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.
Még néhány napig látogattam öreg barátomat, aki megmutatta nekem az ültetvényem első hat évének bevételéről szóló iratokat, melyeket aláírt a társam és a két kereskedő is. Ebből megállapítottam, hogy a bevétel évről évre rohamosan növekedett, de mivel jelentős beruházásokra volt szükség, a nyereség eleinte viszonylag alacsony volt.