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第9章 再战钟麟

　　The sight, you may be sure, was something uncouth to our Spaniards,who were, to give them a just character, men of the most calm,sedate tempers, and perfect good humour, that ever I met with:and, in particular, of the utmost modesty: I say, the sight wasvery uncouth, to see three naked men and five naked women, alltogether bound, and in the most miserable circumstances that humannature could be supposed to be, viz. to be expecting every momentto be dragged out and have their brains knocked out, and then to beeaten up like a calf that is killed for a dainty.

hey might come and go; if they disturbed nobody,nobody would disturb them: and no doubt but they were oftenashore, and went away again; for I never heard that the planterswere ever attacked or disturbed any more.

　　This affectionate behaviour of my wife's brought me a little out ofthe vapours, and I began to consider what I was doing; I correctedmy wandering fancy, and began to argue with myself sedately whatbusiness I had after threescore years, and after such a life oftedious sufferings and disasters, and closed in so happy and easy amanner; I, say, what business had I to rush into new hazards, andput myself upon adventures fit only for youth and poverty to runinto?

　　But my fellow-traveller and I had different notions: I acknowledgehis were the more suited to the end of a merchant's life: who,when he is abroad upon adventures, is wise to stick to that, as thebest thing for him, which he is likely to get the most money by.On the other hand, mine was the notion of a mad, rambling boy, thatnever cares to see a thing twice over. But this was not all: Ihad a kind of impatience upon me to be nearer home, and yet anunsettled resolution which way to go. In the interval of theseconsultations, my friend, who was always upon the search forbusiness, proposed another voyage among the Spice Islands, to bringhome a loading of cloves from the Manillas, or thereabouts.

a line-of-battle.

　　W.A. - Sir, it is impossible to give you a full account of it; I amtoo full to hold it, and yet have no tongue to express it; but lether have said what she will, though I cannot give you an account ofit, this I can tell you, that I have resolved to amend and reformmy life.

　　We were all this while in the Chinese dominions, and therefore theTartars were not so bold as afterwards; but in about five days weentered a vast wild desert, which held us three days' and nights'march; and we were obliged to carry our water with us in greatleathern bottles, and to encamp all night, just as I have heardthey do in the desert of Arabia. I asked our guides whose dominionthis was in, and they told me this was a kind of border that mightbe called no man's land, being a part of Great Karakathy, or GrandTartary: that, however, it was all reckoned as belonging to China,but that there was no care taken here to preserve it from theinroads of thieves, and therefore it was reckoned the worst desertin the whole march, though we were to go over some much larger.

tarved,and he was for fighting to the last drop.

　　The two Englishmen seeing this, thinking themselves not securewhere they stood, because it was likely some of the wild peoplemight come that way, and they might come too many together, thoughtit proper to make another retreat about half a mile farther;believing, as it afterwards happened, that the further theystrolled, the fewer would be together. Their next halt was at theentrance into a very thick-grown part of the woods, and where anold trunk of a tree stood, which was hollow and very large; and inthis tree they both took their standing, resolving to see therewhat might offer. They had not stood there long before two of thesavages appeared running directly that way, as if they had alreadyhad notice where they stood, and were coming up to attack them; anda little way farther they espied three more coming after them, andfive more beyond them, all coming the same way; besides which, theysaw seven or eight more at a distance, running another way; for ina word, they ran every way, like sportsmen beating for