membrance, he had heard, that the king's third of my part, which was,
it seems, granted away to some other monastery, or religious house,
amounted to above two hundred moidores a year; that, as to my being
restored to a quiet possession of it, there was no question to be made
of that, my partner being alive to witness my title, and my name being
also enrolled in the register of the county. Also he told me, that the
survivors of my two trustees were very fair, honest people, and very
wealthy, and he believed I would not only have their assistance for
putting me in possession, but would find a very considerable sum of
money in their hands for my account, being the produce of the farm,
while their fathers held the trust, and before it was given up, as
above, which, as he remembered, was about twelve years.

I shewed myself a little concerned and uneasy at this account, and
inquired of the old captain, how it came to pass, that the trustees
should thus dispose of my effects, when he knew that I had made my will,
and had made him, the Portuguese captain, my universal heir, &c.

He told me that was true; but that, as there was no proof of my being
dead, he could not act as executor, until some certain account should
come of my death; and that, besides, he was not willing to intermeddle
with a thing so remote: that it was true, he had registered my will, and
put in his claim; and could he have given any account of my being dead
or alive, he would have acted by procuration, and taken possession of
the _ingenio_, (so they called the sugarhouse) and had given his son,
who was now at the Brasils, order to do it.

"But," says the old man, "I have one piece of news to tell you, which
perhaps may not be so acceptable to you as the rest; and that is, that
believing you were lost, and all the world believing so also, your
partner and trustees did offer to account to me in your name, for six or
eight of the first years of profit, which I received; but there being at
that time," says he, "great disbursements for increasing the works,
building an _ingenio_ and buying slaves, it did not amount to near so
much as afterwards it produced: however," says the old man, "I shall
give you a true account of what I have received in all, and how I have
disposed of it."

After a few days farther conference with this ancient friend, be brought
me an account of the six first years income of my plantation, signed by
my partner, and the merchants' trus