The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 3Whymper, Frederick
History
The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 3
Whymper, Frederick
Adventure and adventurers; Arctic regions; Ocean; Voyages around the world
agreement and harmony among themselves; that in throwing off the yoke of
tyranny, of which the action spoke abhorrence, he hoped none would follow
the example of tyrants, and turn his back upon justice; for when equity
was trodden under foot, misery, confusion, and distrust naturally
followed. He also advised them to remember that there was a Supreme Being,
the adoration of whom reason and gratitude prompted us to, and our own
interest would engage us ... to conciliate; that he was satisfied that men
born and bred in slavery, by which their spirits were broken and made
incapable of so generous a way of thinking; who, ignorant of their
birthright, and the sweets of liberty, dance to the music of their
chains—which was, indeed, the greater part of the inhabitants of the
globe—would brand this generous crew with the invidious name of pirates,
and think it meritorious to be instrumental in their destruction.
Self-preservation, therefore, and not a cruel disposition, obliged him to
declare war against all such as should refuse the entry of their ports,
and against all who should not immediately surrender and give up what
their necessities required; but in a more particular manner against all
European ships and vessels as concluded implacable enemies. And I do now,”
said he, “declare such war, and at the same time recommend to you, my
comrades, a humane and generous disposition towards your prisoners, which
will appear by so much more the effects of a noble soul, as we are
satisfied we should not meet the same treatment should our ill-fortune, or
more properly our disunion, or want of courage, give us up to their
mercy.”
And strangest of all to tell, the pirate kept very closely to his creed.
If he took a small vessel, he would often let it go, after taking from the
crew their ammunition, or some comparatively trifling matters; he was
generous with his prisoners, and always spared life, except in open
fighting. Compared with some of the pirates whose lives have been recorded
in these pages he was an angel of light. Perhaps nothing will better
exemplify this than his conduct after taking a large Dutch ship, the
_Nieuwstadt_, which had on board seventeen slaves and some gold-dust. He
ordered them to be clothed, and told his men that trading in those of our
own species could never be right. He ordered them to be divided among the
messes, that they might sooner learn the French language. The Dutch
prisoners soon developed their latent tendencies for hard swearing and
drinking; and Misson found that his own men were becoming demoralised. He
addressed them all on board, and gave them a most serious lecture on the
sin of swearing.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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