Idonia: A Romance of Old LondonWallis, Arthur Frederick
History
Idonia: A Romance of Old London
Wallis, Arthur Frederick
Great Britain -- History -- Elizabeth, 1558-1603 -- Fiction; London (England) -- Fiction
But when he saw who it was approached, my newly purchased friend left
kissing me, and did obeisance to his king, very reverently saluting him
with his hands raised to his forehead; and the king in his turn bade
him, as well as he could for lack of breath, be at peace. Which done,
a long debate ensued among the three of them wherein my gratuity was
displayed and commented upon, with a great show of delight by the Moor,
with astonishment by the king, and with an uncontrolled disappointment
by the Moor that had gone to bring him. By the greedy looks with which
he, and soon the king too, regarded this chiefest feature of the case,
I understood that my acquittal was likely to depend upon the nature of
the evidence (that is the amount of the bribe) I could bring in, to
satisfy my second accuser, and after him the Judge. But satisfy them
in this kind I could not, for as I have said, I had imprudently parted
with my entire wealth to my first accuser, who, as I am assured, would
have been perfectly content with half a groat. The fat king, without
the least disguise, but pointing to my unlucky crown-pieces, told off
upon his fingers the rate at which I might obtain my discharge, while
the ferryman, whom anger seemed to have robbed of speech, convulsively
gripped at the haft of a very dangerous long knife he had, as if to
demonstrate the province of effective law.
What course I might have followed herein I am not careful to imagine;
enough that it was decided for me by one of the ship's company of the
_Adventure_, who, observing us, came over a little way to see what
should be the occasion of this argument. To him then, without delay, I
dispatched my Moorish friend I had suborned, praying the mariner to
hasten to my assistance. And no sooner did he see the English pieces
in the fellow's hand than he understood it was a countryman of his in
peril, and so called together the rest of his crew, or at least such as
were within hail. A little after, therefore, I was set free, the whole
company coming about me, and thrusting away the poor fat king, that
they told me was but a petty chieftain, of no authority at all, except
that he took the half of the harbour dues; which being a mere pittance,
however, he was fain to eke out the stipend with the selling of sweet
oil and justice, as either was called for.
But when they heard I was employed by the Turkey Company, as they were,
and moreover was acquainted with Sir Edward Osborne, whom every one
greatly honoured, there was no end to their protestations of
friendship; and in especial the master of that voyage, one Captain
Tuchet, offered to carry me with him to England; albeit he must first,
he said, finish his trading in these waters, as he had engaged to do.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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