His imperial
majesty spoke often to me, and I returned answers, but neither of us
could understand a syllable. There were several of his priests and
lawyers present (as I conjectured by their habits), who were commanded
to address themselves to me; and I spoke to them in as many languages as
I had the least smattering of, which were, High and Low Dutch, Latin,
French, Spanish, Italian, and Lingua Franca;[15] but all to no purpose.
After about two hours the court retired, and I was left with a strong
guard, to prevent the impertinence, and probably the malice of the
rabble, who were very impatient to crowd about me as near as they durst;
and some of them had the impudence to shoot their arrows at me, as I sat
on the ground by the door of my house, whereof one very narrowly missed
my left eye. But the colonel ordered six of the ring-leaders to be
seized, and thought no punishment so proper as to deliver them bound
into my hands; which some of his soldiers accordingly did, pushing them
forwards with the butt-ends of their pikes into my reach. I took them
all on my right hand, put five of them into my coat-pocket; and as to
the sixth, I made a countenance as if I would eat him alive. The poor
man squalled terribly, and the colonel and his officers were in much
pain, especially when they saw me take out my penknife; but I soon put
them out of fear, for, looking mildly, and immediately cutting the
strings he was bound with, I set him gently on the ground, and away he
ran.
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