occasion for before; that is to say, about speech. Besides the pleasure
of talking to him, I had a singular satisfaction in the fellow himself;
his simple unfeigned honesty appeared to me more and more every day, and
I began really to love the creature; and on his side, I believe, he
loved me more than it was possible for him ever to love any
thing before.

I had a mind once to try if he had any hankering inclination to his own
country again; and having learnt him English so well, that he could
answer me almost any questions, I asked him, whether the nation that he
belonged to never conquered in battle? At which he smiled, and said,
"Yes, yes, we always fight the better;" that is, he meant, always get
the better in fight; and so we began the following discourse. "You
always fight the better!" said I: "how came you to be taken prisoner
then, Friday?"

_Friday._ My nation beat much for all that.

_Master_. How beat? if your nation beat them, how came you to be taken?

_Friday_. They more than my nation in the place where me was; they take
one, two, three, and me: my nation over-beat them in the yonder place,
where me no was; there my nation take one two great thousand.

_Master_. But why did not your side recover you from the hands of your
enemies then?

_Friday_. They run one, two, three, and me, and make go in the canoe; my
nation have no canoe that time.