Besides this, the surgeon ordered that as soon as the Padre came on board he should be surrounded with French seamen only, some of which should be ordered to follow him from place to place, and chop in with their nimble tongues upon some occasion or other, so that he should hear French spoken wherever he turned himself. especially to hear them agree in it, that the Andes were to be passed, (though passing them heareabouts, where I knew the main land from the west shore, where we now were, must be at least one thousand five hundred miles broad,) was no part of my project; but I laid up all these things in my head, and resolved to go away to the south again, and act as I should see cause. Upon this, which indeed appeared very easy to We were now got into a very hot climate, and, be done, I agreed to let the doctor come on whatever was the cause, my men began to grow board, and accordingly the surgeon brought him very sickly, and that to such a degree that I was the next day, where Captain Merlotte received once afraid that we had got the plague amongst him in the cabin, and treated him very handus, but our surgeons, whom we all call doctors at somely, but nothing was spoken but French or sea, assured me there was nothing of that among Spanish; and the surgeon, who had pretended them, and yet we buried seventeen men here, himself to be an Irishman, acted as interpreter and had between twenty and thirty more sick, || between the doctor and us. and, as I thought, dangerously too. In this extremity (for I was really very much concerned about it), one of my doctors came to me and told me he had been at the city (that is at Lima), to buy some drugs and medicines to recruit his chest, and he had fallen into company with an Irish Jesuit, whom he found was an extraordinary good physician, and that he had had some discourse with him about our sick men, and be believed, for a good word or two, he could persuade him to come and visit them. I was very loth to consent to it; for, says I to the surgeon, if he is an Irishman, he speaks English, and he will presently perceive that we are all Englishmen, and so we shall be betrayed, all our designs will be blown up at once, and our further measures be all broken; and therefore I would not consent. This I did not speak from the fear of any hurt they could have done me by force, for I had no reason to value that, being able to have fought my way clear out of their seas, if I had been put to it. But, as I had traded all the way by stratagem, and had many considerable views still behind, I was unwilling to be disappointed by the discovery of my schemes, or that the Spaniards should know upon what a double foundation I acted, and how I was a French ally and merchant, or an English enemy and privateer, just as I pleased and as opportunity should offer, in which case they would have been sure to have trepanned me, if possible, under the pretence of the former, and have used me, if they ever should get an advantage over me, as one of the latter. This made me very cautious, and I had good reason for it too; and yet the sickness and danger of my men pressed me very hard to have the advice of a good physician, if it was possible; and especially to be satisfied whether it was the plague or not, for I was very uneasy about that. But my surgeon told me that as to my apprehension of discovery he would undertake to prevent it by this method:-First, he said, he found that the Irishman did not understand French at all, and so I had nothing to do but to order that when he came on board as little English should be spoken in his hearing as possible; and this was not difficult, for almost all our men had a little French at their tongue's end, by having so many Frenchmen on board of them; others had the Levant jargon, which they call Lingua Frank, so that, if they had but due caution, it could not be suddenly perceived what countrymen they were. Here we told him the case of our men that were sick some of them indeed were French, and others that could speak French were instructed to speak to him, as if they could speak no other tongue, and then the surgeon interpreted; others, who were English, were called Irishmen, and two or three were allowed to be English seamen, picked up in the East Indies, as we had seamen, we told him, of all nations. The matter, in short, was so carried that the good man, for such I really think he was, had no manner of suspicion; and, to do him justice, he was an admirable physician, and did our men a great deal of good for all of them, but three, recovered under his hands, and those three had recovered, if they had not, like madmen, drank punch when they were almost well, and by their intemperance inflamed their blood, and thereby thrown themselves back again into their fever, and put themselves, as the Padre said of them, out of the reach of medicine. We treated this man of art with a great deal of respect, made him some very handsome presents, and particularly such as he could not come at in the country where he was: besides which I ordered he should have the value of one hundred dollars in gold given him; but he, on the other hand, thanking Captain Merlotte for his bounty, would have no money, but he accepted a present of some linen, a few handker. chiefs, some nutmegs, and a piece of black baize, most of which, however, he said, he made presents of again in the city among some of his acquaintance. But he had a further design in his head, which afterwards he communicated in confidence to the surgeon I have mentioned, who conversed with him, and by him to me, and which was to him, indeed, of the highest importance. The case was this: He takes our surgeon on shore with him one day from the Madagascar ship, where he had been with him to visit some of our sick men, and, drinking a glass of wine with him, he told him he had a favour to ask of him, and a thing to reveal to him in confidence, which was of the utmost consequence to himself though of no great value to him the (surgeon); and if he would promise the utmost secrecy to him on his faith and honour, he put his life into his hands. For, signor," says he, "it will be no less, nor would anything less than my life," says he, "pay for it, if you should discover it to any of the people here, or anywhere else on this coast." He told us there was no need of any proposals, for he would acquaint the head of their house, that he intended to go on board the French ship in the road, and to go to St Jago, where he bad several times been in the same manner; and that, as they had not the least suspicion of him, he was very well satisfied that they would make no scruple of it. The surgeon was a very honest man, and carried to concert measures for his coming on board indeed the index of it in his face, and the Padre || with secrecy, said afterwards he inclined to put this confidence in him, because he said he thought he saw something of an honest man in his very countenance. After so frank a beginning, the surgeon made no scruple to tell him, that seeing he inclined to treat him with such confidence, and to put a trust of so great importance in him, he would give him all the assurance that was in his power, that he would be as faithful to him as it But his mistake in this might have been his was possible to be to himself; and that the seruin; for though, had it been a Spanish ship, cret should never go out of his mouth to any they would not have mistrusted him, yet when one in the world, but to such and at such time he named the French ship in the road of Callao, as he should consent to and direct. In short, he used so many solemn protestations, that the they began to question him very smartly about it. Upon which he was obliged to tell them. Padre made no scruple to trust him with the secret, which, indeed, was no less than putting not go at all, telling them withal, that it was that since they were doubtful of him, he would his life into his hands. The case was this: he told hard to suspect him who had been so faithful to him he had heard them talk of going to Ireland his vows as to reside for near thirty years among in their return, and as he had been thirty years them, when he might frequently have made an out of his own country, in such a remote part escape from them if he had been so disposed. of the world, where it was never likely that he So for three or four days he made no appearance should ever see it again; the notion he had enof going at all; but having had private notice tertained that this ship was going thither and from me the evening before we sailed, he found might set him on shore there, that he might once more see his native country and his family Callao on a mule in the night, and our surgeon means to get out of their hands, came down to and friends, had filled his mind with such a surprising joy, that he could no longer contain him- from the town, as by appointment, he took him lying ready with our boat about half a league self; and that, therefore, if he would procure leave of the captain, that he might come pri-him safe to the ship; nor had we received him on board, with a negro, his servant, and brought vately on board, and take his passage home, he would willingly pay whatever the captain should desire of him; but that it must be done with the greatest secrecy imaginable, or else he was undone, for that if he should be discovered and stopped, he should be confined in the Jesuit's house there as long as he lived. The surgeon told him the thing was easy to be done, if he would give him leave to acquaint one man in the ship with it, which was not Captain Merlotte, but a certain Englishman who was a considerable person in the ship, without whom the captain did nothing, and who would be more secure to trust by far than Captain Merlotte. The Padre told him, that without asking him any reasons, since he had put his life into his hands, he would trust him with the management of it, and, therefore, left it entirely to him. The surgeon accordingly brought him on board to me, and making a confidence of the whole matter to me, I turned to the Padre, and told him in English, giving him my hand, that I would be under all the engagements and promises of secrecy that our surgeon had been in for his security and satisfaction; that he had merited too well of us for us to wish him any ill; and, in short, that the whole ship should be engaged for his security. I told him, that as to his coming on board and bringing anything off that belonged to him, he must take his own measures, and answer to himself for the success; but that after he was on board, we would sink the ship under him or blow her into the air before we would deliver him up on any account whatever. He was so pleased with my frank way of talking to him, that he told me he would put his life into my hands with the same freedom as he had done before with my surgeon; so we began on board half an hour, but being unmoored and ready to sail, we put out to sea, and carried him clear off. He made his execuses to me that he was come away naked, according to his profession; that he had purposed to have furnished himself with some provisions for the voyage, but that the unexpected suspicions of the head of the college or house had obliged him to come away in a manner that would not admit of it: for that he might rather be said to have made his escape than to have been come fairly off. I told him he was very welcome; and indeed so he was, for he had been already more worth to us than ten times his passage came to, and that he should be entered into immediate pay as physician to both the ships, which I was sure none of our surgeons would repine at, but rather be glad of; and accordingly I immediately or dered him a cabin, with a very good apartment adjoining to it, and appointed him to eat in my own mess whenever he pleased or by himself, on particular days, when he thought fit. that we were indeed an English ship, and that! And now it was impossible to conceal from him was the captain in chief, except as has been said upon occasion of coming to any particular town of Spain. I let him know I had a commission to make prize of the Spaniards, and appear their │ open enemy, but that I had chosen to treat them as friends in a way of commerce, as he had seen. He admired much the moderation I had used, and how I had avoided enriching myself by the spoil as I might have done; and he made me many compliments upon that head, which Ies, cused hearing, and begged him to forbear. told him we were christians, and as we had made a very prosperous voyage I was resolved not te do any honest men the least injustice if I could avoid it. But I must observe here that I did not enter immediately into all this confidence with him neither, nor all at once; neither did I let him into any part of it but under the same solemn engagements of secrecy that he had laid upon us, nor till I was come above eighty leagues south from Lima. none of our men, the officers especially, would ever come so much in reach of the Spaniards on shore as to put it into their power to seize upon them by reprisal, and so oblige us to deliver him up by exchange. I went so far with him, and so did Captain Merlotte also, as to assure him, that if any of the Spaniards should by any stratagem or force get any of our men, nay, though it were ourselves, into their hands yet he should upon no condition The first thing I took the freedom to speak to him upon was this: finding his habit a little offen-whatever be delivered up, And, indeed, for this sive to our rude seamen, I took him into the cabin the very next day after we came to sea, and told him that I was obliged to mention to him what I knew he would soon perceive, namely, that we were all protestants except three or four of the Frenchmen, and I did not know how agreeable that might be to him. He answered that he was not at all offended with that part; that it was none of his business to enquire into leave; that if it was his business to cure the souls any one's opinion any farther than they gave him of men on shore, his business on board was to cure their bodies; and as for the rest, he would exer cise no other function than that of a physician on board the ship without my leave. I told him that was very obliging, but that then, for his own sake, I had a proposal to make to him, which was, whether it would be disagreeable to him to lay aside the habit of a religious and put on that of a gentleman, so to accommodate himself the more easily to the men on board, who, perhaps, might be rude to him in his habit, seamen being not always men of the most manners. He thanked me very sincerely. He told me he had been in England as well as in Ireland, and that he went dressed there as a gentleman and was ready to do so now if I thought fit, to avoid giving any offence, and added that he chose to do so but then, smiling, said he was at a great loss, for he had no clothes. I bade him take no care about that for I would furnish him, and immediately we dressed him up like an Englishman, in a suit of very good clothes which belonged to one of our midshipmen that died. I gave him also a good wig and a sword, and he presently appeared upon the quarter-deck like a grave physician and was called doctor. From that minute, by whose contrivance we knew not, it went current among the seamen that the Spanish doctor was an Englishman and a protestant, and only had put on the other habit to disguise himself and make his escape to us; and this was so universally believed that it held to the last day of the whole voyage, for as soon as I met with it I took care that nobody that had it in their power would ever contradict it; and as for the doctor himself he was very glad of it, and when he first heard of it, said nothing could be more to his advantage, and that he would take care to humour it among the men as far as lay in his power. However, the doctor took care of one thing, and earnestly desired we would all be mindful of it, viz., that he never offered to go on shore what ever port we came to afterwards, and what he desired of us was, that none of the Spaniards might, by inquiry, hear upon any occasion of his being on board our ship; but above all, that very reason we were very shy of going on shore at all; and as we had really no business any where but just for water and fresh provisions, which we also had taken in a very good store of at Lima, so, for our part, we put in nowhere at all in the coast of Peru, because there we might have been more particularly liable to the impertinences of the Spaniards' inquiry; as to force, we were furnished not to be in the least appredo with the coast of Peru we stood off to sea, hensive of that, Being thus, I say, resolved to have no more to and the first land we made was a little unfre quented island, in the latitude of 17 deg. 13 m., where our men went on shore in the boats three or four times to catch tortoises or turtles, being the first we had met with since we came from the East Indies; and here they took so many and had such a prodigious quantity of eggs out of them, that the whole company of both ships lived on them till within four or five days of our coming to the island of Juan Fernandez, which was our next port. Some of these tortoises were so large and so heavy that no single man could turn them, and sometimes as much as four men could carry to the boats. We met with some bad weather after this, which blew us off to sea, the wind blowing very hard at the south-east; but it was not so great a wind as to endanger us, though we lost sight of one another more in this storm than we had done in all our voyage. However, we were none of us in any great concern for it now, because we had agreed hefore, that if we should lose one another, we should make the best of our way to the island of Juan Fernandez; and this we observed now so directly, that all of us shaping our course for the island, as soon as the storm abated, came in sight of one another long before we came thither; which, you may be sure, was very agreeable to us all. We were, including the time of the storm, two hundred and eighteen days from Lima to the island of Juan Fernandez, having most of the time cross, contrary winds, and more bad weather than is usual in those seas, However, we were all in good condition, both ships and men. Here we fell to the old trade of hunting of goats. And here our new doctor set some of our men to simpling, that is to say, to gather some physical herbs, which he let them see afterwards were very well worth their while. Our surgeons assisted and saw the plants, but had never observed the same kind in England. They gave me the names of them; and it is the only discovery in all my travels which I have not reserved so carefully as to publish for the advantage of others, and which I regret the omission of very much. While we were here, an odd accident gave me some uneasiness, which, however, did not come to much. Early in the grey of the morning, little wind, and a smooth sea, a small frigatebuilt vessel, under Spanish colours, pennant flying, appeared off at sea, at the opening of the N. E. point of the island; as soon as she came fair with the road, she lay by, as if she came to look into the port only, and when she perceived that we began to loose our sails to to speak with her, she stretched away to the northward, and then altering her course, stood away N. E. using oars to assist her, and so got away. Nothing could be more evident to us, than that she came to look at us, nor could we imagine anything less; from whence we immediately concluded that we were discovered, and that our taking away the doctor had given a great alarm among the Spaniards (as indeed we afterwards came to understand it had done). But we came a little while afterwards to a better understanding about the frigate. I was so uneasy about it that I resolved to speak with her if possible; so I ordered the Madagascar ship, which, of the two, was rather a better sailer than our own, to stand in directly to the coast of Chili, and then to ply to the northward just in sight of the shore, till he came into the latitude of 22: and if he saw nothing in all that run, then to come down again directly into the latitude of the island of Juan Fernandez, but keeping the distance of ten leagues off farther than before, and to ply off and on in that latitude five days, and then, if he did not meet with me, to stand in for the island. While he did this, I did the same at the distance of nearly fifty leagues from the shore, being the distance which I thought the frigate kept in as she stood away from me. We made our cruise both of us very punctually, and I found him in the station I agreed on, and we both stood into the road again from whence we came. We no sooner made the road, but we saw the frigate, as I called her, with another ship, at an anchor in the same road where she had seen us. And it was easy to see that they were both of them in a great surprise and hurry at our appearing, and that they were under sail in so very little time, as that we easily saw they had slipped their cables or cut away their anchors. They fired guns twice, which we found was a signal for their boats, which were on shore, to come on board; and soon after we saw three boats go off to them; though, as we understood afterwards, they were obliged to leave sixteen or seventeen of their men behind them, who, being among the rocks catching of goats, either did not hear the signals, or could not come to their boats time enough. When we saw them in this hurry we thought it must be something extraordinary, and bore down directly upon them having the weather guage. They were ships of pretty good force, and full of men; and when they saw we were resolved to speak with them, and that there was no getting away from us, they made ready to fight us; and putting themselves upon a wind, first stretching a head to get the weather-guage of us, when they thought they were pretty well, boldly tacked, and lay by for us, hoisting the || English ancient and union-jack, We had our French colours out till now; but being just, as we thought, going to engage, I told Captain Merlotte I scorned to hide what nation I was of when I came to fight for the honour of our country; and, besides, as these people had spread English colours, I ought to let them know what I was; that if they were really English and friends, we might not fight by mistake, and shed the innocent blood of our own countrymen; and that if they were rogues, and counterfeited their being English, we should soon perceive it. However, when they saw us put out English colours, they knew not what to think of it, but lay by a while to see what we would do. I was as much puzzled as they, for as I came nearer, I well by their bulk as by their way of working; thought they seemed to be English ships. as and as I came still nearer, I thought I could perceive so plainly by my glasses that they were English seamen, that I made a signal to our other ship who had the van, and was just bearing down upon them to bring to; and I sent my boat to him to know his opinion. He sent me word he did believe them to be English; and other nation but English or French, and the the more, said he, because they could be no latter he was sure they were not; but since we were the largest ships, and that they might as plainly see us to be English as we could see them, he said he was for fighting them, because they ought to let us know who they were first. However, as I had fired a gun to bring him to, he lay by a little till we spoke thus together. While this was doing we could see one of their boats come off with six oars and two men (a lieutenant and a trumpeter it seems they were) sitting in the stern and one of them holding up a flag of truce. We let them come forward, and when they came nearer so that we could hail them with a speaking trumpet, we asked them what countrymen they were? and they answered Englishmen. Then we asked them whence their ship? Their answer was from London, at which we bade them come on board, which they did, and we soon found that we were all countrymen and friends, and their boat went immediately back to let them know it. We found afterwards that they were mere privateers, fitted out from London also, but coming last from Jamaica, and we let them know no other of ourselves; but declined keeping company, telling them we were bound now upon traffic and not for pourchace; that we had been at the East Indies, had made some prizes, and were going back thither again. They told us they were come into the South Seas for pourchace, but that they had made little of it; having heard there were three large French men of war in those seas, in the Spanish service, which made them wish that they had not come about; and that they were still very doubtful what to do. We assured them we had been the height of Lima, and that we had not heard of any men-ofwar, but that we had passed for such ourselves, and perhaps were the ships they had heard of; for that we were three sail at first, and had sometimes carried French colours. which they had never seen or tasted before; and, without question, it is such an excellent way of This made them very glad, for it was certainly curing beef, that if I were to be at Madagascar so, that we had passed for three French men-of- again, I would take in a sufficient quantity of war; and they were so assured of it, that they || beef so preserved to victual the whole ship went afterwards boldly up the coast, and made for the voyage; and I leave it as a direction to all several very good prizes. We then found also English seamen that have occasion to use East that it was one of these ships that looked into the India voyages. road, as above, when we were here before, and seeing us then with French colours, took us for the men-of-war they had heard of; and they added, that when we came in upon them again, they gave themselves up for lost men, but were resolved to have sought it out to the last, or rather to have sunk by our side, or blow themselves up, than be taken. I was not at all sorry that we had made this discovery before we engaged, for the captains were two brave resolute fellows, and had two very good ships under them, one of thirty-six guns, but able to have carried forty-four guns; the other, which we called the frigate-built ship, carried twenty-eight guns, and they were both full of men. Now, though we should not have feared their force, yet my case differed from what it did at first, for we had that on board that makes all men cowards, I mean money; of which we had such a cargo as few British ships ever brought out of those seas; and I was one of those that had now no occasion to run needless hazards; so that, in short, I was as well pleased without fighting, as they could be; besides, I had other projects now in my head, and those of no less consequence than of planting a new world, and settling new kingdoms to the honour and advantage of my country; and many a time I wished heartily, that all my rich cargo was safe at London; that my merchants were sharing the silver, and the gold, and the pearl among themselves; and that was I but safe on shore, with a thousand good families upon the south of Chili, and about fifteen hundred good soldiers, and arms for ten thousand more (of which byand-by) and with the two ships I had now with me, I would not apprehend all the power of the Spaniards; I mean, that they could bring against me in the South Seas. I had all these things, I say, in my head already, though nothing like to what I had afterwards, when I saw further into the matter myself. However, these things made me very glad, that I had no occasion to engage those ships. When we came thus to understand one another, we went all into the road together, and I invited the captains of the two privateers on board me, where I treated them with the best I had, though I had no great dainties now, having been so long out of England. They invited me and Captain Merlotte, and the captain of the Madagascar ship, in return, and, indeed, treated us very nobly. After this, we exchanged some presents of refreshments, and, particularly, they sent me a hogshead of rum, which was very acceptable, and I sent them, in return, a runlet of arrack, excusing myself, that I had no great store. I sent them also a quantity of one hundred weight of nutmegs and cloves; but the most agreeable present I sent them was, twenty pieces of my Madagascar dried beef, cured in the sun, the like of I bought afterwards six hogsheads of rum of these privateers, for I found they were very well stored with liquors, whatever else they wanted. We stayed here twelve or fourteen days, but took care, by agreement, that our men should never go on shore the same days that their men went on shore, or theirs when ours went, as well to avoid their caballing together, as to avoid quarreling, though the latter was the pretence. We agreed, also, not to receive on board any of our ships respectively any of the crews belonging to the other; and this was their advantage; for if we would have given way to that, half their men would, for aught I know, have come over to us. While we lay here, one of them went a-cruising, finding the wind fair to run in for the shore, and in about five days she came back with a Spanish prize, laden with meal, cocoa, and a large quantity of biscuit, ready baked. She was bound to Lima, from Baldivia, or some port nearer, I do not remember exactly which. They had some gold on board, but not much, and had bought their lading at St Jago. As soon as we saw them coming in with a prize in tow we put out our French colours, and gave notice to the privateers that it was for their advantage that we did so; and so indeed it was; for it would presently have alarmed all the country, if such a fleet of privateers had appeared on the coast. We prevailed on them to give us their Spanish prisoners, and to allow us to set them on shore, I assuring them I would not land them till I came to Baldivia, nor suffer them to have the least correspondence with anybody till they came thither; the said Spaniards also giving their parole of honour not to give any account of their being taken till fourteen days after they were shore. on This being the furthest port south which the Spaniards are masters of in Chili, or indeed on the whole continent of America, they could not desire me to carry them any further. They allowed us a quantity of meal out of their booty, for the subsistence of the prisoners; and I bought a larger quantity more of it, there being more than they knew how to stow; and they did not resolve to keep the Spanish ship which they took. By this means I was doubly stocked with flour and bread; but as the first was very good, and well packed in cask, and very good jars, it was no burden. We bought also some of their cocoa, and made chocolate till our men gorged themselves with it, and would eat no more. Having furnished ourselves here with goats' flesh, as usual, and taken in water sufficient, we left Juan Fernandez, and saw the cruizers go out the same tide, they steering N.N. E., and we S. S. E. They saluted us at parting, and we bid them good-bye in the same language. While we were now sailing for the coast of |