of his intentions (for I had not yet hinted my design to him or
any one else); and one morning the stranger came into my cabin, with
tears in his eyes, telling me he verily believed the captain would be as
good as his word, and set him on shore, which he very much dreaded. I
did not choose to tell him immediately what I designed in his favour,
but asked him if he could think of no way of satisfying the captain, or
any one else, who might thereupon be induced to engage for him; and
farther, how he expected to live when he should get to England, a man
quite forgotten and penniless. Hereupon he told me he had, ever since
his being on board, considering his destitute condition, entertained a
thought of having his adventures written; which, as there was
something so uncommon in them, he was sure the world would be glad
to know; and he had flattered himself with hopes of raising somewhat
by the sale of them to put him in a way of living; but as it was plain
now he should never see England without my assistance, if I would
answer for his passage, and write his life, he would communicate to me
a faithful narrative thereof, which he believed would pay me to the full
any charge I might be at on his account. I was very well pleased with
this overture, not from the prospect of gain by the copy, but from the
expectation I had of being fully satisfied in what I had so long desired
to know; so I told him I would make him easy in that respect. This
quite transported him: he caressed me, and called me his deliverer, and
was then going open-mouthed to the captain to tell him so. But I put a
stop to that: For, says I, though I insist upon hearing your story, the
captain may yet relent of his purpose, and not leave you on shore; and
if that should prove the case, I shall neither part with my money for you,
nor you with your interest in your adventures to me. Whereupon he
agreed I was right, and desisted.
When we had taken in best part of our water, and the boat was going its
last turn, the captain ordered up the strange man, as they called him,
and told him he must go on board the boat, which was to leave him on
shore with some few provisions. I happening to hear nothing of these
orders, they were so sudden, the poor man was afraid, after all, he
should have been hurried to land without my knowledge: but begging
very hard of the captain only for leave to speak with me before he went,
I was called (though with some reluctance, for the captain disliked me
for the liberties I frequently took with him, on account of his brutal
behaviour). I expostulated with the cruel wretch on the inhumanity of
the action he was about; telling him, if he had resolved the poor man
should perish, it would have been better to have suffered him to do so
when he was at the last extremity, than to expose him afresh, by this
means, to a death as certain, in a more lingering and miserable way.
But the savage being resolved, and nothing moved by what I said, I
paid him part of the passage down, and agreed to pay the rest at our
arrival in England.
Thus having reprieved the poor man, the next thing was to enter upon
my new employ of amanuensis: and having a long space of time before
us, we allotted two hours every morning for the purpose of writing
down his life from his own mouth; and frequently, when wind and
weather kept us below, we spent some time of an afternoon in the same
exercise, till we had quite completed it. But then there were some
things in it so indescribable by words, that if I had not had some
knowledge in drawing, our history had been very incomplete. Thus it
must have been, especially in the description of the Glumms and
Gawrys therein mentioned. In order to gain (that so I might
communicate) a clear idea of these, I made several drawings of them
from his discourses and accounts; and, at length, after divers trials, I
made such exact delineations, that he declared they could not have been
more perfect resemblances if I had drawn them from the life. Upon a
survey, he confessed the very persons themselves could not have been
more exact. I also drew with my pencil the figure of an aerial
engagement, which, having likewise had his approbation, I have given
a draught of, plate the sixth.
Then, having
Continue reading on your phone by scaning this QR Code
Tip: The current page has been bookmarked automatically. If you wish to continue reading later, just open the
Dertz Homepage, and click on the 'continue reading' link at the bottom of the page.