The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders

After some little pause to recover himself, my husband came up with me,

and gave the mate thanks for the kindness, which he had expressed to

us, and sent suitable acknowledgment by him to the captain, offering to

pay him by advance, whatever he demanded for our passage, and for the

conveniences he had helped us to. The mate told him that the captain

would be on board in the afternoon, and that he would leave all that

till he came. Accordingly, in the afternoon the captain came, and we

found him the same courteous, obliging man that the boatswain had

represented him to be; and he was so well pleased with my husband's

conversation, that, in short, he would not let us keep the cabin we had

chosen, but gave us one that, as I said before, opened into the great

cabin.

Nor were his conditions exorbitant, or the man craving and eager to

make a prey of us, but for fifteen guineas we had our whole passage and

provisions and cabin, ate at the captain's table, and were very

handsomely entertained.

The captain lay himself in the other part of the great cabin, having

let his round house, as they call it, to a rich planter who went over

with his wife and three children, who ate by themselves. He had some

other ordinary passengers, who quartered in the steerage, and as for

our old fraternity, they were kept under the hatches while the ship lay

there, and came very little on the deck.

I could not refrain acquainting my governess with what had happened; it

was but just that she, who was so really concerned for me, should have

part in my good fortune. Besides, I wanted her assistance to supply me

with several necessaries, which before I was shy of letting anybody see

me have, that it might not be public; but now I had a cabin and room to

set things in, I ordered abundance of good things for our comfort in

the voyage, as brandy, sugar, lemons, etc., to make punch, and treat

our benefactor, the captain; and abundance of things for eating and

drinking in the voyage; also a larger bed, and bedding proportioned to

it; so that, in a word, we resolved to want for nothing in the voyage.

All this while I had provided nothing for our assistance when we should

come to the place and begin to call ourselves planters; and I was far

from being ignorant of what was needful on that occasion; particularly

all sorts of tools for the planter's work, and for building; and all

kinds of furniture for our dwelling, which, if to be bought in the

country, must necessarily cost double the price.