正文预览

第4章 震撼全场

　　But fear, that blind, useless passion, worked another way, andthrew us into the vapours; it bewildered our understandings, andset the imagination at work to form a thousand terrible things thatperhaps might never happen. We first supposed, as indeed everybodyhad related to us, that the seamen on board the English and Dutchships, but especially the Dutch, were so enraged at the name of apirate, and especially at our beating off their boats and escaping,that they would not give themselves leave to inquire whether wewere pirates or no, but would execute us off-hand, without givingus any room for a defence. We reflected that there really was somuch apparent evidence before them, that they would scarce inquireafter any more; as, first, that the ship was certainly the same,and that some of the seamen among them knew her, and had been onboard her; and, secondly, that when we had intelligence at theriver of Cambodia that they were coming down to examine us, wefought their boats and fled. Therefore we made no dou

　　I was now struck dumb indeed, and had not one word to say. I hadhere the spirit of true Christian zeal for God and religion beforeme. As for me, I had not so much as entertained a thought of thisin my heart before, and I believe I should not have thought of it;for I looked upon these savages as slaves, and people whom, had wenot had any work for them to do, we would have used as such, orwould have been glad to have transported them to any part of theworld; for our business was to get rid of them, and we would allhave been satisfied if they had been sent to any country, so theyhad never seen their own. I was confounded at his discourse, andknew not what answer to make him.

　　We were twenty-five days travelling to Pekin, through a countryexceeding populous, but I think badly cultivated; the husbandry,the economy, and the way of living miserable, though they boast somuch of the industry of the people: I say miserable, if comparedwith our own, but not so to these poor wretches, who know no other.The pride of the poor people is infinitely great, and exceeded bynothing but their poverty, in some parts, which adds to that whichI call their misery; and I must needs think the savages of Americalive much more happy than the poorer sort of these, because as theyhave nothing, so they desire nothing; whereas these are proud andinsolent and in the main are in many parts mere beggars anddrudges. Their ostentation is inexpressible; and, if they can,they love to keep multitudes of servants or slaves, which is to thelast degree ridiculous, as well as their contempt of all the worldbut themselves.

ffliction to us both that we were not near enoughto hear anything that passed between them. Well, however, we couldcome no nearer for fear of disturbing them: so we resolved to seean end of this piece of still conversation, and it spoke loudenough to us without the help of voice. He sat down again, as Ihave said, close by her, and talked again earnestly to her, and twoor three times we could see him embrace her most passionately;another time we saw him take out his handkerchief and wipe hereyes, and then kiss her again with a kind of transport veryunusual; and after several of these things, we saw him on a suddenjump up again, and lend her his hand to help her up, whenimmediately leading her by the hand a step or two, they bothkneeled down together, and continued so about two minutes.

　　After we had passed this desert we came into a country pretty wellinhabited - that is to say, we found towns and castles, settled bythe Czar with garrisons of stationary soldiers, to protect thecaravans and defend the country against the Tartars, who wouldotherwise make it very dangerous travelling; and his czarishmajesty has given such strict orders for the well guarding thecaravans, that, if there are any Tartars heard of in the country,detachments of the garrison are always sent to see the travellerssafe from station to station. Thus the governor of Adinskoy, whomI had an opportunity to make a visit to, by means of the Scotsmerchant, who was acquainted with him, offered us a guard of fiftymen, if we thought there was any danger, to the next station.

　　When they came there, and found the men gone, Atkins, who it seemswas the forwardest man, called out to his comrade, "Ha, Jack,here's the nest, but the birds are flown." They mused a while, tothink what should be the occasion of their being gone abroad sosoon, and suggested presently that the Spaniards had given themnotice of it; and with that they shook hands, and swore to oneanother that they would be revenged of the Spaniards. As soon asthey had made this bloody bargain they fell to work with the poormen's habitation; they did not set fire, indeed, to anything, butthey pulled down both their houses, and left not the least stickstanding, or scarce any sign on the ground where they stood; theytore all their household stuff in pieces, and threw everythingabout in such a manner, that the poor men afterwards found some oftheir things a mile off. When they had done this, they pulled upall the young trees which the poor men had planted; broke down anenclosure they had made to secure their cattle and their co

　　IT now came into my thoughts that I had hinted to my friend theclergyman that the work of converting the savages might perhaps beset on foot in his absence to his satisfaction, and I told him thatnow I thought that it was put in a fair way; for the savages, beingthus divided among the Christians, if they would but every one ofthem do their part with those which came under their hands, I hopedit might have a very good effect.

　　By the time the men got to the shore again with the pinnace our menbegan to appear; they came dropping in, not in two bodies as theywent, but straggling here and there in such a manner, that a smallforce of resolute men might have cut them all off. But the dreadof them was upon the whole country; and the men were surprised, andso frightened, that I believe a hundred of them would have fled atthe sight of but five of our men. Nor in all this terrible actionwas there a man that made any considerable defence: they were sosurprised between the terror of the fire and the sudden attack ofour men in the dark, that they knew not which way to turnthemselves; for if they fled one way they were met by one party, ifback again by another, so that they were everywhere knocked down;nor did any of our men receive the least hurt, except one thatsprained his foot, and another that had one of his hands burned.

were a parcel of refractory, ungoverned villains, and were fitfor any manner of mischief.