ed them to put off as soon as they had these presents,
lest the donors should have expected two or three of them to be killed,
and to be invited to dinner the next day; and so taking leave with all
possible respect and thanks, though neither of them understood what the
others said, they sailed away back to the first island, and there set
eight of the prisoners at liberty. In their voyage they endeavoured to
comfort, and have some conversation with the poor captives; but it was
impossible to make them sensible of any thing; and nothing they could
say or give, or do for them, could make them otherwise persuaded, but
that they were unbound only to be devoured: if they gave them any food,
they thought it was only to fatten them for the slaughter; or looked at
any one more particularly, the poor creature supposed itself to be the
'first sacrifice'; and even when we brought them to our island, and
began to use them with the greatest humanity and kindness, yet they
expected every day that their new masters would devour them.

"And thus, Sir, did these three strange wanderers conclude their
unaccountable relation of their voyage, which was both amazing and
entertaining. Hereupon, I asked them, where there new family was? They
told me _they had put them into one of their huts, and they came to beg
some victuals for them_. This, indeed, made us all long to see them; and
taking Friday's father with us, leaving only two at our castle, we came
down to behold these poor creatures.

"When we arrived at the hut, (they being bound again by the Englishmen,
for fear of escaping) we found them stark naked, expecting their fatal
tragedy: there were three lusty men, well shaped, with straight and good
limbs, between thirty and five and thirty years old; and five women, two
of them might be from thirty to forty, two more not above four and
twenty; and the last, a comely tall maiden of about seventeen. Indeed,
all the women were very agreeable, both in proportion and features,
except that they were tawny, which their modest behaviour, and other
graces, made amends for, when they afterwards came to be clothed.

"This naked appearance, together with their miserable circumstances, was
no very comfortable sight to my Spaniards, who, for their parts, I may
venture, Sir, without flattery, to say, are men of the best behaviour,
calmest tempers, and sweetest nature, that can possibly be; for they
immediately ordered Friday's father to see if he knew