An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon in the East Indies: Together with an Account of the Detaining in Captivity the Author and Divers other Englishmen Now Living There, and of the Author's Miraculous EscapeKnox, Robert
History
An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon in the East Indies: Together with an Account of the Detaining in Captivity the Author and Divers other Englishmen Now Living There, and of the Author's Miraculous Escape
Knox, Robert
Sri Lanka -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800; Sri Lanka -- Social life and customs
[He returns to speak of himself. Plots and Consults about an Escape.] I
will now turn to the Progress of my own Story. It was now about the
year MDCLXXII. I related before, that my family was reduced to two,
my self and one honest man more, we lived solitarily and contentedly
being well setled in a good House of my own. Now we fell to breeding
up Goats: we began with two, but by the blessing of God they soon came
to a good many; and their Flesh served us instead of Mutton. We kept
Hens and Hogs also: And seeing no sudden likelihood of Liberty, we
went about to make all things handsome and convenient about us: which
might be serviceable to us, while we lived there, and might farther
our Liberty whensoever we should see an occasion to attempt it: which
it did, in taking away all suspition from the People concerning us:
who not having Wives as the others had, they might well think, lay the
readier to take any advantage to make an escape. Which indeed we two
did Plot and Consult about, between our selves with all imaginable
Privacy, long before we go away: and therefore we laboured by all
means to hide our designs; and to free them from so much as suspition.
[A description of his House.] We had now brought our House and Ground
to such a perfection that few Noble mens Seats in the Land did excel
us. On each side was a great Thorn Gate for entrance, which is the
manner in that Countrey: the Gates of the City are of the same. We
built also another House in the Yard all open for Air, for our selves
to sit in, or any Neighbours that came to talk with us. For seldome
should we be alone, our Neighbours oftner frequenting our House than
we desired; out of whom to be sure we could pick no Profit. For
their coming is always either to beg or borrow. For altho we were
Strangers and Prisoners in their Land, yet they would confess that
Almighty God had dealt far more bountifully with us than with them,
in that we had a far greater plenty of all things than they.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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