The King of Pirates

by Daniel Defoe

we should never have troubl'd _Europe_ with our Company:However, we gat safe to _Babylon_ or_ Bagdat_, where we kept ourselves_Incog_ for a while, took a House by ourselves, and lay four or five Daysstill, till we had got Vests and long Gowns made to appear Abroad in as_Armenian_ Merchants. After we had got Cloaths, and look'd like otherPeople, we began to appear Abroad; and I, that from the Beginning hadmeditated my Escape by myself, began now to put it into Practice; and,walking one Morning upon the Bank of the River _Euphrates_, I mus'd withmyself what Course I should take to make off, and get quite away from theGang, and let them not so much as suspect me.

  While I was walking here, comes up one of my Comrades, and one who I alwaystook for my particular Friend: I know what you are employ'd in, _said he_,while you seem only to be musing, and refreshing yourself with the coolBreeze. Why, _said I_, what am I musing about? Why, _said he_, you arestudying how you should get away from us; but, muse upon it as long as youwill, _says he_, you shall never go without me, for I am resolv'd to gowith you which Way soever you take. 'Tis true, _says I_, I was musing whichWay I should go, but not which Way I should go without you; for tho' Iwould be willing to part Company, yet you cannot think I would go alone;and you know I have chosen you out from all the Company to be the Partnerof all my Adventures.

  Very well, _says he_, but I am to tell you now, that it is not onlynecessary that we should not go all together; but, our Men have allconcluded, that we should make our Escape every one for himself, and shouldseparate as we could; so that you need make no Secret of your Design anymore than of the Way you intend to take.

  I was glad enough of this News, and it made me very easy in thePreparations we made for our setting out: And, the first Thing we did, was,to get us more Cloaths, having some made of one Fashion, some of another;but, my Friend and I, who resolv'd to keep together, made us Cloaths afterthe Fashion of the _Armenian_ Merchants, whose Country we pretended totravel through.

  In the mean Time, five of our Men dress'd like Merchants; and, laying outtheir Money in Raw Silk, and Wrought Silks, and other Goods of the Country,proper for _Europe_, (in which they were directed by an _English_ Merchantthere) resolv'd to take the usual Rout, and travel by the Caravans from_Babylon_ to _Alleppo_, and so to _Scanderoon_, and we staid and saw themand their Bales go off in Boats for a great Town on the _Euphrates_, wherethe Caravans begin to take up the Passengers; the other six dividedthemselves, one Half of them went for _Agra_, the Country of the GreatMogul, resolving to go down the River _Hoogly_ to _Bengal_; but whitherthey went afterward or what Course they took, I never knew, neither whetherthey really went at all or not.

  The other three went by Sea, in a _Persian_ Vessel, back from the Red Seato the Gulf of _Mocca_, and I heard of them all three at _Marseilles_; butwhither they went afterwards I never knew, nor could I come to speak withthem even there.

  As for me and my Friend, we first laid out all the Silver we had in_European_ Ware, such as we knew would vend at _Ispahan_, which we carry'dupon twelve Camels; and hiring some Servants, as well for our Guide as ourGuard, we set out.

  The Servants we hir'd were a Kind of _Arab_, but rather looking like theGreat Mogul's people, than real _Arabians_; and when we came into _Persia_,we found they were look'd upon as no better than Dogs, and were not onlyused ill, but that we were used ill for their Sakes; and after we were comethree Days into the _Persian_ Dominions, we found ourselves oblig'd to partwith them; so we gave them three Dollars a Man to go back again.

  They understood their Business very well, and knew well enough what was theReason of it, though we did not. However, we found we had committed a greatMistake in it; for we perceiv'd that they were so exasperated at beingturn'd off, that they vowed to be revenged; and, indeed, they had theirRevenge to the Full; for the same Day, at Night, they return'd in the Dark,and set eleven Houses on Fire in the Town where we quartered; which, by theWay, had gone near to have cost me my Life, and would certainly have doneso, if in the Hurry I had not seiz'd one of the Incendiaries and deliver'dhim up to them.

  The People were so provok'd at him that was taken that they fell upon himwith all possible Fury as the common Incendiary and Burner of the Town, andpresently quitted us (for they had before vowed our Destruction) but, as Isaid, quitted us immediately, and thronged about the Wretch they had taken;and, indeed, I made no Question but that they would have immediatelymurder'd him (nay, that they would have torn him in Pieces before theyparted with him). But after they had vented their Rage at him for some Timewith all possible Reproaches and Indignities, they carry'd him before the_Cadi_, or Judge of the Place. The _Cadi_, a wise, grave Man, answered, no,he would not judge him at that Time, for they were too hot and passionateto do Justice; but they should come with him in the Morning, when they werecool, and he would hear them.

  It is true this was a most excellent Step of the _Cadi_ as to the right Wayof doing Justice; but it did not prove the most expedient in the presentOccasion, though that was none of his Fault neither; for in the Night theFellow got out of their Hands, by what Means or by whose Assistance I neverheard to this Day; and the _Cadi_ fined the Town in a considerable Sum forletting a Man accused of a capital Crime make his Escape before he wasadjudged, and, as we call it, discharged according to Law.

  This was an eminent Instance of the Justice of these People; and thoughthey were doubly enraged at the Escape of the Fellow, who, without Doubt,was guilty, yet they never open'd their Mouths against the _Cadi_; butacquiesc'd in his Judgment, as in that of an Oracle, and submitted to thenational Censure, or Censure according to the Custom of their Nation, whichhe had pass'd upon them in their publick Capacity for the Escape of theMan.

  We were willing to get out of this Place as soon as we could; for we foundthe Peoples Rage, which wanted an Object to vent itself upon, began tothreaten us again: So having pack'd up our Goods, and gotten five ordinaryCamel-Drivers for our Servants in the Country, we set out again.

  The Roads in _Persia_ are not so much frequented, as to be wellaccommodated with Inns, so that several Times we were oblig'd to lodge uponthe Ground in the Way; but our new Servants took Care to furnish us withLodging; for as soon as we let them know we wanted Rest, and inclin'd tostop, they set up a Tent for us, in so short a Time, that we were scarceable to imagine it possible, and under this we encamp'd, our Camels beingjust by us, and our Servants and Bales lying all hard by.

  Once or twice we lodg'd in publick Inns, built at the King of _Persia_'sCharge: These are fair large Buildings, built square, like a large Inn,they have all of them large Stables, and good Forrage for the Camels andHorses, and Apartments for perhaps two or three hundred People, and theyare call'd _Caravansera's_, as being built to entertain whole Caravans ofTravellers: On the great Roads to _Tauris_ and the Side of _Turky_ they areall fortify'd, and are able to entertain five or six Thousand People, andhave a Stock to furnish what Number of Men can come with Provisions; nay,it has been known, that whole armies of the _Persians_ have on their Marchbeen furnish'd with Provisions in one of these _Caravansera's_, and thatthey have kill'd 2000 Sheep for them in one Night's Time.

  In this Manner we travell'd to _Ispahan_, the Capital of _Persia_, whereappearing as Merchants, and with several Camels loaden with Merchandize, wepass'd all Possibility of Suspicion, and being perfectly easy, we continu'dhere some Time, sold our Cargoes, and would gladly have remitted the Moneyto other Places, as for _Constantinople_ in particular; but we found the_Turks_ and _Persians_ have no such Thing as an Exchange, by Bills runningbetween them and other Nations, no, nor between one Town and another.

  We were invited here by a sudden Accident to have gone Home by the_Caspian_ Sea and _Astracan_, so thro' _Muscovy_; but I had heard so muchof the Barbarity of the _Russians_, the dangerous Navigation of the_Caspian_ Sea by Reason of the Calms and Shoals, the Hazard of being robb'dby the _Tartars_ on the River _Wolga_, and the like, that I chose to travelto _Constantinople_, a Journey through Desarts, over Mountains and Wastes,among so many Sorts of Barbarians, that I would run any
Kind of Hazards bySea, before I would attempt such a Thing again.

  It would deserve another History to let you into all the differentCircumstances of this Journey; how well I was us'd by some, and how ill byothers; nay, how well by some _Mahometans_, how ill by some Christians: Butit shall suffice to tell you, that I am at present at _Constantinople_;and, tho' I write this here, I do not purpose to send it to you till I cometo _Marseilles_ in _France_; from whence I intend to go and live in someinland Town, where, as they have, perhaps, no Notion of the Sea, so theywill not be inquisitive after us.

  I am, _&c._

  _FINIS._