Devonshire Characters and Strange EventsBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
History
Devonshire Characters and Strange Events
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Devon (England) -- Biography; Devon (England) -- History
Avery was afraid to dispose of his diamonds in Ireland, lest inquiry
should be made as to how he had come by them. He therefore crossed
over to England, to Bideford; and knowing of a man in Bristol who was
an old acquaintance, and whom he thought he could trust, he sent to
appoint a meeting in Bideford. The man came, and after consultation the
friend advised that the jewels should be entrusted to certain Bristol
merchants, who being men of wealth and credit, no suspicion would be
aroused if they disposed of them. No better plan could be devised,
Avery consented, the merchants were communicated with and came to
Bideford, where they received the diamonds, undertook to sell them and
remit the money to Avery, reserving to themselves a commission; and to
this he consented. He now changed his name and took up his residence
at Bideford, attracting no notice, but communicating with some of his
relations. After a while his money was spent, and not a word reached
him from the merchants. He wrote to them, and they sent him a supply of
money--not much, doled out from time to time. At last he could endure
this no longer, and went to Bristol to see the merchants, who coolly
told him that if he troubled them any further they would disclose to
the authorities who he was; “so that our merchants were as good pirates
on land as he was at sea.”
Whether alarmed at their threats, or that he fancied he had been seen
and recognized by some old comrades in Bristol, is not known; but he
crossed into Ireland, where he remained till destitute. Then in despair
he worked his way over before the mast in a trading vessel to Plymouth,
and thence made his way on foot to Bideford, where a few days later he
fell ill and died without so much money in his pocket as would buy him
a coffin.
In the meantime, the companions in the _Duchess_ and the two sloops
when deserted by Avery, finding that they were running short of
provisions, made their way to Madagascar. On their course they fell in
with a privateer sloop, commanded by Captain Tew, who had just captured
a large vessel bound from India to Arabia, with three hundred soldiers
on board besides seamen. By this prize his men shared £3000 apiece. Tew
and the crew of the _Duchess_ and the sloops agreed together to form
a settlement in Madagascar. According to (_b_) the pirates established
themselves on the east coast, lat. 15° 30′, where there was a bay and
an island before it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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