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
This ceremony being over, our men made signs to them that they wanted
victuals to eat, and something to drink: and pulled out several things,
to let the people see they would give something for what they might
bring them.
The king understood them presently, and turning to some of his men he
talked awhile to them; and our men observed, that while he spoke they
seemed to be terrified, as if he had been threatening them with death.
However, as soon as he had done, three of them went away, and our men
supposed they went to fetch something that the king would give them;
upon which, that they might be beforehand with them, our men presented
his majesty with two pair of bracelets of fine glass beads of several
colours, and put them upon his arms, which he took most kindly; and then
they gave him a knife, with a good plain ivory handle, and some other
odd things. Upon receiving these _noble_ presents, he sends away another
of his men, and a little after two more.
Our men observed that two of the men went a great way off toward the
hill, but the other man that he sent away first went to his queen, who,
with her retinue of tawny ladies, stood but a little way off, and soon
after her majesty came with four women only attending her.
The officer who commanded our men, finding he should have another kind
of compliment to pay the ladies, retired a little; and, being an
ingenious handy sort of a man, in less than half-an-hour, he and another
of his men made a nice garland, or rather a coronet, of sundry strings
of beads, and with glass bobs and pendants, all hanging about it, most
wonderful gay; and when the queen was come, he went up to the king, and
showing it to him, made signs that he would give it to the queen.
The king took it, and was so pleased with the present, that truly he
desired our officer to put it upon his own head, which he did; but, when
he had got it so placed, he let our men see he was king over his wife,
as well as over the rest of the country, and that he would wear it
himself.
Our men then pulled out a little pocket looking-glass, and, holding it
up, let his majesty see his own face, which we might reasonably suppose
he had never seen before, especially with a crown on his head too.
Before he saw his own face in the glass he was grave and majestic, and
carried it something like a king; but he was so delighted with the
novelty that he was quite beside himself, and jumped and capered and
danced about like a madman.
All this while our men saw nothing coming, but that all was given on
their side; whereupon they made signs again, that they wanted
provisions.
The king then made signs, pointing to a hill a good way off, as if it
would come from thence very quickly; and then looked to see if his
people were coming, as if he was impatient till they came, as well as
our men.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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