As soon as Friday told me he saw people, I caused the English ancient to
be spread, and fired three guns, to give them notice we were friends; and
in about a quarter of an hour after we perceived a smoke arise from the
side of the creek; so I immediately ordered the boat out, taking Friday
with me, and hanging out a white flag, I went directly on shore, taking
with me the young friar I mentioned, to whom I had told the story of my
living there, and the manner of it, and every particular both of myself
and those I left there, and who was on that account extremely desirous to
go with me. We had, besides, about sixteen men well armed, if we had
found any new guests there which we did not know of; but we had no need
of weapons.
As we went on shore upon the tide of flood, near high water, we rowed
directly into the creek; and the first man I fixed my eye upon was the
Spaniard whose life I had saved, and whom I knew by his face perfectly
well: as to his habit, I shall describe it afterwards. I ordered nobody
to go on shore at first but myself; but there was no keeping Friday in
the boat, for the affectionate creature had spied his father at a
distance, a good way off the Spaniards, where, indeed, I saw nothing of
him; and if they had not let him go ashore, he would have jumped into the
sea. He was no sooner on shore, but he flew away to his father like an
arrow out of a bow. It would have made any man shed tears, in spite of
the firmest resolution, to have seen the first transports of this poor
fellow's joy when he came to his father: how he embraced him, kissed him,
stroked his face, took him up in his arms, set him down upon a tree, and
lay down by him; then stood and looked at him, as any one would look at a
strange picture, for a quarter of an hour together; then lay down on the
ground, and stroked his legs, and kissed them, and then got up again and
stared at him; one would have thought the fellow bewitched. But it would
have made a dog laugh the next day to see how his passion ran out another
way: in the morning he walked along the shore with his father several
hours, always leading him by the hand, as if he had been a lady; and
every now and then he would come to the boat to fetch something or other
for him, either a lump of sugar, a dram, a biscuit, or something or other
that was good. In the afternoon his frolics ran another way; for then he
would set the old man down upon the ground, and dance about him, and make
a thousand antic gestures; and all the while he did this he would be
talking to him, and telling him one story or another of his travels, and
of what had happened to him abroad to divert him. In short, if the same
filial affection was to be found in Christians to their parents in our
part of the world, one would be tempted to say there would hardly have
been any need of the fifth commandment.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account