The Life & Adventures Of Robinson Crusoe Part-5

 

The Life & Adventures Of  Robinson Crusoe Part-5

In this State of Life however I remained some time, uncertain what Measures to take, and what Course of Life to lead. An irresistible Reluctance continu'd to going Home; and as I stay'd a while, the Remembrance of the Distress I had been in wore off; and as that abated, the little Motion I had in my Desires to a Return wore off with it, till at last I quite lay'd aside the Thoughts of it, and lookt out for a Voyage. going to see That evil Influence which carryed me first away from my Father's House, that hurried me into the wild and indigested Notion of raising my Fortune; and that imprest those Conceits so forcibly upon me, as to make me deaf to all good Advice, and to the Entreaties and even Command of my This was Father: 

I say the same Influence, whatever it was, presented, tothe most unfortunate of all Enterprises to my View; and I went on board a Vessel bound to the Coast of Africa; or, as our Sailors vulgarly call it, a Voyage to Guinea. folter It was my great Misfortune that in all these Adventures I did not ship my self as a Sailor; whereby, tho' I might indeed have workt a little harder than ordinary, yet at the same time I had learn'd the Duty and Office of a Fore-mast Man; and in time might have quallified my self for a Mate or Lieutenant, if not for a Master:

 

But as it was always my Fate to choose for the worse, so I did here; for having Money in my Pocket, and good Cloaths upon my Back, I would always go on board in the Habit of a Gentleman; and so I neither had any Business in the Ship, or learn'd to do any. in London, which does not always happen to such loose andIt was my Lot first of all to fall into pretty good Company  unguided young Fellows as I then was; the Devil generally not omitting to lay some Snare for them very early: But it was not so with me, I first fell acquainted with the Master of a ship who had been on the coast of guinea And who having had very good Success there, was resolved to go again; and all disagreeable at that time, hearing me say I had a mind to who taking a Fancy to my Conversation, which was not at sce the World, told me if I wou'd go the Voyage with him should be at no Expence; I should be his Mess-mate and his Companion, and if I could carry any thing with me, I should have all the Advantage of it that the Trade would admit; and perhaps I might meet with some Encouragement.

I embrac'd the Offer, and entring into a strict Friendship with this Captain, who was an honest and plain-dealing Man, I went the Voyage with him, and carried a small Adventure with me, which by the disinterested Honesty of my Friend the Captain, I increased very considerably; for I carried about 40 /. in such Toys and Trifles as the Captain directed me to buy. This 40 /. I had mustered together by

the Assistance of some of my Relations whom I corresponded with, and who, I believe, got my Father, or at least my Mother, to contribute so much as that to my first Adventure.

This was the only Voyage which I may say was successful in all my Adventures, and which I owe to the Integrity and Honesty of my Friend the Captain, under whom also I got a competent Knowledge of the Mathematicks and the Rules of Navigation, learn'd how to keep an Account of the Ship's Course, take an Observation; and in short, to understand some things that were needful to be understood by a Sailor:

For, as he took Delight to introduce me, I took Delight to learn; and, in a word, this Voyage made me both a Sailor and a Merchant: for I brought Home L. 5. 9 Ounces of Gold Dust for my Adventure, which yielded me in London at my Return, almost 300 /. and this fill'd me with those aspiring Thoughts which have since so compleated my Ruin.

Yet even in this Voyage I had my Misfortunes too; particularly, that I was continually sick, being thrown into a violent Calenture¹ by the excessive Heat of the Climate; our principal Trading being upon the Coast, from the Latitude of 15 Degrees, North even to the Line it self.

I was now set up for a Guiney Trader; and my Friend, to unhappiest Voyage that ever Man made; for tho' I did not and had now got the Command of the Ship. This was the Vessel with one who was his Mate in the former Voyage, so that I had carry quite 100 l. of my new gain'd Wealth, 200 left, and which I lodg'd with my Friend's Widow, who this Voyage; and the first was this, viz. Our Ship making her was very just to me, yet I fell into terrible Misfortunes in Course towards the Canary Islands, or rather between those Islands and the African Shore, was surprised in the Grey of the Morning, by a Turkish Rover of Sallee, who gave Chase to us with all the Sail she could make. We crowded also as much Canvas as our Yards would spread, or our Mastsc to have got clear; but finding the Pirate gain'd upon us, and

would certainly come up with us in a few Hours, we prepar'd to fight; our Ship having 12 Guns, and the Rogue 18. 

About three in the Afternoon he came up with us, and bringing to by Mistake, just athwart our Quarter, 2 instead of athwart our Stern, as he intended, we brought 8 of our Guns to bear on that Side, and pour'd in a Broadside upon him, which made him sheer off again, after returning our Fire, and pouring in also his small Shot from near 200 Men which he had on Board. However, we had not a Man touch'd, all

our Men keeping close. He prepar'd to attack us again, and we to defend our selves; but laying us on Board³ the next time upon our other Quarter, he entred 60 Men upon our Decks, who immediately fell to cutting and hacking the Decks and Rigging. We ply'd them with Small-shot, Half-Pikes, Powder-Chests, and such like, and clear'd our Deck of them twice. However, to cut short this melancholly Part of our Story, our Ship being disabled, and three of our Men kill'd, and eight wounded, we were obliged to yield, and were carry'd all Prisoners into Sallee, a Port belonging to a pont in Moroced the Moors.

The Usage I had there was not so dreadful as at first I apprechended,,  Nor was I carried up the Country to the as the rest of our Men were, but was kept 19 apprehended, Emperor's Court, by his Slave, being young and nimble, and fit for his Business.

The Captain of the Rover, as his proper Prize, and made At this surprising Change of my Circumstances from a Merchant to a miserable Slave, I was perfectly overwhelmed; and now I look'd back upon my Father's prophetick Dis-course to me, that I should be miserable, and have none to relieve me, which I thought was now so effectually brought be worse; that now the Hand of to pass, that it could Heaven had overtaken me, and I was undone without

Redemption. But alas! this was but a Taste of the Misery I was to go thro', as will appear in the Sequel of this Story.

As my new Patron or Master had taken me Home to his House, so I was in hopes that he would take me with him when he went to Sea again, believing that it would some time or other be his Fate to be taken by a Spanish or Portugal Man of War; and that then I should be set at Liberty. 

But this Hope of mine was soon taken away; for when he went to Sea, he left me on Shoar to look after his little Garden, and do the common Drudgery of Slaves about his House; and when he came home again from his Cruise, he order'd me to lye in the Cabbin to look after the Ship. 

Here I meditated nothing but my Escape; and what Method I might take to effect it, but found no Way that had the least Probability in it: Nothing presented to make the Supposition of it rational; for I had no Body to communicate it to, that would embark with me; no Fellow-Slave, no Englishman, Irishman, or Scotsman there but my self; so that for two Years, tho' I often pleased my self with the Imagina-tion, yet I never had the least encouraging Prospect of putting it in Practice.