When we came to fit this man out, my old partner told me, there was a certain very honest fellow, a Brasil planter of his acquaintance, who had fallen into he displeasure of the church: “I know not what the matter is with him,” says he, “but, on my conscience, I think he is a heretic in his heart; and he has been obliged to conceal himself for fear of the Inquisition;” that he would be very glad of such an opportunity to make his escape, with his wife and two daughters; and if I would let them go to the island, and allot them a plantation, he would give them a small stock to begin with; for the officers of the Inquisition had seized all his effects and estate, and he had nothing left but a little household stuff, and two slaves; “And,” adds he, “though I hate his principles, yet I would not have him fall into their hands, for he will assuredly be burnt alive if he does.”
I granted this presently, and joined my Englishman with them; and we concealed the man, and his wife and daughters, on board our ship, till the sloop put out to go to sea; and then (having put all their goods on board the sloop some time before) we put them on board the sloop, after she was got out of the bay.
Our seaman was mightily pleased with this new partner; and their stock, indeed, was much alike, rich in tools, and in preparations, for a farm; but nothing to begin with, but as above. However, they carried over with them (which was worth all the rest) some materials for planting sugar-canes, with some plants of canes; which he (I mean the Portugal man) understood very well.
Among the rest of the supplies sent my tenants in the island, I sent them, by this sloop, three milch-cows and five calves, about twenty-two hogs, among them, three sows big with pig, two mares, and a stone-horse.
For my Spaniards, according to my promise, I engaged three Portugal women to go; and recommended it to them to marry them, and use them kindly. I could have procured more women, but I remembered that the poor persecuted man had two daughters, and there were but five of the Spaniards that wanted; the rest had wives of their own, though in another country.
All this cargo arrived safe, and, as you may easily suppose, very welcome to my old inhabitants, who were now (with this addition) between sixty and seventy people, besides little children; of which there were a great many: I found letters at London from them all, by way of Lisbon, when I came back to England, being sent back to the Brasils by this sloop; of which I shall take some notice in its place.
I have now done with my island, and all manner of discourse about it; and whoever reads the rest of my memorandums, would do well to turn his thoughts entirely from it, and expect to read only of the follies of an old man, not warned by his own harms, much less by those of other men, to beware of the like; not cooled by almost forty years misery and disappointments; not satisfied with prosperity beyond expectation; not made cautious by affliction and distress beyond irritation.


