I must leave the cat upon her voyage at sea and honest Whittington
on land, who by that cursed quean the kitchin maid was so beaten and
abused that he was as weary of his life as of his service: for she
(usurping upon his plainness and modesty) would be quarrelling with
him, upon every small or no occasion at all; sometimes beating him with
the broom, sometimes laying him over the shoulders with a laddle, the
spit or what came next to her hands, being of so dogged a disposition
that she still continued her cruelty towards him, and therefore he
resolved with himself to run away, and for that purpose he had bundled
up those few clothes which he had, and before day broke was got as far
as Bunhill, and then he sat down to consider with himself what course
he were best to take; where by chance (it being all-hallows day) a
merry peal from Bow Church began to ring, and as he apprehended they
were tun’d to this ditty,--
Turn again Whittington, Lord Mayor of London,
Turn again Whittington, Lord Mayor of London.
This took such a great impression in him, that finding how early it
was, and that he might yet come back in his masters house before any
of the family were stirring, he resolved to go back, and found every
thing according to his own wishes and desires, insomuch that when the
household were up none could challenge him to have been missing. And
thus he continued as before in his first plainness and honesty, well
beloved of all save the kitchin drudge; I come now to tell you what
became of his adventure.
It so hapned that this goodly ship Unicorn was by contrary gusts and
bad weather driven upon the utmost coast of Barbary, where never any
Englishman (or scarce any Christian) had ever traded before, where they
showed their commodities and offered them to be vended. The Moors came
down in multitudes, much taken with the beauty of their ship, for they
had never seen any of that bigness or burthen before, but when they
had taken a serious view of their commodities as hatchets, knives and
looking-glasses, fish-hooks, &c. but especially their cloth and kersies
of several sizes and colours, they brought them gold in abundance for
it was more plentiful with them then (_sic_) lead or copper with us.
Presently the news was carryed to the king who sent some of his chief
nobility to bring him some sorts of every commodity that was aboard,
which when he saw they pleased him highly, sending for the master and
merchants factor to court. He at their own rate bargained with them
for their whole lading, nor would he suffer them to depart till he had
feasted them royally.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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