280 NIGHTS IN THE GALLEY. 



put on a donkey, and guarded by four fellers. I was carried up 

 the country; I was in a nice plight now; I couldn't tell what they'd 

 do with me, but I thought they'd just cut my throat, and have done 

 with it. ' Very well,' said I to myself, ' it's not the most comfortable 

 thing in the world for a feller, who has got a father and mother he 

 wishes to see, to be murdered but I can't help it, I suppose.' On we 

 went ; they couldn't speak any English, and I couldn't speak a word 



of their d d outlandish lingo. At last we came to a wood of 



olives, a beautiful place it was to be sure ; and after passing through 

 a deep ravine with olive-trees on each side, and the sun just shining 

 enough to make me know the value of the shade, we came to a little 

 village. Just as we entered it about half a dozen men, better dressed 

 than any I had yet seen, and well armed with silver-sheathed 

 yataghans, met us, and after speaking to my guards a little while, I 

 was unbound, taken from the donkey, and ordered by signs to follow 

 them. As I passed through the street (for the village had only one) 

 I could see most of the houses were very poor and dirty, and looked 

 much better at a distance than when you came close to them. At 

 last we came to a garden, and passing under an avenue of olive-trees, 

 we came to a small house, but much more decent in appearance than 

 any I had yet seen. The door was opened by a Greek, in rather a 

 shabby dress ; we passed him, and entered a small but neat room, 

 very clean, with a sofa and several chairs. Here one of my new guards 

 left us, and soon returned with two men, one very old, and the other 

 a man I should think of my own age, who appeared to be his son ; 

 the young one spoke English, and after saying something to the 

 eldest, who I afterwards found was his father, he asked me who I 

 was. ' I am an English sailor,' said I. f Are you an officer ?' 

 ' No. *' Can you pay any thing for your liberty ?' ' No.' e Then 

 you must be a servant here.' Well, I couldn't say any thing to that, 

 so I made the best of a bad bargain, determined to escape as soon as 

 I could. The young man had spoken to me in rather a kind tone, 

 and seemed to pity me, for he said afterwards, as he was going out of 

 the room, * You shall be my sister's slave, and she won't treat you 

 badly.' This made me hope that I should be able to prevail on him 

 to let me escape, so I determined to do every thing they told me, 

 and try to please them. After the young man and his father left 

 the room, the men who had charge of me spread out a table, and put 

 upon it some fish, fruits, brown bread, cheese, and plenty of wine, 

 and made signs to me to sit down with them and eat. Well, I was 

 precious hungry and thirsty too, so down I sat, and played a good 

 game at the trencher. All the fellers that were with me seemed to 

 forget that I had been fighting with them a couple of hours ago, and 

 kept drinking to me, making me drink in their fashion, touching 

 their glasses with mine, and saying, ' Drink, Inglis, drink.' At last 

 they got up and made signs for me to follow them, and going with 

 them out of the room, they led me into another, where I saw the old 

 man, the young one, and a girl about seventeen such a beautiful 

 creature ! my gum I never seed one so like an angel ; she had black 

 hair, braided and crossed over a forehead as white as marble, with' 



