I was not much concerned at the disaster, though I saw my master, after
having been wounded by a splinter in the head during the engagement,
very barbarously used by the Turks; I say, I was not much concerned,
till, upon some unlucky thing I said, which, as I remember, was about
abusing my master, they took me and beat me most unmercifully with a
flat stick on the soles of my feet, so that I could neither go or stand
for several days together.
But my good fortune was my friend upon this occasion; for, as they were
sailing away with our ship in tow as a prize, steering for the Straits,
and in sight of the bay of Cadiz, the Turkish rover was attacked by two
great Portuguese men-of-war, and taken and carried into Lisbon.
As I was not much concerned at my captivity, not indeed understanding
the consequences of it, if it had continued, so I was not suitably
sensible of my deliverance; nor, indeed, was it so much a deliverance
to me as it would otherwise have been, for my master, who was the only
friend I had in the world, died at Lisbon of his wounds; and I being
then almost reduced to my primitive state, viz., of starving, had this
addition to it, that it was in a foreign country too, where I knew
nobody and could not speak a word of their language. However, I fared
better here than I had reason to expect; for when all the rest of our
men had their liberty to go where they would, I, that knew not whither
to go, stayed in the ship for several days, till at length one of the
lieutenants seeing me, inquired what that young English dog did there,
and why they did not turn him on shore.
I heard him, and partly understood what he meant, though not what he
said, and began then to be in a terrible fright; for I knew not where to
get a bit of bread; when the pilot of the ship, an old seaman, seeing me
look very dull, came to me, and speaking broken English to me, told me
I must be gone. "Whither must I go?" said I. "Where you will," said he,
"home to your own country, if you will." "How must I go thither?" said
I. "Why, have you no friend?" said he. "No," said I, "not in the world,
but that dog," pointing to the ship's dog (who, having stolen a piece
of meat just before, had brought it close by me, and I had taken it
from him, and ate it), "for he has been a good friend, and brought me my
dinner."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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