by Daniel Defoe
camethere, how we could plant, settle, and, in short, grow rich without anymore adventures; and, as a great secret, I told her that we were tomarry as soon as he came on board.
She soon agreed cheerfully to my going when she heard this, and shemade it her business from that time to get him out of the prison intime, so that he might go in the same ship with me, which at last wasbrought to pass, though with great difficulty, and not without all theforms of a transported prisoner-convict, which he really was not yet,for he had not been tried, and which was a great mortification to him.As our fate was now determined, and we were both on board, actuallybound to Virginia, in the despicable quality of transported convictsdestined to be sold for slaves, I for five years, and he under bondsand security not to return to England any more, as long as he lived, hewas very much dejected and cast down; the mortification of beingbrought on board, as he was, like a prisoner, piqued him very much,since it was first told him he should transport himself, and so that hemight go as a gentleman at liberty. It is true he was not ordered tobe sold when he came there, as we were, and for that reason he wasobliged to pay for his passage to the captain, which we were not; as tothe rest, he was as much at a loss as a child what to do with himself,or with what he had, but by directions.
Our first business was to compare our stock. He was very honest to me,and told me his stock was pretty good when he came into the prison, butthe living there as he did in a figure like a gentleman, and, which wasten times as much, the making of friends, and soliciting his case, hadbeen very expensive; and, in a word, all his stock that he had left was#108, which he had about him all in gold.
I gave him an account of my stock as faithfully, that is to say, ofwhat I had taken to carry with me, for I was resolved, whatever shouldhappen, to keep what I had left with my governess in reserve; that incase I should die, what I had with me was enough to give him, and thatwhich was left in my governess's hands would be her own, which she hadwell deserved of me indeed.
My stock which I had with me was #246 some odd shillings; so that wehad #354 between us, but a worse gotten estate was scarce ever puttogether to being the world with.
Our greatest misfortune as to our stock was that it was all in money,which every one knows is an unprofitable cargo to be carried to theplantations. I believe his was really all he had left in the world, ashe told me it was; but I, who had between #700 and #800 in bank whenthis disaster befell me, and who had one of the faithfullest friends inthe world to manage it for me, considering she was a woman of manner ofreligious principles, had still #300 left in her hand, which I reservedas above; besides, some very valuable things, as particularly two goldwatches, some small pieces of plate, and some rings--all stolen goods.The plate, rings, and watches were put in my chest with the money, andwith this fortune, and in the sixty-first year of my age, I launchedout into a new world, as I may call it, in the condition (as to whatappeared) only of a poor, naked convict, ordered to be transported inrespite from the gallows. My clothes were poor and mean, but notragged or dirty, and none knew in the whole ship that I had anything ofvalue about me.
However, as I had a great many very good clothes and linen inabundance, which I had ordered to be packed up in two great boxes, Ihad them shipped on board, not as my goods, but as consigned to my realname in Virginia; and had the bills of loading signed by a captain inmy pocket; and in these boxes was my plate and watches, and everythingof value except my money, which I kept by itself in a private drawer inmy chest, which could not be found, or opened, if found, without splittingthe chest to pieces.
In this condition I lay for three weeks in the ship, not knowingwhether I should have my husband with me or no, and therefore notresolving how or in what manner to receive the honest boatswain'sproposal, which indeed he thought a little strange at first.
At the end of this time, behold my husband came on board. He lookedwith a dejected, angry countenance, his great heart was swelled withrage and disdain; to be dragged along with three keepers of Newgate,and put on board like a convict, when he had not so much as beenbrought to a trial. He made loud complaints of it by his friends, forit seems he had some interest; but his friends got some check in theirapplication, and were told he had had favour enough, and that they hadreceived such an account of him, since the last grant of histransportation, that he ought to think himself very well treated thathe was not prosecuted anew. This answer quieted him at once, for heknew too much what might have happened, and what he had room to expect;and now he saw the goodness of the advice to him, which prevailed withhim to accept of the offer of a voluntary transportation. And afterthis his chagrin at these hell-hounds, as he called them, was a littleover, he looked a little composed, began to be cheerful, and as I wastelling him how glad I was to have him once more out of their hands, hetook me in his arms, and acknowledged with great tenderness that I hadgiven him the best advice possible. 'My dear,' says he, 'thou hastwice saved my life; from henceforward it shall be all employed foryou, and I'll always take your advice.'
The ship began now to fill; several passengers came on board, who wereembarked on no criminal account, and these had accommodations assignedthem in the great cabin, and other parts of the ship, whereas we, asconvicts, were thrust down below, I know not where. But when myhusband came on board, I spoke to the boatswain, who had so early givenme hints of his friendship in carrying my letter. I told him he hadbefriended me in many things, and I had not made any suitable return tohim, and with that I put a guinea into his hand. I told him that myhusband was now come on board; that though we were both under thepresent misfortune, yet we had been persons of a different characterfrom the wretched crew that we came with, and desired to know of him,whether the captain might not be moved to admit us to some conveniencesin the ship, for which we would make him what satisfaction he pleased,and that we would gratify him for his pains in procuring this for us.He took the guinea, as I could see, with great satisfaction, andassured me of his assistance.
Then he told us he did not doubt but that the captain, who was one ofthe best-humoured gentlemen in the world, would be easily brought toaccommodate us as well as we could desire, and, to make me easy, toldme he would go up the next tide on purpose to speak to the captainabout it. The next morning, happening to sleep a little longer thanordinary, when I got up, and began to look abroad, I saw the boatswainamong the men in his ordinary business. I was a little melancholy atseeing him there, and going forward to speak to him, he saw me, andcame towards me, but not giving him time to speak first, I said,smiling, 'I doubt, sir, you have forgot us, for I see you are verybusy.' He returned presently, 'Come along with me, and you shall see.'So he took me into the great cabin, and there sat a good sort of agentlemanly man for a seaman, writing, and with a great many papersbefore him.
'Here,' says the boatswain to him that was a-writing, 'is thegentlewoman that the captain spoke to you of'; and turning to me, hesaid, 'I have been so far from forgetting your business, that I havebeen up at the captain's house, and have represented faithfully to thecaptain what you said, relating to you being furnished with betterconveniences for yourself and your husband; and the captain has sentthis gentleman, who is mate of the ship, down with me, on purpose toshow you everything, and to accommodate you fully to your content, andbid me assure you that you shall not be treated like what you were atfirst expected to be, but with the same respect as other passengers aretreated.'
The mate then spoke to me, and, not giving me time to thank theboatswain for his kindness, confirmed what the boatswain had said, andadded that it was the captain's delight to show himself kind andcharitable, especially to those that were under any misfortunes, andwith that he showed me several cabins built up, some in the greatcabin, and some partitioned off, out of the steerage, but opening intothe great cabin on purpose for the accommodation of passengers, andgave me leave to choose where I would. However, I chose a cabin whichopened into the steerage, in which was very good conveniences to setour chest and boxes, and a table to eat on.
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sp; The mate then told me that the boatswain had given so good a characterof me and my husband, as to our civil behaviour, that he had orders totell me we should eat with him, if we thought fit, during the wholevoyage, on the common terms of passengers; that we might lay in somefresh provisions, if we pleased; or if not, he should lay in his usualstore, and we should have share with him. This was very reviving newsto me, after so many hardships and afflictions as I had gone through oflate. I thanked him, and told him the captain should make his ownterms with us, and asked him leave to go and tell my husband of it, whowas not very well, and was not yet out of his cabin. Accordingly Iwent, and my husband, whose spirits were still so much sunk with theindignity (as he understood it) offered him, that he was scared yethimself, was so revived with the account that I gave him of thereception we were like to have in the ship, that he was quite anotherman, and new vigour