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<ETS>
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<CHANGE>
<DATE>2010-11-04</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B100410.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A25604">
<STC T="W">A3425</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">12224817</BIBNO>
<VID>56481</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="response">
<PB N="1" REF="1">
<HEAD>AN ANSWER To the Merchants LETTER, DIRECTED TO Ralph Mean-well, Now on Board the VAN-HERRING: With a Pur&s;uit of the former Legorn Letter. 19 <HI>JAN&V;ARY</HI> 1679.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>WORTHY SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_I RECEIVED yours, and in pur&s;uance of your Di|rections, my &s;elf, with &s;ome others, have made it our Bu&s;ine&s;s to procure Sub&s;criptions to a Petition (humbly de&s;iring our Captain that his Council may &s;it on the day prefix'd) in which undertaking we have not been a lit|tle di&s;courag'd for (which you'd hardly believe) not one in fifteen throughout the whole Ship would &s;ub&s;cribe; nay, on the contrary, &s;ome there were on Board us, who in&s;tead of &s;etting one hand to it, fail'd not to u&s;e both and tore it; but we have call'd them to accompt for it, though we fear to little purpo&s;e: but this u&s;age has not wholly di&s;heartned us, for by fair words to &s;ome, and threatning &s;peeches to others, when we &s;aw a Sailor in quandary whether he &s;hould &s;et Pen to Paper or no, we told him there was no greater Te&s;t to prove him either an Algerine or a Chri&s;tian; by which, and with other means, we have mu&s;tered a con&s;iderable number of hands: but becau&s;e I will not flatter your expectation, with &s;hadows in&s;tead of real &s;ub&s;tances; to deal truly with you, they are mo&s;t of them but the Riff-raff of our Ship; but &s;uch as they were, &s;ome half a &s;core of our principal Fore-ma&s;t-men humbly pre&s;ented it to our Captain; but, Ble&s;s me! had you but &s;een how di&s;dainful|ly
<PB N="2" REF="2">he received both them and their Cables length of Scrawles; for indeed mo&s;t of them were no other, for fir&s;t you had a Name or two written in a tolerable hand, but then three or four Marks in&s;tead of Names, pur&s;ued them; which our Captain took for Hebrew Characters <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">ill inquiring into the Quality of the Mark-makers, he was informed the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter"> were formerly edu|cated in the Art of Button-makers, Taggers of Points and Laces, and &s;uch like Manufactures, whom the frowning World forc'd to Sea, and now are be|come Sailors; but in &s;hort, the Captain no way allow'd of our proceedings, which we dare not own to our Ships Company: but on the contrary, have given out that he vouch&s;afed us a gracious An&s;wer; which we &s;uppo&s;e has wrought &s;uch Effects, that within few days we doubt not but &s;ome others of our Company will appear in the like Cau&s;e.</P>
<P>YOU may remember you mentioned two pernicious Pa&s;&s;engers lying on Board us in our great Cabbin. Al<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 letter">s Sir! We have nearer Two Score, and &s;ome of them of dangerous con&s;equence; in particular, one who has &s;o often chang'd his Religion, when there has been alteration of Commanders, that he &s;carce knows what Government he would have aboard us; be&s;ides many others, who are daily buzzing in our Captains Ears, that were we not a&s;&s;ured of his great Conduct, &s;ome of them e're this time had betray'd us in|to our Enemies hands: As to the Sultane&s;s, there is great hopes &s;he will (in a Pinnace of the Captains) leave our Ship and return to <HI>Algiers,</HI> the place of her Nativity; but for the Renegado we are like to be pe&s;tered longer with him; for we have had Advice from aboard the Pinnace he &s;tear'd, that he bred &s;uch Di&s;&s;entions between the Sailors and their Captain, that 'tis thought, if ever they catch him aboard their Pinnace again, they'll Keel|hale him.</P>
<P>I thought convenient to acquaint you, That our Council of War have Tried Five Mu&s;&s;ullmen, and have found them guilty of High Mi&s;demea|nors, in that they have by Order ot their Mufti read the <HI>Alcoran</HI> publickly, and have endeavoured to Algerize &s;ome Chri&s;tians; for which Facts ac|cording to Law they have received Sentence of being Tied <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="pdcc" EXTENT="1 word"> to the Yards Arm.</P>
<P>Further, I mu&s;t acquaint you, That one of the Chief of our Council of War has been charg'd with a little under-hand Dealings, by brow-beating our Material Evidence, and privately &s;etting on Shore &s;ome Mahometans charg'd as Actors or Abettors in the Con&s;piracy; chiefly the di&s;charging our Chirurgeons Mate, when &s;o clear Evidence appear'd again&s;t him; how he will clear him&s;elf of the&s;e and other Crimes, he is charged with, my next &s;hall inform you.</P>
<P>Thus have I given you an Impartial Account of our pre&s;ent unhappy Condition, which cannot but amaze you and the re&s;t of our Worthy Owners, to whom I de&s;ire you would be plea&s;ed to impart this; and what other Tran&s;actions offers, you &s;hall have by my next: Yet doubting not but our BRAVE CAPTAIN will by his Mature Courage and Conduct, u&s;e his utmo&s;t Endeavour for the due Pro&s;ecution of our Enemies; which will much exhilerate the hearts of our Ships Company, and e&s;pecially the Heart of</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your Faithful Servant, <HI>RALPH MEAN-WELL.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
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