ould carry him
away from all his friends, and put him perhaps in as bad circumstance,
almost, as we found them in; that is to say, starving in the world. He
said it mattered not whither he went, if he was but delivered from the
terrible crew that he was among: that the captain (by which he meant me,
for he could know nothing of my nephew) had saved his life, and he was
sure would not hurt him; and as for the maid, he was sure, if she came
to herself, she would he very thankful for it, let us carry them whither
we would. The surgeon represented the case so affectionately to me, that
I yielded, and we took them both on board with all their goods, except
eleven hogsheads of sugar, which could not be removed, or come at; and
as the youth had a bill of lading for them, I made his commander sign a
writing, obliging him to go, as soon as he came to Bristol, to one Mr.
Rogers, a merchant there, to whom the youth said he was related, and to
deliver a letter which I wrote to him, and all the goods he had
belonging to the deceased widow; which I suppose was not done; for I
could never learn that the ship came to Bristol; but was, as is most
probable, lost at sea, being in so disabled a condition, and so far from
any land, that I am of opinion, the first storm she met with afterwards
she might founder in the sea; for she was leaky, and had damage in her
hold when I met with her.

I was now in the latitude of 19 deg. 32 min. and had hitherto had a
tolerable voyage as to weather, though at first the winds had been
contrary. I shall trouble nobody with the little incidents of wind,
weather, currents, &c. on the rest of our voyage; but, shortening my
story for the sake of what is to follow, shall observe, that I came to
my old habitation, the island, on the 10th of April, 1695. It was with
no small difficulty that I found the place; for as I came to it, and
went from it before, on the south and east side of the island, as coming
from the Brasils; so now coming in between the main and the island, and
having no chart for the coast, nor any land-mark, I did not know it when
I saw it, or know whether I saw it or no.

We beat about a great while, and went on shore on several islands in the
mouth of the great river Oroonoque, but none for my purpose: only this I
learnt by my coasting the shore, that I was under one great mistake
before, viz. that the continent which I thought I saw from the island I
lived in, was really no continent, but a