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large Portuguese man of war, having on board 
Count Receira, and the Archbishop of Goa—and 
on the same day had taken another ship carrying 
thirty guns. These two vessels lay off the Isle of 
Bourbon, and, it appears, were not captured without 
some hard fighting on both sides. In consequence of 
these daring exploits, a combination was formed in 
Europe, with the determination of scouring the seas 
of these robbers. 
Alarmed at these preparations, the pirates took 
refuge in St. Mary’s Isle; and seeing a probabi¬ 
lity that the time was coming, when all their courage 
would be of but little avail to them, they began 
assiduously to cultivate the good will of the natives. 
By contracting alliances with them, they gained 
their confidence; and by continually bringing in 
richly freighted prizes, their mode of obtaining which 
was totally unknown to the inhabitants, they supplied 
them with articles that were in great request; and on 
the other hand, gave a value to the produce of the 
island, for which, before that time, the natives could 
but seldom find a market. They likewise compared 
the conduct of the pirates with that of some other 
Europeans, who, on occasionally touching at the 
island, had committed great depredations upon them, 
wantonly burning their villages, plundering their 
plantations, and either murdering or carrying off their 
wives and children; while the pirates, knowing that 
their very existence depended upon a good under¬ 
standing with the Madegasses, always carried them- 
