Captain Singleton

by Daniel Defoe

ordered the merry Captain to tell them, that they had another Sloop that lay at

  Marmagoon, and that had a great Quantity of Spice on board also; and that if it

  was not sold when he went back, for that thither he was bound, he would bring

  her up.

  Their new Chaps were so eager, that they would have bargain'd with the old

  Captain before-hand: Nay Friend, said he, I will not trade with thee unsight and

  unseen; neither do I know whether the Master of the Sloop may not have sold his

  Loading already to some Merchants of Salset; but if he has not, when I come to

  him, I think to bring him up to thee.

  The Doctor had his Employment all this while, as well as William and the old

  Captain; for he went on shore several Times a Day in the Indian Boat, and

  brought fresh Provisions for the Sloop, which the Men had need enough of; he

  brought in particularly seventeen large Casks of Arrack, as big as Buts, besides

  smaller Quantities, a Quantity of Rice, and Abundance of Fruits, Mangoes,

  Pompions, and such Things, with Fowls and Fish. He never came on board but he

  was deep laden; for, in short, he bought for the Ship, as well as for

  themselves; and particuly, they half loaded the Ship with Rice and Arrack, with

  some Hogs, and six or seven Cows, alive; and thus being well victualled, and

  having Directions for coming again, they returned to us.

  William was always the lucky welcome Messenger to us, but never more welcome to

  us than now; for where we had thrust in the Ship we could get nothing, except a

  few Mangoes and Roots, being not willing to make any Steps into the Country, or

  make our selves known, till we had News of our Sloop; and indeed our Mens

  Patience was almost tired, for it was seventeen Days that William spent upon

  this Enterprize, and well bestow'd too.

  When he came back, we had another Conference upon the Subject of Trade, namely,

  whether we should send the rest of our Spices, and other Goods we had in the

  Ship, to Surat; or, whether we should go up to the Gulph of Persia our selves,

  where it was probable we might sell them as well as the English Merchants of

  Surat . William was for going our selves, which, by the Way, was from the good

  frugal Merchant-like Temper of the Man, who was for the best of every Thing: But

  here I over-ruled William, which I very seldom took upon me to do; but I told

  him, that, considering our Circumstances, it was much better for us to sell all

  our Cargoe here, though we made but half Price of them, than to go with them to

  the Gulph of Persia, where we should run a greater Risque, and where People

  would be much more curious and inquisitive into Things than they were here, and

  where it would not be so easy to manage them, seeing they traded freely and

  openly there, not by Stealth, as those Men seemed to do; and besides, if they

  suspected any Thing, it would be much more difficult for us to retreat, except

  by meer Force, than here, where we were upon the high Sea, as it were, and could

  be gone whenever we pleased, without any Disguise, or indeed without the least

  Appearance of being pursued, none knowing where to look for us.

  My Apprehensions prevailed with William, whether my Reasons did or no, and he

  submitted; and we resolved to try another Ship's Loading to the same Merchants;

  the main Business was to consider how to get off of that Circumstance had

  exposed them with the English Merchants; namely, that it was our other Sloop;

  but this the old Quaker Pilot undertook; for being, as I said, an excellent

  Mimick himself, it was the easier for him to dress up the Sloop in new Clothes;

  and first he put on all the carved Work he had taken off before; her Stern,

  which was painted of a dumb white, or dun Colour, before all flat, was now all

  lacquer'd, and blue, and I know not how many gay Figures in it; as to her

  Quarter, the Carpenters made her a neat little Gallery on either Side; she had

  12 Guns put into her, and some Patereroes upon her Gunnel, none of which were

  there before; and to finish her new Habit or Appearance, and make her Change

  compleat, he ordered her Sails to be alter'd; and as she sailed before with a

  Half-Sprit, like a Yacht, she sailed now with square Sail and Mizen Mast, like a

  Ketch; so that, in a Word, she was a perfect Cheat, disguised in every Thing

  that a Stranger could be supposed to take any Notice of, that had never had but

  one View; for they had been but once on board.

  In this mean Figure the Sloop returned; she had a new Man put into her for

  Captain, one we knew how to trust; and the old Pilot appearing only as a

  Passenger, the Doctor and William acting as the Super-Cargoes, by a formal

  Procuration from one Captain Singleton, and all Things ordered in Form.

  We had a compleat Loading for the Sloop; for besides a very great Quantity of

  Nutmegs and Cloves, Mace, and some Cinnamon, she had on board some Goods, which

  we took in as we lay about the Philippine Islands, while we waited as looking

  for Purchase.

  William made no Difficulty of selling this Cargoe also, and in about twenty Days

  returned again, freighted with all necessary Provisions for our Voyage, and for

  a long Time; and, as I say, we had a great deal of other Goods, he brought us

  back about three and thirty thousand Pieces of Eight, and some Diamonds; which,

  tho' William did not pretend to much Skill in, yet he made shift to act, so as

  not to be imposed upon, the Merchants he had to deal with too being very fair

  Men.

  They had no Difficulty at all with these Merchants; for the Prospect they had of

  Gain made them not at all inquisitive; nor did they make the least Discovery of

  the Sloop; and as to the Selling them Spices which were fetch'd so far from

  thence, it seems it was not so much a Novelty there as we believed; for the

  Portugueze had frequently Vessels which came from Macao in China, who brought

  Spices, which they bought of the Chinese Traders, who again frequently dealt

  among the Dutch Spice Islands, and received Spices in Exchange for such Goods as

  they carried from China .

  This might be called indeed the only trading Voyage we had made; and now we were

  really very rich; and it came now naturally before us to consider whither we

  should go next; our proper Delivery Port, as we ought to have called it, was at

  Madagascar, in the Bay of Mangahelly: But William took me by my self into the

  Cabbin of the Sloop one Day, and told me, he wanted to talk seriously with me a

  little; so we shut our selves in, and William began with me.

  Wilt thou give me Leave, says William, to talk plainly with thee upon thy

  present Circumstances, and the future Prospect of living, and wilt thou promise

  on thy Word to take nothing ill of me.

  With all my Heart, said I, William, I have always found your Advice good, and

  your Designs have not only been well laid, but your Counsel has been very lucky

  to us; and therefore say what you will, I promise you I will not take it ill.

  But that is not all my Demand, says William, if thou dost not like what I am

  going to propose to thee, thou shalt promise me not to make it publick among the

  Men.

  I will not, William
says I, upon my Word, and swore to him too very heartily.

  Why then, says William, I have but one Thing more to article with thee about,

  and that is, that thou wilt consent, that if thou dost not approve of it for thy

  self, thou wilt yet consent that I shall put so much of it in Practice as

  relates to my self, and my new Comrade Doctor, so that it be in nothing to thy

  Detriment and Loss.

  In any Thing, says I, William, but leaving me, I will; but I cannot part with

  you upon any Terms whatever.

  Well, says William, I am not designing to part from thee, unless it is thy own

  Doing; but assure me in all these Points; and I will tell my Mind freely.

  So I promised him every Thing he desired of me in the solemnest Manner possible,

  and so seriously and frankly withal, that William made no Scruple to open his

  Mind to me.

  Why then, in the first Place, says William, shall I ask thee if thou dost not

  think thou and all thy Men are rich enough, and have really gotten as much

  Wealth together (by whatsoever Way it has been gotten, that is not the Question)

  as ye all know what to do with?

  Why truly William, said I, thou art pretty right, I think we have had pretty

  good Luck.

  Well then, says William, I would ask, whether, if thou hast gotten enough, thou

  hast any Thought of leaving off this Trade; for most People leave off Trading

  when they are satisfied with getting, and are rich enough; for no body trades

  for the sake of Trading, much less do any Men rob for the sake of Thieving.

  Well, William, says I, now I perceive what it is thou art driving at; I warrant

  you, says I, you begin to hanker after Home.

  Why truly, says William, thou hast said it, and so I hope thou dost too; it is

  natural for most Men that are abroad to desire to come Home again at last,

  especially when they are grown rich, and when they are (as thou ownest thy self

  to be) rich enough, and so rich, as they know not what to do with more if they

  had it.

  Well, William, said I, but now you think you have laid your Preliminary at first

  so home, that I should have nothing to say; that is, that when I had got Money

  enough, it would be natural to think of going Home; but you have not explained

  what you mean by Home, and there you and I shall differ. Why, Man, I am at Home,

  here is my Habitation, I never had any other in my Life time; I was a kind of

  Charity School-Boy, so that I can have no Desire of going any where for being

  rich or poor, for I have no where to go.

  Why, says William, looking a little confused, art not thou an Englishman? Yes,

  says I, I think so, you see I speak English; but I came out of England a Child,

  and never was in it but once since I was a Man, and then I was cheated and

  imposed upon, and used so ill, that I care not if I never see it more.

  Why hast thou no Relations or Friends there, says he, no Acquaintance, none that

  thou hast any Kindness for, or any remains of Respect for?

  Not I, William, said I, not one, no more than I have in the Court of the Great

  Mogul.

  Nor any Kindness for the Country, where thou wast born, says William.

  Not I, any more than for the Island of Madagascar, nor so much neither, for that

  has been a fortunate Island to me more than once, as thou knowest, William, said

  I.

  William was quite stunn'd at my Discourse, and held his Peace; and I said to

  him, go on, William, what hast thou to say farther? For I hear you have some

  Project in your Head, says he, come, let's have it out.

  Nay, says William, thou hast put me to Silence, and all I had to say is

  over-thrown; all my Projects are come to nothing, and gone.

  Well, but William, said I, let me hear what they were, for tho' it is so that

  what I have to aim at does not look your Way; and tho' I have no Relation, no

  Friend, no Acquaintance in England, yet I do not say I like this roving,

  cruising Life, so well as never to give it over: Let me hear if thou canst

  propose to me any thing beyond it.

  Certainly Friend, says William, very gravely, there is something beyond it, and

  lifting up his Hands, he seemed very much affected, and I thought I see Tears

  stand in his Eyes, but I, that was too hardned a Wretch to be moved with these

  Things, laughed at him; what, says I, you mean Death, I warrant you, don't you,

  that is beyond this Trade; why, when it comes, it comes, then we are all

  provided for.

  Ay, says William, that is true; but it wou'd be better that some Things were

  thought on before that came.

  Thought on, says I, what signifies thinking of it; to think of Death, is to dye;

  and to be always thinking of it, is to be all one's Life-long a dying; 'tis Time

  enough to think of it when it comes.

  You will easily believe I was well qualified for a Pirate that could talk thus;

  but let me leave it upon Record for the Remark of other hardned Rogues like my

  self. My Conscience gave me a Pang that I had never felt before, when I said,

  What signifies thinking of it, and told me, I shou'd one Day think of these

  Words with a sad Heart, but the Time of my Reflection was not yet come; so I

  went on.

  Says William, very seriously, I must tell thee, Friend, I am sorry to hear thee

  talk so; they that never think of dying, often dye without thinking of it.

  I carried on the jesting Way a while farther, and said, prithee do not talk of

  dying; how do we know we shall ever dye, and began to laugh?

  I need not answer thee to that, says William, it is not my Place to reprove thee

  who art Commander over me here, but I had rather thou wouldst talk otherwise of

  Death; 'tis a coarse Thing.

  Say any Thing to me, William, said I, I will take it kindly: I began now to be

  very much moved at his Discourse.

  Says William, Tears running down his Face, it is because Men live as if they

  were never to dye, that so many dye before they know how to live; but it was not

  Death that I meant, when I said, That there was something to be thought of

  beyond this Way of Living.

  Why, William, said I, what was that?

  It was Repentance, says he.

  Why, says I, did you ever know a Pirate repent?

  At this he started a little, and return'd, at the Gallows, I have one before,

  and I hope thou wilt be the second.

  He spoke this very affectionately, and with an Appearance of Concern for me.

  Well, William, says I, I thank you, and I am not so senseless of these Things,

  perhaps, as I make my self seem to be; but come, let me hear your Proposal.

  My Proposal, says William, is for thy Good, as well as my own; we may put an End

  to this kind of Life, and repent; and I think the fairest Occasion offers for

  both at this very Time that ever did, or ever will, or indeed, can happen again.

  Look you, William, says I, let me have your Proposal for putting an End to our

  present Way of Living first, for that is the Case before us, and you and I will

  talk of the other afterward. I am not so insensible, said I, as you may think me

  to be; but let us get out of this hellish Condition we are in first.

  Nay, says William, thou art in the right there; w
e must never talk of repenting

  while we continue Pirates.

  Well, says I, William, that's what I meant, for if we must not reform, as well

  as be sorry for what's done, I have no Notion what Repentance means; indeed, at

  best I know little of the Matter; but the Nature of the thing seems to tell me,

  that the first Step we have to take, is to break off this wretched Course, and

  I'll begin there with you with all my Heart.

  I could see by his Countenance, that William was throughly pleased with the

  Offer; and if he had Tears in his Eyes before, he had more now, but it was from

  a quite differing Passion, for he was so swallow'd up with Joy, he could not

  speak.

  Come, William, says I, thou shewest me plain enough thou hast an honest Meaning.

  Dost thou think 'tis practicable for us to put an End to our unhappy Way of

  Living here, and get off?

  Yes, says he, I think 'tis very practicable for me, whether 'tis for thee or no,

  that will depend upon thy self.

  Well, says I, I give you my Word, that as I have commanded you all along, from

  the Time I first took you on Board, so you shall command me from this Hour; and

  every thing you direct me, I'll do.

  Wilt thou leave it all to me? Dost thou say this freely?

  Yes, William, says I, freely, and I'll perform it faithfully.

  Why then, says William, my Scheme is this, we are now at the Mouth of the Gulph

  of Persia, we have sold so much of our Cargo here at Surat, that we have Money

  enough; send me away for Bassora with the Sloop, loaden with the China Goods we

  have on Board, which will make another good Cargo; and I'll warrant thee I'll

  find Means among the English and the Dutch Merchants there, to lodge a Quantity

  of Goods and Money also as a Merchant, so as we will be able to have Recourse to

  it again upon any Occasion, and when I come Home we will contrive the rest; and

  in the mean Time do you bring the Ship's Crew to take a Resolution to go to

  Madagascar, as soon as I return.

  I told him, I thought he need not go so far as Bassora, but might run into

  Gombaroon, or to Ormus, and pretend the same Business.

  No, says he, I cannot act with the same Freedom there, because the Company's

  Factory are there, and I may be laid hold of there on Pretence of Interloping.

  Well, but, said I, you may go to Ormus then, for I am loath to part with you so

  long as to go to the Bottom of the Persian Gulph. He return'd that I should

  leave it to him to do as he should see Cause.

  We had taken a large Sum of Money at Surat; so that we had near a hundred

  thousand Pounds in Money at our Command; but on board the great Ship we had

  still a great deal more.

  I ordered him publickly to keep the Money on board which he had, and to buy up

  with it a Quantity of Ammunition if he could get it, and so to furnish us for

  new Exploits; and in the mean Time I resolved to get a Quantity of Gold and some

  Jewels, which I had on board the great Ship, and place them so, that I might

  carry them off without Notice, as soon as he came back; and so according to

  William's Directions, I left him to go the Voyage, and I went on board the great

  Ship, in which we had indeed an immense Treasure.

  We waited no less than two Months, for William's Return; and indeed I began to

  be very uneasy about William, sometimes thinking he had abandoned me, and that

  he might have used the same Artifice to have engaged the other Men to comply

  with him, and so they were gone away together; and it was but three Days before

  his Return, that I was just upon the Point of resolving to go away to

  Madagascar, and give him over; but the old Surgeon, who mimicked the Quaker, and

  passed for the Master of the Sloop at Surat, perswaded me against that; for

  which good Advice, and his apparent Faithfulness in what he had been trusted

  with, I made him a Party to my Design, and he proved very honest.

  At length William came back, to our inexpressible Joy, and brought a great many