Narrative of the Life and Travels of Serjeant B——Butler, Robert
History
Narrative of the Life and Travels of Serjeant B——
Butler, Robert
Butler, Robert, 1784- -- Travel -- India; India -- Description and travel
Deliver me, O my God, out of the
hand of the wicked; out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man:
for thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth. O
Lord, be thou our hiding place; thou alone can preserve us from
trouble;" and, in thy good time, O our God, do thou "compass us about
with songs of deliverance."
We therefore lay down and slept quietly, because "the Lord made us to
dwell in safety," even in the midst of danger. But after my first
sleep, which was sweet, as my manner was, I arose to put the children
to rights; and the first thing I laid my hand on, upon the top of my
chest, was a razor fixed into a piece of wood, with a ring of lead
round the handle; but my astonishment and terror were much increased,
when I next found Mr. H., the man who had used the threatening
language, lying upon the deck beside the chest, fast asleep. You may
be sure I was not a little surprised to find matters in this state;
for although I did suspect, and had great reason to suspect, that he
intended us mischief, yet I partly persuaded myself, that after he had
worn himself out with cursings, and threatenings of slaughter and
vengeance, he would have become quiet, and forgotten us; but I now saw
it to be otherwise: for here was a tolerably clear proof that he
intended to carry his threats into execution against us when asleep;
"but he that was for us, was stronger than all that were against us."
Blessed be God, who delivered us from this "bloody and deceitful man."
I thought it would be the best way to make no noise about it; and
therefore threw the razor overboard, without even telling my wife the
circumstance at the time, and returned again to my hammock, until
gun-fire. But, as a proof that my suspicions were well-founded, I must
notice, that this razor never was inquired after. Had it belonged to
any other of the men, there is little doubt but that they would have
made a noise about it: and I would farther remark, that this man's
conduct towards us was henceforth very different from what it had
formerly been, being much more friendly during the time we remained in
the ship.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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