expedition: We should, however, I believe, have been an overmatch for their whole sea force, if all our people had been well. In the mean time I intended to have gone and anchored close to the town; but now the boat was absent, our united strength was not sufficient to weigh the anchor though a small one. After waiting five hours in the boat, the lieutenant was told that the governor had ordered two gentlemen to wait upon me with an answer to my letter. Soon after he had returned, and made this report, the two gentlemen came on board, and we afterwards learned that one of them was an ensign of the garrison, named Le Cerf, and the other Mr Douglas, a writer of the Dutch East In dia company: They delivered me the governor's letter, but it proved to be written in Dutch, a language which not á single person on board could understand: The two gentlemen who brought it, however, both spoke French, and one of them interpreted the contents to me in that language. The purport of it was, "that I should instantly depart from the port, without coming any nearer to the town; that I should not anchor on any part of the coast, or permit any of my people to land in any place that was under his jurisdiction." Before I made any reply to this letter, I shewed the gentlemen who brought it the number of my sick: At the sight of so many unhappy wretches, who were dying of languor and disease, they seemed to be much affected; and I then urged again the pressing necessity I was under of procuring refreshment, to which they had been witnesses, the cruelty and injustice of refusing to supply me, which was not only contrary to treaty, as we were in a king's ship, but to the laws of nature, as we were human beings: They seemed to admit the force of this reasoning, but they had a short and final answer ready, "that they had absolute and indispensable orders from their masters, not to suffer any ship, of whatever nation, to stay at this port, and that these orders they must implicitly obey." To this I replied, that persons in our situation had nothing worse to fear than what they suffered, and that therefore, if they did not immediately allow me the liberty of the port, to purchase refreshments, and procure shelter, I would, as soon as the wind would permit, in defiance of all their menaces, and all their force, go and anchor close to the town; that if at last I should find myself unable to compel them to comply with requisitions, the reasonableness of which could not be controverted,

VOL. XII.

X

troverted, I would run the ship a-ground under their walls, and, after selling our lives as dearly as we could, bring upon them the disgrace of having reduced a friend and ally to so dreadful an extremity. At this they seemed to be alarmed, as our situation alone was sufficient to convince them that I was in earnest, and urged me with great emotion to remain where I was, at least till I had heard again from the governor: To this, after some altercation, I consented, upon condition that I heard from the governor before the sea-breeze set in the next day.

We passed all the remainder of this day, and all the night, in a state of anxiety, not unmixed with indignation, that greatly aggravated our distress; and very early the next morning, we had the mortification to see a sloop that mounted eight carriage guns, and one of the vessels of the country, fitted out for war, with a great number of soldiers on board, come from the town, and anchor under each of our bows. I immediately sent my boat to speak with them, but they would make no reply to any thing that was said. About noon, the sea-breeze set in, and not having then heard again from the governor, I got under sail, and proceeded towards the town, according to my declaration, resolving, if the vessels that had anchored under our bows should oppose us, to repress force with force as far as we were able: These two vessels, however, happily both for us and for them, contented themselves with weighing anchor, and attending our motions.

Very soon after we had got under sail, a handsome vessel, with a band of music, and several gentlemen on board, made up to us, and told us that they were sent by the governor, but could not come on board if we did not drop our anchor again; our anchor therefore was immediately dropped, and the gentlemen came on board: They proved to be Mr Blydenbourg the fiscal, Mr Voll the shebander, an officer called the licence-master, or master of the port, and Mr Douglas the writer, who has been mentioned already. They expressed some surprise at my having got under sail, and asked me what I intended to have done; I told them that I intended neither more nor less than to fulfil the declarations I had made the day before; that, justified by the common rights of mankind, which were superior to every other law, I would, rather than have put again to sea, where our destruction, either by shipwreck, sickness, or famine, was in

evitable

evitable, have come up to their walls, and either have compelled them to furnish the necessaries we wanted, or have run the ship on shore, since it was better to perish at once in a just contest, than to suffer the lingering misery of anticipating the perdition that we could not avoid. I observed also, that no civilized people had ever suffered even the captives of war to perish for want of the necessaries of life, much less the subjects of an ally, who asked nothing but permission to purchase food with their money. They rea dily allowed the truth of all I had said, but seemed to think I had been too hasty: I then observed that I had waited the full time of my stipulation, and they in return made some excuse for their not having come sooner, telling me, that as a proof of their having admitted my claim, they had brought me such provisions as their country would afford. These were immediately taken on board, and consisted of two sheep, an elk ready killed, and a few fowls, with some vegetables and fruit. This most welcome supply was divided among the people; and that most salutary, and to us exquisite dainty, broth, made for the sick. Another letter from the governor was then produced, in which, to my great disappointment, I was again ordered to leave the port, and to justify the order, it was alleged, that to suffer a ship of any nation to stay and trade, either at this port, or any other part of the island, was contrary to the agreement which had been made by the East India Company with the native kings and governors of the country, who had already expressed some displeasure on our account; and for farther particulars I was referred to the gentlemen that brought the letter, whom the governor styled his commissaries. To these gentlemen I immediately observed, that no stipulation concerning trade could affect us, as we were a king's ship; at the same time I produced my commission, it not being possible to bring under the article of trade the selling us food and refreshments for our money, without the utmost violence to language and common sense. After this they made me several propositions, which I rejected, because my departure from this place, before the return of the season, was included in them all. I then recurred to my former declaration, and to enforce it, shewed them the corpse of a man who had died that morning, and whose life would probably have been saved, if they had afforded us refreshments when we first came to an anchor upon their coast.

coast. This put them to a stand, but, after a short pause, they enquired very particularly whether I had been among the spice islands; I answered them in the negative, and they appeared to be convinced that I spoke truth. After this, we came to a better understanding, and they told me, that though they could not, without disobedience to the most direct and positive orders of the Company, suffer us to remain here, yet that I was welcome to go to a little bay not far distant, where I should find effectual shelter from the bad monsoon, and might erect an hospital for my sick, assuring me at the same time that provision and refreshments were more plenty there than at Macassar, from whence, whatever else I wanted should be sent me, and offering me a good pilot to carry me to my station. To this I gladly consented, upon condition that what they had of fered should be confirmed to me by the governor and council of Macassar, that I might be considered as under the protection of the Dutch nation, and that no violence should be offered to my people: For all this they engaged their honour on behalf of the governor and council, promising me the assurance I had required on the next day, and requesting that in the mean time I would remain where I was. I then enquired why the two vessels which were at anchor under our bows were allotted to that station; and they told me, for no other reason than to prevent the people of the country from offering us any violence. When matters were thus far settled between us, I expressed my concern that, except a glass of wine, I could present thein with nothing better than bad salt meat, and bread full of weevils; upon which they very politely desired that I would permit their servants to bring in the victuals which had been dressing in their own vessel; I readily consented, and a very genteel dinner was soon served up, consisting of fish, flesh, vegetables, and fruit. It is with the greatest pleasure that I take this opportunity of acknowledging my obligations to these gentlemen for the politeness and humanity of their behaviour in their private capacity, and particularly to Mr Douglas, who, being qualified by his knowledge of the French language to interpret between us, undertook that of fice, with a courtesy and politeness which very much increased the value of the favour. After this we parted, and at their leaving the ship, I saluted them with nine guns. The next morning the shebander was sent to acquaint me,

that

that the governor and council had confirmed the engagement which had been made with me on their behalf. Every thing was now settled much to my satisfaction, except the procuring money for my bills upon the government of Great Britain, which the shebander said he would solicit. At eight o'clock in the evening, he came on board again, to let me know that there was not any person in the town who had money to remit to Europe, and that there was not a dollar in the Company's chest. I answered, that as I was not permitted to go on shore to negociate my bills myself, I hoped they would give me credit, offering him bills for any debt I should contract, or to pay it at Batavia. To this the shebander replied, that the resident at Bonthain, the place to which I was going, would receive orders to supply me with whatever I should want, and would be glad to take my bills in return, as he had money to remit, and was himself to go to Europe the next season. He told me also, that he had considerable property in England, being a denizen of that country; "and," said the shebander, "he has also money in my hands, with which I will purchase such things as you want from Macassar, and see that they are sent after you." Having specified what these articles were to be, and agreed with him for the quantity and the price, we parted.

The next day, in the afternoon, I received a letter, signed by the governor and council of Macassar, containing the reasons why I was sent to Bonthain, and confirming the verbal agreement which subsisted between us.

Soon after, the ensign M. le Cerf, the secretary of the council, and a pilot, came on board to attend us to Bonthain. Le Cerf was to command the soldiers who were on board the guard boats; and the secretary, as we afterwards discovered, was to be a check upon the resident whose name was Swellingrabel. This gentleman's father died second governor at the Cape of Good Hope, where he mar ried an English lady of the name of Fothergill. Mr Swellingrabel, the resident here, married the daughter of Cornelius Sinklaar, who had been governor of Macassar, and died some time ago in England, having come hither to see some of his mother's relations.

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