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第1章 尘埃落定

　　I immediately found out the supercargo, and told him the story,adding that I foresaw there would be a mutiny in the ship; andentreated him to go immediately on board and acquaint the captainof it. But I might have spared this intelligence, for before I hadspoken to him on shore the matter was effected on board. Theboatswain, the gunner, the carpenter, and all the inferiorofficers, as soon as I was gone off in the boat, came up, anddesired to speak with the captain; and then the boatswain, making along harangue, and repeating all he had said to me, told thecaptain that as I was now gone peaceably on shore, they were loathto use any violence with me, which, if I had not gone on shore,they would otherwise have done, to oblige me to have gone. Theytherefore thought fit to tell him that as they shipped themselvesto serve in the ship under his command, they would perform it welland faithfully; but if I would not quit the ship, or the captainoblige me to quit it, they would all leave the ship, and sail nofurthe

t all.

　　But Providence took more care to keep them asunder than theythemselves could do to meet; for, as if they had dogged oneanother, when the three were gone thither, the two were here; andafterwards, when the two went back to find them, the three werecome to the old habitation again: we shall see their differentconduct presently. When the three came back like furiouscreatures, flushed with the rage which the work they had been abouthad put them into, they came up to the Spaniards, and told themwhat they had done, by way of scoff and bravado; and one of themstepping up to one of the Spaniards, as if they had been a coupleof boys at play, takes hold of his hat as it was upon his head, andgiving it a twirl about, fleering in his face, says to him, "Andyou, Seignior Jack Spaniard, shall have the same sauce if you donot mend your manners." The Spaniard, who, though a quiet civilman, was as brave a man as could be, and withal a strong, well-mademan, looked at him for a good while, and then, having no weapon inhis

intelligence from the spirits unembodied,and inhabiting the invisible world; and this friendly notice isgiven for our advantage, if we knew how to make use of it. Come,let us go and look abroad; and if we find nothing at all in it tojustify the trouble, I'll tell you a story to the purpose, thatshall convince you of the justice of my proposing it."

　　As this is one of the singularities of China, so they may beallowed to excel in it; but I am very sure they excel in theiraccounts of it; for they told me such incredible things of theirperformance in crockery-ware, for such it is, that I care not torelate, as knowing it could not be true. They told me, inparticular, of one workman that made a ship with all its tackle andmasts and sails in earthenware, big enough to carry fifty men. Ifthey had told me he launched it, and made a voyage to Japan in it,I might have said something to it indeed; but as it was, I knew thewhole of the story, which was, in short, that the fellow lied: soI smiled, and said nothing to it. This odd sight kept me two hoursbehind the caravan, for which the leader of it for the day fined meabout the value of three shillings; and told me if it had beenthree days' journey without the wall, as it was three days' within,he must have fined me four times as much, and made me ask pardonthe next council-day. I promised to be more orderly; a

　　Leaving the poor wretch to please himself with our looking at him,as if we admired his idle pomp, we pursued our journey. FatherSimon had the curiosity to stay to inform himself what dainties thecountry justice had to feed on in all his state, which he had thehonour to taste of, and which was, I think, a mess of boiled rice,with a great piece of garlic in it, and a little bag filled withgreen pepper, and another plant which they have there, somethinglike our ginger, but smelling like musk, and tasting like mustard;all this was put together, and a small piece of lean mutton boiledin it, and this was his worship's repast. Four or five servantsmore attended at a distance, who we supposed were to eat of thesame after their master. As for our mandarin with whom wetravelled, he was respected as a king, surrounded always with hisgentlemen, and attended in all his appearances with such pomp, thatI saw little of him but at a distance. I observed that there wasnot a horse in his retinue but that our carrier's pac

　　I was then curious, indeed, to see it; and when I came to it, itwas nothing but this: it was a timber house, or a house built, aswe call it in England, with lath and plaster, but all thisplastering was really China ware - that is to say, it was plasteredwith the earth that makes China ware. The outside, which the sunshone hot upon, was glazed, and looked very well, perfectly white,and painted with blue figures, as the large China ware in Englandis painted, and hard as if it had been burnt. As to the inside,all the walls, instead of wainscot, were lined with hardened andpainted tiles, like the little square tiles we call galley-tiles inEngland, all made of the finest china, and the figures exceedingfine indeed, with extraordinary variety of colours, mixed withgold, many tiles making but one figure, but joined so artificially,the mortar being made of the same earth, that it was very hard tosee where the tiles met. The floors of the rooms were of the samecomposition, and as hard as the earthen floors we ha

　　In its turn natural courage would sometimes take its place, andthen I would be talking myself up to vigorous resolutions; that Iwould not be taken to be barbarously used by a parcel of mercilesswretches in cold blood; that it were much better to have falleninto the hands of the savages, though I were sure they would feastupon me when they had taken me, than those who would perhaps gluttheir rage upon me by inhuman tortures and barbarities; that in thecase of the savages, I always resolved to die fighting to the lastgasp, and why should I not do so now? Whenever these thoughtsprevailed, I was sure to put myself into a kind of fever with theagitation of a supposed fight; my blood would boil, and my eyessparkle, as if I was engaged, and I always resolved to take noquarter at their hands; but even at last, if I could resist nolonger, I would blow up the ship and all that was in her, and leavethem but little booty to boast of.

always the same climate in all the rooms, and an equal heat waspreserved, and yet we saw no fire, nor were ever incommoded withsmoke.