CHARACTERS. 



555 



It was not long before one of 

 .these interpreters came to Uwat- 

 tibi ; the savages hastened to their 

 prisoner, A Frenchman is come, 

 they cried, and now we sliall see 

 whether thou art French or not. 

 Great was his joy at hearing this. 

 I thought, says he, the man was 

 a christian, and that it was not 

 possible he could speak against 

 me. He was led to him ; the 

 cannibals stood round ; and the 

 interpreter, who was a young 

 Norman, addressed him in French. 

 Han's reply made it plain that he 

 was no Frenchman ; this the Tu- 

 pinambas could not discover, but 

 the wretch immediately said to 

 them, in their own language, kill 

 the rascal, and eat him ; he is a 

 Portuguese, as much our enemy 

 as yours. Hans besought him, for 

 the love of God, to have compas- 

 sion, and save him from being 

 devoured ; but the Frenchman re- 

 plied, that eaten he should be. 

 Then, said he, I called to mind 

 the words of the prophet Jere- 

 miah, Cursed is he who puttelh 

 his trust in man. He had a linen 

 cloth over his shoulders, which 

 the savages had given him, being 

 bis only covering ; in his agony 

 he cast it off at the feet of the 

 Frenchman, and exclaimed, It I 

 am to die, why should I preserve 

 this flesh of mine to be food for 

 them ! They led him back, and 

 he threw himself into his ham- 

 mock. I call God to witness, 

 says he, what ray pain was ! and 

 with a sorrowful voice I began to 

 sing a hymn. Truly, said the sa- 

 vages, he is a Portuguese, for he 

 is howling with the fear of death. 

 That he was to die was deter- 

 mined, and every thing was made 

 ready for tlie ceremony. 



While, says Hans, I lived in 

 this misery, I experienced the 

 truth of the saying, that misfor- 

 tunes never come alone. The new 

 misfortune which occasioned this 

 reflection, was a grievous toolh- 

 ach, so grievous as to emaciate 

 him, by his own account ; but 

 fear and suffering would have done 

 that without the tooth-ach. His 

 master observed with concern that 

 he did not eat, and when he 

 learnt the cause, produced a 

 wooden instrument with which 

 he would have knocked the tooth 

 out. Hans cried out the pain was 

 gone ; a struggle ensued, and he 

 succeeded in resisting the opera- 

 tion. His master, however, kindly 

 admonished him to eat, telling 

 him, that if he continued to lose 

 flesh instead of fattening properly, 

 he must be killed before the ap- 

 pointed time. 



After some days had elapsed, 

 Hans was sent for by Konyan 

 Babe, the chief of the whole 

 tribe, who was then at a town 

 called Arirab. When he drew 

 nigh, there was a great noise of 

 horns and rejoicings ; and fifteen 

 heads of the iVlargaias, whom they 

 had lately eaten, and which were 

 fixed upon stakes at the entrance, 

 were significantly pointed out to 

 him. Cne of his guards went 

 before him into the house of 

 the chief crying out. We have 

 brought your Portuguese slave, 

 that you may behold him. He 

 and his companions were drink- 

 ing, and were heated with their 

 drink; they looked sternly at Hans, 

 and said, O enemy thou art here! 

 He made answer, I am here, but 

 not an enemy ; and they gave hio^ 

 of their liquor. 



Hans had heard of this chief. 



