After a few days’ further conference with this ancient friend, he brought me an account of the first six years’ income of my plantation, signed by my partner and the merchant-trustees, being always delivered in goods, viz. tobacco in roll, and sugar in chests, besides rum, molasses, &c., which is the consequence of a sugar-work; and I found by this account, that every year the income considerably increased; but, as above, the disbursements being large, the sum at first was small: however, the old man let me see that he was debtor to me four hundred and seventy moidores of gold, besides sixty chests of sugar and fifteen double rolls of tobacco, which were lost in his ship; he having been shipwrecked coming home to Lisbon, about eleven years after my having the place.
Al cabo de varios días de conversaciones con este viejo amigo, me trajo la cuenta de los pagos por los primeros seis años de ingresos de la plantación, firmada por mi socio y los administradores, que siempre se efectuó en especias tales como rollos de tabaco, toneles de azúcar, ron, melaza, etc., que son los bienes que produce una plantación de azúcar. Por esta cuenta, descubrí que los ingresos aumentaban considerablemente por año aunque, según se ha dicho, como el desembolso inicial fue grande, las primeras cuentas eran bajas.