The History and Remarkable Life of the Truly Honourable Colonel Jacque, Commonly Called Colonel JackDefoe, Daniel
General
The History and Remarkable Life of the Truly Honourable Colonel Jacque, Commonly Called Colonel Jack
Defoe, Daniel
Adventure stories, English; England -- Social life and customs -- 18th century -- Fiction; Picaresque fiction
Poor men!” adds he, “you are all be trayed. Why, you are
going to Virginia, and the ship is bound to Virginia.”
The Englishman falls a-storming and raving like a madman, and we
gathering round him, let any man guess, if they can, what was our
surprise and how we were confounded when we were told how it was. In
short, we drew our swords and began to lay about us, and made such a
noise and hurry in the ship that at last the seamen were obliged to
call out for help. The captain commanded us to be disarmed in the first
place, which was not, however, done without giving and receiving some
wounds, and afterwards he caused us to be brought to him into the great
cabin.
Here he talked very calmly to us, that he was really very sorry for
what had befallen us; that he perceived we had been trepanned, and that
the fellow who had brought us on board was a rogue that was employed by
a sort of wicked merchants not unlike himself; that he supposed he had
been represented to us as captain of the ship, and asked us if it was
not so. We told him yes, and gave him a large account of ourselves, and
how we came to the woman’s house to inquire for some master of a
collier to get a passage to London, and that this man engaged to carry
us to London in his own ship, and the like, as is related above.
He told us he was very sorry for it, and he had no hand in it; but it
was out of his power to help us, and let us know very plainly what our
condition was; namely, that we were put on board his ship as servants
to be delivered at Maryland to such a man, whom he named to us; but
that, however, if we would be quiet and orderly in the ship, he would
use us well in the passage, and take care we should be used well when
we came there, and that he would do anything for us that lay in his
power; but if we were unruly and refractory, we could not expect but he
must take such measures as to oblige us to be satisfied; and that, in
short, we must be handcuffed, carried down between the decks and kept
as prisoners, for it was his business to take care that no disturbance
must be in the ship.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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