The first thing I did was to recompense my original benefactor, my good old Captain Amaral, who had been first charitable to me in my distress, kind to me in my beginning, and honest to me at the end. It now lay on me to reward him, which I would do a hundredfold. I first return'd to him the hundred moidores I had received of him. Then I sent for a notary and caused a procuration to be drawn, empowering him to be my receiver of the annual profits of my plantation, and appointing my partner to account with him, with a clause in the end, being a grant of 100 moidores a year to him during his life and 50 moidores a year to his son, Zachary, for his life. Thus I requited my old man and my former savior.
I was now to consider which way to steer my course next, and what to do with the estate Providence had thus put into my hands. Indeed, I had more care upon my head now than I had in my silent state of life in the island, where I wanted nothing but what I had, and had nothing but what I wanted. I had now a great charge upon me, and my business was how to secure it. I had never a cave now to hide my money in, or a place where it might lie without lock or key, till it grew mouldy and tarnish'd before any body would meddle with it. On the contrary, I knew not where to put it, or whom to trust with it. My old patron, Captain Amaral, indeed, was honest, and was the only refuge I had.
I had once a mind to have gone to the Brasils, and have settled myself there, for I was, as it were, naturalized to the place. But now I could not tell how to think of going thither till I had settled my affairs, and left my effects in some safe hands behind me. It was some months, however, before I resolv’d upon this. I resolv’d, at last, to go to England with it, where, if I arrived, I concluded I should make some acquaintance, or find some relations that would be faithful to me. Accordingly, I prepared to go to England with all my wealth.
My travels, loup garou,
my awful damnation
Having settled my affairs, sold my cargo, and turned all my effects into good bills of exchange, my next difficulty was which way to go to England. I had been accustomed enough to the sea, and yet I had a strange aversion to go to England by sea at that time. It was an aversion the beast shared with me, as it had oft been disturbed by the dark church, and even Friday seemed put out by the idea. He and I spoke of this, and agreed that while some things were very strong on the island, it did not mean they could not be strong in other places and at other times.
Captain Amaral pressed me not to go by sea if I were so averse, but either to go by land and cross over the Bay of Biscay to Rochelle, from whence it was but an easy and safe journey by land to Paris, and so to Calais and Dover. Or to go up to Madrid, and so all the way by land through France. In a word, I was so prepossessed against my going by sea at all, except from Calais to Dover, I resolv’d to travel all the way by land. As I was not in haste and did not value the charge, it was by much the pleasanter way. To make it more so, my old captain brought an English gentleman, the son of a merchant in Lisbon, who was willing to travel with me. We picked up two more English merchants also, and two young Portuguese gentlemen, the last going to Paris only. In all there were six of us, and five servants. The two merchants and the two Portuguese contented themselves with one servant between two, to save the charge. As for me, I got an English sailor to travel with me as a servant beside my man Friday, who was too much a stranger to be capable of supplying the place of a servant on the road, and was very oft looked at as a sport for his dusky appearance.
In this manner I set out from Lisbon. Our company being very well mounted and armed, we made a little troop, whereof they did me the honour to call me captain, as well because I was the oldest man as because I had two servants, and, indeed, was the original of the whole journey.
As I have troubled you with none of my sea journals, so I shall trouble you now with none of my land journal. But some grim and horrible adventures happened to us in this journey I must not omit.
When we came to Madrid, we being all of us strangers to Spain, were willing to stay some time. Alas, the moon was due at the end of the month, and already my loyal Friday attracted much unwanted attention. Rather than risk my taking on the mantle of the beast within a city of the Inquisition, we set out from Madrid about the middle of October. When we came to the edge of Navarre, we were alarm'd with an account that so much snow was fallen on the French side of the mountains several travelers were obliged to come back to Pampeluna after having attempted, at an extreme hazard, to pass on.
When we came to Pampeluna itself we found it so indeed. To me, that had been always used to a hot climate, and to countries where I could scarce bear any cloathes on, the cold was insufferable. Nor, indeed, was it more painful than surprising, to come but ten days before out of Old Castile and to feel a wind so cold as to be intolerable.