board, I spoke to the boatswain, who had so early given me
hints of his friendship in carrying my letter. I told him he had
befriended me in many things, and I had not made any suitable
return to him, and with that I put a guinea into his hand. I told
him that my husband was now come on board; that though
we were both under the present misfortune, yet we had been
persons of a different character from the wretched crew that
we came with, and desired to know of him, whether the captain
might not be moved to admit us to some conveniences in the
ship, for which we would make him what satisfaction he
pleased, and that we would gratify him for his pains in procuring
this for us. He took the guinea, as I could see, with great
satisfaction, and assured me of his assistance.
Then he told us he did not doubt but that the captain, who was
one of the best-humoured gentlemen in the world, would be
easily brought to accommodate us as well as we could desire,
and, to make me easy, told me he would go up the next tide
on purpose to speak to the captain about it. The next morning,
happening to sleep a little longer than ordinary, when I got up,
and began to look abroad, I saw the boatswain among the men
in his ordinary business. I was a little melancholy at seeing
him there, and going forward to speak to him, he saw me, and
came towards me, but not giving him time to speak first, I said,
smiling, ‘I doubt, sir, you have forgot us, for I see you are very
busy.’ He returned presently, ‘Come along with me, and you
shall see.’ So he took me into the great cabin, and there sat
a good sort of a gentlemanly man for a seaman, writing, and
with a great many papers before him.
‘Here,’ says the boatswain to him that was a-writing, ‘is the
gentlewoman that the captain spoke to you of’; and turning to
me, he said, ‘I have been so far from forgetting your business,
that I have been up at the captain’s house, and have represented
faithfully to the captain what you said, relating to you being
furnished with better conveniences for yourself and your
husband; and the captain has sent this gentleman, who is made
of the ship, down with me, on purpose to show you everything,
and to accommodate you fully to your content, and bid me
assure you that you shall not be treated like what you were at
first expected to be, but with the same respect as other passengers
are treated.’
The mate then spoke to me, and, not giving me time to thank
the boatswain for his kindness, confirmed what the boatswain
had said, and added that it was the captain’s delight to show
himself kind and charitable, especially to those that were
under any misfortunes, and with that he showed me several
cabins built up, some in the great cabin, and some partitioned
off, out of the steerage, but opening into the great cabin on
purpose for the accommodation of passengers, and gave me
leave to choose where I would. However, I chose a cabin
which opened into the steerage, in which was very good
conveniences to set our chest and boxes, and a table to eat on.
The mate then told me that the boatswain had given so good
a character of me and my husband, as to our civil behaviour,
that he had orders to tell me we should eat with him, if we
thought fit, during the whole voyage, on the common terms
of passengers; that we might lay in some fresh provisions, if
we pleased; or if not, he should lay in his usual store, and we
should have share with him. This was very reviving news to
me, after so many hardships and afflictions as I had gone
through of late. I thanked him, and told him the captain should
make his own terms with us, and asked him leave to go and
tell my husband of it, who was not very well, and was not yet