man that came along with me led along the road.  But we had not gone far, before we were attacked by five Tartars, mounted on horseback, two of whom seized the man, took the camel from him, and rode away, while the other three approached us, the first of whom suddenly seized me as I was drawing my sword, the second; knocked me down, but my old trusty Portuguese taking a pistol out of his pocket, which I knew nothing of, and coming up to the fellow that struck me, he with one hand pulled him off his horse, and then shot him dead upon the spot; then taking his scymitar, he struck at the man that stopped us, but missing him, cut off one of his horses ears, the pain of which made him throw his rider to the ground.  The poor Chinese who had led the camel, seeing the Tartar down, runs to him, and seizing upon his pole-ax, wrenched it from his hands, and knocked his brains out.  But there was another Tartar to deal with, who seeming neither inclined to fight nor fly, and my old man having begun to charge his pistol, the very sight of it struck such a terror into the wretch, that away he scoured, leaving my old pilot, rather my champion and defender, an absolute victory.

By this time being awakened from my trance, I began to open my eyes, wondering where I was, having quite forgot all that passed; but my senses returning, and feeling a great pain in my head, and seeing the blood was running over my clothes, I instantly jumped upon my feet, and grasped my sword in my hand, with a resolution to take revenge:  but no enemies now remained, except the dead Tartar, with his horse standing by him.  The old man seeing me recovered, whom he thought slain, ran towards me, and embraced me with the greatest tenderness, at the same time examining into my wound, which was far from being mortal.  When we returned to the village, the man demanded payment for his camel, which I refusing, we brought the cause, before a Chinese judge, who acted with great impartiality:  Having heard both sides, he asked the Chinese man that went with me, whose servant he was? Sir, said he, I am nobody’s, but went with the stranger at his request:  Why then, said the judge, you are the stranger’s servant for the time, and the camel being delivered to his servant, it is the same as though delivered to himself, and accordingly he must pay for it. Indeed the case was so fairly stated, that I had nothing to object to it; so, having paid for that I was robbed of, I sent for another, but did not go myself to fetch it, as I had enough of that sport before.

The city of Naum is a frontier of the Chinese empire, so fortified, as some will tell you, that millions of Tartars cannot batter down their walls; by which certainly one might think one of our cannons would do more execution than all their legions.