ROBINSON CRUSOE

IN WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE

By Mary Godolphin

PREFACE. 

The production of a book which is adapted to the use of the youngestreaders needs but few words of excuse or apology. The nature of the workseems to be sufficiently explained by the title itself, and the author'stask has been chiefly to reduce the ordinary language into words of onesyllable. But although, as far as the subject matter is concerned, thebook can lay no claims to originality, it is believed that the ideaand scope of its construction are entirely novel, for the One Syllableliterature of the present day furnishes little more than a few short, unconnected sentences, and those chiefly in spelling books. 

The deep interest which De Foe's story has never failed to arouse in theminds of the young, induces the author to hope that it may be acceptablein its present form. 

It should be stated that exceptions to the rule of using words of onesyllable exclusively have been made in the case of the proper namesof the boy Xury and of the man Friday, and in the titles of theillustrations that accompany this work. 

ROBINSON CRUSOE. 

IN WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE. 

I was born at York on the first of March in the sixth year of the reignof King Charles the First. From the time when I was quite a young child, I had felt a great wish to spend my life at sea, and as I grew, so didthis taste grow more and more strong; till at last I broke loose frommy school and home, and found my way on foot to Hull, where I soon got aplace on board a ship. 

When we had set sail but a few days, a squall of wind came on, and onthe fifth night we sprang a leak. All hands were sent to the pumps, butwe felt the ship groan in all her planks, and her beams quake from stemto stern; so that it was soon quite clear there was no hope for her, andthat all we could do was to save our lives. 

The first thing was to fire off guns, to show that we were in need ofhelp, and at length a ship, which lay not far from us, sent a boat toour aid. But the sea was too rough for it to lie near our ship's side, so we threw out a rope, which the men in the boat caught, and made fast, and by this means we all got in. Still in so wild a sea it was in vainto try to get on board the ship which had sent out the men, or to useour oars in the boat, and all we could do was to let it drive to shore. 

In the space of half an hour our own ship struck on a rock and wentdown, and we saw her no more. We made but slow way to the land, which wecaught sight of now and then when the boat rose to the top of some highwave, and there we saw men who ran in crowds, to and fro, all bent onone thing, and that was to save us. 

At last to our great joy we got on shore, where we had the luck to meetwith friends who gave us the means to get back to Hull; and if I had nowhad the good sense to go home, it would have been well for me. 

The man whose ship had gone down said with a grave look, "Young lad, youought to go to sea no more, it is not the kind, of life for you. " "WhySir, will you go to sea no more then?" "That is not the same kind ofthing; I was bred to the sea, but you were not, and came on board myship just to find out what a life at sea was like, and you may guesswhat you will come to if you do not go back to your home. God will notbless you, and it may be that you have brought all this woe on us. "

I spoke not a word more to him; which way he went I knew not, nor didI care to know, for I was hurt at this rude speech. Shall I go homethought I, or shall I go to sea? Shame kept me from home, and I couldnot make up my mind what course of life to take. 

As it has been my fate through life to choose for the worst, so I didnow. I had gold in my purse, and good clothes on my back, and to sea Iwent once more. 

But I had worse luck this time than the last, for when we were far outat sea, some Turks in a small ship came on our track in full chase. Weset as much sail as our yards would bear, so as to get clear from them. But in spite of this, we saw our foes gain on us, and we felt sure thatthey would come up with our ship in a few hours' time. 

At last they caught us, but we brought our guns to bear on them, whichmade them shear off for a time, yet they kept up a fire at us as long asthey were in range. The next time the Turks came up, some of their mengot on board our ship, and set to work to cut the sails, and do us allkinds of harm. So, as ten of our men lay dead, and most of the rest hadwounds, we gave in. 

The chief of the Turks took me as his prize to a port which was held bythe Moors. He did not use me so ill as at first I thought he would havedone, but he set me to work with the rest of his slaves. This was achange in my life which I did not think had been in store for me. How myheart sank with grief at the thought of those whom I had left at home, nay, to whom I had not had the grace so much as to say "Good bye" when Iwent to sea, nor to give a hint of what I meant to do!

Yet all that I went through at this time was but a taste of the toilsand cares which it has since been my lot to bear. 

I thought at first that the Turk might take me with him when next hewent to sea, and so I should find some way to get free; but the hopedid not last long, for at such times he left me on shore to see to hiscrops. This kind of life I led for two years, and as the Turk knew andsaw more of me, he made me more and more free. He went out in his boatonce or twice a week to catch a kind of flat fish, and now and then hetook me and a boy with him, for we were quick at this kind of sport, andhe grew quite fond of me. 

One day the Turk sent me in the boat to catch some fish, with no oneelse but a man and a boy. While we were out so thick a fog came on thatthough we were out not half a mile from the shore, we quite lost sightof it for twelve hours; and when the sun rose the next day, our boat wasat least ten miles out at sea. The wind blew fresh, and we were all muchin want of food, but at last, with the help of our oars and sail, we gotback safe to land. 

When the Turk heard how we had lost our way, he said that the next timehe went out, he would take a boat that would hold all we could want ifwe were kept out at sea. So he had quite a state room built in the longboat of his ship, as well as a room for us slaves. One day he sent meto trim the boat, as he had two friends who would go in it to fish withhim. But when the time came they did not go, so he sent me with the manand the boy--whose name was Xury--to catch some fish for the guests thatwere to sup with him. 

Now the thought struck me all at once that this would be a good chanceto set off with the boat, and get free. So in the first place, I tookall the food that I could lay my hands on, and I told the man that itwould be too bold of us to eat of the bread that had been put in theboat for the Turk. He said he thought so too, and he brought down asmall sack of rice and some rusks. 

While the man was on shore I put up some wine, a large lump of wax, asaw, an axe, a spade, some rope, and all sorts of things that might beof use to us. I knew where the Turk's case of wine was, and I put thatin the boat while the man was on shore. By one more trick I got all thatI had need of. I said to the boy, "the Turk's guns are in the boat, butthere is no shot. Do you think you could get some? You know where it iskept, and we may want to shoot a fowl or two. " So he brought a case anda pouch which held all that we could want for the guns. These I put inthe boat, and then set sail out of the port to fish. 

The wind blew, from the North, or North West, which was a bad wind forme; for had it been South I could have made for the coast of Spain. But, blow which way it might, my mind was made up to get off, and to leavethe rest to fate. I then let down my lines to fish, but I took care tohave bad sport; and when the fish bit, I would not pull them up, forthe Moor was not to see them. I said to him, "This will not do, we shallcatch no fish here, we ought to sail on a bit. " Well, the Moor thoughtthere was no harm in this. He set the sails, and, as the helm was in myhands, I ran the boat out a mile or more, and then brought her to, as ifI meant to fish. 

Now, thought I, the time has come for me to get free! I gave the helmto the boy, and then took the Moor round the waist, and threw him out ofthe boat. 

Down he went! but soon rose up, for he swam like a duck. He said hewould go all round the world with me, if I would but take him in. 

I had some fear lest he should climb up the boat's side, and force hisway back; so I brought my gun to point at him, and said, "You can swimto land with ease if you choose, make haste then to get there; but ifyou come near the boat you shall have a shot through the head, for Imean to be a free man from this hour. "

He then swam for the shore, and no doubt got safe there, as the sea wasso calm. 

At first I thought I would take the Moor with me, and let Xury swim toland; but the Moor was not a man that I could trust. When he was gone Isaid to Xury, "If you will swear to be true to me, you shall be a greatman in time; if not, I must throw you out of the boat too. "

The poor boy gave me such a sweet smile as he swore to be true to me, that I could not find it in my heart to doubt him. 

While the man was still in view (for he was on his way to the land), westood out to sea with the boat, so that he and those that saw us fromthe shore might think we had gone to the straits' mouth, for no one wentto the South coast, as a tribe of men dwelt there who were known to killand eat their foes. 

We then bent our course to the East, so as to keep in with the shore;and as we had a fair wind and a smooth sea, by the next day at noon, wewere not less than 150 miles out of the reach of the Turk. 

I had still some fear lest I should be caught by the Moors, so I wouldnot go on shore in the day time. But when it grew dark we made our wayto the coast, and came to the mouth of a stream, from which we thoughtwe could swim to land, and then look round us. But as soon as it wasquite dark we heard strange sounds--barks, roars, grunts, and howls. Thepoor lad said he could not go on shore till dawn. "Well, " said I, "thenwe must give it up, but it may be that in the day time we shall be seenby men, who for all we know would do us more harm than wild beasts. ""Then we give them the shoot gun, " said Xury with a laugh, "and makethem run away. " I was glad to see so much mirth in the boy, and gave himsome bread and rice. 

We lay still at night, but did not sleep long, for in a few hours' timesome huge beasts came down to the sea to bathe. The poor boy shook fromhead to foot at the sight. One of these beasts came near our boat, andthough it was too dark to see him well, we heard him puff and blow, andknew that he must be a large one by the noise he made. At last the brutecame as near to the boat as two oars' length, so I shot at him, and heswam to the shore. 

The roar and cries set up by beasts and birds at the noise of my gunwould seem to show that we had made a bad choice of a place to landon; but be that as it would, to shore we had to go to find some freshspring, so that we might fill our casks. Xury said if I would let himgo with one of the jars, he would find out if the springs were fit todrink; and, if they were sweet, he would bring the jar back full. "Whyshould you go?" said I; "Why should not I go, and you stay in the boat?"At this Xury said, "if wild mans come they eat me, you go way. " I couldnot but love the lad for this kind speech. "Well, " said I, "we will bothgo, and if the wild men come we must kill them, they shall not eat youor me. "

I gave Xury some rum from the Turk's case to cheer him up, and we wenton shore. The boy went off with his gun, full a mile from the spot wherewe stood, and came back with a hare that he had shot, which we wereglad to cook and eat; but the good news which he brought was that he hadfound a spring, and had seen no wild men. 

I made a guess that the Cape de Verd Isles were not far off, for I sawthe top of the Great Peak, which I knew was near them. My one hope wasthat if I kept near the coast, I should find some ship that would takeus on board; and then, and not till then, should I feel a free man. Ina word, I put the whole of my fate on this chance, that I must meet withsome ship, or die. 

On the coast we saw some men who stood to look at us. They were black, and wore no clothes. I would have gone on shore to them, but Xury--whoknew best--said, "Not you go! Not you go!" So I brought the boat as nearthe land as I could, that I might talk to them, and they kept up with mea long way. I saw that one of them had a lance in his hand. 

I made signs that they should bring me some food, and they on their partmade signs for me to stop my boat. So I let down the top of my sail, andlay by, while two of them ran off; and in less than half an hour theycame back with some dry meat and a sort of corn which is grown in thispart of the world. This we should have been glad to get, but knew nothow to do so; for we durst not go on shore to them, nor did they dareto come to us. At last they took a safe way for us all, for they broughtthe food to the shore, where they set it, down, and then went a long wayoff while we took it in. We made signs to show our thanks, for we hadnot a thing that we could spare to give them. 

But as good luck would have it, we were at hand to take a great prizefor them; for two wild beasts, of the same kind as the first I spoke of, came in, full chase from the hills down to the sea. 

They swam as if they had come for sport. The men flew from them in fear, all but the one who held the lance. One of these beasts came near ourboat; so I lay in wait for him with my gun; and as soon as the brute wasin range, I shot him through the head. Twice he sank down in the sea, and twice he came up; and then just swam to the land, where he fell downdead. The men were in as much fear at the sound of my gun, as they hadbeen at the sight of the beasts. But when I made signs for them to cometo the shore, they took heart, and came. 

They at once made for their prize; and by the help of a rope, which theyslung round him, they brought him safe on the beach. 

We now left our wild men, and went on and on, for twelve days more. Theland in front of us ran out four or five miles, like a bill; and we hadto keep some way from the coast, to make this point, so that we lostsight of the shore. 

I gave the helm to Xury and sat down to think what would be my bestcourse to take: when all at once I heard the lad cry out "A ship with asail! A ship with a sail!" He did not show much joy at the sight, forhe thought that this ship had been sent out to take him back: but I knewwell, from the look of her, that she was not one of the Turk's. 

I made all the sail I could to come in the ship's way, and told Xury tofire a gun, in the hope that if those on deck could not hear the sound, they might see the smoke. This they did see, and then let down theirsails so that we might come up to them, and in three hours time we wereat the ship's side. The men spoke to us in French, but I could not makeout what they meant. At last a Scot on board said in my own tongue, "Whoare you? Whence do you come?" I told him in a few words how I had gotfree from the Moors. 

Then the man who had charge of the ship bade me come on board, and tookme in with Xury and all my goods. I told him that he might take all Ihad, but he said "You shall have your goods back when we come to land, for I have but done for you what you would have done for me, had I beenin the same plight. "

He gave me a good round sum for my boat, and said that I should have thesame sum for Xury, if I would part with him. But I told him that as itwas by the boy's help that I had got free, I was loath to sell him. Hesaid it was just and right in me to feel thus, but at the same time, ifI could make up my mind to part with him, he should be set free in twoyears' time. So, as the poor slave had a wish to go with him, I did notsay "no. " I got to All Saints' Bay in three weeks, and was now a freeman. 

I had made a good sum by all my store, and with this I went on land. ButI did not at all know what to do next. At length I met with a man whosecase was much the same as my own, and we both took some land to farm. My stock, like his, was low, but we made our farms serve to keep us infood, though not more than that. We both stood in need of help, and Isaw now that I had done wrong to part with my boy. 

I did not at all like this kind of life. What! thought I, have I comeall this way to do that which I could have done as well at home withmy friends round me! And to add to my grief, the kind friend, who hadbrought me here in his ship, now meant to leave these shores. 

On my first start to sea when a boy, I had put a small sum in the handsof an aunt, and this my friend said I should do well to spend on myfarm. So when he got home he sent some of it in cash, and laid out therest in cloth, stuffs, baize, and such like goods. My aunt had put a fewpounds in my friend's hands as a gift to him, to show her thanks for allthat he had done for me, and with this sum he was so kind as to buy me aslave. In the mean time I had bought a slave, so now I had two, and allwent on well for the next year. 

But soon my plans grew too large for my means. One day some men came toask me to take charge of a slave ship to be sent out by them. They saidthey would give me a share in the slaves, and pay the cost of the stock. This would have been a good thing for me if I had not had farms andland; but it was wild and rash to think of it now, for I had made alarge sum, and ought to have gone on in the same way for three or fouryears more. Well, I told these men that I would go with all my heart, ifthey would look to my farm in the mean time, which they said they woulddo. 

So I made my will, and went on board this ship on the same day on which, eight years since, I had left Hull. She had six guns, twelve men, and aboy. We took with us saws, chains, toys, beads, bits of glass, and suchlike ware, to suit the taste of those with whom we had to trade. 

We were not more than twelve days from the Line, when a high wind tookus off we knew not where. All at once there was a cry of "Land!" and theship struck on a bank of sand, in which she sank so deep that we couldnot get her off. At last we found that we must make up our minds toleave her, and get to shore as well as we could. There had been a boatat her stern, but we found it had been torn off by the force of thewaves. One small boat was still left on the ship's side, so we got init. 

There we were all of us on the wild sea. The heart of each now grewfaint, our cheeks were pale, and our eyes were dim, for there was butone hope, and that was to find some bay, and so get in the lee of theland. We now gave up our whole souls to God. 

The sea grew more and more rough, and its white foam would curl andboil. At last the waves, in their wild sport, burst on the boat's side, and we were all thrown out. 

I could swim well, but the force of the waves made me lose my breath toomuch to do so. At length one large wave took me to the shore, and leftme high and dry, though half dead with fear. I got on my feet and madethe best of my way for the land; but just then the curve of a huge waverose up as high as a hill, and this I had no strength to keep from, soit took me back to the sea. I did my best to float on the top, and heldmy breath to do so. The next wave was quite as high, and shut me up inits bulk. I held my hands down tight to my side, and then my head shotout at the top of the waves. This gave me heart and breath too, and soonmy feet felt the ground. 

I stood quite still for a short time, to let the sea run back from me, and then I set off with all my might to the shore, but yet the wavescaught me, and twice more did they take me back, and twice more land meon the shore. I thought the last wave would have been the death of me, for it drove me on a piece of rock, and with such force, as to leave mein a kind of swoon, which, thank God, did not last long. At length, tomy great joy, I got up to the cliffs close to the shore, where I foundsome grass, out of the reach of the sea. There, I sat down, safe on landat last. 

I could but cry out in the words of the Psalm, "They that go down to thesea in ships, these men see the works of the Lord in the deep. For atHis word the storms rise, the winds blow, and lift up the waves; thendo they mount to the sky, and from thence go down to the deep. My soulfaints, I reel to and fro, and am at my wit's end: then the Lord bringsme out of all my fears. "

I felt so wrapt in joy, that all I could do was to walk up and down thecoast, now lift up my hands, now fold them on my breast, and thank Godfor all that He had done for me, when the rest of the men were lost. All lost but I, and I was safe! I now cast my eyes round me, to find outwhat kind of a place it was that I had been thus thrown in, like a birdin a storm. Then all the glee I felt at first left me; for I was wet andcold, and had no dry clothes to put on, no food to eat and not a friendto help me. 

There were wild beasts here, but I had no gun to shoot them with, or tokeep me from their jaws. I had but a knife and a pipe. It now grew dark;and where was I to go for the night? I thought the top of some high treewould be a good place to keep me out of harm's way; and that there Imight sit and think of death, for, as yet, I had no hopes of life. Well, I went to my tree, and made a kind of nest to sleep in. Then I cut astick to keep off the beasts of prey, in case they should come, and fellto sleep just as if the branch I lay on had been a bed of down. 

When I woke up it was broad day; the sky too was clear and the sea calm. But I saw from the top of the tree that in the night the ship had leftthe bank of sand, and lay but a mile from me; while the boat was on thebeach, two miles on my right. I went some way down by the shore, to getto the boat; but an arm of the sea, half a mile broad, kept me fromit. At noon, the tide went a long way out, so that I could get near theship; and here I found that if we had but made up our minds to stay onboard, we should all have been safe. 

I shed tears at the thought, for I could not help it; yet, as there wasno use in that, it struck me that the best thing for me to do was toswim to the ship. I soon threw off my clothes, took to the sea, and swamup to the wreck. But how was I to get on deck? I had swam twice roundthe ship, when a piece of rope, caught my eye, which hung down from herside so low, that at first the waves hid it. By the help of this rope Igot on board. I found that there was a bulge in the ship, and that shehad sprung a leak. You may be sure that my first thought was to lookround for some food, and I soon made my way to the bin, where the breadwas kept, and ate some of it as I went to and fro, for there was no timeto lose. There was, too, some rum, of which I took a good draught, andthis gave me heart. What I stood most in need of, was a boat to take thegoods to shore. But it was vain to wish for that which could not behad; and as there were some spare yards in the ship, two or three largeplanks of wood, and a spare mast or two, I fell to work with these, tomake a raft. 

I put four spars side by side, and laid short bits of plank on them, cross ways, to make my raft strong. Though these planks would bear myown weight, they were too slight to bear much of my freight. So I took asaw which was on board, and cut a mast in three lengths, and these gavegreat strength to the raft. I found some bread and rice, a Dutch cheese, and some dry goat's flesh. There had been some wheat, but the rats hadgot at it, and it was all gone. 

My next task was to screen my goods from the spray of the sea; and itdid not take me long to do this, for there were three large chests onboard which held all, and these I put on the raft. When the high tidecame up it took off my coat and shirt, which I had left on the shore;but there were some fresh clothes in the ship. 

"See here is a prize!" said I, out loud, (though there were none to hearme), "now I shall not starve. " For I found four large guns. But how wasmy raft to be got to land? I had no sail, no oars; and a gust of windwould make all my store slide off. Yet there were three things which Iwas glad of; a calm sea, a tide which set in to the shore, and a slightbreeze to blow me there. 

I had the good luck to find some oars in a part of the ship, in whichI had made no search till now. With these I put to sea, and for half amile my raft went well; but soon I found it drove to one side. At lengthI saw a creek, to which, with some toil, I took my raft; and now thebeach was so near, that I felt my oar touch the ground. 

Here I had well nigh lost my freight, for the shore lay on a slope, sothat there was no place to land on, save where one end of the raft wouldlie so high, and one end so low, that all my goods would fall off. Towait till the tide came up was all that could be done. So when the seawas a foot deep, I thrust the raft on a flat piece of ground, to moorher there, and stuck my two oars in the sand, one on each side of theraft. Thus I let her lie till the ebb of the tide, and when it wentdown, she was left safe on land with all her freight. 

I saw that there were birds on the isle, and I shot one of them. Minemust have been the first gun that had been heard there since the worldwas made; for at the sound of it, whole flocks of birds flew up, withloud cries, from all parts of the wood. The shape of the beak of the oneI shot was like that of a hawk, but the claws were not so large. 

I now went back to my raft to land my stores, and this took up the restof the day. What to do at night I knew not, nor where to find a safeplace to land my stores on. I did not like to lie down on the ground, for fear of beasts of prey, as well as snakes, but there was no causefor these fears, as I have since found. I put the chests and boardsround me as well as I could, and made a kind of hut for the night. 

As there was still a great store of things left in the ship, which wouldbe of use to me, I thought that I ought to bring them to land at once;for I knew that the first storm would break up the ship. So I went onboard, and took good care this time not to load my raft too much. 

The first thing, I sought for was the tool chest; and in it were somebags of nails, spikes, saws, knives, and such things: but best of all Ifound a stone to grind my tools on. There were two or three flasks, some large bags of shot, and a roll of lead; but this last I had notthe strength to hoist up to the ship's side, so as to get it on my raft. There were some spare sails too which I brought to shore. 

I had some fear lest my stores might be run off with by beasts of prey, if not by men; but I found all safe and sound when I went back, and noone had come there but a wild cat, which sat on one of the chests. WhenI came up I held my gun at her, but as she did not know what a gun was, this did not rouse her. She ate a piece of dry goat's flesh, and thentook her leave. 

Now that I had two freights of goods at hand, I made a tent with theship's sails, to stow them in, and cut the poles for it from the wood. I now took all the things out of the casks and chests, and put the casksin piles round the tent, to give it strength; and when this was done, I shut up the door with the boards, spread one of the beds (which I hadbrought from the ship) on the ground, laid two guns close to my head, and went to bed for the first time. I slept all night, for I was much inneed of rest. 

The next day I was sad and sick at heart, for I felt how dull it was tobe thus cut off from all the rest of the world. I had no great wish forwork: but there was too much to be done for me to dwell long on my sadlot. Each day as it came, I went off to the wreck to fetch more things;and I brought back as much as the raft would hold. One day I had put toogreat a load on the raft, which made it sink down on one side, so thatthe goods were lost in the sea; but at this I did not fret, as the chiefpart of the freight was some rope, which would not have been of much useto me. 

The twelve days that I had been in the isle were spent in this way, andI had brought to land all that one pair of hands could lift; though ifthe sea had been still calm, I might have brought the whole ship, pieceby piece. 

The last time I swam to the wreck, the wind blew so hard, that I made upmy mind to go on board next time at low tide. I found some tea and somegold coin; but as to the gold, it made me laugh to look at it. "O drug!"said I, "Thou art of no use to me! I care not to save thee. Stay wherethou art, till the ship go down, then go thou with it!"

Still, I thought I might as well just take it; so I put it in a pieceof the sail, and threw it on deck that I might place it on the raft. Bye-and-bye, the wind blew from the shore, so I had to swim back withall speed; for I knew that at the turn of the tide, I should find ithard work to get to land at all. But in spite of the high wind, I cameto my home all safe. At dawn of day I put my head out, and cast my eyeson the sea. When lo! no ship was there!

This change in the face of things, and the loss of such a friend, quitestruck me down. Yet I was glad to think that I had brought to shore allthat could be of use to me. I had now to look out for some spot where Icould make my home. Half way up a hill there was a small plain, four orfive score feet long, and twice as broad; and as it had a full view ofthe sea, I thought that it would be a good place for my house. 

I first dug a trench round a space which took in twelve yards; and inthis I drove two rows of stakes, till they stood firm like piles, fiveand a half feet from the ground. I made the stakes close and tight withbits of rope; and put small sticks on the top of them in the shape ofspikes. This made so strong a fence that no man or beast could get in. 

The door of my house was on the top, and I had to climb up to it bysteps, which I took in with me, so that no one else might come up by thesame way. Close to the back of the house stood a high rock, in which Imade a cave, and laid all the earth that I had dug out of it round myhouse, to the height of a foot and a half. I had to go out once a day insearch of food. The first time, I saw some goats, but they were too shyand swift of foot, to let me get near them. 

At last I lay in wait for them close to their own haunts. If they sawme in the vale, though they might be on high ground, they would run off, wild with fear; but if they were in the vale, and I on high ground, theytook no heed of me. The first goat I shot had a kid by her side, andwhen the old one fell, the kid stood near her, till I took her off onmy back, and then the young one ran by my side. I put down the goat, andbrought the kid home to tame it; but as it was too young to feed, I hadto kill it. 

At first I thought that, for the lack of pen and ink, I should lose allnote of time; so I made a large post, in the shape of a cross, on whichI cut these words, "I came on these shores on the 8th day of June, inthe year 1659" On the side of this post I made a notch each day as itcame, and this I kept up till the last. 

I have not yet said a word of my four pets, which were two cats, a dog, and a bird. You may guess how fond I was of them, for they were all thefriends left to me. I brought the dog and two cats from the ship. Thedog would fetch things for me at all times, and by his bark, his whine, his growl, and his tricks, he would all but talk to me; yet he could notgive me thought for thought. 

If I could but have had some one near me to find fault with, or to findfault with me, what a treat it would have been! Now that I had broughtink from the ship, I wrote down a sketch of each day as it came; not somuch to leave to those who might read it, when I was dead and gone, asto get rid of my own thoughts, and draw me from the fears which all daylong dwelt on my mind, till my head would ache with the weight of them. 

I was a long way out of the course of ships: and oh, how dull it was tobe cast on this lone spot with no one to love, no one to make me laugh, no one to make me weep, no one to make me think. It was dull to roam, day by day, from the wood to the shore; and from the shore back to thewood, and feed on my own thoughts all the while. 

So much for the sad view of my case; but like most things it had abright side as well as a dark one. For here was I safe on land, whileall the rest of the ship's crew were lost. Well, thought I, God whoshapes our ways, and led me by the hand then, can save me from thisstate now, or send some one to be with me; true, I am cast on a roughand rude part of the globe, but there are no beasts of prey on it tokill or hurt me. God has sent the ship so near to me, that I have gotfrom it all things to meet my wants for the rest of my days. Let life bewhat it may, there is sure to be much to thank God for; and I soon gaveup all dull thoughts, and did not so much as look out for a sail. 

My goods from the wreck had been in the cave for more than ten months;and it was time now to put them right, as they took up all the space, and left me no room to turn in: so I made my small cave a large one, anddug it out a long way back in the sand rock. Then I brought the mouth ofit up to the fence, and so made a back way to my house. This done, I putshelves on each side, to hold my goods, which made my cave look like ashop full of stores. To make these shelves I cut down a tree, and withthe help of a saw, an axe, a plane, and some more tools, I made boards. 

A chair, and a desk to write on, came next. I rose in good time, and setto work till noon, then I ate my meal, then I went out with my gun, andto work once more till the sun had set; and then to bed. It took me morethan a week to change the shape and size of my cave, but I had made itfar too large; for in course of time the earth fell in from the roof;and had I been in it, when this took place, I should have lost my life. I had now to set up posts in my cave, with planks on the top of them, soas to make a roof of wood. 

One day, when out with my gun, I shot a wild cat, the skin of which mademe a cap; and I found some birds of the dove tribe, which built theirnests in the holes of rocks. 

I had to go to bed at dusk, till I made a lamp of goat's fat, which Iput in a clay dish; and this, with a piece of hemp for a wick, made agood light. As I had found a use for the bag which had held the fowl'sfood on board ship, I shook out from it the husks of corn. This was justat the time when the great rains fell, and in the course of a month, blades of rice, corn, and rye, sprang up. As time went by, and the grainwas ripe, I kept it, and took care to sow it each year; but I could notboast of a crop of wheat, as will be shown bye-and-bye, for three years. 

A thing now took place on the isle, which no one could have dreamt of, and which struck me down with fear. It was this--the ground shookwith great force, which threw down earth from the rock with a loudcrash--once more there was a shock--and now the earth fell from the roofof my cave. The sea did not look the same as it had done, for the shockswere just as strong there as on land. The sway of the earth made me feelsick; and there was a noise and a roar all around me. The same kind ofshock came a third time; and when it had gone off, I sat quite still onthe ground, for I knew not what to do. Then the clouds grew dark, thewind rose, trees were torn up by the roots, the sea was a mass of foamand froth, and a great part of the isle was laid waste with the storm. Ithought that the world had come to an end. In three hours' time all wascalm; but rain fell all that night, and a great part of the next day. Now, though quite worn out, I had to move my goods which were in thecave, to some safe place. 

I knew that tools would be my first want, and that I should have togrind mine on the stone, as they were blunt and worn with use. But as ittook both hands to hold the tool, I could not turn the stone; so I madea wheel by which I could move it with my foot. This was no small task, but I took great pains with it, and at length it was done. 

The rain fell for some days and a cold chill came on me; in short I wasill. I had pains in my head, and could get no sleep at night, and mythoughts were wild and strange. At one time I shook with cold, and thena hot fit came on, with faint sweats, which would last six hours at atime. Ill as I was, I had to go out with my gun to get food. I shot agoat, but it was a great toil to bring it home, and still more to cookit. 

I spent the next day in bed, and felt half dead from thirst, yet tooweak to stand up to get some drink. I lay and wept like a child. "Lordlook on me! Lord look on me!" would I cry for hours. 

At last the fit left me, and I slept, and did not wake till dawn. Idreamt that I lay on the ground, and saw a man come down from a greatblack cloud in a flame of light. When he stood on the earth, it shook asit had done a few days since; and all the world to me was full of fire. He came up and said "As I see that all these things have not broughtthee to pray, now thou shalt die. " Then I woke, and found it was adream. Weak and faint, I was in dread all day lest my fit should comeon. 

Too ill to get out with my gun, I sat on the shore to think, and thusran my thoughts: "What is this sea which is all round me? and whence isit? There can be no doubt that the hand that made it, made the air, theearth, the sky. And who is that? It is God who hath made all things. Well then, if God hath made all things, it must be He who guides them;and if so, no one thing in the whole range of His works can take place, and He not know it. Then God must know how sick and sad I am, and Hewills me to be here. O, why hath God done this to me!"

Then some voice would seem to say, "Dost thou ask why God hath done thisto thee? Ask why thou wert not shot by the Moors, who came on board theship, and took the lives of thy mates. Ask why thou wert not torn by thebeasts of prey on the coasts. Ask why thou didst not go down in thedeep sea with the rest of the crew, but didst come to this isle, and artsafe. "

A sound sleep then fell on me, and when I woke it must have been threeo'clock the next day, by the rays of the sun: nay, it may have been morethan that; for I think that this must have been the day that I did notmark on my post, as I have since found that there was one notch too few. 

I now took from my store the Book of God's Word, which I had broughtfrom the wreck, not one page, of which I had yet read. My eyes fell onfive words, that would seem to have been put there for my good at thistime; so well did they cheer my faint hopes, and touch the true sourceof my fears. They were these: "I will not leave thee. " And they havedwelt in my heart to this day. I laid down the book, to pray. My cry was"O, Lord, help me to love and learn thy ways. "

This was the first time in all my life that I had felt a sense that Godwas near, and heard me. As for my dull life here, it was not worth athought; for now a new strength had come to me; and there was a changein my griefs, as well as in my joys. 

I had now been in the isle twelve months, and I thought it was time togo all round it, in search of its woods, springs, and creeks. So I setoff, and brought back with me limes and grapes in their prime, large andripe. I had hung the grapes in the sun to dry, and in a few days' timewent to fetch them, that I might lay up a store. The vale, on the banksof which they grew, was fresh and green, and a clear, bright stream ranthrough it, which gave so great a charm to the spot, as to make me wishto live there. 

But there was no view of the sea from this vale, while from my house, noships could come on my side of the isle, and not be seen by me; yet thecool, soft banks were so sweet and new to me that much of my time wasspent there. 

In the first of the three years in which I had grown corn, I had sownit too late; in the next, it was spoilt by the drought; but the thirdyears' crop had sprung up well. 

I found that the hares would lie in it night and day, for which therewas no cure but to plant a thick hedge all round it; and this took memore than three weeks to do. I shot the hares in the day time; and whenit grew dark, I made fast the dog's chain to the gate, and there hestood to bark all night. 

In a short time the corn grew strong, and at last ripe but, just as thehares had hurt it in the blade, so now the birds ate it in the ear. Atthe noise of my gun, whole flocks of them would fly up; and at this rateI saw that there would be no corn left; so I made up my mind to keep alook out night and day. I hid by the side of a hedge, and could see thebirds sit on the trees and watch, and then come down, one by one, atfirst. Now each grain of wheat was, as it were, a small loaf of bread tome. So the great thing was to get rid of these birds. My plan was this, I shot three, and hung them up, like thieves, to scare all that came tothe corn; and from this time, as long as the dead ones hung there, nota bird came near. When the corn was ripe, I made a scythe out of theswords from the ship, and got in my crop. 

Few of us think of the cost at which a loaf of bread is made. Of course, there was no plough here to turn up the earth, and no spade to dig itwith, so I made one with wood; but this was soon worn out, and for wantof a rake, I made use of the bough of a tree. When I had got the cornhome, I had to thrash it, part the grain from the chaff, and store itup. Then came the want of a mill to grind it, of sieves to clean it, andof yeast to make bread of it. 

Still, my bread was made, though I had no tools; and no one could saythat I did not earn it, by the sweat of my brow. When the rain kept mein doors, it was good fun to teach my pet bird Poll to talk; but so mutewere all things round me, that the sound of my own voice made me start. 

My chief wants now were jars, pots, cups, and plates, but I knew not howI could make them. At last I went in search of some clay, and found somea mile from my house; but it was quite a joke to see the queer shapesand forms that I made out of it. For some of my pots and jars were tooweak to bear their own weight; and they would fall out here, and inthere, in all sorts of ways; while some, when they were put in the sunto bake, would crack with the heat of its rays. You may guess what myjoy was when at last a pot was made which would stand the heat of thefire, so that I could boil the meat for broth. 

The next thing to be made was a sieve, to part the grain from the husks. Goat's hair was of no use to me, as I could not weave or spin; so I madea shift for two years with a thin kind of stuff, which I had broughtfrom the ship. But to grind the corn with the stones was the worst ofall, such hard work did I find it. To bake the bread I burnt some wooddown to an ash, which I threw on the hearth to heat it, and then set myloaves on the hearth, and in this way my bread was made. 

The next thing to turn my thoughts to was the ship's boat, which lay onthe high ridge of sand, where it had been thrust by the storm which hadcast me on these shores. But it lay with the keel to the sky, so I hadto dig the sand from it, and turn it up with the help of a pole. When Ihad done this I found it was all in vain, for I had not the strength tolaunch it. So all I could do now, was to make a boat of less size outof a tree; and I found one that was just fit for it, which grew not farfrom the shore, but I could no more stir this than I could the ship'sboat. What was to be done? I first dug the ground flat and smooth allthe way from the boat to the sea, so as to let it slide down; but thisplan did not turn out well, so I thought I would try a new way, whichwas to make a trench, so as to bring the sea up to the boat, as the boatcould not be brought to the sea. But to do this, I must have dug down toa great depth, which would take one man some years to do. And when toolate, I found it was not wise to work out a scheme, till I had firstthought of the cost and toil. 

"Well, " thought I, "I must give up the boat, and with it all my hopesto leave the isle. But I have this to think of: I am lord of the wholeisle; in fact, a king. I have wood with which I might build a fleet, andgrapes, if not corn, to freight it with, though all my wealth is but afew gold coins. " For these I had no sort of use, and could have found itin my heart to give them all for a peck of peas and some ink, which lastI stood much in need of. But it was best to dwell more on what I had, than on what I had not. 

I now must needs try once more to build a boat, but this time it was tohave a mast, for which the ship's sails would be of great use. I made adeck at each end, to keep out the spray of the sea, a bin for my food, and a rest for my gun, with a flap to screen it from the wet. More thanall, the boat was one of such a size that I could launch it. 

My first cruise was up and down the creek, but soon I got bold, and madethe whole round of my isle. I took with me bread, cakes, and a pot fullof rice, some rum, half a goat, two great coats, one of which was tolie on, and one to put on at night. I set sail in the sixth year of myreign. On the East side of the isle, there was a large ridge of rocks, which lay two miles from the shore; and a shoal of sand lay for half amile from the rocks to the beach. To get round to this point, I had tosail a great way out to sea; and here I all but lost my life. 

But I got back to my home at last. On my way there, quite worn out withthe toils of the boat, I lay down in the shade to rest my limbs, andslept. But judge, if you can, what a start I gave, when a voice wokeme out of my sleep, and spoke my name three times! A voice in this wildplace! To call me by name, too! Then the voice said, "Where are you?Where have you been? How came you here?" But now I saw it all; for atthe top of the hedge sat Poll, who did but say the words she had beentaught by me. 

I now went in search of some goats, and laid snares for them, with ricefor a bait I had set the traps in the night, and found they had allstood, though the bait was gone. So I thought of a new way to take them, which was to make a pit and lay sticks and grass on it, so as to hideit; and in this way I caught an old goat and some kids. But the old goatwas much too fierce for me, so I let him go. I brought all the youngones home, and let them fast a long time, till at last they fed from myhand, and were quite tame. I kept them in a kind of park, in which therewere trees to screen them from the sun. At first my park was three milesround; but it struck me that, in so great a space, the kids would soonget as wild as if they had the range of the whole vale, and that itwould be as well to give them less room; so I had to make a hedge whichtook me three months to plant. My park held a flock of twelve goats, andin two years more there were more than two score. 

My dog sat at meals with me, and one cat on each side of me, on stools, and we had Poll to talk to us. Now for a word or two as to the dress inwhich I made a tour round the isle. I could but think how droll it wouldlook in the streets of the town in which I was born. I wore a high capof goat's skin, with a flap that hung, down, to keep the sun and rainfrom my neck, a coat made from the skin of a goat too, the skirts ofwhich came down to my hips, and the same on my legs, with no shoes, butflaps of the fur round my shins. I had a broad belt of the same roundmy waist, which drew on with two thongs; and from it, on my right side, hung a saw and an axe; and on my left side a pouch for the shot. Mybeard had not been cut since I came here. But no more need be said ofmy looks, for there were few to see me. A strange sight was now in storefor me, which was to change the whole course of my life in the isle. 

One day at noon, while on a stroll down to a part of the shore that wasnew to me, what should I see on the sand but the print of a man's foot!I felt as if I was bound by a spell, and could not stir from, the spot. 

Bye-and-bye, I stole a look round me, but no one was in sight, Whatcould this mean? I went three or four times to look at it. There itwas--the print of a man's foot; toes, heel, and all the parts of a foot. How could it have come there?

My head swam with fear; and as I left the spot, I made two or threesteps, and then took a look round me; then two steps more, and did thesame thing. I took fright at the stump of an old tree, and ran to myhouse, as if for my life. How could aught in the shape of a man come tothat shore, and I not know it? Where was the ship that brought him? Thena vague dread took hold of my mind, that some man, or set of men, hadfound me out; and it might be, that they meant to kill me, or rob me ofall I had. 

How strange a thing is the life of man! One day we love that which thenext day we hate. One day we seek what the next day we shun. One daywe long for the thing which the next day we fear; and so we go on. Now, from the time that I was cast on this isle, my great source of griefwas that I should be thus cut off from the rest of my race. Why, then, should the thought that a man might be near give me all this pain? Nay, why should the mere sight of the print of a man's foot, make me quakewith fear? It seems most strange; yet not more strange than true. 

Once it struck me that it might be the print of my own foot, when firstthe storm cast me on these shores. Could I have come this way from theboat? Should it in truth turn out to be the print of my own foot, Ishould be like a boy who tells of a ghost, and feels more fright at hisown tale, than those do whom he meant to scare. 

Fear kept me in-doors for three days, till the want of food drove meout. At last I was so bold as to go down to the coast to look once moreat the print of the foot, to see if it was the same shape as my own. Ifound it was not so large by a great deal; so it was clear there weremen in the isle. Just at this time my good watch dog fell down dead atmy feet. He was old and worn out, and in him I lost my best guard andfriend. 

One day as I went from the hill to the coast, a scene lay in front of mewhich made me sick at heart. The spot was spread with the bones of men. There was a round place dug in the earth, where a fire had been made, and here some men had come to feast. Now that I had seen this sight, Iknew not how to act; I kept close to my home, and would scarce stir fromit, save to milk my flock of goats. 

To feel safe was now more to me than to be well fed; and I did not careto drive a nail, or chop a stick of wood, lest the sound of it should beheard, much less would I fire a gun. As to my bread and meat, I had tobake it at night when the smoke could not be seen. But I soon found theway to burn wood with turf at the top of it, which made it like chark, or dry coal; and this I could use by day, as it had no smoke. 

I found in the wood where I went to get the sticks for my fire, a caveso large that I could stand in it; but I made more haste to get out, than in; for two large eyes, as bright as stars, shone out from it witha fierce glare. I took a torch, and went to see what they could be, andfound that there was no cause for fear; for the eyes were those of anold gray goat, which had gone there to die of old age. I gave him apush, to try to get him out of the cave, but he could not rise from theground where he lay; so I left him there to die, as I could not save hislife. 

I found the width of the cave was twelve feet; but part of it, near theend, was so low that I had to creep on my hands and feet to go in. Whatthe length of it was I could not tell, for my light went out, and I hadto give up my search. The next day, I went to the cave with large lightsmade of goat's fat; and when I got to the end, I found that the roofrose to two score feet or more. 

As my lights shone on the walls and roof of the cave, a sight burst onmy view, the charms of which no tongue could tell; for the walls shonelike stars. What was in the rock to cause this it was hard to say; theymight be gems, or bright stones, or gold. But let them be what they may, this cave was a mine of wealth to me; for at such time as I felt dullor sad, the bright scene would flash on my mind's eye, and fill it withjoy. 

A score of years had gone by, with no new sight to rest my eyes on, tillthis scene burst on them. I felt as if I should like to spend the restof my life here; and at its close, lie down to die in this cave, likethe old goat. 

As I went home I was struck by the sight of some smoke, which came froma fire no more than two miles off. From this time I lost all my peaceof mind. Day and night a dread would haunt me, that the men who had madethis fire would find me out. I went home and drew up my steps, but firstI made all things round me look wild and rude. To load my gun was thenext thing to do, and I thought it would be best to stay at home andhide. 

But this was not to be borne long. I had no spy to send out and all Icould do was to get to the top of the hill, and keep a good look out. Atlast, through my glass, I could see a group of wild men join in a danceround their fire. As soon a they had left, I took two guns, and slung asword on my side; then with all speed, I set off to the top of the hill, once more to have a good view. 

This time I made up my mind to go up to the men, but not with a view tokill them, for I felt that it would be wrong to do so. With such a loadof arms, it took me two hours to reach the spot where the fire was; andby the time I got there, the men had all gone; but I saw them in fourboats out at sea. 

Down on the shore, there was a proof of what the work of these men hadbeen. The signs of their feast made me sick at heart, and I shut myeyes. I durst not fire my gun when I went out for food on that side theisle, lest there should be some of the men left, who might hear it, and so find me out. This state of things went on for a year and threemonths, and for all that time I saw no more men. 

On the twelfth of May, a great storm of wind blew all day and night. Asit was dark, I sat in my house; and in the midst of the gale, I hearda gun fire! My guess was that it must have been from some ship cast onshore by the storm. So I set a light to some wood on top of the hill, that those in the ship, if ship it should be, might know that some onewas there to aid them. I then heard two more guns fire. When it waslight, I went to the South side of the isle, and there lay the wreck ofa ship, cast on the rocks in the night by the storm. She was too far offfor me to see if there were men on board. 

Words could not tell how much I did long to bring but one of the ship'screw to the shore! So strong was my wish to save the life of those onboard, that I could have laid down my own life to do so. There are somesprings in the heart which, when hope stirs them, drive the soul on withsuch a force, that to lose all chance of the thing one hopes for, wouldseem to make one mad; and thus was it with me. 

Now, I thought, was the time to use my boat; so I set to work at once tofit it out. I took on board some rum (of which I still had a good dealleft), some dry grapes, a bag of rice, some goat's milk, and cheese, andthen put out to sea. A dread came on me at the thought of the risk I hadrun on the same rocks; but my heart did not quite fail me, though Iknew that, as my boat was small, if a gale of wind should spring up, allwould be lost. Then I found that I must go back to the shore till thetide should turn, and the ebb come on. 

I made up my mind to go out the next day with the high tide, so I sleptthat night in my boat. At dawn I set out to sea, and in less than twohours I came up to the wreck. What a scene was there! The ship hadstruck on two rocks. The stern was torn by the force of the waves, themasts were swept off, ropes and chains lay strewn on the deck, and allwas wrapt in gloom. As I came up to the wreck, a dog swam to me with ayelp and a whine. I took him on board my boat, and when I gave him somebread he ate it like a wolf, and as to drink, he would have burst, if Ihad let him take his fill of it. 

I went to the cook's room, where I found two men, but they were bothdead. The tongue was mute, the ear was deaf, the eye was shut, and thelip was stiff; still the sad tale was told, for each had his arm roundhis friend's neck, and so they must have sat to wait for death. What achange had come on the scene, once so wild with the lash of the wavesand the roar of the wind! All was calm now--death had done its work, and all had felt its stroke, save the dog, and he was the one thing thatstill had life. 

I thought the ship must have come from Spain, and there was much goldon board. I took some of the chests and put them in my boat, but did notwait to see what they held, and with this spoil, and three casks of rum, I came back. 

I found all things at home just as I had left them, my goats, my cats, and my bird. The scene in the cook's room was in my mind day and night, and to cheer me up I drank some of the rum. I then set to work to bringmy freight from the shore, where I had left it. In the chests were twogreat bags of gold, and some bars of the same, and near these lay threesmall flasks and three bags of shot which were a great prize. 

From this time, all went well with me for two years; but it was not tolast. One day, as I stood on the hill, I saw six boats on the shore!What could this mean?

Where were the men who had brought them? And what had they come for? Isaw through my glass that there were a score and a half, at least, onthe east side of the isle. They had meat on the fire, round which Icould see them dance. They then took a man from one of the boats, whowas bound hand and foot; but when they came to loose his bonds, he setoff as fast as his feet would take him, and in a straight line to myhouse. 

To tell the truth, when I saw all the rest of the men run to catch him, my hair stood on end with fright. In the creek, he swam like a fish, andthe plunge which he took brought him through it in a few strokes. Allthe men now gave up the chase but two, and they swam through the creek, but by no means so fast as the slave had done. Now, I thought, was thetime for me to help the poor man, and my heart told me it would be rightto do so. I ran down my steps with my two guns, and went with all speedup the hill, and then down by a short cut to meet them. 

I gave a sign to the poor slave to come to me, and at the same time wentup to meet the two men, who were in chase of him. I made a rush at thefirst of these, to knock him down with the stock of my gun, and he fell. I saw the one who was left, aim at me with his bow, so, to save my life, I shot him dead. 

The smoke and noise from my gun, gave the poor slave who had been bound, such a shock, that he stood still on the spot, as if he had been in atrance. I gave a loud shout for him to come to me, and I took care toshow him that I was a friend, and made all the signs I could think of tocoax him up to me. At length he came, knelt down to kiss the ground, andthen took hold of my foot, and set it on his head. All this meant thathe was my slave; and I bade him rise, and made much of him. 

But there was more work to be done yet; for the man who had had the blowfrom my gun was not dead. I made a sign for my slave (as I shall nowcall him) to look at him. At this he spoke to me, and though I couldnot make out what he said, yet it gave me a shock of joy; for it was thefirst sound of a man's voice that I had heard, for all the years I hadbeen on the isle. 

The man whom I had struck with the stock of my gun, sat up; and myslave, who was in great fear of him, made signs for me to lend him mysword, which hung in a belt at my side. With this he ran up to the man, and with one stroke cut off his head. When he had done this, he broughtme back my sword with a laugh, and put it down in front of me. I did notlike to see the glee with which he did it, and I did not feel that myown life was quite safe with such a man. 

He, in his turn, could but lift up his large brown hands with awe, tothink that I had put his foe to death, while I stood so far from him. But as to the sword, he and the rest of his tribe made use of swords ofwood, and this was why he knew so well how to wield mine. He made signsto me to let him go and see the man who had been shot; and he gave him aturn round, first on this side, then on that; and when he saw the woundmade in his breast by the shot, he stood quite, still once more, as ifhe had lost his wits. I made signs for him to come back, for my fearstold me that the rest of the men might come in search of their friends. 

I did not like to take my slave to my house, nor to my cave; so I threwdown some straw from the rice plant for him to sleep on, and gave himsome bread and a bunch of dry grapes to eat. He was a fine man, withstraight strong limbs, tall, and young. His hair was thick, like wool, and black. His head was large and high; and he had bright black eyes. Hewas of a dark brown hue; his face was round, and his nose small, butnot flat; he had a good mouth with thin lips, with which he could give asoft smile; and his teeth were as white as snow. 

I had been to milk my goats in the field close by, and when he saw me, he ran to me, and lay down on the ground to show me his thanks. He thenput his head on the ground, and set my foot on his head, as he had doneat first. He took all the means he could think of, to let me know thathe would serve me all his life; and I gave a sign to show that I thoughtwell of him. The next thing was to think of some name to call him by. I chose that of the sixth day of the week (Friday), as he came to me onthat day. I took care not to lose sight of him all that night, and whenthe sun rose, I made signs for him to come to me, that I might give himsome clothes, for he wore none. We then went up to the top of the hill, to look out for the men; but as we could not see them, or their boats, it was clear that they had left the isle. 

My slave has since told me that they had had a great fight with thetribe that dwelt next to them; and that all those men whom each sidetook in war were their own by right. My slave's foes had four who fellto their share, of whom he was one. 

I now set to work to make my man a cap of hare's skin, and gave him agoat's skin to wear round his waist. It was a great source of pride tohim, to find that his clothes were as good as my own. 

At night, I kept my guns, sword, and bow close to my side; but there wasno need for this, as my slave was, in sooth, most true to me. He did allthat he was set to do, with his whole heart in the work; and I knew thathe would lay down his life to save mine. What could a man do more thanthat? And oh, the joy to have him here to cheer me in this lone isle!

I did my best to teach him, so like a child as he was, to do and feelall that was right, I found him apt, and full of fun; and he took greatpains to learn all that I could tell him. Our lives ran on in a calm, smooth way; and, but for the vile feasts which were held on the shores, I felt no wish to leave the isle. 

As my slave had by no means lost his zest for these meals, it struck methat the best way to cure him, was to let him taste the flesh of beasts;so I took him with me one day to the wood for some sport. I saw ashe-goat, in the shade, with her two kids. I caught Friday by the arm, and made signs to him not to stir, and then shot one of the kids; butthe noise of the gun gave the poor man a great shock. He did not see thekid, nor did he know that it was dead. He tore his dress off his breastto feel if there was a wound there; then he knelt down to me, and tookhold of my knees to pray of me not to kill him. 

To show poor Friday that his life was quite safe, I led him by the hand, and told him to fetch the kid. By and by, I saw a hawk in a tree, so Ibade him look at the gun, the hawk, and the ground; and then I shot thebird. But my poor slave gave still more signs of fear this time, than hedid at first: for he shook from head to foot. He must have thought thatsome fiend of death dwelt in the gun, and I think that he would haveknelt down to it, as well as to me; but he would not so much as touchthe gun for some time, though he would speak to it when he thought I wasnot near. Once he told me that what he said to it was to ask it not tokill him. 

I brought home the bird, and made broth of it. Friday was much struckto see me eat salt with it, and made a wry face; but I, in my turn, tooksome that had no salt with it, and I made a wry face at that. The nextday I gave him a piece of kid's flesh, which I had hung by a string infront of the fire to roast. My plan was to put two poles, one on eachside of the fire, and a stick, on the top of them to hold the string. When my slave came to taste the flesh, he took the best means to let meknow how good he thought it. 

The next day I set him to beat out and sift some corn. I let him see memake the bread, and he soon did all the work. I felt quite a love forhis true, warm heart, and he soon learnt to talk to me. One day I said, "Do the men of your tribe win in fight?" He told me, with a smile, thatthey did. "Well, then, " said I, "How came they to let their foes takeyou?"

"They run one, two, three, and make go in the boat that time. "

"Well, and what do the men do with those they take?"

"Eat them all up. "

This was not good news for me, but I went on, and said, "Where do theytake them?"

"Go to next place where they think. "

"Do they come here?"

"Yes, yes, they come here, come else place too. "

"Have you been here with them twice?"

"Yes, come there. "

He meant the North West side of the isle, so to this spot I took him thenext day. He knew the place, and told me he was there once with a scoreof men. To let me know this, he put a score of stones all of a row, andmade me count them. 

"Are not the boats lost on your shore now and then?" He said that therewas no fear, and that no boats were lost. He told me that up a great wayby the moon--that is where the moon then came up--there dwelt a tribeof white men like me, with beards. I felt sure that they must have comefrom Spain, to work the gold mines. I put this to him: "Could I go fromthis isle and join those men?"

"Yes, yes, you may go in two boats. "

It was hard to see how one man could go in two boats, but what he meantwas, a boat twice as large as my own. 

One day I said to my slave, "Do you know who made you?"

But he could not tell at all what these words meant. So I said, "Do youknow who made the sea, the ground we tread on, the hills, and woods?" Hesaid it was Beek, whose home was a great way off, and that he was so oldthat the sea and the land were not so old as he. 

"If this old man has made all things, why do not all things bow down tohim?"

My slave gave a grave look, and said, "All things say 'O' to him. "

"Where do the men in your land go when they die?"

"All go to Beek. "

I then held my hand up to the sky to point to it, and said, "God dwellsthere. He made the world, and all things in it. The moon and the starsare the work of his hand. God sends the wind and the rain on the earth, and the streams that flow: He hides the face of the sky with clouds, makes the grass to grow for the beasts of the field, and herbs for theuse of man. God's love knows no end. When we pray, He draws near to usand hears us. "

It was a real joy to my poor slave to hear me talk of these things. Hesat still for a long time, then gave a sigh, and told me that he wouldsay "O" to Beek no more, for he was but a short way off, and yet couldnot hear, till men went up the hill to speak to him. 

"Did you go up the hill to speak to him?" said I. 

"No, Okes go up to Beek, not young mans. "

"What do Okes say to him?"

"They say 'O. '"

Now that I brought my man Friday to know that Beek was not the true God, such was the sense he had of my worth, that I had fears lest I shouldstand in the place of Beek. I did my best to call forth his faith inChrist, and make it strong and clear, till at last--thanks be to theLord--I brought him to the love of Him, with the whole grasp of hissoul. 

To please my poor slave, I gave him a sketch of my whole life; I toldhim where I was born, and where I spent my days when a child. He wasglad to hear tales of the land of my birth, and of the trade which wekeep up, in ships, with all parts of the known world. I gave him a knifeand a belt, which made him dance with joy. 

One day as we stood on the top of the hill at the east side of the isle, I saw him fix his eyes on the main land, and stand for a long time to, gaze at it; then jump and sing, and call out to me. 

"What do you see?" said I. 

"Oh joy!" said he, with a fierce glee in his eyes, "Oh glad! There seemy land!"

Why did he strain his eyes to stare at this land, as if he had a wishto be there? It put fears in my mind which made me feel far, less atmy ease with him. Thought I, if he should go back to his home, he willthink no more of what I have taught him, and done for him. He will besure to tell the rest of his tribe all my ways, and come back with, itmay be, scores of them, and kill me, and then dance round me, as theydid round the men, the last time they came on my isle. 

But these were all false fears, though they found a place in my mind along while; and I was not so kind to him now as I had been. From thistime I made it a rule, day by day, to find out if there were grounds formy fears or not. I said, "Do you not wish to be once more in your ownland?"

"Yes! I be much O glad to be at my own land. "

"What would you do there? Would you turn wild, and be as you were?"

"No, no, I would tell them to be good, tell them eat bread, corn, milk, no eat man more!"

"Why, they would kill you!"

"No, no, they no kill; they love learn. "

He then told me that some white men, who had come on their shores in aboat, had taught them a great deal. 

"Then will you go back to your land with me?"

He said he could not swim so far, so I told him he should help me tobuild a boat to go in. Then he said, "If you go, I go. "

"I go? why they would eat me!"

"No, me make them much love you. "

Then he told me as well as he could, how kind they had been to somewhite men. I brought out the large boat to hear what he thought of it, but he said it was too small. We then went to look at the old ship'sboat, which, as it had been in the sun for years, was not at all in asound state. The poor man made sure that it would do. But how were we toknow this? I told him we should build a boat as large as that, and thathe should go home in it. He spoke not a word, but was grave and sad. 

"What ails you?" said I. 

"Why, you grieve mad with your man?"

"What do you mean? I am not cross with you. "

"No cross? no cross with me? Why send your man home to his own land, then?"

"Did you not tell me you would like to go back?"

"Yes, yes, we both there; no wish self there, if you not there!"

"And what should I do there?"

"You do great deal much good! you teach wild men be good men; you tellthem know God, pray God, and lead new life. "

We soon set to work to make a boat that would take us both. The firstthing was to look out for some large trees that grew near the shore, sothat we could launch our boat when it was made. My slave's plan was toburn the wood to make it the right shape; but as mine was to hew it, I set him to work with my tools; and in two months' time we had made agood strong boat; but it took a long while to get her down to the shore. 

Friday had the whole charge of her; and, large as she was, he made hermove with ease, and said, "he thought she go there well, though greatblow wind!" He did not know that I meant to make a mast and sail. I cutdown a young fir tree for the mast, and then I set to work at the sail. It made me laugh to see my man stand and stare, when he came to watch mesail the boat. But he soon gave a jump, a laugh, and a clap of the handswhen he saw the sail jibe and fall, first on this side, then on that. 

The next thing to do was to stow our boat up in the creek, where we duga small dock; and when the tide was low, we made a dam, to keep out thesea. The time of year had now come for us to set sail, so we got out allour stores, to put them in the boat. 

One day I sent Friday to the shore, to get a sort of herb that grewthere. I soon heard him cry out to me, "O grief! O bad! O bad! O outthere boats, one, two, three!" "Keep a stout heart, " said I, to cheerhim. The poor man shook with fear; for he thought that the men whobrought him here, had now come back to kill him. 

"Can you fight?" said I. 

"Me shoot; but me saw three boats; one, two, three!"

"Have no fear; those that we do not kill, will be sure to take fright atthe sound of our guns. Now will you stand by me, and do just as you arebid?"

"Me die when you bid die. "

I gave him a good draught of rum; and when he had drunk this, he took upan axe and two guns, each of which had a charge of swan shot. I took twoguns as well, and put large shot in them, and then hung my great swordby my side. From the top of the bill, I saw with the help of my glass, that the boats had each brought eight men, and one slave. They had comeon shore near the creek, where a grove of young trees grew close down tothe sea. 

They had with them three slaves, bound hand and foot, and you who readthis, may guess what they were brought here for. I felt that I must tryand save them from so hard a fate, and that to do this, I should haveto put some of their foes to death. So we set forth on our way. I gaveFriday strict charge to keep close to me, and not to fire till I toldhim to do so. 

We went full a mile out of our way, that we might get round to the woodto bide there. But we had not gone far, when my old qualms came backto me, and I thought, "Is it for me to dip my hands in man's blood? Whyshould I kill those who have done me no harm, and mean not to hurt me?Nay, who do not so much as know that they are in the wrong, when theyhold these feasts. Are not their ways a sign that God has left them(with the rest of their tribe) to their own dull hearts? God did notcall me to be a judge for Him. He who said, 'Thou shalt not kill, ' saidit for me, as well as the rest of the world. "

A throng of thoughts like these would rush on my mind, as if to warn meto pause, till I felt sure that there was more to call me to the workthan I then knew of. I took my stand in the wood, to watch the men attheir feast, and then crept on, with Friday close at my heels. Thus wewent till we came to the skirts of the wood. Then I said to. Friday, "Goup to the top of that tree, and bring me word if you can see the men. "

He went, and quick as thought, came back to say that they were all roundthe fire, and that the man who was bound on the sand would be the nextthey would kill. But when he told me that it was a white man, one of myown race, I felt the blood boil in my veins. Two of the gang had gone toloose the white man from his bonds; so now was the time to fire. 

At the sound of our guns, we saw all the men jump up from the groundwhere they sat. It must have been the first gun the I had heard in theirlives. They knew not which way to look. I now threw down my piece, andtook up a small gun; Friday did the same; and I gave him the word tofire! The men ran right and left, with yells and screams. 

I now made a rush out of the wood, that they might see me, with my manFriday at my heels, of course. We gave a loud shout, and ran up to thewhite man as fast as we could. There he lay on the hot sand. I cut theflag, or rush, by which he was bound, but he was too weak to stand orspeak, so I gave him some rum. He let me know by all the signs that hecould think of, how much he stood in my debt for all that I had done forhim. 

I said, "We will talk of that bye and bye; but now we must do what wecan to save our lives. " Friday, who was free to go where he chose, flewhere and there, and put all the men to the rout. They fled in full hasteto their boats, and were soon out at sea; and so we got rid of our foesat last. 

The man whom we had found on the sand told us that his name was Carl, and that he came from Spain. But there was one more man to claim ourcare; for the black men had left a small boat on the sands, and in thisI saw a poor wretch who lay half dead. He could not so much as look up, so tight was he bound, neck and heels. When I cut the bonds from him hegave a deep groan, for he thought that all this was but to lead him outto die. 

Friday then came up, and I bade him speak to the old man in his owntongue, and tell him that he was free. This good news gave him strength, and he sat up in the boat. But when Friday came to hear him talk, andto look him in the face, it brought the tears to my eyes to see him kissand hug the poor old man, and dance round him with joy, then weep, wringhis hands, and beat his own face and head, and then laugh once more, sing, and leap. For a long time he could not speak to me, so as to, letme know what all this meant. But at length he told me that he was theson of this poor old man, and that his name was Jaf. 

It would be a hard task for me to tell of all the quaint, signs Fridaymade to show his joy. He went in and out of the boat five or six times, sat down by old Jaf, and held the poor old man's head close to hisbreast to warm it; then he set to work to rub his arms and feet, whichwere cold and stiff from the bonds. I told Friday to give him some rumand bread; but he said, "None! Bad dog eat all up self. " He then ran offstraight to the house, and took no heed of my calls, but went as swiftas a deer. 

In an hour's time, he came back with a jug in his hand. The good soulhad gone all the way to the house, that Jaf might have a fresh draughtfrom my well; and with it he brought two cakes, one of which I bade himtake to Carl, who lay in the shade of a tree. His limbs were stiff andcold, and he was too weak to say a word. 

I set my man to rub his feet with rum, and while he did so, I saw Fridayturn his head round from time to time, to steal a look at the old man. Then we brought Carl and Jaf home from the boat on our backs, as theycould not walk. The door of my house was at the top, and the poor sickmen could not climb the steps by which I got in, so we made for them atent of old sails. 

I was now a king of these three men, as well as Lord of the isle; andI felt proud to say, "They all owe their lives to their king, and wouldlay them down for him if he bade them do so. " But I did not think thatmy reign was so soon to come to an end. The next thing for us to do wasto give Carl and Jaf some food, and to kill and roast a kid, to which weall four sat down, and I did my best to cheer them. 

Carl in a few days grew quite strong, and I set him to work to dig someland for seed; for it was clear we should want more corn now that we hadtwo more mouths to fill. So we put in the ground all the stock of grainI had, and thus we all four had as much work as we could do for sometime. When the crop grew, and was ripe, we found we had a good store ofgrain. 

We made a plan that Carl and Jaf should go back to the main land, totry if they could get some of the white men who had been cast on shorethere, to come and live with us; so they got out the boat, and tookwith them two guns and food for eight days. They were to come back in aweek's time, and I bade them hang out a sign when they came in sight, sothat we might know who they were. 

One day, Friday ran up to me in great glee, and said, "They are back!They are back!" A mile from shore, there was a boat with a sail, whichstood in for the land; but I knew it could not be the one which our twofriends had gone out in, for it was on the wrong side of the isle forthat. I saw too, through my glass, a ship out at sea. There were twelvemen in the boat, three of whom were bound in chains, and four had firearms. 

Bye and bye, I saw one of the men raise his sword to those who werein chains, and I felt sure that all was not right. Then I saw that thethree men who had been bound were set free; and when they had come onshore they lay on the ground, in the shade of a tree. I was soon attheir side, for their looks, so sad and worn, brought to my mind thefirst few hours I had spent in this wild spot, where all to me was wraptin gloom. 

I went up to these men, and said:

"Who are you, Sirs?"

They gave a start at my voice and at my strange dress, and made a moveas if they would fly from me. I said, "Do not fear me, for it may bethat you have a friend at hand, though you do not think it. " "He must besent from the sky then, " said one of them with a grave look; and he tookoff his hat to me at the same time. "All help is from thence, Sir, " Isaid; "but what can I do to aid you? You look as if you had some load ofgrief on your breast. I saw one of the men lift his sword as if to killyou. "

The tears ran down the poor man's face, as he said, "Is this a god, or is it but a man?" "Have no doubt on that score, Sir, "said I, "for a god would not have come with a dress like this. No, donot fear--nor raise your hopes too high; for you see but a man, yet onewho will do all he can to help you. Your speech shows me that you comefrom the same land as I do. I will do all I can to serve you. Tell meyour case. " "Our case, Sir, is too long to you while they who would killus are so near. My name is Paul. To be short, Sir, my crew have thrustme out of my ship, which you see out there, and have left me here todie. It was as much as I could do to make them sheath their swords, which you saw were drawn to slay me. They have set me down in this islewith these two men, my friend here, and the ship's mate. "

"Where have they gone?" said I. 

"There, in the wood, close by. I fear they may have seen and heard us. If they have, they will be sure to kill us all. "

"Have they fire-arms?"

"They have four guns, one of which is in the boat. "

"Well then, leave all to me!"

"There are two of the men, " said he, "who are worse than the rest. Allbut these I feel sure would go back to work the ship. "

I thought it was best to speak out to Paul at once, and I said, "Now ifI save your life, there are two things which you must do. " But he readmy thoughts, and said, "If you save my life, you shall do as you likewith me and my ship, and take her where you please. "

I saw that the two men, in whose charge the boat had been left, had comeon shore; so the first thing I did was to send Friday to fetch from itthe oars, the sail, and the gun. And now the ship might be said to be inour hands. When the time came for the men to go back to the ship, theywere in a great rage; for, as the boat had now no sail nor oars, theyknew not how to get out to their ship. 

We heard them say that it was a strange sort of isle, for that spriteshad come to the boat, to take off the sails and oars. We could see themrun to and fro, with great rage; then go and sit in the boat to rest, and then come on shore once more. When they drew near to us, Paul andFriday would fain have had me fall on them at once. But my wish was tospare them, and kill as few as I could. I told two of my men to creepon their hands and feet close to the ground, so that they might not beseen, and when they got up to the men, not to fire till I gave the word. 

They had not stood thus long, when three of the crew came up to us. Tillnow, we had but heard their voice, but when they came so near as to beseen, Paul and Friday stood up and shot at them. Two of the men felldead, and they were the worst of the crew, and the third ran off. At thesound of the guns I came up, but it was so dark that the men could nottell if there were three of us or three score. 

It fell out just as I could wish, for I heard the men ask, "To whom mustwe yield, and where are they?" Friday told them that Paul was there withthe king of the isle, who had brought with him a crowd of men! At thisone of the crew said, "If Paul will spare our lives, we will yield. ""Then, " said Friday, "you shall know the king's will. " Then Paul said tothem, "You know my voice; if you lay down your arms the king will spareyour lives!"

They fell on their knees to beg the same of me. I took good care thatthey did not see me, but I gave them my word that they should all live, that I should take four of them to work the ship, and that the restwould be bound hand and foot, for the good faith of the four. This wasto show them what a stern king I was. 

Of course I soon set them free, and I put them in a way to take my placeon the isle. I told them of all my ways, taught them how to mind thegoats, how to work the farm, and make the bread. I gave them a house tolive in, fire arms, tools, and my two tame cats, in fact, all but Polland my gold. 

As I sat on the top of the hill, Paul came up to me. He held out hishand to point to the ship, and with much warmth took me to his arms, andsaid, "My dear friend, there is your ship! For she is all yours, and soare we, and all that is in her. "

I cast my eyes to the ship, which rode half a mile off the shore, at themouth of the creek, and near the place where I had brought my rafts tothe land. Yes, there she stood, the ship that was to set me free, and totake me where I might choose to go. She set her sails to the wind, andher flags threw out their gay stripes in the breeze. Such a sight wastoo much for me, and I fell down faint with joy. Paul then took out aflask which he had brought for me, and gave me a dram, which I drank, but for a good while I could not speak to him. 

Friday and Paul then went on board the ship, and Paul took charge of heronce more. We did not start that night, but at noon the next day I leftthe isle!

That lone isle, where I had spent so great a part of my life--not muchless than thrice ten long years. 

When I came back to the dear land of my birth, all was strange and newto me. I went to my old home at York, but none of my friends were there, and to my great grief I saw, on the stone at their grave, the sad taleof their death. 

As they had thought, of course, that I was dead, they had not left metheir wealth and lands, so that I stood much in want of means, for itwas but a small sum that I had brought with me from the isle. But inthis time of need, I had the luck to find my good friend who once tookme up at sea. He was now grown too old for work, and had put his sonin the ship in his place. He did not know me at first, but I was soonbrought to his mind when I told him who I was. I found from him that theland which I had bought on my way to the isle was now worth much. 

As it was a long way off, I felt no wish to go and live there so I madeup my mind to sell it, and in the course of a few months, I got for it asum so large as to make me a rich man all at once. 

Weeks, months, and years went by; I had a farm, a wife, and two sons, and was by no means young; but still I could not get rid of a strongwish which dwelt in my thoughts by day and my dreams by night, and thatwas to set foot once more in my old isle. 

I had now no need to work for food, or for means of life; all I had todo was to teach my boys to be wise and good, to live at my ease, andsee my wealth grow day by day. Yet the wish to go back to my wild hauntsclung round me like a cloud, and I could in no way drive it from me, so true is it that "what is bred in the bone will not come out of theflesh. "

At length I lost my wife, which was a great blow to me, and my home wasnow so sad, that I made up my mind to launch out once more on the broadsea, and go with my man Friday to that lone isle where dwelt all myhopes. 

I took with me as large a store of tools, clothes, and such like goodsas I had room for, and men of skill in all kinds of trades, to live inthe isle. When we set sail, we had a fair wind for some time, but onenight the mate, who was at the watch, told me he saw a flash of fire, and heard a gun go off. At this we all ran on deck, from whence we saw agreat light, and as there was no land that way, we knew that it must besome ship on fire at sea, which could not be far off, for we heard thesound of the gun. 

The wind was still fair, so we made our way for the point where we sawthe light, and in half an hour, it was but too plain that a large shipwas on fire in the midst of the broad sea. I gave the word to fire offfive guns, and we then lay by, to wait till break of day. But in thedead of the night, the ship blew up in the air, the flames shot forth, and what there was left of the ship sank. We hung out lights, and ourguns kept up a fire all night long, to let the crew know that there washelp at hand. 

At eight o'clock the next day we found, by the aid of the glass, thattwo of the ship's boats were out at sea, quite full of men. They hadseen us, and had done their best to make us see them, and in half anhour we came up with them. 

It would be a hard task for me to set forth in words the scene whichtook place in my ship, when the poor French folk (for such they were)came on board. As to grief and fear, these are soon told--sighs, tears, and groans make up the sum of them--but such a cause of joy as this was, in sooth, too much for them to bear, weak and all but dead as they were. 

Some would send up shouts of joy that rent the sky; some would cry andwring their hands as if in the depths of grief; some would dance, laugh, and sing; not a few were dumb, sick, faint, in a swoon, or half mad; andtwo or three were seen to give thanks to God. 

In this strange group, there was a young French priest who did his bestto soothe those round him, and I saw him go up to some of the crew, and say to them, "Why do you scream, and tear your hair, and wring yourhands, my men? Let your joy be free and full, give it full range andscope, but leave off this trick of the hands, and lift them up inpraise; let your voice swell out, not in screams, but in hymns of thanksto God, who has brought you out of so great a strait, for this will addpeace to your joy. "

The next day, they were all in a right frame of mind, so I gave themwhat stores I could spare, and put them on board a ship that we met withon her way to France, all save five who, with the priest, had a wish tojoin me. 

But we had not set sail long, when we fell in with a ship that had beenblown out to sea by a storm, and had lost her masts; and, worse thanall, her crew had not had an ounce of meat or bread for ten days. Igave them all some food, which they ate like wolves in the snow, but Ithought it best to check them, as I had fears that so much all at oncewould cause the death of some of them. 

There were a youth and a young girl in the ship who the mate said hethought must be dead, but he had not had the heart to go near them, forthe food was all gone. I found that they were faint for the want of it, and as it were in the jaws of death; but in a short time they both gotwell, and as they had no wish to go back to their ship, I took them withme. So now I had eight more on board my ship, than I had when I firstset out. 

In three months from the time when I left home, I came in sight of myisle, and I brought the ship safe up, by the side of the creek, whichwas near my old house. 

I went up to Friday, to ask if he knew where he was. He took a lookround him, and soon, with a clap of the hands, said "O yes! O there! Oyes! O there!" Bye and bye, he set up a dance with such wild glee, thatit was as much as I could do to keep him on deck. "Well, what think you, Friday?" said I; "shall we find those whom we left still here?--Shall wesee poor old Jaf?" He stood quite mute for a while, but when I spokeof old Jaf (whose son Friday was), the tears ran down his face, and thepoor soul was as sad as could be. "No, no, " said he, "no more, no, nomore. "

As we caught sight of some men at the top of the hill, I gave word tofire three guns, to show that we were friends, and soon we saw smokerise from the side of the creek. I then went on shore in a boat, withthe priest and Friday, and hung out a white flag of peace. The first manI cast my eyes on at the creek, was my old friend Carl, who, when I waslast on the isle, had been brought here in bonds. 

I gave strict charge to the men in the boat not to go on shore, butFriday could not be kept back, for with his quick eye he had caughtsight of old Jaf. It brought the tears to our eyes to see his joy whenhe met the old man. He gave him a kiss, took him up in his arms, sethim down in the shade, then stood a short way off to look at him, as onewould look at a work of art, then felt him with his hand, and all thistime he was in full talk, and told him, one by one, all the strangetales of what he had seen since they had last met. 

As to my friend Carl, he came up to me, and with much warmth shook myhands, and then took me to my old house, which he now gave up to me. Icould no more have found the place, than if I had not been there at all. The rows of trees stood so thick and close, that the house could not begot at, save by such blind ways as none but those who made them couldfind out. "Why have you built all these forts?" said I. Carl told methat he felt sure I should say there was much need of them, when I heardhow they had spent their time since they had come to the isle. 

He brought twelve men to the spot where I stood, and said, "Sir, allthese men owe their lives to you. " Then, one by one, they came up to me, not as if they had been the mere crew of a ship, but like men of rankwho had come to kiss the hand of their king. 

The first thing was to bear all that had been done in the isle since Ihad left it. But I must first state that, when we were on the point toset sail from the isle, a feud sprang up on board our ship, which wecould not put down, till we had laid two of the men in chains. The nextday, these two men stole each of them a gun and some small arms, andtook the ship's boat, and ran off with it to join the three bad men onshore. 

As soon as I found this out, I sent the long-boat on shore, with twelvemen and the mate, and off they went to seek the two who had left theship. But their search was in vain, nor could they find one of the rest, for they had all fled to the woods when they saw the boat. We had nowlost five of the crew, but the three first were so much worse than thelast two, that in a few days they sent them out of doors, and would haveno more to do with them, nor would they for a long while give them foodto eat. 

So the two poor men had to live as well as they could by hard work, andthey set up their tents on the north shore of the isle, to be out of theway of the wild men, who were wont to land on the east side. Here theybuilt them two huts, one to lodge in, and one to lay up their storesin; and the men from Spain gave them some corn for seed, as well as somepeas which I had left them. They soon learned to dig, and plant, andhedge in their land, in the mode which I had set for them, and in short, to lead good lives, so that I shall now call them the "two good men. "

But when the three bad men saw, this, they were full of spite, and cameone day to tease and vex them. They told them that the isle was theirown, and that no one else had a right to build on it, if they did notpay rent. The two good men thought at first that they were in jest, andtold them to come and sit down, and see what fine homes they had built, and say what rent they would ask. 

But one of the three said they should soon see that they were not injest, and took a torch in his hand, and put it to the roof of the but, and would have set it on fire, had not one of the two good men trod thefire out with his feet. The bad man was in such a rage at this, that heran at him with a pole he had in his hand, and this brought on a fight, the end of which was that the three men had to stand off. But in a shorttime they came back, and trod down the corn, and shot the goats andyoung kids, which the poor men had got to bring up tame for their store. 

One day when the two men were out, they came to their home, and said, "Ha! there's the nest, but the birds are flown. " They then set to workto pull down both the huts, and left not a stick, nor scarce a sign onthe ground to show where the tents had stood. They tore up, too, all thegoods and stock that they could find, and when they had done this, theytold it all to the men of Spain, and said, "You, sirs, shall have thesame sauce, if you do not mend your ways. "

They then fell to blows and hard words, but Carl had them bound incords, and took their arms from them. The men of Spain then said theywould do them no harm, and if they would live at peace they would helpthem, and that they should live with them as they had done till thattime, but they could not give them back their arms for three or fourmonths. 

One night Carl--whom I shall call "the chief, " as he took the lead ofall the rest--felt a great weight on his mind, and could get no sleep, though he was quite well in health. He lay still for some time, but ashe, did not feel at case, he got up, and took a look out. But as it wastoo dark to see far, and he heard no noise, he went back to his bed. Still it was all one, he could not sleep; and though he knew not why, his thoughts would give him no rest. 

He then woke up one of his friends, and told him how it had been withhim. "Say you so?" said he "What if there should be some bad plot atwork near us!" They then set off to the top of the hill, where I waswont to go, and from thence they saw the light of a fire, quite a shortway from them, and heard the sounds of men, not of one or two, but of agreat crowd. We need not doubt that the chief and the man with him nowran back at once, to tell all the rest what they had seen; and when theyheard the news, they could not be kept close where they were, but mustall run out to see how things stood. 

At last they thought that the best thing to do would be, while it wasdark, to send old Jaf out as a spy, to learn who they were, and whatthey meant to do. When the old man had been gone an hour or two, hebrought word back that he had been in the midst of the foes, though theyhad not seen him, and that they were in two sets or tribes who were atwar, and had come there to fight. And so it was, for in a short timethey heard the noise of the fight, which went on for two hours, and atthe end, with three loud shouts or screams, they left the isle in theirboats. Thus my friends were set free from all their fears, and saw nomore of their wild foes for some time. 

One day a whim took the three bad men that they would go to the mainland, from whence the wild men came, and try if they could not seizesome of them, and bring them home as slaves, so as to make them do thehard part of their work for them. The chief gave them all the arms andstores that they could want, and a large boat to go in, but when theybade them "God speed, " no one thought that they would find their wayback to the isle. But lo! in three weeks and a day, they did in truthcome back. One of the two good men was the first to catch sight of them, and tell the news to his friends. 

The men said that they had found the land in two days, and that the wildmen gave them roots and fish to eat, and were so kind as to bring downeight slaves to take back with them, three of whom were men and fivewere girls. So they gave their good hosts an axe, an old key, and aknife, and brought off the slaves in their boat to the isle. As thechief and his friends did not care to wed the young girls, the five menwho had been the crew of Paul's ship drew lots for choice, so that eachhad a wife, and the three men slaves were set to work for the two goodmen, though there was not much for them to do. 

But one of them ran off to the woods, and they could not hear of himmore. They had good cause to think that he found his way home, as inthree or four weeks some wild men came to the isle, and when theyhad had their feast and dance, they went off in two days' time. So myfriends might well fear that if this slave got safe home, he would besure to tell the wild men that they were in the isle, and in what partof it they might be found. And so it came to pass, for in less than twomonths, six boats of wild men, with eight or ten men in each boat, cameto the north side of the isle, where they had not been known to come upto that time. 

The foe had brought their boats to land, not more than a mile from thetent of the two good men, and it was there that the slave who had runoff had been kept. These men had the good luck to see the boats whenthey were a long way off, so that it took them quite an hour from thattime to reach the shore. 

My friends now had to think how that hour was to be spent. The firstthing they did was to bind the two slaves that were left, and to taketheir wives, and as much of their stores as they could, to some darkplace in the woods. They then sent a third slave to the chief and hismen, to tell them the news, and to ask for help. 

They had not gone far in the woods, when they saw, to their great griefand rage, that their huts were in flames, and that the wild men ran toand fro, like beasts in search of prey. But still our men went on, anddid not halt, till they came to a thick part of the wood, where thelarge trunk of an old tree stood, and in this tree they both took theirpost. But they had not been there long, when two of the wild men ranthat way, and they saw three more, and then five more, who all ran thesame way, as if they knew where they were. 

Our two poor men made up their minds to let the first two pass, and thentake the three and the five in line, as they came up, but to fire at oneat a time, as the first shot might chance to hit all three. 

So the man who was to fire put three or four balls in his gun, and froma hole in the tree, took a sure aim, and stood still till the three wildmen came so near that he could not miss them. They soon saw that one ofthese three was the slave that had fled from them, as they both knew himwell, and they made up their minds that they would kill him, though theyshould both fire. 

At the first shot two of the wild men fell dead, and the third had agraze on his arm, and though not much hurt, sat down on the ground withloud screams and yells. When the five men who came next, heard the soundof the gun and the slave's cries, they stood still at first, as if theywere struck dumb with fright. So our two men both shot off their guns inthe midst of them, and then ran up and bound them safe with cords. 

They then went to the thick part of the wood, where they had put theirwives and slaves, to see if all were safe there, and to their joy theyfound that though the wild men had been quite near them, they had notfound them out. While they were here, the chief and his men came up, andtold them that the rest had gone to take care of my old house and grove, in case the troop of wild men should spread so far that way. 

They then went back to the burnt huts, and when they came in sight ofthe shore, they found that their foes had all gone out to sea. So theyset to work to build up their huts, and as all the men in the isle lentthem their aid, they were soon in a way to thrive once more. For five orsix months they saw no more of the wild men. But one day a large fleetof more than a score of boats came in sight, full of men who had bows, darts, clubs, swords, and such like arms of war, and our friends wereall in great fear. 

As they came at dusk, and at the East side of the isle, our men had thewhole night to think of what they should do. And as they knew that themost safe way was to hide and lie in wait, they first of all took downthe huts which were built for the two good men, and drove their goats tothe cave, for they thought the wild men would go straight there as soonas it was day, and play the old game. 

The next day they took up their post with all their force at the wood, near the home of the two men, to wait for the foe. They gave no guns tothe slaves, but each of them had a long staff with a spike at the end ofit, and by his side an axe. There were two of the wives who could not bekept back, but would go out and fight with bows and darts. 

The wild men came on with a bold and fierce mien, not in a line, butall in crowds here and there, to the point were our men lay in wait forthem. When they were so near as to be in range of the guns, our men shotat them right and left with five or six balls in each charge. As the foecame up in close crowds, they fell dead on all sides, and most of thosethat they did not kill were much hurt, so that great fear and dread cameon them all. 

Our men then fell on them from three points with the butt end of theirguns, swords, and staves, and did their work so well that the wild menset up a loud shriek, and flew for their lives to the woods and hills, with all the speed that fear and swift feet could help them to do. Asour men did not care to chase them, they got to the shore where they hadcome to land and where the boats lay. 

But their rout was not yet at an end, for it blew a great storm that dayfrom the sea, so that they could not put off. And as the storm went onall that night, when the tide came up, the surge of the sea drove mostof their boats so high on the shore, that they could not be got off savewith great toil, and the force of the waves on the beach broke some ofthem to bits. 

At break of day, our men went forth to find them, and when they saw thestate of things, they got some dry wood from a dead tree, and set theirboats on fire. When the foe saw this, they ran all through the isle withloud cries, as if they were mad, so that our men did not know at firstwhat to do with them, for they trod all the corn down with their feet, and tore up the vines just as the grapes were ripe, and did a great dealof harm. 

At last they brought old Jaf to them, to tell them how kind they wouldbe to them, that they would save their lives, and give them part of theisle to live in, if they would keep in their own bounds, and that theyshould have corn to plant, and should make it grow for their bread. Theywere but too glad to have such good terms of peace, and they soon learntto make all kinds of work with canes, wood, and sticks, such as chairs, stools, and beds, and this they did with great skill when they were oncetaught. 

From this time till I came back to the isle my friends saw no more wildmen. I now told the chief that I had not come to take off his men, butto bring more, and to give them all such things as they would want toguard their homes from foes, and cheer up their hearts. 

The next day I made a grand feast for them all, and the ship's cook andmate came on shore to dress it. We brought out our rounds of salt beefand pork, a bowl of punch, some beer, and French wines; and Carl gavethe cooks five whole kids to roast, three of which were sent to the crewon board ship, that they, on their part, might feast on fresh meat fromshore. 

I gave each of the men a shirt, a coat, a hat, and a pair of shoes, andI need not say how glad they were to meet with gifts so new to them. Then I brought out the tools, of which each man had a spade, a rake, anaxe, a crow, a saw, a knife and such like things as well as arms, andall that they could want for the use of them. 

As I saw there was a kind will on all sides, I now took on shore theyouth and the maid whom we had brought from the ship that we met on herway to France. The girl had been well brought up, and all the crew hada good word for her. As they both had a wish to be left on the isle, I gave them each a plot of ground, on which they had tents and barnsbuilt. 

I had brought out with me five men to live here, one of whom could turnhis hand to all sorts of things, so I gave him the name of "Jack of allTrades. "

One day the French priest came to ask if I would leave my man Fridayhere, for through him, he said, he could talk to the black men in theirown tongue, and teach them the things of God. "Need I add, " said he, "that it was for this cause that I came here?" I felt that I could notpart with my man Friday for the whole world, so I told the priest thatif I could have made up my mind to leave him here, I was quite sure thatFriday would not part from me. 

When I had seen that all things were in a good state on the isle, I setto work to put my ship to rights, to go home once more. One day, as Iwas on my way to it, the youth whom I had brought from the ship thatwas burnt, came up to me, and said, "Sir, you have brought a priest withyou, and while you are here, we want him to wed two of us. "

I made a guess that one of these must be the maid that I had broughtto the isle, and that it was the wish of the young man to make her hiswife. I spoke to him with some warmth in my tone, and bade him turn itwell in his mind first, as the girl was not in the same rank of life ashe had been brought up in. But he said, with a smile, that I had made awrong guess, for it was "Jack of all Trades" that he had come to pleadfor. It gave me great joy to hear this, as the maid was as good a girlas could be, and I thought well of Jack; so on that day I gave her tohim. They were to have a large piece of ground to grow their crops on, with a house to live in, and sheds for their goats. 

The isle was now set out in this way: all the west end was left waste, so that if the wild men should land on it, they might come and go, andhurt no one. My old house I gave to the chief, with all its woods, whichnow spread out as far as the creek, and the south end was for the whitemen and their wives. 

It struck me that there was one gift which I had not thought of, andthat was the book of God's Word, which I knew would give to those whocould feel the words in it, fresh strength for their work, and grace tobear the ills of life. 

Now that I had been in the isle quite a month, I once more set sail onthe fifth day of May; and all my friends told me that they should staythere till I came to fetch them. 

When we had been out three days, though the sea was smooth and calm, wesaw that it was quite black on the land side; and as we knew not what tomake of it, I sent the chief mate up the main mast to find out with hisglass what it could be. He said it was a fleet of scores and scores ofsmall boats, full of wild men who came fast at us with fierce looks. 

As soon as we got near them, I gave word to furl all sails and stop theship, and as there was nought to fear from them but fire, to get theboats out and man them both well, and so wait for them to come up. 

In this way we lay by for them, and in a short time they came up withus; but as I thought they would try to row round and so close us in, Itold the men in the boats not to let them come too near. This, though wedid not mean it, brought us to a fight with them, and they shot a cloudof darts at our boats. We did not fire at them, yet in half an hour theywent back out to sea, and then came straight to us, till we were so nearthat they could hear us speak. 

I bade my men keep close, so as to be safe from their darts if theyshould shoot, and get out the guns. I then sent Friday on deck, to callout to them in their own tongue and ask what they meant. It may be thatthey did not know what he said, but as soon as he spoke to them I heardhim cry out that they would shoot. This was too true, for they let flya thick cloud of darts, and to my great grief poor Friday fell dead, forthere was no one else in their sight. He was shot with three darts, andthree more fell quite near him, so good was their aim. 

I was so mad with rage at the loss of my dear Friday, that I bade themen load five guns with small shot, and four with large, and we gavethem such a fierce fire that in all their lives they could not have seenone like it. Then a rare scene met our eyes: dread and fear came on themall, for their boats, which were small, were split and sunk--three orfour by one shot. The men who were not dead had to swim, and those whohad wounds were left to sink, for all the rest got off as fast as theycould. Our boat took up one poor man who had to swim for his life, whenthe rest had fled for the space of half an hour. In three hours' time, we could not see more than three or four of their boats, and as a breezesprang up we set sail. 

At first the man whom we took on board would not eat or speak, and weall had fears lest he should pine to death. But when we had taught himto say a few words, he told us that his friends--the wild men-had comeout with their kin to have a great fight, and that all they meant wasto make us look at the grand sight. So it was for this that poor Fridayfell! He who had been as good and true to me as man could be! And now indeep grief I must take my leave of him. 

We went on with a fair wind to All Saints' Bay, and here I found a sloopthat I had brought with me from home, that I might send men and storesfor the use of my friends in the isle. I taught the mate how to find theplace, and when he came back, I found that he had done so with ease. 

One of our crew had a great wish to go with the sloop, and live on theisle, if the chief would give him land to plant. So I told him he shouldgo by all means, and gave him the wild man for his slave. I found, too, that a man who had come with his wife and child and three slaves, tohide from the king of Spain, would like to go, if he could have someland there, though he had but a small stock to take with him; so I putthem all on board the sloop, and saw them safe out of the bay, on theirway to the isle. With them I sent three milch cows, five calves, a horseand a colt, all of which, as I heard, went safe and sound. 

I have now no more to say of my isle, as I had left it for the lasttime, but my life in lands no less far from home was not yet at an end. From the Bay of All Saints we went straight to the Cape of Good Hope. Here I made up my mind to part from the ship in which I had come fromthe Isle, and with two of the crew to stay on land, and leave the restto go on their way. I soon made friends with some men from France, aswell as from my own land, and two Jews, who had come out to the Cape totrade. 

As I found that some goods which I had brought with me from home wereworth a great deal, I made a large sum by the sale of them. When we hadbeen at the Cape of Good Hope for nine months, we thought that the bestthing we could do would be to hire a ship, and sail to the Spice Isles, to buy cloves, so we got a ship, and men to work her, and set out. Whenwe had bought and sold our goods in the course of trade, we came back, and then set out once more; so that, in short, as we went from port toport, to and fro, I spent, from first to last, six years in this part ofthe world. 

At length we thought we would go and seek new scenes where we could getfresh gains. And a strange set of men we at last fell in with, as youwho read this tale will say when you look at the print in front of thispage. 

When we had put on shore, we made friends with a man who got us a largehouse, built with canes, and a small kind of hut of the same near it. It had a high fence of canes round it to keep out thieves, of whom, itseems, there are not a few in that land. The name of the town was Ching, and we found that the fair or mart which was kept there would not beheld for three or four months. So we sent our ship back to the Cape, aswe meant to stay in this part of the world for some time, and go fromplace to place to see what sort of a land it was, and then come back tothe fair at Ching. 

We first went to a town which it was well worth our while to see, andwhich must have been, as near as I can guess, quite in the heart of thisland. It was built with straight streets which ran in cross lines. 

But I must own, when I came home to the place of my birth, I was muchstruck to hear my friends say such fine things of the wealth and tradeof these parts of the world, for I saw and knew that the men were a mereherd or crowd of mean slaves. What is their trade to ours, or to that ofFrance and Spain? What are their ports, with a few junks and barks, toour grand fleets? One of our large ships of war would sink all theirships, one line of French troops would beat all their horse, and thesame may be said of their ports, which would not stand for one monthsuch a siege as we could bring to bear on them. 

In three weeks more we came to their chief town. When we had laid in alarge stock of tea, shawls, fans, raw silks, and such like goods, we setout for the north. As we knew we should run all kinds of risks on ourway, we took with us a strong force to act as a guard, and to keep usfrom the wild hordes who rove from place to place all through the land. Some of our men were Scots, who had come out to trade here, and hadgreat wealth, and I was glad to join them, as it was by no means thefirst time that they had been here. 

We took five guides with us, and we all put our coin in one purse, tobuy food on the way, and to pay the men who took charge of us. One of uswe chose out for our chief, to take the lead in case we should have tofight for our lives; and when the time came, we had no small need ofhim. On the sides of all the roads, we saw men who made pots, cups, pans, and such like ware, out of a kind of earth, which is, in fact, thechief trade in this part of the world. 

One thing, the guide said he would show me, that was not to be seen inall the world else (and this, in good sooth, I could not sneer at, asI had done at most of the things I had seen here), and this was a housethat was built of a kind of ware, such as most plates and cups are madeof. "How big is it?" said I, "can we take it on the back of a horse?""On a horse!" said the guide, "why, two score of men live in it. " Hethen took us to it, and I found that it was in truth a large house, built with lath and the best ware that can be made out of earth. Thesun shone hot on the walls, which were quite white, hard, and smooth asglass, with forms on them in blue paint. On the walls of the rooms weresmall square tiles of the best ware, with red, blue, and green paint ofall shades and hues, in rare forms, done in good taste; and as they usethe same kind of earth to join the tiles with, you could not see wherethe tiles met. The floors of the rooms were made of the same ware, andas strong as those we have at home; and the same may be said of theroofs, but they were of a dark shade. If we had had more time to spare, I should have been glad to have seen more of this house, for there werethe ponds for the fish, the walks, the yards, and courts, which wereall made in the same way. This odd sight kept me from my friends for twohours, and when I had come up to them, I had to pay a fine to our chief, as they had to wait so long. 

In two days more we came to the Great Wall, which was made as a fortto keep the whole land safe, --and a great work it is. It goes in a longtrack for miles and miles, where the rocks are so high and steep thatno foe could climb them; or, if they did, no wall could stop them. TheGreat Wall is as thick as it is high, and it turns and winds in allsorts of ways. 

We now saw, for the first time, some troops of the hordes I spoke of, who rove from place to place, to rob and kill all whom they meet with. They know no real mode of war, or skill in fight. Each has a poor leanhorse, which is not fit to do good work. Our chief gave some of us leaveto go out and hunt as they call it, and what was it but to hunt sheep!These sheep are wild and swift of foot, but they will not run far, andyou are sure of sport when you start in the chase. They go in flocks ofa score, or two, and like true sheep, keep close when they fly. In thissort of chase it was our hap to meet with some two score of the wildhordes, but what sort of prey they had come to hunt I know not. As soonas they saw us, one of them blew some loud notes on a kind of horn, witha sound that was quite new to me. We all thought this was to call theirfriends round them, and so it was, for in a short time a fresh troop ofthe same size came to join them; and they were all, as far as we couldjudge, a mile off. One of the Scots was with us, and as soon as he heardthe horn, he told us that we must lose no time, but draw up in line, andcharge them at once. We told him we would, if he would take the lead. 

They stood still, and cast a wild gaze at us, like a mere crowd, drawnup in no line; but as soon as they saw us come at them, they let flytheir darts, which did not hit us, for though their aim was true, theyfell short of us. We now came to a halt to fire at them, and then wentat full speed to fall on them sword in hand, for so the bold Scot thatled us, told us to do. 

As soon as we came up to them, they fled right and left. The sole standmade was by three of them, who had a kind of short sword in their hands, and bows on their backs, and who did all they could to call all the restback to them. The brave Scot rode close up to them, and with his gunthrew one off his horse, shot the next, and the third ran off, and thiswas the end of our fight. All the bad luck we met with, was that thesheep that we had in chase got off. We had not a man hurt, but as forthe foe, five of them were dead, and not a few had wounds, while therest fled at the mere noise of our guns. 

Thus we went on our way from town to town, and now and then met someof these wild hordes, whom we had to fight and I need not add that eachtime we had the best of the fray. At last we made our way to the chieftown of the North Seas at the end of a year, five months and three days, from the time when we left Ching. When I had been there six weeks, andhad bought some more goods; I took ship and set sail for the land of mybirth, which I had left, this time, for ten years, nine months and threedays. 

And now I must bring this tale of my life to a close, while at the ageof three score years and twelve, I feel that the day is at hand, whenI shall go forth on that sea of peace and love, which has no waves orshores but those of bliss that knows no end.