A New Voyage Round the World by a Course Never Sailed BeforeDefoe, Daniel
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A New Voyage Round the World by a Course Never Sailed Before
Defoe, Daniel
Adventure stories; Voyages around the world -- Fiction
When we had travelled about nine miles more in this winding frightful
narrow way, it began to grow towards night, and my patron talked of
taking up our quarters as we had before; but his gentleman put him in a
mind of a Chilian, one of their old servants, who lived in a turning
among the mountains, about half a mile out of our way, and where we
might be accommodated with a house, or place at least, for our cookery.
Very true, says our patron, we will go thither; and there, seignior,
says he, turning to me, you shall see an emblem of complete felicity,
even in the middle of this seat of horror; and you shall see a prince
greater, and more truly so, than King Philip, who is the greatest man in
the world.
Accordingly we went softly on, his gentleman having advanced before, and
in about half a mile we found a turning or opening on our left, where we
beheld a deep large valley, almost circular, and of about a mile
diameter, and abundance of houses or cottages interspersed all over it,
so that the whole valley looked like an inhabited village, and the
ground like a planted garden.
We who, as I said, had been for some miles ascending, were so high above
the valley, that it looked as the lowlands in England do below Box Hill
in Surrey; and I was going to ask how we should get down? but, as we
were come into a wider space than before, so we had more daylight; for
though the hollow way had rendered it near dusk before, now it was
almost clear day again.
Here we parted with the first Chilian that I mentioned, and I ordered
one of my midshipmen to give him a hat, and a piece of black baize,
enough to make him a cloak, which so obliged the man that he knew not
what way to testify his joy; but I knew what I was doing in this, and I
ordered my midshipman to do it that he might make his acquaintance with
him against another time, and it was not a gift ill bestowed, as will
appear in its place.
We were now obliged to quit our mules, who all took up their quarters at
the top of the hill, while we, by footings made in the rocks, descended,
as we might say, down a pair of stairs of half a mile long, but with
many plain places between, like foot-paces, for the ease of going and
coming.
Thus, winding and turning to avoid the declivity of the hill, we came
very safe to the bottom, where my patron's gentleman brought our new
landlord, that was to be, who came to pay his compliments to us.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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