Part I. Travels into the htw knt. 209 
Reys ftark naked as foon as he had landed. We had no Arms, and though we 
had had, we would not have thought of making any defence againft chofe whom 
we took to be our Friends i neverthelefs feeing their is no boarding, without 
firing a Volley of fmall Shot, it was thought fit we Ihould go under Decks^ 
though all Handing upon the' point of Honour, no body would hide, for fear of 
being a reckon'd Coward. Within a very little after, thefe Blades came up with 
us, and though a Capucin of our company called to them at a di/lance, that we 
were French^ and that being near, they faw no-body upon the Deck,ncverthel€fs 
when they were broadfide and broadfide with us, they fired a Petrera, charged 
with Musket-Bullets, and all their fmall Shot into our Bark ; I fhall not name 
that Knight for his Honours fake. Thefe Rafcals (becaufe of their bar} conduâ;) 
at that time deferved to have met with about thirty Turks on board of us, who 
might eafily have maftered them, having difcharged all their Shot. When they 
had done this brave aft, they made hafte up, and we came out co ftiew our- 
felves ^ but thefe young Villains curfing and fwearing like Devils, that they 
might appear more terrible to unarmed men, would not know u s, though they 
themfelves were all French men too, and prefently fell a ftrip ping of us j for 
my (hare I was better ferved than a Prince, for though 1 'jold them I was a 
French man, I was befet by five P^alets de Chambre with a vengeance, of whom 
fome were the Captains Brothers and Kinfmen, who holding a Pifloltomy 
Breafl:, and a Sword to ray Belly, commanded me preP;ntly to ftrip, then 
pulling and hailing one forwards, another backwards, one at the head, ano- 
ther at the feet, in the twinkling of an eye they left me '^tark naked : I thought 
then that all was paft, when they began again tomak'-j fome pafles at me, and 
perceiving that it was for a forry Ring, that I had on my finger, I quickly pull'd 
it off and threw it to them, for I began now partly to underftand what thefe 
Blades were able to do ; nay, when we were carri,ed on board their Ship, one 
of them efpying an inconfiderable plain Gold Rinj^ on my Man's finger, feemed 
very angry that he had not taken it, and when my Man told him that he himfelf 
could not get it ofi", he made him this free anfwer, That with all his heart he 
would have cut offthe Finger for the Ring. M/hen at length they had left me 
naked to my Shirt, I asked them who was thei r Commander, but to that they 
made me no anfwer. In the mean time, after all this din and clutterj (to which 
I was not at all accuftomed,J I began to feel it cold, and one of our Monks in 
pity covered me with his Mantle, for they had not ftripp'd the Religious,though 
they feemed to have a great mind to rifl ,; them, to fee if they had got any 
Money, and in that they had not loft thei'r labour, for a Spaniard of our com- 
pany cunningly Aid his money into the fleeve of a Monk, and by that means 
faved it. But now, being taken from me even to my very Cap,j I felc 
much cold in my head, becaufe I was finaved once a week, as being drefs'd in 
the Habit of the Countrey. I prayed them to give me a Cap, and prefently 
they clapt upon my head one of their Caps, which they had recovered out of 
the Sea, wherein it was fallen. By that time all the hurly-burly was over, it 
it was night, and fodark, that our Guards loft fight of their Ship, which had 
put under fail fo foon as they knew that their Men were Mafters of our Bark,and 
ftood off to Sea, for fear of danger from the Shore. However the Lieutenant 
who Commanded the Crew that had taken us, had orders to follow the Ship 
with the Bark fo foon as he was Mafter of her, and therefore he fired feveral 
Squibs from our Barks head, that the Ship might anfwer, and let him know 
where Ihe was : I was then extremely afraid they would have fet our 
Bark on fire , being full of Gotten , the Bags heaped one upon another ; 
if that had happened , they would have made their efcape in their Boat, 
and left us to be burnt aiive , but God preferved us. Their Ship made 
anfwer with a Squib, and coming up with her a quarter of an hour after, we 
went on board. Prefently the Captain fent us to the Poop, intending to make 
us lye abroad in the cold Air v^^ithout Supper, and had the Monks into his 
Cabin, who having told him what I was, he came and called me by my name, 
and carried me down into his Cabin, where he prefently gave me Cloaths, and 
made many excufes for the bad ufage I had met with, sifuring me that I flfiould 
lofe none of ray Cloaths, and withal telling me that he had feen me at Malta. 
Our Supper was but very mean, for he had no Provifions. In the mean time he 
Ee gave 
f 
I 
