to dispose of, and we began to be
very doubtful what we should do, for we were now in a place of very
little business. Once I was about to venture to sail for the river of
Kilam, and the city of Nankin; but Providence seemed now more visibly, as
I thought, than ever to concern itself in our affairs; and I was
encouraged, from this very time, to think I should, one way or other, get
out of this entangled circumstance, and be brought home to my own country
again, though I had not the least view of the manner. Providence, I say,
began here to clear up our way a little; and the first thing that offered
was, that our old Portuguese pilot brought a Japan merchant to us, who
inquired what goods we had: and, in the first place, he bought all our
opium, and gave us a very good price for it, paying us in gold by weight,
some in small pieces of their own coin, and some in small wedges, of
about ten or twelves ounces each. While we were dealing with him for our
opium, it came into my head that he might perhaps deal for the ship too,
and I ordered the interpreter to propose it to him. He shrunk up his
shoulders at it when it was first proposed to him; but in a few days
after he came to me, with one of the missionary priests for his
interpreter, and told me he had a proposal to make to me, which was this:
he had bought a great quantity of our goods, when he had no thoughts of
proposals made to him of buying the ship; and that, therefore, he had not
money to pay for the ship: but if I would let the same men who were in
the ship navigate her, he would hire the ship to go to Japan; and would
send them from thence to the Philippine Islands with another loading,
which he would pay the freight of before they went from Japan: and that
at their return he would buy the ship. I began to listen to his
proposal, and so eager did my head still run upon rambling, that I could
not but begin to entertain a notion of going myself with him, and so to
set sail from the Philippine Islands away to the South Seas; accordingly,
I asked the Japanese merchant if he would not hire us to the Philippine
Islands and discharge us there. He said No, he could not do that, for
then he could not have the return of his cargo; but he would discharge us
in Japan, at the ship's return. Well, still I was for taking him at that
proposal, and going myself; but my partner, wiser than myself, persuaded
me from it, representing the dangers, as well of the seas as of the
J