The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders

'Alas! sir,' said I, 'but then that must be such a deliverance as, if I

should be taken again, would cost me my life.' 'Nay,' said he, 'if you

were once out of the ship, you must look to yourself afterwards; that I

can say nothing to.' So we dropped the discourse for that time.

In the meantime, my governess, faithful to the last moment, conveyed my

letter to the prison to my husband, and got an answer to it, and the

next day came down herself to the ship, bringing me, in the first

place, a sea-bed as they call it, and all its furniture, such as was

convenient, but not to let the people think it was extraordinary. She

brought with her a sea-chest--that is, a chest, such as are made for

seamen, with all the conveniences in it, and filled with everything

almost that I could want; and in one of the corners of the chest, where

there was a private drawer, was my bank of money--this is to say, so

much of it as I had resolved to carry with me; for I ordered a part of

my stock to be left behind me, to be sent afterwards in such goods as I

should want when I came to settle; for money in that country is not of

much use where all things are brought for tobacco, much more is it a

great loss to carry it from hence.

But my case was particular; it was by no means proper to me to go

thither without money or goods, and for a poor convict, that was to be

sold as soon as I came on shore, to carry with me a cargo of goods

would be to have notice taken of it, and perhaps to have them seized by

the public; so I took part of my stock with me thus, and left the other

part with my governess.

My governess brought me a great many other things, but it was not

proper for me to look too well provided in the ship, at least till I

knew what kind of a captain we should have. When she came into the

ship, I thought she would have died indeed; her heart sank at the sight

of me, and at the thoughts of parting with me in that condition, and

she cried so intolerably, I could not for a long time have any talk

with her.

I took that time to read my fellow-prisoner's letter, which, however,

greatly perplexed me. He told me was determined to go, but found it

would be impossible for him to be discharged time enough for going in

the same ship, and which was more than all, he began to question

whether they would give him leave to go in what ship he pleased, though

he did voluntarily transport himself; but that they would see him put

on board such a ship as they should direct, and that he would be

charged upon the captain as other convict prisoners were; so that he

began to be in despair of seeing me till he came to Virginia, which

made him almost desperate; seeing that, on the other hand, if I should

not be there, if any accident of the sea or of mortality should take me

away, he should be the most undone creature there in the world.