Upon this he pulls out an old pouch, and gives me two hundred Portugal moidores in gold, and giving me the writings of his title to the ship which his son was gone to the Brazils in, of which he was a quarter-part owner, and his son another, he puts them both in my hands for security of the rest.
I was too much moved with the honesty and kindness of the poor man to be able to bear this, and remembering what he had done for me, how he had taken me up at sea, and how generously he had used me on all occasions, and particularly how sincere a friend he was now to me, I could hardly refrain weeping at what he said to me; therefore, first I asked him if his circumstances admitted him to spare so much money at that time, and if it would not straiten him. He told me he could not say, but it might straiten him a little, but, however, it was my money, and I might want it more than he.
Everything the good man said was full of affection, and I could hardly refrain from tears while he spoke. In short, I took one hundred of the moidores, and called for a pen and ink to give him a receipt for them; then I returned him the rest, and told him if ever I had possession of the plantation, I would return the other to him also, as indeed I afterwards did; and that as to the bill of sale of his part in his son’s ship, I would not take it by any means; but that if I wanted the money, I found he was honest enough to pay me; and if I did not, but came to receive what he gave me reason to expect, I would never have a penny more from him.
When this was passed, the old man began to ask me if he should put me in a method to make my claim to my plantation. I told him I thought to go over to it myself. He said I might do so if I pleased, but that, if I did not, there were ways enough to secure my right, and immediately to appropriate the profits to my use; and as there were ships in the river of Lisbon just ready to go to Brazil, he made me enter my name in a public register with his affidavit, affirming upon oath that I was alive, and that I was the same person who took up the land for the planting the said plantation at first.
This being regularly attested by a notary, and a procuration affixed, he directed me to send it, with a letter of his writing, to a merchant of his acquaintance at the place, and then proposed my staying with him till an account came of the return.
Never anything was more honourable than the proceedings upon this procuration; for in less than seven months I received a large packet from the survivors of my trustees, the merchants, on whose account I went to sea, in which were the following particular letters and papers enclosed.
First: There was the account current of the produce of my farm or plantation from the year when their fathers had balanced with my old Portugal captain, being for six years; the balance appeared to be 1,174 moidores in my favour.
Secondly: There was the account of four years more while they kept the effects in their hands, before the government claimed the administration, as being the effects of a person not to be found, which they call “civil death;” and the balance of this, the value of the plantation increasing, amounted to 19,446 crusadoes, which made 3,241 moidores.
Thirdly: There was the Prior of the Augustines’ account, who had received the profits for above fourteen years; but not being able to account for what was disposed to the hospital, very honestly declared he had 872 moidores not distributed, which he acknowledged in my account. As to the king’s part, that refunded nothing.
There was also a letter of my partner’s, congratulating me very affectionately upon my being alive; giving me an account how the estate was improved, and what it produced a year, with a particular of the number of squares, or acres, that it contained; how planted, how many staves there were upon it; and, making two-and-twenty crosses for blessings, told me he had said so many Ave Marias to thank the blessed Virgin that I was alive; inviting me very passionately to come over and take possession of my own, and in the meantime to give him orders to whom he should deliver my effects if I did not come myself; concluding with an hearty tender of his friendship and that of his family; and sent me as a present, seven fine leopards’ skins, which he had, it seems, received from Africa by some other ship which he had sent thither, and who, it seems, had made a better voyage than I. He sent me also five chests of excellent sweetmeats, and an hundred pieces of gold uncoined, not quite so large as moidores.