United States or Bouvet Island ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
He came back soon after & told me they were building a House & that there was a shipp; wherupon I approached as neere as I could without being discover'd, & set myself with my men as it were in ambush, to surprize some of thos that were there & to make them prisoners to know what or who they might bee.
And beeing now come to the foot of the hill and neere our fort, the Scepter bearer, with a composed countenance and stately carriage began a song, and answerable thereunto obserued a kind of measures in a dance: whom the king with his guard and euery other sort of person following, did in like manner sing and daunce, sauing onely the women, who danced but kept silence.
Notwithstanding the strength of this prison, it is kept with a garrison of men, part whereof watch within the house, part of them in the court, some keepe about the prison with lanterns and watch-bels answering one another fiue times euery night, and giuing warning so lowd, that the Loutea resting in a a chamber not neere thereunto, may heare them.
Besides, as in the monethes of Iune, Iuly, August and September, the heate is somewhat more then in England at those seasons: so men remaining vpon the South parts neere vnto Cape Race, vntill after Hollandtide, haue not found the cold so extreme, nor much differing from the temperature of England.
This towne is very great and stands vpon a hill among trees, so that it cannot well be seene except a man be neere it: to the Eastward of it vpon the hill hard by the towne stand 2. high trees, which is a good marke to knowe the towne.
And here the Sea is not past 8. leagues broad. The Isle of Raquelle is a very low Isle, which is neere vnto the South shore, hard by a high Cape which is called the Cape of Marble. There is no danger there at all. And betweene Raquelle and the Cape of Marble ships may passe.
I made them answere that this enterprise was not rashly to be attempted: But that wee ought to haue good regarde vnto the consequence that might insue thereof. And which was worse, fearing to be forced by vs and seeing that they had gotten all from vs, they came no neere to our Fort then the shot of an Harquebuze.
But comming neere to the said Straight, it pleased God to raise at that instant a very darke and mistie fogge, so that one ship could not discerne another, if it were 40. paces off: by meanes whereof; together with the notable faire Easterne winds that then blewe most fit for their course, they passed with great speed through the Straight, and might haue passed with that good gale, had there bene 500.
But all their contrivances & wit weare too weake to strive against our plotts which weare already invented to their deceipt that would deceave us. We lett them understand that the time drew neere that the french uses to trait their friends in feasting and meriment, and all should be welcome, having no greater ffriends then they weare.
The sixt day in the morning we manned our boates and the skiffe well, for feare of the Portugals which the last yeere had taken away a man from the other ships, and went on shoare, and landed, because they had no boates to come to vs, and so the young man which was with vs the night before was sent aboord, who seemed to haue dealt and bargained before with the Portugals for he could speake a litle Portuguise, and was perfect in weights and measures: at his comming be offered vs, as he had done before, one Angell, and twelue graines for four elles, and more he would not giue, and made signes, that if we would not take that, we should depart, which we did: but before we did indeede depart, I offered him of some rotten cloth three elles for his waight of an Angell and twelue graines, which he would not take, and then we departed making signes to him that we would go away, as indeede we would haue done, rather then haue giuen that measure, although the cloth was ill, seeing we were so neere to the places, which we iudged to be better for sale.
Word Of The Day