I could not refuse him, and he
promised to send another book in its place, which I should find equally
good. He thus left me, taking the Pilgrim's Progress with him. Half an
hour later a servant brought me the promised book, which proved to be
Doddridge's Rise and Progress. On looking through the pages, I found a
Mexican dollar wafered between two of the leaves. All this I regarded as
providential, and as a proof that the Lord would not desert me. My
gratitude, I hope, was in proportion. This whole household appeared to be
religious, for I passed half the night in conversing with the Malay
servants, on the subject of Christianity; concerning which they had
already received many just ideas. I knew that my teaching was like the
blind instructing the blind; but it had the merit of coming from God,
though in a degree suited to my humble claims on his grace.
In the morning, these Malays gave me breakfast, and then carried my chest
and other articles to the Plato's boat. I was happy enough to find myself,
once more, under the stars and stripes, where I was well received, and
humanely treated. The ship sailed for Bremen about twenty days after I got
on board her.
Of course, I could do but little on the passage. Whenever I moved along
the deck, it was by crawling, though I could work with the needle and
palm. A fortnight out, the carpenter, a New York man, died.
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