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第3章 各退一步

　　It was not long before they brought the men in, and inquiring wherethey had been, and what they had been doing, they gave them a fullaccount of their voyage in a few words: that they reached the landin less than two days, but finding the people alarmed at theircoming, and preparing with bows and arrows to fight them, theydurst not go on, shore, but sailed on to the northward six or sevenhours, till they came to a great opening, by which they perceivedthat the land they saw from our island was not the main, but anisland: that upon entering that opening of the sea they sawanother island on the right hand north, and several more west; andbeing resolved to land somewhere, they put over to one of theislands which lay west, and went boldly on shore; that they foundthe people very courteous and friendly to them; and they gave themseveral roots and some dried fish, and appeared very sociable; andthat the women, as well as the men, were very forward to supplythem with anything they could get for them to eat, and b

she will tell me it cannotbe true that this God I shall tell her of can be just, or canpunish or reward, since I am not punished and sent to the devil,that have been such a wicked creature as she knows I have been,even to her, and to everybody else; and that I should be sufferedto live, that have been always acting so contrary to what I musttell her is good, and to what I ought to have done." - "Why, truly,Atkins," said I, "I am afraid thou speakest too much truth;" andwith that I informed the clergyman of what Atkins had said, for hewas impatient to know. "Oh," said the priest, "tell him there isone thing will make him the best minister in the world to his wife,and that is repentance; for none teach repentance like truepenitents. He wants nothing but to repent, and then he will be somuch the better qualified to instruct his wife; he will then beable to tell her that there is not only a God, and that He is thejust rewarder of good and evil, but that He is a merciful Being,and with infinite goodness and long

　　"Free from vices, free from care,Age has no pain, and youth no snare."

ed them.

　　This was very bad news to travellers: however, it was carefullydone of the governor, and we were very glad to hear we should havea guard. Accordingly, two days after, we had two hundred soldierssent us from a garrison of the Chinese on our left, and threehundred more from the city of Naum, and with these we advancedboldly. The three hundred soldiers from Naum marched in our front,the two hundred in our rear, and our men on each side of ourcamels, with our baggage and the whole caravan in the centre; inthis order, and well prepared for battle, we thought ourselves amatch for the whole ten thousand Mogul Tartars, if they hadappeared; but the next day, when they did appear, it was quiteanother thing.

　　R.C. - Well, what did she say to what you told her?

tark mad. It seemshe had begun to revolve the change of his circumstances in hismind, and again this put him into an ecstasy of joy. His spiritswhirled about faster than the vessels could convey them, the bloodgrew hot and feverish, and the man was as fit for Bedlam as anycreature that ever was in it. The surgeon would not bleed himagain in that condition, but gave him something to doze and put himto sleep; which, after some time, operated upon him, and he awokenext morning perfectly composed and well. The younger priestbehaved with great command of his passions, and was really anexample of a serious, well-governed mind. At his first coming onboard the ship he threw himself flat on his face, prostratinghimself in thankfulness for his deliverance, in which I unhappilyand unseasonably disturbed him, really thinking he had been in aswoon; but he spoke calmly, thanked me, told me he was giving Godthanks for his deliverance, begged me to leave him a few moments,and that, next to his Maker, he would give me th

　　I told them that no doubt they were married in the sight of God,and were bound in conscience to keep them as their wives; but thatthe laws of men being otherwise, they might desert the poor womenand children hereafter; and that their wives, being poor desolatewomen, friendless and moneyless, would have no way to helpthemselves. I therefore told them that unless I was assured oftheir honest intent, I could do nothing for them, but would takecare that what I did should be for the women and children withoutthem; and that, unless they would give me some assurances that theywould marry the women, I could not think it was convenient theyshould continue together as man and wife; for that it was bothscandalous to men and offensive to God, who they could not thinkwould bless them if they went on thus.

　　We were now bound to the Gulf of Persia, and from thence to thecoast of Coromandel, only to touch at Surat; but the chief of thesupercargo's design lay at the Bay of Bengal, where, if he missedhis business outward-bound, he was to go out to China, and returnto the coast as he came home. The first disaster that befell uswas in the Gulf of Persia, where five of our men, venturing onshore on the Arabian side of the gulf, were surrounded by theArabians, and either all killed or carried away into slavery; therest of the boat's crew were not able to rescue them, and had butjust time to get off their boat. I began to upbraid them with thejust retribution of Heaven in this case; but the boatswain verywarmly told me, he thought I went further in my censures than Icould show any warrant for in Scripture; and referred to Luke xiii.4, where our Saviour intimates that those men on whom the Tower ofSiloam fell were not sinners above all the Galileans; but thatwhich put me to silence in the case was, that not one of the