But neither could her father hear her nor we see him when she said this;

and so, while I consoled Zoraida, we turned our attention to our voyage,

in which a breeze from the right point so favoured us that we made sure

of finding ourselves off the coast of Spain on the morrow by daybreak.

But, as good seldom or never comes pure and unmixed, without being

attended or followed by some disturbing evil that gives a shock to it,

our fortune, or perhaps the curses which the Moor had hurled at his

daughter (for whatever kind of father they may come from these are always

to be dreaded), brought it about that when we were now in mid-sea, and

the night about three hours spent, as we were running with all sail set

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and oars lashed, for the favouring breeze saved us the trouble of using

them, we saw by the light of the moon, which shone brilliantly, a

square-rigged vessel in full sail close to us, luffing up and standing

across our course, and so close that we had to strike sail to avoid

running foul of her, while they too put the helm hard up to let us pass.

They came to the side of the ship to ask who we were, whither we were

bound, and whence we came, but as they asked this in French our renegade

said, "Let no one answer, for no doubt these are French corsairs who

plunder all comers."

Acting on this warning no one answered a word, but after we had gone a

little ahead, and the vessel was now lying to leeward, suddenly they

fired two guns, and apparently both loaded with chain-shot, for with one

they cut our mast in half and brought down both it and the sail into the

sea, and the other, discharged at the same moment, sent a ball into our

vessel amidships, staving her in completely, but without doing any

further damage. We, however, finding ourselves sinking began to shout for

help and call upon those in the ship to pick us up as we were beginning

to fill. They then lay to, and lowering a skiff or boat, as many as a

dozen Frenchmen, well armed with match-locks, and their matches burning,

got into it and came alongside; and seeing how few we were, and that our

vessel was going down, they took us in, telling us that this had come to

us through our incivility in not giving them an answer. Our renegade took

the trunk containing Zoraida's wealth and dropped it into the sea without

anyone perceiving what he did. In short we went on board with the

Frenchmen, who, after having ascertained all they wanted to know about

us, rifled us of everything we had, as if they had been our bitterest

enemies, and from Zoraida they took even the anklets she wore on her

feet; but the distress they caused her did not distress me so much as the

fear I was in that from robbing her of her rich and precious jewels they

would proceed to rob her of the most precious jewel that she valued more

than all. The desires, however, of those people do not go beyond money,

but of that their covetousness is insatiable, and on this occasion it was

carried to such a pitch that they would have taken even the clothes we

wore as captives if they had been worth anything to them. It was the

advice of some of them to throw us all into the sea wrapped up in a sail;

for their purpose was to trade at some of the ports of Spain, giving

themselves out as Bretons, and if they brought us alive they would be

punished as soon as the robbery was discovered; but the captain (who was

the one who had plundered my beloved Zoraida) said he was satisfied with

the prize he had got, and that he would not touch at any Spanish port,

but pass the Straits of Gibraltar by night, or as best he could, and make

for La Rochelle, from which he had sailed. So they agreed by common

consent to give us the skiff belonging to their ship and all we required

for the short voyage that remained to us, and this they did the next day

on coming in sight of the Spanish coast, with which, and the joy we felt,

all our sufferings and miseries were as completely forgotten as if they

had never been endured by us, such is the delight of recovering lost

liberty.




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