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 he came to our men, and the ceremony of their meeting was over, the
king, turning round, showed them, that he had brought them stores of
provisions; and indeed, so he had; for he had at least fifty men
attending him, loaden with roots, and oranges, and maize, and such
things; in short, he brought them above twenty thousand oranges; a great
parcel of that fruit like a fig, which I mentioned above, and other
fruits. After which another party followed, and brought twenty live
deer, and as many of their rabbits, dead; the latter are as big as our
hares.
As they came up, the king made signs to our men to take them; and our
officer making signs to thank his majesty, he ordered one of the queen's
attendants to give him one of the feathered robes, such an one as the
king himself had on; and made mighty fine with lumps and tassels of
gold, as the other. And a tawny lass advancing to him offered to put it
over his head, but he took it in his hand and put it on himself, and
looked as like a jack pudding in it, as any one could desire; for it
made no figure at all upon him, compared to what it did upon the
Indians.
When they had received all this, they could not but make a suitable
return; and therefore our officer caused his reserve to be brought out;
and first he gave his majesty a dozen of very handsome drinking-glasses
of several sizes; with half a dozen of glass beakers, or cups, to the
queen, for the same use. Then he gave the king a little hanger, and a
belt to wear it by his side; and showed him how to buckle it on and take
it off, and how to draw it out, and put it in again.
This was such a present, and the king was so delighted with it, that
our officer said he believed the king did nothing but draw it and put it
up again, put it on and pull it off, for near two hours together.
Besides this he gave the king three hatchets, and showed him the uses of
them; also two large hammers, and a pair of very strong large shears,
particularly showing him, that with those hammers they might beat out
the gold lumps which they found in the rivers, and with the shears might
cut the edges round, or into what shape they pleased, when they were
beaten thin.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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