Daniel Defoe
Description
That evil influence which carried me first away from my father's house-which hurried meinto the wild and indigested notion of raising my fortune, and
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that impressed thoseconceits so forcibly upon me as to make me deaf to all good advice, and to the entreatiesand even the commands of my father-I say, the same influence, whatever it was, presented the most unfortunate of all enterprises to my view; and I went on board a vesselbound to the coast of Africa; or, as our sailors vulgarly called it, a voyage to Guinea.It was my great misfortune that in all these adventures I did not ship myself as a sailor;when, though I might indeed have worked a little harder than ordinary, yet at the sametime I should have learnt the duty and office of a fore-mast man, and in time might havequalified myself for a mate or lieutenant, if not for a master. But as it was always my fate tochoose for the worse, so I did here; for having money in my pocket and good clothes uponmy back, I would always go on board in the habit of a gentleman; and so I neither had anybusiness in the ship, nor learned to do any.It was my lot first of all to fall into pretty good company in London, which does not alwayshappen to such loose and misguided young fellows as I then was; the devil generally notomitting to lay some snare for them very early; but it was not so with me. I first gotacquainted with the master of a ship who had been on the coast of Guinea; and who, havinghad very good success there, was resolved to go again. This captain taking a fancy to myconversation, which was not at all disagreeable at that time, hearing me say I had a mind tosee the world, told me if I would go the voyage with him I should be at no expense; I shouldbe his messmate and his companion; and if I could carry anything with me, I should have allthe advantage of it that the trade would admit; and perhaps I might meet with someencouragement.I embraced the offer; and entering into a strict friendship with this captain, who was anhonest, plain-dealing man, I went the voyage with him, and carried a small adventure withme, which, by the disinterested honesty of my friend the captain, I increased veryconsiderably; for I carried about £40 in such toys and trifles as the captain directed me tobuy. These £40 I had mustered together by the assistance of some of my relations whom Icorresponded with; and who, I believe, got my father, or at least my mother, to contributeso much as that to my first adventure.
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