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第8章 落差太大

　　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.

pain or Italy; but I will not say they would be thebetter Christians for that severity; for I am sure there is noheresy in abounding with charity."

　　When we came to fit this man out, my old partner told me there wasa certain very honest fellow, a Brazil planter of his acquaintance,who had fallen into the displeasure of the Church. "I know notwhat the matter is with him," says he, "but, on my conscience, Ithink he is a heretic in his heart, and he has been obliged toconceal himself for fear of the Inquisition." He then told me thathe would be very glad of such an opportunity to make his escape,with his wife and two daughters; and if I would let them go to myisland, and allot them a plantation, he would give them a smallstock to begin with - for the officers of the Inquisition hadseized all his effects and estate, and he had nothing left but alittle household stuff and two slaves; "and," adds he, "though Ihate his principles, yet I would not have him fall into theirhands, for he will be assuredly burned alive if he does." Igranted this presently, and joined my Englishman with them: and weconcealed the man, and his wife and daughters, on board our ship,

ese stakesalso being of a wood very forward to grow, they took care to havethem generally much larger and taller than those which I hadplanted. As they grew apace, they planted them so very thick andclose together, that when they had been three or four years grownthere was no piercing with the eye any considerable way into theplantation. As for that part which I had planted, the trees weregrown as thick as a man's thigh, and among them they had placed somany other short ones, and so thick, that it stood like a palisadoa quarter of a mile thick, and it was next to impossible topenetrate it, for a little dog could hardly get between the trees,they stood so close.

　　CHAPTER XI - WARNED OF DANGER BY A COUNTRYMAN

　　IT was in the latitude of 27 degrees 5 minutes N., on the 19th dayof March 1694-95, when we spied a sail, our course SE. and by S.We soon perceived it was a large vessel, and that she bore up tous, but could not at first know what to make of her, till, aftercoming a little nearer, we found she had lost her main-topmast,fore-mast, and bowsprit; and presently she fired a gun as a signalof distress. The weather was pretty good, wind at NNW. a freshgale, and we soon came to speak with her. We found her a ship ofBristol, bound home from Barbadoes, but had been blown out of theroad at Barbadoes a few days before she was ready to sail, by aterrible hurricane, while the captain and chief mate were both goneon shore; so that, besides the terror of the storm, they were in anindifferent case for good mariners to bring the ship home. Theyhad been already nine weeks at sea, and had met with anotherterrible storm, after the hurricane was over, which had blown themquite out of their knowledge to the westward, and in wh

　　We slept little, but spent the most part of the night instrengthening our situation, and barricading the entrances into thewood, and keeping a strict watch. We waited for daylight, and whenit came, it gave us a very unwelcome discovery indeed; for theenemy, who we thought were discouraged with the reception they metwith, were now greatly increased, and had set up eleven or twelvehuts or tents, as if they were resolved to besiege us; and thislittle camp they had pitched upon the open plain, about three-quarters of a mile from us. I confess I now gave myself over forlost, and all that I had; the loss of my effects did not lie sonear me, though very considerable, as the thoughts of falling intothe hands of such barbarians at the latter end of my journey, afterso many difficulties and hazards as I had gone through, and even insight of our port, where we expected safety and deliverance. As tomy partner, he was raging, and declared that to lose his goodswould be his ruin, and that he would rather die than be s

　　The two men had innumerable young trees planted about their huts,so that, when you came to the place, nothing was to be seen but awood; and though they had twice had their plantation demolished,once by their own countrymen, and once by the enemy, as shall beshown in its place, yet they had restored all again, and everythingwas thriving and flourishing about them; they had grapes planted inorder, and managed like a vineyard, though they had themselvesnever seen anything of that kind; and by their good ordering theirvines, their grapes were as good again as any of the others. Theyhad also found themselves out a retreat in the thickest part of thewoods, where, though there was not a natural cave, as I had found,yet they made one with incessant labour of their hands, and where,when the mischief which followed happened, they secured their wivesand children so as they could never be found; they having, bysticking innumerable stakes and poles of the wood which, as I said,grew so readily, made the grove impassable

hunting as theycall it; and what was this but a hunting of sheep! - however, itmay be called hunting too, for these creatures are the wildest andswiftest of foot that ever I saw of their kind! only they will notrun a great way, and you are sure of sport when you begin thechase, for they appear generally thirty or forty in a flock, and,like true sheep, always keep together when they fly.