1 827.] Adceniures of Naufragus. \ 43 



made, and one which threatens loss of dollars, as well as of blood, to the 

 European interest : 



" We were on the point of departure, and, as we thought, had but to deliver over 

 to the Malays a bale of piece goods, and five hundred dollars, due to them, when, 

 to our dismay, we missed twenty-eight slabs of tin, represented to have been actu- 

 ally shipped on the preceding day, but which, as we afterwards found, had been 

 very adroitly concealed by the Malays in the sand on the beach. No sooner had 

 our captain made this discovery, than he ordered Tassit to go on shore immedi- 

 ately, and tell the Malay, that if the property was not given up, he would not only 

 keep possession of the bale of piece goods, and the five hundred dollars, but report 

 the case to the supreme government ; and I was appointed to accompany Tassit. 

 On rowing ashore, poor Tassit became more and more thoughtful, until a deep sigh 

 would escape him, with ' Well, God knows how it will all end !' In the mean 

 time, the brig got under weigh, and stood in shore as near as she could, her guns 

 'grinning horribly,' and the captain pacing the deck, with evident anxiety. We 

 found the beach lined with Malays, and as our little boat crossed the surf, the coun- 

 tenance of Tassit assumed a most discouraging aspect. This, however, did not much 

 intimidate me, for, armed as we- were, each with two loaded pistols and a cutlass, 

 I thought our boat's crew a match for them. 



"It was about four o'clock in the evening, when the gentle surf bore our boat on 

 the sand, and Tassit, with an unwilling step, landed ; that instant, a number of 

 Malays seized and hurried him to a hut on the beach, and there surrounded him, 

 making use of all the outrageous epithets in broken English and Malay, and using 

 the most violent gesticulations of defiance and derision imaginable ; one drawing a 

 crease across Tassit's cheek, others forming a ring, and seating him on a mat in the 

 midst of them. At that instant, I, who with the boat's crew had followed him, 

 came into the ring to speak to one of the chiefs, and to endeavour to release my 

 mate: 'Look! my dear Naufragus, behold !' ejaculated Tassit, 4 what a dangerous 

 situation has the rashness of our captain placed me in !' He said this in a voice, 

 and with a manner so deplorable, and at the same time so irresistibly droll, that 

 I could not refrain from laughing, although there were, at that moment, twenty 

 drawn daggers at our breasts. I comforted Tassit as well as I could, and told the 

 Malays I would go on board, and make known to the captain their demands. 

 ' Iss, teii im,* said one of the chiefs, * he not pay my dollar, not give my bale of 

 piece goods, I cut away this man's throat.' At this poor Tassit turned up the whites 

 of his eyes, bellowing after me * My dear Naufragus, make haste, or I shall be lost 

 to you for ever. 1 made my boat's crew row with all their might, till, in a few 

 minutes, I got on board. Never shall I forget the violent rage of the captain, when 

 I told him what the Malays had done ; he was as mad as the roaring sea * Ah !' 

 said he, 'if you could but have unfurled the union jack, I would have settled the 

 business in an instant, but that was impossible. Go on shore, Naufragus ; tell the 

 Malays that I hoist my nation's ensign ; shew it to them ; tell them, if they insult 

 that flag, by keeping a British subject prisoner, my countrymen will come and 

 blow the town to atoms: tell them, too, I will have my twenty-eight slabs of tin.'" 



Fortunately, a couple of balls fired from the ship, in aid of this second 

 mission, produced the necessary effect : the twenty-eight slabs of tin are 

 restored, and Tassit returns on board the captain assuring Signer Tassit, 

 that, " if his throat had been cut, he would have taken a signal revenge 

 for the same." Tassit, however, appeared inclined to say with Othello, 

 " 'Tis better as it is !" 



The first view of Calcutta to which he next sails seems to have 

 overpowered the senses of Naufragus (in the way of admiration) alto- 

 gether. Even London sinks in the comparison. We venture a few dis- 

 jointed paragraphs, that may give some idea of the enthusiastic approba- 

 tion of the traveller ; reminding our readers, that Calcutta was the first 

 great city he had ever beheld out of England, and that he was not yet 

 twenty years of age : 



