member, and which not taking due care of, the leaves
rotted, and the words were never after to be read.

At length we arrived at Pekin. I had nobody with me but the youth whom
my nephew had given me to attend me as a servant and who proved very
trusty and diligent; and my partner had nobody with him but one servant,
who was a kinsman. As for the Portuguese pilot, he being desirous to see
the court, we bore his charges for his company, and for our use of him as
an interpreter, for he understood the language of the country, and spoke
good French and a little English. Indeed, this old man was most useful
to us everywhere; for we had not been above a week at Pekin, when he came
laughing. "Ah, Seignior Inglese," says he, "I have something to tell
will make your heart glad."--"My heart glad," says I; "what can that be?
I don't know anything in this country can either give me joy or grief to
any great degree."--"Yes, yes," said the old man, in broken English,
"make you glad, me sorry."--"Why," said I, "will it make you
sorry?"--"Because," said he, "you have brought me here twenty-five days'
journey, and will leave me to go back alone; and which way shall I get to
my port afterwards, without a ship, without a horse, without _pecune_?"
so he called money, being his broken Latin, of which he had abundance to
make us merry with. In short, he told us there was a great caravan of
Muscovite and Polish merchants in the city, preparing to set out on their
journey by land to Muscovy, within four or five weeks; and he was sure we
would take the opportunity to go with them, and leave him behind, to go
back alone.

I confess I was greatly surprised with this good news, and had scarce
power to speak to him for some time; but at last I said to him, "How do
you know this? are you sure it is true?"--"Yes," says he; "I met this
morning in the street an old acquaintance of mine, an Armenian, who is
among them. He came last from Astrakhan, and was designed to go to
Tonquin, where I formerly knew him, but has altered his mind, and is now
resolved to go with the caravan to Moscow, and so down the river Volga to
Astrakhan."--"Well, Seignior," says I, "do not be uneasy about being left
to go back alone; if this be a method for my return to England, it shall
be your fault if you go back to Macao at all." We then went to consult
together what was to be done; and I asked my partner what he thought of
the pilot's news, and whether it would suit wi