Not being able to put the old man out of his talk, of which he wasvery opinionated or conceited, I told him we were gentlemen as wellas merchants, and that we had a mind to go and see the great cityof Pekin, and the famous court of the monarch of China."Why,then," says the old man, "you should go to Ningpo, where, by theriver which runs into the sea there, you may go up within fiveleagues of the great canal.This canal is a navigable stream,which goes through the heart of that vast empire of China, crossesall the rivers, passes some considerable hills by the help ofsluices and gates, and goes up to the city of Pekin, being inlength near two hundred and seventy leagues." "Well," said I,"Seignior Portuguese, but that is not our business now the greatquestion is, if you can carry us up to the city of Nankin, fromwhence we can travel to Pekin afterwards?"He said he could do sovery well, and that there was a great Dutch ship gone up that wayjust before.This gave me a little shock, for a Dutch ship was nowour terror, and we had much rather have met the devil, at least ifhe had not come in too frightful a figure and we depended upon itthat a Dutch ship would be our destruction, for we were in nocondition to fight them all the ships they trade with into thoseparts being of great burden, and of much greater force than wewere. Our carpenter being prepared to grave the outside of the ship, aswell as to pay the seams where he had caulked her to stop theleaks, had got two kettles just let down into the boat, one filledwith boiling pitch, and the other with rosin, tallow, and oil, andsuch stuff as the shipwrights use for that work and the man thatattended the carpenter had a great iron ladle in his hand, withwhich he supplied the men that were at work with the hot stuff.Two of the enemy's men entered the boat just where this fellowstood in the foresheets he immediately saluted them with a ladlefull of the stuff, boiling hot which so burned and scalded them,being halfnaked that they roared out like bulls, and, enraged withthe fire, leaped both into the sea.The carpenter saw it, andcried out, "Well done, Jack" andstepping forward himself, takes one of the mops, and dipping it inthe pitchpot, he and his man threw it among them so plentifullythat, in short, of all the men in the three boats, there was notone that escaped being scalded in a most frightful manner, and madesuch a howling and crying that I never heard a worse noise.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |