I stayed but two months with my wife and family, for
my insatiable desire of seeing foreign countries,
would suffer me to continue no longer. I left
fifteen hundred pounds with my wife, and fixed her
in a good house at Redriff. My remaining stock
I carried with me, part in money and part in goods,
in hopes to improve my fortunes. My eldest uncle
John had left me an estate in land, near Epping, of
about thirty pounds a-year; and I had a long lease
of the Black Bull in Fetter-Lane, which yielded me
as much more; so that I was not in any danger of leaving
my family upon the parish. My son Johnny, named
so after his uncle, was at the grammar-school, and
a towardly child. My daughter Betty (who is
now well married, and has children) was then at her
needle-work. I took leave of my wife, and boy
and girl, with tears on both sides, and went on board
the Adventure, a merchant ship of three hundred tons,
bound for Surat, captain John Nicholas, of Liverpool,
commander. But my account of this voyage must
be referred to the Second Part of my Travels.
PART II. A VOYAGE TO BROBDINGNAG.
CHAPTER I.
[A great storm described; the long boat sent to fetch
water; the author goes with it to discover the country.
He is left on shore, is seized by one of the natives,
and carried to a farmer’s house. His reception,
with several accidents that happened there. A
description of the inhabitants.]
Having been condemned, by nature and fortune, to active
and restless life, in two months after my return,
I again left my native country, and took shipping
in the Downs, on the 20th day of June, 1702, in the
Adventure, Captain John Nicholas, a Cornish man, commander,
bound for Surat. We had a very prosperous gale,
till we arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, where we
landed for fresh water; but discovering a leak, we
unshipped our goods and wintered there; for the captain
falling sick of an ague, we could not leave the Cape
till the end of March. We then set sail, and
had a good voyage till we passed the Straits of Madagascar;
but having got northward of that island, and to about
five degrees south latitude, the winds, which in those
seas are observed to blow a constant equal gale between
the north and west, from the beginning of December
to the beginning of May, on the 19th of April began
to blow with much greater violence, and more westerly
than usual, continuing so for twenty days together:
during which time, we were driven a little to the
east of the Molucca Islands, and about three degrees
northward of the line, as our captain found by an
observation he took the 2nd of May, at which time the
wind ceased, and it was a perfect calm, whereat I
was not a little rejoiced. But he, being a man
well experienced in the navigation of those seas,
bid us all prepare against a storm, which accordingly
happened the day following: for the southern
wind, called the southern monsoon, began to set in.
