Yet even in this voyage I had my misfortunes too. I was continually sick, being thrown into a violent calenture by the excessive heat of the climate, our principal trading being upon the coast, from the latitude of 15 degrees north even to the line itself. I also pass’d no less than six moons on board, and while four were hid in my cabin by the fierce fever which even quell'd the beast, two I spent in the deep bowels of the ship’s brig clapped in irons. True, plain iron could not contain the beast, but my father had shewn me, as a lad, how a few silver coins can be placed within knots and against locks, and thus they are render’d incorruptible before the beast’s fearsome strength.
I was now set up for a Guinea trader. My friend, to my great misfortune, dying soon after his arrival, I resolv’d to go the same voyage again and I embarked in the same vessel, once again after the last night of the full moon. Alas! I fell into terrible misfortunes in this voyage.
Our ship, making her course between the Canary Islands and the African shore, was surprised in the grey of the morning by a Turkish rover of Sallee who gave chase to us with all the sail she could make. We crowded as much canvas as our yards would spread or our masts carry, but finding the pirate gained upon us, and would come up with us in a few hours, we prepared to fight.
He came up with us, bringing to just athwart our quarter, and we brought eight of our guns to bear on that side and poured in a broadside upon him. This then made him sheer off after returning fire and pouring in also his small-shot from near 200 men which he had on board. However, we had not a man touched, all our men keeping close.
He prepared to attack us again and we to defend ourselves. Laying us on board the next time upon our other quarter, he entered sixty men upon our decks who fell to cutting and hacking the sails and rigging. We plied them with small-shot, half-pikes, powder-chests, and such, and cleared our deck of them twice. During this fighting, I wish’d I could call out the beast as my father has told me his father could, but alas! I was still young and foolish, and the nights of the full moon were still more than a week away.
However, to cut short this melancholy part of our story, our ship being disabled, three of our men killed and eight wounded, we were obliged to yield. We were carried into Sallee, a port belonging to the Moors. I was not carried up to the emperor's court, as the rest of our prisoners were, but was kept by the captain of the rover as his proper prize and made his slave.
At this surprising change of my circumstances, from a merchant to a miserable slave, I was perfectly overwhelmed. I looked back upon my father's prophetic discourse to me, that I should be miserable and have none to relieve me. Now the hand of Heaven had overtaken me and I was undone without redemption. But this was but a taste of the misery I was to go through.
As my new patron, or master, had taken me home to his house, so I was in hopes he would take me with him when he went to sea again, believing it would sometime or other be his fate to be taken by a Spanish or Portugal man of war and then I should be set at liberty. But this hope of mine was soon taken away, for my patron, it seem'd, knew the signs of my nature and had kept me thus for himself. The day of the first moon, stout manakles, plated with silver, were brought, and in my patron’s courtyard I was strip’d naked and chayn’d to a fountain. Many wise men and vizeers came to view me and study me, for they had heard of almustazeb, which was their word for the beast.
The moon rose and the mantle of the beast came upon me. When this happens, my flesh is burned with unseen fire and great aches and pains fill my limbs and jaw. The world is as if seen thru a lens darken'd with smoke, and heard as if a heavy woolen blanket wrapt round my head. Yet always I have no more freedom than a helpless passenger on a storm-wrack’d ship with a mad captain, and that captain is the beast. I could see the wise men as they discust my change and the beast before them, but their words were but noise, and to my intoxicated mind they look’d like good, succulent meat does to a starv’d man. I could remember they did feed the beast a young lamb, but also prickt its flesh and pluckt its fur and sketch’d it for their scrolls.
The three nights pass’d, and I was left chayn’d thru-out, yet during the day my needs were cared for. I was given wine and shayde and fish and good flat bread which they call’d peetah. Here I meditated nothing but my escape and what method I might take to effect it, but found no way that had the least probability in it.
On the morning after the third night of the moon, I was freed of the silver manakles, which had left welts and blisters on my flesh, and my cloathes return’d to me. I was then order’d by my patron to look after his little garden, and do the common drudgery of slaves about his house. When he came home from his cruise, were he absent for a time, he order'd me to lie in the cabin to look after the ship.