Here he obtained a
position as assistant to a surgeon, who took him to the East Indies,
where his early training came in useful, and after a while the
Cornishman began to practise for himself. Fortunately for him, he was
able to cure a rajah of his disease, which restored his fortune, and he
decided to return to Cornwall. The ship was wrecked on the Cornish
coast, and again his skill in swimming saved him. He had been away for
fifteen years, and now found his sister married to a mercer in Penryn;
she, however, did not know him until he bared his arm and showed her a
mark which had been there in infancy. She was pleased to see him, and
told him that their parents had lost nearly all their money. Then he
showed her his possessions, gold and jewels, and arranged to go that
night as a stranger to his parents' home and ask for lodgings, while she
was to follow in the morning, when he would tell them who he was. When
he knocked, his father opened the door, and saw a ragged and
weather-beaten man who asked for food and an hour's shelter. Taking him
to be a sea-faring man, he willingly gave him some food, and afterwards
asked him to stay the night. After supper they sat by the fire talking
until the farmer retired to rest.
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