Datasets:

Hellisotherpeople

/

one_syllable

like 0

I was born at York on the first of March in the sixth year of the reign

of King Charles the First. From the time when I was quite a young child,

I had felt a great wish to spend my life at sea, and as I grew, so did

this taste grow more and more strong; till at last I broke loose from

my school and home, and found my way on foot to Hull, where I soon got a

place on board a ship.

When we had set sail but a few days, a squall of wind came on, and on

the fifth night we sprang a leak. All hands were sent to the pumps, but

we felt the ship groan in all her planks, and her beams quake from stem

to stern; so that it was soon quite clear there was no hope for her, and

that all we could do was to save our lives.

The first thing was to fire off guns, to show that we were in need of

help, and at length a ship, which lay not far from us, sent a boat to

our aid. But the sea was too rough for it to lie near our ship's side,

so we threw out a rope, which the men in the boat caught, and made fast,

and by this means we all got in. Still in so wild a sea it was in vain

to try to get on board the ship which had sent out the men, or to use

our oars in the boat, and all we could do was to let it drive to shore.

In the space of half an hour our own ship struck on a rock and went

down, and we saw her no more. We made but slow way to the land, which we

caught sight of now and then when the boat rose to the top of some high

wave, and there we saw men who ran in crowds, to and fro, all bent on

one thing, and that was to save us.

At last to our great joy we got on shore, where we had the luck to meet

with friends who gave us the means to get back to Hull; and if I had now

had the good sense to go home, it would have been well for me.

The man whose ship had gone down said with a grave look, "Young lad, you

ought to go to sea no more, it is not the kind, of life for you." "Why

Sir, will you go to sea no more then?" "That is not the same kind of

thing; I was bred to the sea, but you were not, and came on board my

ship just to find out what a life at sea was like, and you may guess

what you will come to if you do not go back to your home. God will not

bless you, and it may be that you have brought all this woe on us."

I spoke not a word more to him; which way he went I knew not, nor did

I care to know, for I was hurt at this rude speech. Shall I go home

thought I, or shall I go to sea? Shame kept me from home, and I could

not make up my mind what course of life to take.

As it has been my fate through life to choose for the worst, so I did

now. I had gold in my purse, and good clothes on my back, and to sea I

went once more.

But I had worse luck this time than the last, for when we were far out

at sea, some Turks in a small ship came on our track in full chase. We

set as much sail as our yards would bear, so as to get clear from them.

But in spite of this, we saw our foes gain on us, and we felt sure that

they would come up with our ship in a few hours' time.

At last they caught us, but we brought our guns to bear on them, which

made them shear off for a time, yet they kept up a fire at us as long as

they were in range. The next time the Turks came up, some of their men

got on board our ship, and set to work to cut the sails, and do us all

kinds of harm. So, as ten of our men lay dead, and most of the rest had

wounds, we gave in.

The chief of the Turks took me as his prize to a port which was held by

the Moors. He did not use me so ill as at first I thought he would have

done, but he set me to work with the rest of his slaves. This was a

change in my life which I did not think had been in store for me. How my

heart sank with grief at the thought of those whom I had left at home,

nay, to whom I had not had the grace so much as to say "Good bye" when I

went to sea, nor to give a hint of what I meant to do!

Yet all that I went through at this time was but a taste of the toils

and cares which it has since been my lot to bear.

I thought at first that the Turk might take me with him when next he

went to sea, and so I should find some way to get free; but the hope

did not last long, for at such times he left me on shore to see to his

crops. This kind of life I led for two years, and as the Turk knew and

saw more of me, he made me more and more free. He went out in his boat

once or twice a week to catch a kind of flat fish, and now and then he

took me and a boy with him, for we were quick at this kind of sport, and

he grew quite fond of me.

One day the Turk sent me in the boat to catch some fish, with no one

else but a man and a boy. While we were out so thick a fog came on that

though we were out not half a mile from the shore, we quite lost sight

of it for twelve hours; and when the sun rose the next day, our boat was

at least ten miles out at sea. The wind blew fresh, and we were all much

in want of food, but at last, with the help of our oars and sail, we got

back safe to land.

When the Turk heard how we had lost our way, he said that the next time

he went out, he would take a boat that would hold all we could want if

we were kept out at sea. So he had quite a state room built in the long

boat of his ship, as well as a room for us slaves. One day he sent me

to trim the boat, as he had two friends who would go in it to fish with

him. But when the time came they did not go, so he sent me with the man

and the boy--whose name was Xury--to catch some fish for the guests that

were to sup with him.

Now the thought struck me all at once that this would be a good chance

to set off with the boat, and get free. So in the first place, I took