some of my
relations whom I corresponded with, and who, I believe, got my father,
or at least my mother, to contribute so much as that to my first
adventure.

This was the only voyage which I may say I was successful in all my
adventures, and which I owe to the integrity and honesty of my friend
the captain; under whom also I got a competent knowledge of the
mathematics and the rules of navigation, learnt how to keep an account
of the ship's course, take an observation, and, in short, to understand
some things that were needful to be understood by a sailor: for, as he
took delight to instruct me, I took delight to learn; and, in a word,
this voyage made me both a sailor and a merchant: for I brought home
five pounds nine ounces of gold-dust for my adventure, which yielded me
in London at my return almost L300, and this filled me with those
aspiring thoughts which have so completed my ruin.

Yet even in this voyage I had my misfortunes too; particularly, that I
was continually sick, being thrown into a violent calenture by the
excessive heat of the climate; our principal trading being upon the
coast, from the latitude of 15 degrees north even to the line itself.

I was now set up for a Guinea trader; and my friend, to my great
misfortune, dying soon after his arrival, I resolved to go the same
voyage again, and I embarked in the same vessel with one who was his
mate in his former voyage, and had now got the command of the ship. This
was the unhappiest voyage that ever man made; for though I did not carry
quite L100 of my new-gained wealth, so that I had L200 left, and which I
lodged with my friend's widow, who was very just to me, yet I fell into
terrible misfortunes in this voyage; and the first was this, viz. our
ship making her course towards the Canary Islands, or rather between
those islands and the African shore, was surprised in the grey of the
morning by a Turkish rover, of Sallee, who gave chase to us with all the
sail she could make. We crowded also as much canvass as our yards would
spread, or our masts carry to have got clear; but finding the pirate
gained upon us, and would certainly come up with us in a few hours, we
prepared to fight; our ship having twelve guns, and the rover eighteen.
About three in the afternoon he came up with us, and bringing to, by
mistake, just athwart our quarter, instead of athwart our stern, as he
intended, we brought eight of our guns to bear on that side, and poured
in a bro