some