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第6章 邪念入侵

　　I thought, long before this, that as we came nearer to Europe weshould find the country better inhabited, and the people morecivilised; but I found myself mistaken in both: for we had yet thenation of the Tonguses to pass through, where we saw the sametokens of paganism and barbarity as before; only, as they wereconquered by the Muscovites, they were not so dangerous, but forrudeness of manners and idolatry no people in the world ever wentbeyond them. They are all clothed in skins of beasts, and theirhouses are built of the same; you know not a man from a woman,neither by the ruggedness of their countenances nor their clothes;and in the winter, when the ground is covered with snow, they liveunderground in vaults, which have cavities going from one toanother. If the Tartars had their Cham Chi-Thaungu for a wholevillage or country, these had idols in every hut and every cave.This country, I reckon, was, from the desert I spoke of last, atleast four hundred miles, half of it being another desert, whichtook

　　We had just entered Europe, having passed the river Kama, which inthese parts is the boundary between Europe and Asia, and the firstcity on the European side was called Soloy Kamaskoy, that is, thegreat city on the river Kama. And here we thought to see someevident alteration in the people; but we were mistaken, for as wehad a vast desert to pass, which is near seven hundred miles longin some places, but not above two hundred miles over where wepassed it, so, till we came past that horrible place, we found verylittle difference between that country and Mogul Tartary. Thepeople are mostly pagans; their houses and towns full of idols; andtheir way of living wholly barbarous, except in the cities andvillages near them, where they are Christians, as they callthemselves, of the Greek Church: but have their religion mingledwith so many relics of superstition, that it is scarce to be knownin some places from mere sorcery and witchcraft.

ll advantages:I pleased myself with being the patron of the people I placedthere, and doing for them in a kind of haughty, majestic way, likean old patriarchal monarch, providing for them as if I had beenfather of the whole family, as well as of the plantation. But Inever so much as pretended to plant in the name of any governmentor nation, or to acknowledge any prince, or to call my peoplesubjects to any one nation more than another; nay, I never so muchas gave the place a name, but left it as I found it, belonging tonobody, and the people under no discipline or government but myown, who, though I had influence over them as a father andbenefactor, had no authority or power to act or command one way orother, further than voluntary consent moved them to comply. Yeteven this, had I stayed there, would have done well enough; but asI rambled from them, and came there no more, the last letters I hadfrom any of them were by my partner's means, who afterwards sentanother sloop to the place, and who sent me word, t

　　The Spaniards would have been satisfied with this had the othersbut let them alone, which, however, they could not find in theirhearts to do long: but, like the dog in the manger, they would noteat themselves, neither would they let the others eat. Thedifferences, nevertheless, were at first but trivial, and such asare not worth relating, but at last it broke out into open war:and it began with all the rudeness and insolence that can beimagined - without reason, without provocation, contrary to nature,and indeed to common sense; and though, it is true, the firstrelation of it came from the Spaniards themselves, whom I may callthe accusers, yet when I came to examine the fellows they could notdeny a word of it.

　　W.A. - Why, I first told her the nature of our laws about marriage,and what the reasons were that men and women were obliged to enterinto such compacts as it was neither in the power of one nor otherto break; that otherwise, order and justice could not bemaintained, and men would run from their wives, and abandon theirchildren, mix confusedly with one another, and neither families bekept entire, nor inheritances be settled by legal descent.

　　Upon these frank and open declarations of friendship, we appointedthe next day to dine all together; and, indeed, we made a splendidfeast. I caused the ship's cook and his mate to come on shore anddress our dinner, and the old cook's mate we had on shore assisted.We brought on shore six pieces of good beef and four pieces ofpork, out of the ship's provisions, with our punch-bowl andmaterials to fill it; and in particular I gave them ten bottles ofFrench claret, and ten bottles of English beer; things that neitherthe Spaniards nor the English had tasted for many years, and whichit may be supposed they were very glad of. The Spaniards added toour feast five whole kids, which the cooks roasted; and three ofthem were sent, covered up close, on board the ship to the seamen,that they might feast on fresh meat from on shore, as we did withtheir salt meat from on board.

　　W.A. - Yes, yes, He knows and sees all things; He hears us speak,sees what we do, knows what we think though we do not speak.

　　The project was not so preposterous, if they had gone no further.But they did nothing, and proposed nothing, but had either mischiefin the design, or mischief in the event. And if I may give myopinion, they seemed to be under a blast from Heaven: for if wewill not allow a visible curse to pursue visible crimes, how shallwe reconcile the events of things with the divine justice? It wascertainly an apparent vengeance on their crime of mutiny and piracythat brought them to the state they were in; and they showed notthe least remorse for the crime, but added new villanies to it,such as the piece of monstrous cruelty of wounding a poor slavebecause he did not, or perhaps could not, understand to do what hewas directed, and to wound him in such a manner as made him acripple all his life, and in a place where no surgeon or medicinecould be had for his cure; and, what was still worse, theintentional murder, for such to be sure it was, as was afterwardsthe formed design they all laid to murder the Spaniards in co

　　The clergyman smiled upon me when I reported what answer they gave,but said nothing a good while; but at last, shaking his head, "Wethat are Christ's servants," says he, "can go no further than toexhort and instruct: and when men comply, submit to the reproof,and promise what we ask, 'tis all we can do; we are bound to accepttheir good words; but believe me, sir," said he, "whatever you mayhave known of the life of that man you call Will Atkin's, I believehe is the only sincere convert among them: I will not despair ofthe rest; but that man is apparently struck with the sense of hispast life, and I doubt not, when he comes to talk of religion tohis wife, he will talk himself effectually into it: for attemptingto teach others is sometimes the best way of teaching ourselves.If that poor Atkins begins but once to talk seriously of JesusChrist to his wife, he will assuredly talk himself into a thoroughconvert, make himself a penitent, and who knows what may follow."