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+I was born at York on the first of March in the sixth year of the reign
+of 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 did
+this taste grow more and more strong; till at last I broke loose from
+my school and home, and found my way on foot to Hull, where I soon got a
+place on board a ship.
+
+When we had set sail but a few days, a squall of wind came on, and on
+the fifth night we sprang a leak. All hands were sent to the pumps, but
+we felt the ship groan in all her planks, and her beams quake from stem
+to stern; so that it was soon quite clear there was no hope for her, and
+that all we could do was to save our lives.
+
+The first thing was to fire off guns, to show that we were in need of
+help, and at length a ship, which lay not far from us, sent a boat to
+our 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 vain
+to try to get on board the ship which had sent out the men, or to use
+our 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 went
+down, and we saw her no more. We made but slow way to the land, which we
+caught sight of now and then when the boat rose to the top of some high
+wave, and there we saw men who ran in crowds, to and fro, all bent on
+one thing, and that was to save us.
+
+At last to our great joy we got on shore, where we had the luck to meet
+with friends who gave us the means to get back to Hull; and if I had now
+had 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, you
+ought to go to sea no more, it is not the kind, of life for you." "Why
+Sir, will you go to sea no more then?" "That is not the same kind of
+thing; I was bred to the sea, but you were not, and came on board my
+ship just to find out what a life at sea was like, and you may guess
+what you will come to if you do not go back to your home. God will not
+bless 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 did
+I care to know, for I was hurt at this rude speech. Shall I go home
+thought I, or shall I go to sea? Shame kept me from home, and I could
+not 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 did
+now. I had gold in my purse, and good clothes on my back, and to sea I
+went once more.
+
+But I had worse luck this time than the last, for when we were far out
+at sea, some Turks in a small ship came on our track in full chase. We
+set 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 that
+they 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, which
+made them shear off for a time, yet they kept up a fire at us as long as
+they were in range. The next time the Turks came up, some of their men
+got on board our ship, and set to work to cut the sails, and do us all
+kinds of harm. So, as ten of our men lay dead, and most of the rest had
+wounds, we gave in.
+
+The chief of the Turks took me as his prize to a port which was held by
+the Moors. He did not use me so ill as at first I thought he would have
+done, but he set me to work with the rest of his slaves. This was a
+change in my life which I did not think had been in store for me. How my
+heart 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 I
+went 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 toils
+and cares which it has since been my lot to bear.
+
+I thought at first that the Turk might take me with him when next he
+went to sea, and so I should find some way to get free; but the hope
+did not last long, for at such times he left me on shore to see to his
+crops. This kind of life I led for two years, and as the Turk knew and
+saw more of me, he made me more and more free. He went out in his boat
+once or twice a week to catch a kind of flat fish, and now and then he
+took me and a boy with him, for we were quick at this kind of sport, and
+he grew quite fond of me.
+
+One day the Turk sent me in the boat to catch some fish, with no one
+else but a man and a boy. While we were out so thick a fog came on that
+though we were out not half a mile from the shore, we quite lost sight
+of it for twelve hours; and when the sun rose the next day, our boat was
+at least ten miles out at sea. The wind blew fresh, and we were all much
+in want of food, but at last, with the help of our oars and sail, we got
+back safe to land.
+
+When the Turk heard how we had lost our way, he said that the next time
+he went out, he would take a boat that would hold all we could want if
+we were kept out at sea. So he had quite a state room built in the long
+boat of his ship, as well as a room for us slaves. One day he sent me
+to trim the boat, as he had two friends who would go in it to fish with
+him. But when the time came they did not go, so he sent me with the man
+and the boy--whose name was Xury--to catch some fish for the guests that
+were to sup with him.
+
+Now the thought struck me all at once that this would be a good chance
+to set off with the boat, and get free. So in the first place, I took
+all the food that I could lay my hands on, and I told the man that it
+would be too bold of us to eat of the bread that had been put in the
+boat for the Turk. He said he thought so too, and he brought down a
+small sack of rice and some rusks.
+
+While the man was on shore I put up some wine, a large lump of wax, a
+saw, an axe, a spade, some rope, and all sorts of things that might be
+of use to us. I knew where the Turk's case of wine was, and I put that
+in the boat while the man was on shore. By one more trick I got all that
+I had need of. I said to the boy, "the Turk's guns are in the boat, but
+there is no shot. Do you think you could get some? You know where it is
+kept, and we may want to shoot a fowl or two." So he brought a case and
+a pouch which held all that we could want for the guns. These I put in
+the 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 for
+me; 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 leave
+the rest to fate. I then let down my lines to fish, but I took care to
+have bad sport; and when the fish bit, I would not pull them up, for
+the Moor was not to see them. I said to him, "This will not do, we shall
+catch no fish here, we ought to sail on a bit." Well, the Moor thought
+there was no harm in this. He set the sails, and, as the helm was in my
+hands, I ran the boat out a mile or more, and then brought her to, as if
+I meant to fish.
+
+Now, thought I, the time has come for me to get free! I gave the helm
+to the boy, and then took the Moor round the waist, and threw him out of
+the boat.
+
+Down he went! but soon rose up, for he swam like a duck. He said he
+would 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 his
+way back; so I brought my gun to point at him, and said, "You can swim
+to land with ease if you choose, make haste then to get there; but if
+you come near the boat you shall have a shot through the head, for I
+mean to be a free man from this hour."
+
+He then swam for the shore, and no doubt got safe there, as the sea was
+so calm.
+
+At first I thought I would take the Moor with me, and let Xury swim to
+land; but the Moor was not a man that I could trust. When he was gone I
+said to Xury, "If you will swear to be true to me, you shall be a great
+man 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), we
+stood out to sea with the boat, so that he and those that saw us from
+the shore might think we had gone to the straits' mouth, for no one went
+to the South coast, as a tribe of men dwelt there who were known to kill
+and 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, we
+were 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 would
+not go on shore in the day time. But when it grew dark we made our way
+to the coast, and came to the mouth of a stream, from which we thought
+we could swim to land, and then look round us. But as soon as it was
+quite dark we heard strange sounds--barks, roars, grunts, and howls. The
+poor lad said he could not go on shore till dawn. "Well," said I, "then
+we must give it up, but it may be that in the day time we shall be seen
+by 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 make
+them run away." I was glad to see so much mirth in the boy, and gave him
+some bread and rice.
+
+We lay still at night, but did not sleep long, for in a few hours' time
+some huge beasts came down to the sea to bathe. The poor boy shook from
+head to foot at the sight. One of these beasts came near our boat, and
+though it was too dark to see him well, we heard him puff and blow, and
+knew that he must be a large one by the noise he made. At last the brute
+came as near to the boat as two oars' length, so I shot at him, and he
+swam to the shore.
+
+The roar and cries set up by beasts and birds at the noise of my gun
+would seem to show that we had made a bad choice of a place to land
+on; but be that as it would, to shore we had to go to find some fresh
+spring, so that we might fill our casks. Xury said if I would let him
+go with one of the jars, he would find out if the springs were fit to
+drink; and, if they were sweet, he would bring the jar back full. "Why
+should 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 could
+not but love the lad for this kind speech. "Well," said I, "we will both
+go, and if the wild men come we must kill them, they shall not eat you
+or me."
+
+I gave Xury some rum from the Turk's case to cheer him up, and we went
+on shore. The boy went off with his gun, full a mile from the spot where
+we stood, and came back with a hare that he had shot, which we were
+glad to cook and eat; but the good news which he brought was that he had
+found a spring, and had seen no wild men.
+
+I made a guess that the Cape de Verd Isles were not far off, for I saw
+the top of the Great Peak, which I knew was near them. My one hope was
+that if I kept near the coast, I should find some ship that would take
+us on board; and then, and not till then, should I feel a free man. In
+a word, I put the whole of my fate on this chance, that I must meet with
+some 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--who
+knew best--said, "Not you go! Not you go!" So I brought the boat as near
+the land as I could, that I might talk to them, and they kept up with me
+a 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 part
+made signs for me to stop my boat. So I let down the top of my sail, and
+lay by, while two of them ran off; and in less than half an hour they
+came back with some dry meat and a sort of corn which is grown in this
+part of the world. This we should have been glad to get, but knew not
+how to do so; for we durst not go on shore to them, nor did they dare
+to come to us. At last they took a safe way for us all, for they brought
+the food to the shore, where they set it, down, and then went a long way
+off while we took it in. We made signs to show our thanks, for we had
+not a thing that we could spare to give them.
+
+But as good luck would have it, we were at hand to take a great prize
+for 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 our
+boat; so I lay in wait for him with my gun; and as soon as the brute was
+in 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 down
+dead. The men were in as much fear at the sound of my gun, as they had
+been at the sight of the beasts. But when I made signs for them to come
+to the shore, they took heart, and came.
+
+They at once made for their prize; and by the help of a rope, which they
+slung round him, they brought him safe on the beach.
+
+We now left our wild men, and went on and on, for twelve days more. The
+land in front of us ran out four or five miles, like a bill; and we had
+to keep some way from the coast, to make this point, so that we lost
+sight of the shore.
+
+I gave the helm to Xury and sat down to think what would be my best
+course to take: when all at once I heard the lad cry out "A ship with a
+sail! A ship with a sail!" He did not show much joy at the sight, for
+he thought that this ship had been sent out to take him back: but I knew
+well, 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 to
+fire 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 their
+sails so that we might come up to them, and in three hours time we were
+at the ship's side. The men spoke to us in French, but I could not make
+out what they meant. At last a Scot on board said in my own tongue, "Who
+are you? Whence do you come?" I told him in a few words how I had got
+free from the Moors.
+
+Then the man who had charge of the ship bade me come on board, and took
+me in with Xury and all my goods. I told him that he might take all I
+had, 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 been
+in the same plight."
+
+He gave me a good round sum for my boat, and said that I should have the
+same sum for Xury, if I would part with him. But I told him that as it
+was by the boy's help that I had got free, I was loath to sell him. He
+said it was just and right in me to feel thus, but at the same time, if
+I could make up my mind to part with him, he should be set free in two
+years' time. So, as the poor slave had a wish to go with him, I did not
+say "no." I got to All Saints' Bay in three weeks, and was now a free
+man.
+
+I had made a good sum by all my store, and with this I went on land. But
+I did not at all know what to do next. At length I met with a man whose
+case 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 in
+food, though not more than that. We both stood in need of help, and I
+saw 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 come
+all this way to do that which I could have done as well at home with
+my friends round me! And to add to my grief, the kind friend, who had
+brought 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 hands
+of an aunt, and this my friend said I should do well to spend on my
+farm. So when he got home he sent some of it in cash, and laid out the
+rest in cloth, stuffs, baize, and such like goods. My aunt had put a few
+pounds in my friend's hands as a gift to him, to show her thanks for all
+that he had done for me, and with this sum he was so kind as to buy me a
+slave. In the mean time I had bought a slave, so now I had two, and all
+went on well for the next year.
+
+But soon my plans grew too large for my means. One day some men came to
+ask me to take charge of a slave ship to be sent out by them. They said
+they 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 and
+land; but it was wild and rash to think of it now, for I had made a
+large sum, and ought to have gone on in the same way for three or four
+years more. Well, I told these men that I would go with all my heart, if
+they would look to my farm in the mean time, which they said they would
+do.
+
+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 a
+boy. We took with us saws, chains, toys, beads, bits of glass, and such
+like 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 took
+us off we knew not where. All at once there was a cry of "Land!" and the
+ship struck on a bank of sand, in which she sank so deep that we could
+not get her off. At last we found that we must make up our minds to
+leave her, and get to shore as well as we could. There had been a boat
+at her stern, but we found it had been torn off by the force of the
+waves. One small boat was still left on the ship's side, so we got in
+it.
+
+There we were all of us on the wild sea. The heart of each now grew
+faint, our cheeks were pale, and our eyes were dim, for there was but
+one hope, and that was to find some bay, and so get in the lee of the
+land. We now gave up our whole souls to God.
+
+The sea grew more and more rough, and its white foam would curl and
+boil. 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 too
+much to do so. At length one large wave took me to the shore, and left
+me high and dry, though half dead with fear. I got on my feet and made
+the best of my way for the land; but just then the curve of a huge wave
+rose up as high as a hill, and this I had no strength to keep from, so
+it took me back to the sea. I did my best to float on the top, and held
+my breath to do so. The next wave was quite as high, and shut me up in
+its bulk. I held my hands down tight to my side, and then my head shot
+out at the top of the waves. This gave me heart and breath too, and soon
+my 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 waves
+caught me, and twice more did they take me back, and twice more land me
+on 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 me
+in a kind of swoon, which, thank God, did not last long. At length, to
+my great joy, I got up to the cliffs close to the shore, where I found
+some grass, out of the reach of the sea. There, I sat down, safe on land
+at last.
+
+I could but cry out in the words of the Psalm, "They that go down to the
+sea in ships, these men see the works of the Lord in the deep. For at
+His word the storms rise, the winds blow, and lift up the waves; then
+do they mount to the sky, and from thence go down to the deep. My soul
+faints, I reel to and fro, and am at my wit's end: then the Lord brings
+me out of all my fears."
+
+I felt so wrapt in joy, that all I could do was to walk up and down the
+coast, now lift up my hands, now fold them on my breast, and thank God
+for 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 out
+what kind of a place it was that I had been thus thrown in, like a bird
+in a storm. Then all the glee I felt at first left me; for I was wet and
+cold, and had no dry clothes to put on, no food to eat and not a friend
+to help me.
+
+There were wild beasts here, but I had no gun to shoot them with, or to
+keep 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 tree
+would be a good place to keep me out of harm's way; and that there I
+might 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 a
+stick to keep off the beasts of prey, in case they should come, and fell
+to 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 left
+the bank of sand, and lay but a mile from me; while the boat was on the
+beach, two miles on my right. I went some way down by the shore, to get
+to the boat; but an arm of the sea, half a mile broad, kept me from
+it. At noon, the tide went a long way out, so that I could get near the
+ship; and here I found that if we had but made up our minds to stay on
+board, we should all have been safe.
+
+I shed tears at the thought, for I could not help it; yet, as there was
+no use in that, it struck me that the best thing for me to do was to
+swim to the ship. I soon threw off my clothes, took to the sea, and swam
+up to the wreck. But how was I to get on deck? I had swam twice round
+the ship, when a piece of rope, caught my eye, which hung down from her
+side so low, that at first the waves hid it. By the help of this rope I
+got on board. I found that there was a bulge in the ship, and that she
+had sprung a leak. You may be sure that my first thought was to look
+round for some food, and I soon made my way to the bin, where the bread
+was kept, and ate some of it as I went to and fro, for there was no time
+to lose. There was, too, some rum, of which I took a good draught, and
+this gave me heart. What I stood most in need of, was a boat to take the
+goods to shore. But it was vain to wish for that which could not be
+had; and as there were some spare yards in the ship, two or three large
+planks of wood, and a spare mast or two, I fell to work with these, to
+make 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 my
+own weight, they were too slight to bear much of my freight. So I took a
+saw which was on board, and cut a mast in three lengths, and these gave
+great 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 had
+got at it, and it was all gone.
+
+My next task was to screen my goods from the spray of the sea; and it
+did not take me long to do this, for there were three large chests on
+board which held all, and these I put on the raft. When the high tide
+came 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 hear
+me), "now I shall not starve." For I found four large guns. But how was
+my raft to be got to land? I had no sail, no oars; and a gust of wind
+would make all my store slide off. Yet there were three things which I
+was glad of; a calm sea, a tide which set in to the shore, and a slight
+breeze to blow me there.
+
+I had the good luck to find some oars in a part of the ship, in which
+I had made no search till now. With these I put to sea, and for half a
+mile my raft went well; but soon I found it drove to one side. At length
+I saw a creek, to which, with some toil, I took my raft; and now the
+beach 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, so
+that there was no place to land on, save where one end of the raft would
+lie so high, and one end so low, that all my goods would fall off. To
+wait till the tide came up was all that could be done. So when the sea
+was a foot deep, I thrust the raft on a flat piece of ground, to moor
+her there, and stuck my two oars in the sand, one on each side of the
+raft. Thus I let her lie till the ebb of the tide, and when it went
+down, 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. Mine
+must have been the first gun that had been heard there since the world
+was made; for at the sound of it, whole flocks of birds flew up, with
+loud cries, from all parts of the wood. The shape of the beak of the one
+I 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 rest
+of the day. What to do at night I knew not, nor where to find a safe
+place 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 cause
+for these fears, as I have since found. I put the chests and boards
+round 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 would
+be 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 on
+board, 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 some
+bags of nails, spikes, saws, knives, and such things: but best of all I
+found 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 not
+the 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 no
+one had come there but a wild cat, which sat on one of the chests. When
+I 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 then
+took her leave.
+
+Now that I had two freights of goods at hand, I made a tent with the
+ship'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 casks
+in 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 had
+brought 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 in
+need of rest.
+
+The next day I was sad and sick at heart, for I felt how dull it was to
+be thus cut off from all the rest of the world. I had no great wish for
+work: but there was too much to be done for me to dwell long on my sad
+lot. 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 too
+great a load on the raft, which made it sink down on one side, so that
+the goods were lost in the sea; but at this I did not fret, as the chief
+part of the freight was some rope, which would not have been of much use
+to me.
+
+The twelve days that I had been in the isle were spent in this way, and
+I had brought to land all that one pair of hands could lift; though if
+the sea had been still calm, I might have brought the whole ship, piece
+by piece.
+
+The last time I swam to the wreck, the wind blew so hard, that I made up
+my mind to go on board next time at low tide. I found some tea and some
+gold 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 where
+thou 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 piece
+of 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 with
+all speed; for I knew that at the turn of the tide, I should find it
+hard work to get to land at all. But in spite of the high wind, I came
+to my home all safe. At dawn of day I put my head out, and cast my eyes
+on the sea. When lo! no ship was there!
+
+This change in the face of things, and the loss of such a friend, quite
+struck me down. Yet I was glad to think that I had brought to shore all
+that could be of use to me. I had now to look out for some spot where I
+could make my home. Half way up a hill there was a small plain, four or
+five score feet long, and twice as broad; and as it had a full view of
+the 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 in
+this I drove two rows of stakes, till they stood firm like piles, five
+and a half feet from the ground. I made the stakes close and tight with
+bits of rope; and put small sticks on the top of them in the shape of
+spikes. 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 by
+steps, which I took in with me, so that no one else might come up by the
+same way. Close to the back of the house stood a high rock, in which I
+made a cave, and laid all the earth that I had dug out of it round my
+house, to the height of a foot and a half. I had to go out once a day in
+search of food. The first time, I saw some goats, but they were too shy
+and swift of foot, to let me get near them.
+
+At last I lay in wait for them close to their own haunts. If they saw
+me 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, they
+took no heed of me. The first goat I shot had a kid by her side, and
+when the old one fell, the kid stood near her, till I took her off on
+my back, and then the young one ran by my side. I put down the goat, and
+brought the kid home to tame it; but as it was too young to feed, I had
+to kill it.
+
+At first I thought that, for the lack of pen and ink, I should lose all
+note of time; so I made a large post, in the shape of a cross, on which
+I cut these words, "I came on these shores on the 8th day of June, in
+the year 1659" On the side of this post I made a notch each day as it
+came, 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 the
+friends left to me. I brought the dog and two cats from the ship. The
+dog 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 not
+give me thought for thought.
+
+If I could but have had some one near me to find fault with, or to find
+fault with me, what a treat it would have been! Now that I had brought
+ink from the ship, I wrote down a sketch of each day as it came; not so
+much to leave to those who might read it, when I was dead and gone, as
+to get rid of my own thoughts, and draw me from the fears which all day
+long 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 to
+be 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 the
+wood, and feed on my own thoughts all the while.
+
+So much for the sad view of my case; but like most things it had a
+bright side as well as a dark one. For here was I safe on land, while
+all the rest of the ship's crew were lost. Well, thought I, God who
+shapes our ways, and led me by the hand then, can save me from this
+state now, or send some one to be with me; true, I am cast on a rough
+and rude part of the globe, but there are no beasts of prey on it to
+kill or hurt me. God has sent the ship so near to me, that I have got
+from it all things to meet my wants for the rest of my days. Let life be
+what it may, there is sure to be much to thank God for; and I soon gave
+up 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, and
+dug it out a long way back in the sand rock. Then I brought the mouth of
+it up to the fence, and so made a back way to my house. This done, I put
+shelves on each side, to hold my goods, which made my cave look like a
+shop full of stores. To make these shelves I cut down a tree, and with
+the 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 set
+to work till noon, then I ate my meal, then I went out with my gun, and
+to work once more till the sun had set; and then to bed. It took me more
+than a week to change the shape and size of my cave, but I had made it
+far 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, so
+as to make a roof of wood.
+
+One day, when out with my gun, I shot a wild cat, the skin of which made
+me a cap; and I found some birds of the dove tribe, which built their
+nests in the holes of rocks.
+
+I had to go to bed at dusk, till I made a lamp of goat's fat, which I
+put in a clay dish; and this, with a piece of hemp for a wick, made a
+good light. As I had found a use for the bag which had held the fowl's
+food on board ship, I shook out from it the husks of corn. This was just
+at 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 grain
+was ripe, I kept it, and took care to sow it each year; but I could not
+boast 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 shook
+with great force, which threw down earth from the rock with a loud
+crash--once more there was a shock--and now the earth fell from the roof
+of my cave. The sea did not look the same as it had done, for the shocks
+were just as strong there as on land. The sway of the earth made me feel
+sick; and there was a noise and a roar all around me. The same kind of
+shock came a third time; and when it had gone off, I sat quite still on
+the ground, for I knew not what to do. Then the clouds grew dark, the
+wind rose, trees were torn up by the roots, the sea was a mass of foam
+and froth, and a great part of the isle was laid waste with the storm. I
+thought that the world had come to an end. In three hours' time all was
+calm; 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 the
+cave, to some safe place.
+
+I knew that tools would be my first want, and that I should have to
+grind mine on the stone, as they were blunt and worn with use. But as it
+took both hands to hold the tool, I could not turn the stone; so I made
+a 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 was
+ill. I had pains in my head, and could get no sleep at night, and my
+thoughts were wild and strange. At one time I shook with cold, and then
+a hot fit came on, with faint sweats, which would last six hours at a
+time. Ill as I was, I had to go out with my gun to get food. I shot a
+goat, but it was a great toil to bring it home, and still more to cook
+it.
+
+I spent the next day in bed, and felt half dead from thirst, yet too
+weak to stand up to get some drink. I lay and wept like a child. "Lord
+look 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. I
+dreamt that I lay on the ground, and saw a man come down from a great
+black cloud in a flame of light. When he stood on the earth, it shook as
+it 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 brought
+thee to pray, now thou shalt die." Then I woke, and found it was a
+dream. Weak and faint, I was in dread all day lest my fit should come
+on.
+
+Too ill to get out with my gun, I sat on the shore to think, and thus
+ran my thoughts: "What is this sea which is all round me? and whence is
+it? There can be no doubt that the hand that made it, made the air, the
+earth, 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 He
+wills 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 this
+to thee? Ask why thou wert not shot by the Moors, who came on board the
+ship, and took the lives of thy mates. Ask why thou wert not torn by the
+beasts of prey on the coasts. Ask why thou didst not go down in the
+deep sea with the rest of the crew, but didst come to this isle, and art
+safe."
+
+A sound sleep then fell on me, and when I woke it must have been three
+o'clock the next day, by the rays of the sun: nay, it may have been more
+than that; for I think that this must have been the day that I did not
+mark 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 brought
+from the wreck, not one page, of which I had yet read. My eyes fell on
+five words, that would seem to have been put there for my good at this
+time; so well did they cheer my faint hopes, and touch the true source
+of my fears. They were these: "I will not leave thee." And they have
+dwelt 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 God
+was near, and heard me. As for my dull life here, it was not worth a
+thought; for now a new strength had come to me; and there was a change
+in my griefs, as well as in my joys.
+
+I had now been in the isle twelve months, and I thought it was time to
+go all round it, in search of its woods, springs, and creeks. So I set
+off, and brought back with me limes and grapes in their prime, large and
+ripe. I had hung the grapes in the sun to dry, and in a few days' time
+went to fetch them, that I might lay up a store. The vale, on the banks
+of which they grew, was fresh and green, and a clear, bright stream ran
+through it, which gave so great a charm to the spot, as to make me wish
+to live there.
+
+But there was no view of the sea from this vale, while from my house, no
+ships could come on my side of the isle, and not be seen by me; yet the
+cool, soft banks were so sweet and new to me that much of my time was
+spent there.
+
+In the first of the three years in which I had grown corn, I had sown
+it too late; in the next, it was spoilt by the drought; but the third
+years' crop had sprung up well.
+
+I found that the hares would lie in it night and day, for which there
+was no cure but to plant a thick hedge all round it; and this took me
+more than three weeks to do. I shot the hares in the day time; and when
+it grew dark, I made fast the dog's chain to the gate, and there he
+stood to bark all night.
+
+In a short time the corn grew strong, and at last ripe but, just as the
+hares had hurt it in the blade, so now the birds ate it in the ear. At
+the noise of my gun, whole flocks of them would fly up; and at this rate
+I saw that there would be no corn left; so I made up my mind to keep a
+look out night and day. I hid by the side of a hedge, and could see the
+birds sit on the trees and watch, and then come down, one by one, at
+first. Now each grain of wheat was, as it were, a small loaf of bread to
+me. 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 to
+the corn; and from this time, as long as the dead ones hung there, not
+a bird came near. When the corn was ripe, I made a scythe out of the
+swords 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 it
+with, so I made one with wood; but this was soon worn out, and for want
+of a rake, I made use of the bough of a tree. When I had got the corn
+home, I had to thrash it, part the grain from the chaff, and store it
+up. Then came the want of a mill to grind it, of sieves to clean it, and
+of yeast to make bread of it.
+
+Still, my bread was made, though I had no tools; and no one could say
+that I did not earn it, by the sweat of my brow. When the rain kept me
+in doors, it was good fun to teach my pet bird Poll to talk; but so mute
+were 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 how
+I could make them. At last I went in search of some clay, and found some
+a mile from my house; but it was quite a joke to see the queer shapes
+and forms that I made out of it. For some of my pots and jars were too
+weak to bear their own weight; and they would fall out here, and in
+there, in all sorts of ways; while some, when they were put in the sun
+to bake, would crack with the heat of its rays. You may guess what my
+joy was when at last a pot was made which would stand the heat of the
+fire, 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 made
+a shift for two years with a thin kind of stuff, which I had brought
+from the ship. But to grind the corn with the stones was the worst of
+all, such hard work did I find it. To bake the bread I burnt some wood
+down to an ash, which I threw on the hearth to heat it, and then set my
+loaves 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 on
+the high ridge of sand, where it had been thrust by the storm which had
+cast me on these shores. But it lay with the keel to the sky, so I had
+to dig the sand from it, and turn it up with the help of a pole. When I
+had done this I found it was all in vain, for I had not the strength to
+launch it. So all I could do now, was to make a boat of less size out
+of a tree; and I found one that was just fit for it, which grew not far
+from the shore, but I could no more stir this than I could the ship's
+boat. What was to be done? I first dug the ground flat and smooth all
+the way from the boat to the sea, so as to let it slide down; but this
+plan did not turn out well, so I thought I would try a new way, which
+was to make a trench, so as to bring the sea up to the boat, as the boat
+could not be brought to the sea. But to do this, I must have dug down to
+a great depth, which would take one man some years to do. And when too
+late, I found it was not wise to work out a scheme, till I had first
+thought of the cost and toil.
+
+"Well," thought I, "I must give up the boat, and with it all my hopes
+to leave the isle. But I have this to think of: I am lord of the whole
+isle; in fact, a king. I have wood with which I might build a fleet, and
+grapes, if not corn, to freight it with, though all my wealth is but a
+few gold coins." For these I had no sort of use, and could have found it
+in my heart to give them all for a peck of peas and some ink, which last
+I 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 to
+have a mast, for which the ship's sails would be of great use. I made a
+deck 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 than
+all, 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 made
+the whole round of my isle. I took with me bread, cakes, and a pot full
+of rice, some rum, half a goat, two great coats, one of which was to
+lie on, and one to put on at night. I set sail in the sixth year of my
+reign. 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 a
+mile from the rocks to the beach. To get round to this point, I had to
+sail 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 with
+the toils of the boat, I lay down in the shade to rest my limbs, and
+slept. But judge, if you can, what a start I gave, when a voice woke
+me out of my sleep, and spoke my name three times! A voice in this wild
+place! 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 at
+the top of the hedge sat Poll, who did but say the words she had been
+taught by me.
+
+I now went in search of some goats, and laid snares for them, with rice
+for a bait I had set the traps in the night, and found they had all
+stood, 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 hide
+it; and in this way I caught an old goat and some kids. But the old goat
+was much too fierce for me, so I let him go. I brought all the young
+ones home, and let them fast a long time, till at last they fed from my
+hand, and were quite tame. I kept them in a kind of park, in which there
+were trees to screen them from the sun. At first my park was three miles
+round; but it struck me that, in so great a space, the kids would soon
+get as wild as if they had the range of the whole vale, and that it
+would be as well to give them less room; so I had to make a hedge which
+took me three months to plant. My park held a flock of twelve goats, and
+in 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 in
+which I made a tour round the isle. I could but think how droll it would
+look in the streets of the town in which I was born. I wore a high cap
+of goat's skin, with a flap that hung, down, to keep the sun and rain
+from my neck, a coat made from the skin of a goat too, the skirts of
+which came down to my hips, and the same on my legs, with no shoes, but
+flaps of the fur round my shins. I had a broad belt of the same round
+my 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. My
+beard had not been cut since I came here. But no more need be said of
+my looks, for there were few to see me. A strange sight was now in store
+for 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 was
+new 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, What
+could this mean? I went three or four times to look at it. There it
+was--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 three
+steps, and then took a look round me; then two steps more, and did the
+same thing. I took fright at the stump of an old tree, and ran to my
+house, as if for my life. How could aught in the shape of a man come to
+that shore, and I not know it? Where was the ship that brought him? Then
+a vague dread took hold of my mind, that some man, or set of men, had
+found me out; and it might be, that they meant to kill me, or rob me of
+all I had.
+
+How strange a thing is the life of man! One day we love that which the
+next day we hate. One day we seek what the next day we shun. One day
+we 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 grief
+was 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 quake
+with 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 first
+the storm cast me on these shores. Could I have come this way from the
+boat? Should it in truth turn out to be the print of my own foot, I
+should be like a boy who tells of a ghost, and feels more fright at his
+own tale, than those do whom he meant to scare.
+
+Fear kept me in-doors for three days, till the want of food drove me
+out. At last I was so bold as to go down to the coast to look once more
+at the print of the foot, to see if it was the same shape as my own. I
+found it was not so large by a great deal; so it was clear there were
+men in the isle. Just at this time my good watch dog fell down dead at
+my feet. He was old and worn out, and in him I lost my best guard and
+friend.
+
+One day as I went from the hill to the coast, a scene lay in front of me
+which 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, I
+knew not how to act; I kept close to my home, and would scarce stir from
+it, save to milk my flock of goats.
+
+To feel safe was now more to me than to be well fed; and I did not care
+to drive a nail, or chop a stick of wood, lest the sound of it should be
+heard, much less would I fire a gun. As to my bread and meat, I had to
+bake it at night when the smoke could not be seen. But I soon found the
+way 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 cave
+so 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 with
+a fierce glare. I took a torch, and went to see what they could be, and
+found that there was no cause for fear; for the eyes were those of an
+old gray goat, which had gone there to die of old age. I gave him a
+push, to try to get him out of the cave, but he could not rise from the
+ground where he lay; so I left him there to die, as I could not save his
+life.
+
+I found the width of the cave was twelve feet; but part of it, near the
+end, was so low that I had to creep on my hands and feet to go in. What
+the length of it was I could not tell, for my light went out, and I had
+to give up my search. The next day, I went to the cave with large lights
+made of goat's fat; and when I got to the end, I found that the roof
+rose to two score feet or more.
+
+As my lights shone on the walls and roof of the cave, a sight burst on
+my view, the charms of which no tongue could tell; for the walls shone
+like stars. What was in the rock to cause this it was hard to say; they
+might 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 dull
+or sad, the bright scene would flash on my mind's eye, and fill it with
+joy.
+
+A score of years had gone by, with no new sight to rest my eyes on, till
+this scene burst on them. I felt as if I should like to spend the rest
+of my life here; and at its close, lie down to die in this cave, like
+the old goat.
+
+As I went home I was struck by the sight of some smoke, which came from
+a fire no more than two miles off. From this time I lost all my peace
+of mind. Day and night a dread would haunt me, that the men who had made
+this fire would find me out. I went home and drew up my steps, but first
+I made all things round me look wild and rude. To load my gun was the
+next thing to do, and I thought it would be best to stay at home and
+hide.
+
+But this was not to be borne long. I had no spy to send out and all I
+could do was to get to the top of the hill, and keep a good look out. At
+last, through my glass, I could see a group of wild men join in a dance
+round their fire. As soon a they had left, I took two guns, and slung a
+sword 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 to
+kill them, for I felt that it would be wrong to do so. With such a load
+of arms, it took me two hours to reach the spot where the fire was; and
+by the time I got there, the men had all gone; but I saw them in four
+boats out at sea.
+
+Down on the shore, there was a proof of what the work of these men had
+been. The signs of their feast made me sick at heart, and I shut my
+eyes. I durst not fire my gun when I went out for food on that side the
+isle, 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 three
+months, 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. As
+it was dark, I sat in my house; and in the midst of the gale, I heard
+a gun fire! My guess was that it must have been from some ship cast on
+shore 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 one
+was there to aid them. I then heard two more guns fire. When it was
+light, I went to the South side of the isle, and there lay the wreck of
+a ship, cast on the rocks in the night by the storm. She was too far off
+for 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's
+crew to the shore! So strong was my wish to save the life of those on
+board, that I could have laid down my own life to do so. There are some
+springs in the heart which, when hope stirs them, drive the soul on with
+such a force, that to lose all chance of the thing one hopes for, would
+seem 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 to
+fit it out. I took on board some rum (of which I still had a good deal
+left), some dry grapes, a bag of rice, some goat's milk, and cheese, and
+then put out to sea. A dread came on me at the thought of the risk I had
+run on the same rocks; but my heart did not quite fail me, though I
+knew that, as my boat was small, if a gale of wind should spring up, all
+would be lost. Then I found that I must go back to the shore till the
+tide should turn, and the ebb come on.
+
+I made up my mind to go out the next day with the high tide, so I slept
+that night in my boat. At dawn I set out to sea, and in less than two
+hours I came up to the wreck. What a scene was there! The ship had
+struck on two rocks. The stern was torn by the force of the waves, the
+masts were swept off, ropes and chains lay strewn on the deck, and all
+was wrapt in gloom. As I came up to the wreck, a dog swam to me with a
+yelp and a whine. I took him on board my boat, and when I gave him some
+bread he ate it like a wolf, and as to drink, he would have burst, if I
+had let him take his fill of it.
+
+I went to the cook's room, where I found two men, but they were both
+dead. The tongue was mute, the ear was deaf, the eye was shut, and the
+lip was stiff; still the sad tale was told, for each had his arm round
+his friend's neck, and so they must have sat to wait for death. What a
+change had come on the scene, once so wild with the lash of the waves
+and 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 that
+still had life.
+
+I thought the ship must have come from Spain, and there was much gold
+on board. I took some of the chests and put them in my boat, but did not
+wait 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 bring
+my freight from the shore, where I had left it. In the chests were two
+great bags of gold, and some bars of the same, and near these lay three
+small 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 to
+last. 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? I
+saw through my glass that there were a score and a half, at least, on
+the east side of the isle. They had meat on the fire, round which I
+could see them dance. They then took a man from one of the boats, who
+was bound hand and foot; but when they came to loose his bonds, he set
+off as fast as his feet would take him, and in a straight line to my
+house.
+
+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, and
+the plunge which he took brought him through it in a few strokes. All
+the 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 the
+time for me to help the poor man, and my heart told me it would be right
+to do so. I ran down my steps with my two guns, and went with all speed
+up 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 went
+up to meet the two men, who were in chase of him. I made a rush at the
+first 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 a
+trance. I gave a loud shout for him to come to me, and I took care to
+show him that I was a friend, and made all the signs I could think of to
+coax him up to me. At length he came, knelt down to kiss the ground, and
+then took hold of my foot, and set it on his head. All this meant that
+he 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 blow
+from my gun was not dead. I made a sign for my slave (as I shall now
+call him) to look at him. At this he spoke to me, and though I could
+not make out what he said, yet it gave me a shock of joy; for it was the
+first sound of a man's voice that I had heard, for all the years I had
+been on the isle.
+
+The man whom I had struck with the stock of my gun, sat up; and my
+slave, who was in great fear of him, made signs for me to lend him my
+sword, 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 brought
+me back my sword with a laugh, and put it down in front of me. I did not
+like to see the glee with which he did it, and I did not feel that my
+own life was quite safe with such a man.
+
+He, in his turn, could but lift up his large brown hands with awe, to
+think 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 of
+wood, and this was why he knew so well how to wield mine. He made signs
+to me to let him go and see the man who had been shot; and he gave him a
+turn round, first on this side, then on that; and when he saw the wound
+made in his breast by the shot, he stood quite, still once more, as if
+he had lost his wits. I made signs for him to come back, for my fears
+told 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 threw
+down some straw from the rice plant for him to sleep on, and gave him
+some bread and a bunch of dry grapes to eat. He was a fine man, with
+straight 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. He
+was of a dark brown hue; his face was round, and his nose small, but
+not flat; he had a good mouth with thin lips, with which he could give a
+soft 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 then
+put his head on the ground, and set my foot on his head, as he had done
+at first. He took all the means he could think of, to let me know that
+he would serve me all his life; and I gave a sign to show that I thought
+well 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 on
+that day. I took care not to lose sight of him all that night, and when
+the sun rose, I made signs for him to come to me, that I might give him
+some 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 the
+tribe that dwelt next to them; and that all those men whom each side
+took in war were their own by right. My slave's foes had four who fell
+to 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 a
+goat's skin to wear round his waist. It was a great source of pride to
+him, 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 was
+no need for this, as my slave was, in sooth, most true to me. He did all
+that he was set to do, with his whole heart in the work; and I knew that
+he would lay down his life to save mine. What could a man do more than
+that? 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 feel
+all that was right, I found him apt, and full of fun; and he took great
+pains 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 me
+that 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 a
+she-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; but
+the noise of the gun gave the poor man a great shock. He did not see the
+kid, nor did he know that it was dead. He tore his dress off his breast
+to feel if there was a wound there; then he knelt down to me, and took
+hold 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 I
+bade him look at the gun, the hawk, and the ground; and then I shot the
+bird. But my poor slave gave still more signs of fear this time, than he
+did at first: for he shook from head to foot. He must have thought that
+some fiend of death dwelt in the gun, and I think that he would have
+knelt down to it, as well as to me; but he would not so much as touch
+the gun for some time, though he would speak to it when he thought I was
+not near. Once he told me that what he said to it was to ask it not to
+kill him.
+
+I brought home the bird, and made broth of it. Friday was much struck
+to see me eat salt with it, and made a wry face; but I, in my turn, took
+some that had no salt with it, and I made a wry face at that. The next
+day I gave him a piece of kid's flesh, which I had hung by a string in
+front of the fire to roast. My plan was to put two poles, one on each
+side 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 me
+know how good he thought it.
+
+The next day I set him to beat out and sift some corn. I let him see me
+make the bread, and he soon did all the work. I felt quite a love for
+his 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, that
+they did. "Well, then," said I, "How came they to let their foes take
+you?"
+
+"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 they
+take 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 the
+next day. He knew the place, and told me he was there once with a score
+of men. To let me know this, he put a score of stones all of a row, and
+made me count them.
+
+"Are not the boats lost on your shore now and then?" He said that there
+was no fear, and that no boats were lost. He told me that up a great way
+by the moon--that is where the moon then came up--there dwelt a tribe
+of white men like me, with beards. I felt sure that they must have come
+from Spain, to work the gold mines. I put this to him: "Could I go from
+this 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 meant
+was, 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 you
+know who made the sea, the ground we tread on, the hills, and woods?" He
+said it was Beek, whose home was a great way off, and that he was so old
+that 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 to
+him?"
+
+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 dwells
+there. He made the world, and all things in it. The moon and the stars
+are 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 the
+use of man. God's love knows no end. When we pray, He draws near to us
+and hears us."
+
+It was a real joy to my poor slave to hear me talk of these things. He
+sat still for a long time, then gave a sigh, and told me that he would
+say "O" to Beek no more, for he was but a short way off, and yet could
+not 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 should
+stand in the place of Beek. I did my best to call forth his faith in
+Christ, and make it strong and clear, till at last--thanks be to the
+Lord--I brought him to the love of Him, with the whole grasp of his
+soul.
+
+To please my poor slave, I gave him a sketch of my whole life; I told
+him where I was born, and where I spent my days when a child. He was
+glad to hear tales of the land of my birth, and of the trade which we
+keep up, in ships, with all parts of the known world. I gave him a knife
+and 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 see
+my land!"
+
+Why did he strain his eyes to stare at this land, as if he had a wish
+to be there? It put fears in my mind which made me feel far, less at
+my ease with him. Thought I, if he should go back to his home, he will
+think no more of what I have taught him, and done for him. He will be
+sure to tell the rest of his tribe all my ways, and come back with, it
+may be, scores of them, and kill me, and then dance round me, as they
+did 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 a
+long while; and I was not so kind to him now as I had been. From this
+time I made it a rule, day by day, to find out if there were grounds for
+my fears or not. I said, "Do you not wish to be once more in your own
+land?"
+
+"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 a
+boat, 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 to
+build 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 some
+white 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's
+boat, which, as it had been in the sun for years, was not at all in a
+sound state. The poor man made sure that it would do. But how were we to
+know this? I told him we should build a boat as large as that, and that
+he 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 tell
+them know God, pray God, and lead new life."
+
+We soon set to work to make a boat that would take us both. The first
+thing was to look out for some large trees that grew near the shore, so
+that we could launch our boat when it was made. My slave's plan was to
+burn 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 a
+good 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 her
+move with ease, and said, "he thought she go there well, though great
+blow wind!" He did not know that I meant to make a mast and sail. I cut
+down 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 me
+sail the boat. But he soon gave a jump, a laugh, and a clap of the hands
+when 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 dug
+a small dock; and when the tide was low, we made a dam, to keep out the
+sea. The time of year had now come for us to set sail, so we got out all
+our stores, to put them in the boat.
+
+One day I sent Friday to the shore, to get a sort of herb that grew
+there. I soon heard him cry out to me, "O grief! O bad! O bad! O out
+there boats, one, two, three!" "Keep a stout heart," said I, to cheer
+him. The poor man shook with fear; for he thought that the men who
+brought 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 at
+the sound of our guns. Now will you stand by me, and do just as you are
+bid?"
+
+"Me die when you bid die."
+
+I gave him a good draught of rum; and when he had drunk this, he took up
+an axe and two guns, each of which had a charge of swan shot. I took two
+guns as well, and put large shot in them, and then hung my great sword
+by 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 come
+on shore near the creek, where a grove of young trees grew close down to
+the sea.
+
+They had with them three slaves, bound hand and foot, and you who read
+this, may guess what they were brought here for. I felt that I must try
+and save them from so hard a fate, and that to do this, I should have
+to put some of their foes to death. So we set forth on our way. I gave
+Friday strict charge to keep close to me, and not to fire till I told
+him to do so.
+
+We went full a mile out of our way, that we might get round to the wood
+to bide there. But we had not gone far, when my old qualms came back
+to me, and I thought, "Is it for me to dip my hands in man's blood? Why
+should 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 they
+hold 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 not
+call me to be a judge for Him. He who said, 'Thou shalt not kill,' said
+it 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 me
+to pause, till I felt sure that there was more to call me to the work
+than I then knew of. I took my stand in the wood, to watch the men at
+their feast, and then crept on, with Friday close at my heels. Thus we
+went till we came to the skirts of the wood. Then I said to. Friday, "Go
+up 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 round
+the fire, and that the man who was bound on the sand would be the next
+they would kill. But when he told me that it was a white man, one of my
+own race, I felt the blood boil in my veins. Two of the gang had gone to
+loose 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 ground
+where they sat. It must have been the first gun the I had heard in their
+lives. They knew not which way to look. I now threw down my piece, and
+took up a small gun; Friday did the same; and I gave him the word to
+fire! 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 man
+Friday at my heels, of course. We gave a loud shout, and ran up to the
+white man as fast as we could. There he lay on the hot sand. I cut the
+flag, or rush, by which he was bound, but he was too weak to stand or
+speak, so I gave him some rum. He let me know by all the signs that he
+could think of, how much he stood in my debt for all that I had done for
+him.
+
+I said, "We will talk of that bye and bye; but now we must do what we
+can to save our lives." Friday, who was free to go where he chose, flew
+here and there, and put all the men to the rout. They fled in full haste
+to their boats, and were soon out at sea; and so we got rid of our foes
+at 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 our
+care; for the black men had left a small boat on the sands, and in this
+I 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 he
+gave a deep groan, for he thought that all this was but to lead him out
+to die.
+
+Friday then came up, and I bade him speak to the old man in his own
+tongue, 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, and
+to look him in the face, it brought the tears to my eyes to see him kiss
+and hug the poor old man, and dance round him with joy, then weep, wring
+his 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, let
+me know what all this meant. But at length he told me that he was the
+son 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 Friday
+made 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 his
+breast to warm it; then he set to work to rub his arms and feet, which
+were cold and stiff from the bonds. I told Friday to give him some rum
+and bread; but he said, "None! Bad dog eat all up self." He then ran off
+straight to the house, and took no heed of my calls, but went as swift
+as a deer.
+
+In an hour's time, he came back with a jug in his hand. The good soul
+had gone all the way to the house, that Jaf might have a fresh draught
+from my well; and with it he brought two cakes, one of which I bade him
+take to Carl, who lay in the shade of a tree. His limbs were stiff and
+cold, 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 Friday
+turn 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 they
+could not walk. The door of my house was at the top, and the poor sick
+men could not climb the steps by which I got in, so we made for them a
+tent of old sails.
+
+I was now a king of these three men, as well as Lord of the isle; and
+I felt proud to say, "They all owe their lives to their king, and would
+lay them down for him if he bade them do so." But I did not think that
+my reign was so soon to come to an end. The next thing for us to do was
+to give Carl and Jaf some food, and to kill and roast a kid, to which we
+all 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 some
+land for seed; for it was clear we should want more corn now that we had
+two more mouths to fill. So we put in the ground all the stock of grain
+I had, and thus we all four had as much work as we could do for some
+time. When the crop grew, and was ripe, we found we had a good store of
+grain.
+
+We made a plan that Carl and Jaf should go back to the main land, to
+try if they could get some of the white men who had been cast on shore
+there, to come and live with us; so they got out the boat, and took
+with them two guns and food for eight days. They were to come back in a
+week's time, and I bade them hang out a sign when they came in sight, so
+that 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, which
+stood in for the land; but I knew it could not be the one which our two
+friends had gone out in, for it was on the wrong side of the isle for
+that. I saw too, through my glass, a ship out at sea. There were twelve
+men in the boat, three of whom were bound in chains, and four had fire
+arms.
+
+Bye and bye, I saw one of the men raise his sword to those who were
+in chains, and I felt sure that all was not right. Then I saw that the
+three men who had been bound were set free; and when they had come on
+shore they lay on the ground, in the shade of a tree. I was soon at
+their side, for their looks, so sad and worn, brought to my mind the
+first few hours I had spent in this wild spot, where all to me was wrapt
+in 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 move
+as if they would fly from me. I said, "Do not fear me, for it may be
+that you have a friend at hand, though you do not think it." "He must be
+sent from the sky then," said one of them with a grave look; and he took
+off his hat to me at the same time. "All help is from thence, Sir," I
+said; "but what can I do to aid you? You look as if you had some load of
+grief on your breast. I saw one of the men lift his sword as if to kill
+you."
+
+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, do
+not fear--nor raise your hopes too high; for you see but a man, yet one
+who will do all he can to help you. Your speech shows me that you come
+from the same land as I do. I will do all I can to serve you. Tell me
+your case." "Our case, Sir, is too long to you while they who would kill
+us are so near. My name is Paul. To be short, Sir, my crew have thrust
+me out of my ship, which you see out there, and have left me here to
+die. 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 isle
+with 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. All
+but 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 if
+I save your life, there are two things which you must do." But he read
+my thoughts, and said, "If you save my life, you shall do as you like
+with 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 come
+on shore; so the first thing I did was to send Friday to fetch from it
+the oars, the sail, and the gun. And now the ship might be said to be in
+our hands. When the time came for the men to go back to the ship, they
+were in a great rage; for, as the boat had now no sail nor oars, they
+knew not how to get out to their ship.
+
+We heard them say that it was a strange sort of isle, for that sprites
+had come to the boat, to take off the sails and oars. We could see them
+run 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 and
+Friday would fain have had me fall on them at once. But my wish was to
+spare them, and kill as few as I could. I told two of my men to creep
+on their hands and feet close to the ground, so that they might not be
+seen, 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. Till
+now, we had but heard their voice, but when they came so near as to be
+seen, Paul and Friday stood up and shot at them. Two of the men fell
+dead, and they were the worst of the crew, and the third ran off. At the
+sound of the guns I came up, but it was so dark that the men could not
+tell 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 must
+we yield, and where are they?" Friday told them that Paul was there with
+the king of the isle, who had brought with him a crowd of men! At this
+one 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 to
+them, "You know my voice; if you lay down your arms the king will spare
+your lives!"
+
+They fell on their knees to beg the same of me. I took good care that
+they 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 rest
+would be bound hand and foot, for the good faith of the four. This was
+to 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 place
+on the isle. I told them of all my ways, taught them how to mind the
+goats, how to work the farm, and make the bread. I gave them a house to
+live in, fire arms, tools, and my two tame cats, in fact, all but Poll
+and my gold.
+
+As I sat on the top of the hill, Paul came up to me. He held out his
+hand to point to the ship, and with much warmth took me to his arms, and
+said, "My dear friend, there is your ship! For she is all yours, and so
+are we, and all that is in her."
+
+I cast my eyes to the ship, which rode half a mile off the shore, at the
+mouth of the creek, and near the place where I had brought my rafts to
+the land. Yes, there she stood, the ship that was to set me free, and to
+take me where I might choose to go. She set her sails to the wind, and
+her flags threw out their gay stripes in the breeze. Such a sight was
+too much for me, and I fell down faint with joy. Paul then took out a
+flask 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 her
+once more. We did not start that night, but at noon the next day I left
+the isle!
+
+That lone isle, where I had spent so great a part of my life--not much
+less than thrice ten long years.
+
+When I came back to the dear land of my birth, all was strange and new
+to 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 tale
+of their death.
+
+As they had thought, of course, that I was dead, they had not left me
+their wealth and lands, so that I stood much in want of means, for it
+was but a small sum that I had brought with me from the isle. But in
+this time of need, I had the luck to find my good friend who once took
+me up at sea. He was now grown too old for work, and had put his son
+in the ship in his place. He did not know me at first, but I was soon
+brought to his mind when I told him who I was. I found from him that the
+land 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 made
+up my mind to sell it, and in the course of a few months, I got for it a
+sum 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 strong
+wish which dwelt in my thoughts by day and my dreams by night, and that
+was 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 to
+do was to teach my boys to be wise and good, to live at my ease, and
+see my wealth grow day by day. Yet the wish to go back to my wild haunts
+clung 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 the
+flesh."
+
+At length I lost my wife, which was a great blow to me, and my home was
+now so sad, that I made up my mind to launch out once more on the broad
+sea, and go with my man Friday to that lone isle where dwelt all my
+hopes.
+
+I took with me as large a store of tools, clothes, and such like goods
+as I had room for, and men of skill in all kinds of trades, to live in
+the isle. When we set sail, we had a fair wind for some time, but one
+night 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 a
+great light, and as there was no land that way, we knew that it must be
+some ship on fire at sea, which could not be far off, for we heard the
+sound of the gun.
+
+The wind was still fair, so we made our way for the point where we saw
+the light, and in half an hour, it was but too plain that a large ship
+was on fire in the midst of the broad sea. I gave the word to fire off
+five guns, and we then lay by, to wait till break of day. But in the
+dead 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 our
+guns kept up a fire all night long, to let the crew know that there was
+help at hand.
+
+At eight o'clock the next day we found, by the aid of the glass, that
+two of the ship's boats were out at sea, quite full of men. They had
+seen us, and had done their best to make us see them, and in half an
+hour we came up with them.
+
+It would be a hard task for me to set forth in words the scene which
+took 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 and
+wring 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; and
+two or three were seen to give thanks to God.
+
+In this strange group, there was a young French priest who did his best
+to 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 your
+hands, my men? Let your joy be free and full, give it full range and
+scope, but leave off this trick of the hands, and lift them up in
+praise; let your voice swell out, not in screams, but in hymns of thanks
+to God, who has brought you out of so great a strait, for this will add
+peace to your joy."
+
+The next day, they were all in a right frame of mind, so I gave them
+what stores I could spare, and put them on board a ship that we met with
+on her way to France, all save five who, with the priest, had a wish to
+join me.
+
+But we had not set sail long, when we fell in with a ship that had been
+blown out to sea by a storm, and had lost her masts; and, worse than
+all, her crew had not had an ounce of meat or bread for ten days. I
+gave them all some food, which they ate like wolves in the snow, but I
+thought it best to check them, as I had fears that so much all at once
+would cause the death of some of them.
+
+There were a youth and a young girl in the ship who the mate said he
+thought must be dead, but he had not had the heart to go near them, for
+the 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 got
+well, and as they had no wish to go back to their ship, I took them with
+me. So now I had eight more on board my ship, than I had when I first
+set out.
+
+In three months from the time when I left home, I came in sight of my
+isle, and I brought the ship safe up, by the side of the creek, which
+was near my old house.
+
+I went up to Friday, to ask if he knew where he was. He took a look
+round him, and soon, with a clap of the hands, said "O yes! O there! O
+yes! O there!" Bye and bye, he set up a dance with such wild glee, that
+it 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 we
+see poor old Jaf?" He stood quite mute for a while, but when I spoke
+of old Jaf (whose son Friday was), the tears ran down his face, and the
+poor soul was as sad as could be. "No, no," said he, "no more, no, no
+more."
+
+As we caught sight of some men at the top of the hill, I gave word to
+fire three guns, to show that we were friends, and soon we saw smoke
+rise from the side of the creek. I then went on shore in a boat, with
+the priest and Friday, and hung out a white flag of peace. The first man
+I cast my eyes on at the creek, was my old friend Carl, who, when I was
+last on the isle, had been brought here in bonds.
+
+I gave strict charge to the men in the boat not to go on shore, but
+Friday could not be kept back, for with his quick eye he had caught
+sight of old Jaf. It brought the tears to our eyes to see his joy when
+he met the old man. He gave him a kiss, took him up in his arms, set
+him down in the shade, then stood a short way off to look at him, as one
+would look at a work of art, then felt him with his hand, and all this
+time he was in full talk, and told him, one by one, all the strange
+tales 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 my
+hands, and then took me to my old house, which he now gave up to me. I
+could 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 be
+got at, save by such blind ways as none but those who made them could
+find out. "Why have you built all these forts?" said I. Carl told me
+that he felt sure I should say there was much need of them, when I heard
+how 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, all
+these 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 rank
+who had come to kiss the hand of their king.
+
+The first thing was to bear all that had been done in the isle since I
+had left it. But I must first state that, when we were on the point to
+set sail from the isle, a feud sprang up on board our ship, which we
+could not put down, till we had laid two of the men in chains. The next
+day, these two men stole each of them a gun and some small arms, and
+took the ship's boat, and ran off with it to join the three bad men on
+shore.
+
+As soon as I found this out, I sent the long-boat on shore, with twelve
+men and the mate, and off they went to seek the two who had left the
+ship. 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 now
+lost five of the crew, but the three first were so much worse than the
+last two, that in a few days they sent them out of doors, and would have
+no more to do with them, nor would they for a long while give them food
+to eat.
+
+So the two poor men had to live as well as they could by hard work, and
+they set up their tents on the north shore of the isle, to be out of the
+way of the wild men, who were wont to land on the east side. Here they
+built them two huts, one to lodge in, and one to lay up their stores
+in; and the men from Spain gave them some corn for seed, as well as some
+peas which I had left them. They soon learned to dig, and plant, and
+hedge 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 came
+one day to tease and vex them. They told them that the isle was their
+own, and that no one else had a right to build on it, if they did not
+pay rent. The two good men thought at first that they were in jest, and
+told 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 in
+jest, 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 the
+fire out with his feet. The bad man was in such a rage at this, that he
+ran 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 short
+time they came back, and trod down the corn, and shot the goats and
+young 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 work
+to pull down both the huts, and left not a stick, nor scarce a sign on
+the ground to show where the tents had stood. They tore up, too, all the
+goods and stock that they could find, and when they had done this, they
+told it all to the men of Spain, and said, "You, sirs, shall have the
+same sauce, if you do not mend your ways."
+
+They then fell to blows and hard words, but Carl had them bound in
+cords, and took their arms from them. The men of Spain then said they
+would do them no harm, and if they would live at peace they would help
+them, and that they should live with them as they had done till that
+time, but they could not give them back their arms for three or four
+months.
+
+One night Carl--whom I shall call "the chief," as he took the lead of
+all 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 as
+he, did not feel at case, he got up, and took a look out. But as it was
+too 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 with
+him. "Say you so?" said he "What if there should be some bad plot at
+work near us!" They then set off to the top of the hill, where I was
+wont to go, and from thence they saw the light of a fire, quite a short
+way from them, and heard the sounds of men, not of one or two, but of a
+great crowd. We need not doubt that the chief and the man with him now
+ran back at once, to tell all the rest what they had seen; and when they
+heard the news, they could not be kept close where they were, but must
+all run out to see how things stood.
+
+At last they thought that the best thing to do would be, while it was
+dark, to send old Jaf out as a spy, to learn who they were, and what
+they meant to do. When the old man had been gone an hour or two, he
+brought word back that he had been in the midst of the foes, though they
+had not seen him, and that they were in two sets or tribes who were at
+war, and had come there to fight. And so it was, for in a short time
+they heard the noise of the fight, which went on for two hours, and at
+the end, with three loud shouts or screams, they left the isle in their
+boats. Thus my friends were set free from all their fears, and saw no
+more of their wild foes for some time.
+
+One day a whim took the three bad men that they would go to the main
+land, from whence the wild men came, and try if they could not seize
+some of them, and bring them home as slaves, so as to make them do the
+hard part of their work for them. The chief gave them all the arms and
+stores that they could want, and a large boat to go in, but when they
+bade them "God speed," no one thought that they would find their way
+back to the isle. But lo! in three weeks and a day, they did in truth
+come 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 wild
+men gave them roots and fish to eat, and were so kind as to bring down
+eight slaves to take back with them, three of whom were men and five
+were girls. So they gave their good hosts an axe, an old key, and a
+knife, and brought off the slaves in their boat to the isle. As the
+chief and his friends did not care to wed the young girls, the five men
+who had been the crew of Paul's ship drew lots for choice, so that each
+had a wife, and the three men slaves were set to work for the two good
+men, though there was not much for them to do.
+
+But one of them ran off to the woods, and they could not hear of him
+more. They had good cause to think that he found his way home, as in
+three or four weeks some wild men came to the isle, and when they
+had had their feast and dance, they went off in two days' time. So my
+friends might well fear that if this slave got safe home, he would be
+sure to tell the wild men that they were in the isle, and in what part
+of it they might be found. And so it came to pass, for in less than two
+months, six boats of wild men, with eight or ten men in each boat, came
+to the north side of the isle, where they had not been known to come up
+to that time.
+
+The foe had brought their boats to land, not more than a mile from the
+tent of the two good men, and it was there that the slave who had run
+off had been kept. These men had the good luck to see the boats when
+they were a long way off, so that it took them quite an hour from that
+time to reach the shore.
+
+My friends now had to think how that hour was to be spent. The first
+thing they did was to bind the two slaves that were left, and to take
+their wives, and as much of their stores as they could, to some dark
+place in the woods. They then sent a third slave to the chief and his
+men, to tell them the news, and to ask for help.
+
+They had not gone far in the woods, when they saw, to their great grief
+and rage, that their huts were in flames, and that the wild men ran to
+and fro, like beasts in search of prey. But still our men went on, and
+did not halt, till they came to a thick part of the wood, where the
+large trunk of an old tree stood, and in this tree they both took their
+post. But they had not been there long, when two of the wild men ran
+that way, and they saw three more, and then five more, who all ran the
+same way, as if they knew where they were.
+
+Our two poor men made up their minds to let the first two pass, and then
+take the three and the five in line, as they came up, but to fire at one
+at 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 from
+a hole in the tree, took a sure aim, and stood still till the three wild
+men came so near that he could not miss them. They soon saw that one of
+these three was the slave that had fled from them, as they both knew him
+well, and they made up their minds that they would kill him, though they
+should both fire.
+
+At the first shot two of the wild men fell dead, and the third had a
+graze on his arm, and though not much hurt, sat down on the ground with
+loud screams and yells. When the five men who came next, heard the sound
+of the gun and the slave's cries, they stood still at first, as if they
+were struck dumb with fright. So our two men both shot off their guns in
+the 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 their
+wives and slaves, to see if all were safe there, and to their joy they
+found that though the wild men had been quite near them, they had not
+found them out. While they were here, the chief and his men came up, and
+told 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 of
+the shore, they found that their foes had all gone out to sea. So they
+set to work to build up their huts, and as all the men in the isle lent
+them their aid, they were soon in a way to thrive once more. For five or
+six months they saw no more of the wild men. But one day a large fleet
+of 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 were
+all in great fear.
+
+As they came at dusk, and at the East side of the isle, our men had the
+whole night to think of what they should do. And as they knew that the
+most safe way was to hide and lie in wait, they first of all took down
+the huts which were built for the two good men, and drove their goats to
+the cave, for they thought the wild men would go straight there as soon
+as 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 to
+the slaves, but each of them had a long staff with a spike at the end of
+it, and by his side an axe. There were two of the wives who could not be
+kept 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, but
+all in crowds here and there, to the point were our men lay in wait for
+them. When they were so near as to be in range of the guns, our men shot
+at them right and left with five or six balls in each charge. As the foe
+came up in close crowds, they fell dead on all sides, and most of those
+that they did not kill were much hurt, so that great fear and dread came
+on them all.
+
+Our men then fell on them from three points with the butt end of their
+guns, swords, and staves, and did their work so well that the wild men
+set 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. As
+our men did not care to chase them, they got to the shore where they had
+come to land and where the boats lay.
+
+But their rout was not yet at an end, for it blew a great storm that day
+from the sea, so that they could not put off. And as the storm went on
+all that night, when the tide came up, the surge of the sea drove most
+of their boats so high on the shore, that they could not be got off save
+with great toil, and the force of the waves on the beach broke some of
+them to bits.
+
+At break of day, our men went forth to find them, and when they saw the
+state of things, they got some dry wood from a dead tree, and set their
+boats on fire. When the foe saw this, they ran all through the isle with
+loud cries, as if they were mad, so that our men did not know at first
+what 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 deal
+of harm.
+
+At last they brought old Jaf to them, to tell them how kind they would
+be to them, that they would save their lives, and give them part of the
+isle to live in, if they would keep in their own bounds, and that they
+should have corn to plant, and should make it grow for their bread. They
+were but too glad to have such good terms of peace, and they soon learnt
+to 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 once
+taught.
+
+From this time till I came back to the isle my friends saw no more wild
+men. I now told the chief that I had not come to take off his men, but
+to bring more, and to give them all such things as they would want to
+guard 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 and
+mate came on shore to dress it. We brought out our rounds of salt beef
+and pork, a bowl of punch, some beer, and French wines; and Carl gave
+the cooks five whole kids to roast, three of which were sent to the crew
+on board ship, that they, on their part, might feast on fresh meat from
+shore.
+
+I gave each of the men a shirt, a coat, a hat, and a pair of shoes, and
+I 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, an
+axe, a crow, a saw, a knife and such like things as well as arms, and
+all 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 the
+youth and the maid whom we had brought from the ship that we met on her
+way to France. The girl had been well brought up, and all the crew had
+a 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 barns
+built.
+
+I had brought out with me five men to live here, one of whom could turn
+his hand to all sorts of things, so I gave him the name of "Jack of all
+Trades."
+
+One day the French priest came to ask if I would leave my man Friday
+here, for through him, he said, he could talk to the black men in their
+own 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 not
+part with my man Friday for the whole world, so I told the priest that
+if I could have made up my mind to leave him here, I was quite sure that
+Friday would not part from me.
+
+When I had seen that all things were in a good state on the isle, I set
+to work to put my ship to rights, to go home once more. One day, as I
+was on my way to it, the youth whom I had brought from the ship that
+was burnt, came up to me, and said, "Sir, you have brought a priest with
+you, 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 brought
+to the isle, and that it was the wish of the young man to make her his
+wife. I spoke to him with some warmth in my tone, and bade him turn it
+well in his mind first, as the girl was not in the same rank of life as
+he had been brought up in. But he said, with a smile, that I had made a
+wrong guess, for it was "Jack of all Trades" that he had come to plead
+for. It gave me great joy to hear this, as the maid was as good a girl
+as could be, and I thought well of Jack; so on that day I gave her to
+him. 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, and
+hurt no one. My old house I gave to the chief, with all its woods, which
+now spread out as far as the creek, and the south end was for the white
+men and their wives.
+
+It struck me that there was one gift which I had not thought of, and
+that was the book of God's Word, which I knew would give to those who
+could feel the words in it, fresh strength for their work, and grace to
+bear the ills of life.
+
+Now that I had been in the isle quite a month, I once more set sail on
+the fifth day of May; and all my friends told me that they should stay
+there till I came to fetch them.
+
+When we had been out three days, though the sea was smooth and calm, we
+saw that it was quite black on the land side; and as we knew not what to
+make of it, I sent the chief mate up the main mast to find out with his
+glass what it could be. He said it was a fleet of scores and scores of
+small 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 the
+ship, and as there was nought to fear from them but fire, to get the
+boats 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 with
+us; but as I thought they would try to row round and so close us in, I
+told the men in the boats not to let them come too near. This, though we
+did not mean it, brought us to a fight with them, and they shot a cloud
+of darts at our boats. We did not fire at them, yet in half an hour they
+went back out to sea, and then came straight to us, till we were so near
+that they could hear us speak.
+
+I bade my men keep close, so as to be safe from their darts if they
+should shoot, and get out the guns. I then sent Friday on deck, to call
+out to them in their own tongue and ask what they meant. It may be that
+they did not know what he said, but as soon as he spoke to them I heard
+him cry out that they would shoot. This was too true, for they let fly
+a thick cloud of darts, and to my great grief poor Friday fell dead, for
+there was no one else in their sight. He was shot with three darts, and
+three 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 the
+men load five guns with small shot, and four with large, and we gave
+them such a fierce fire that in all their lives they could not have seen
+one like it. Then a rare scene met our eyes: dread and fear came on them
+all, for their boats, which were small, were split and sunk--three or
+four by one shot. The men who were not dead had to swim, and those who
+had wounds were left to sink, for all the rest got off as fast as they
+could. Our boat took up one poor man who had to swim for his life, when
+the 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 breeze
+sprang up we set sail.
+
+At first the man whom we took on board would not eat or speak, and we
+all had fears lest he should pine to death. But when we had taught him
+to say a few words, he told us that his friends--the wild men-had come
+out with their kin to have a great fight, and that all they meant was
+to make us look at the grand sight. So it was for this that poor Friday
+fell! He who had been as good and true to me as man could be! And now in
+deep grief I must take my leave of him.
+
+We went on with a fair wind to All Saints' Bay, and here I found a sloop
+that I had brought with me from home, that I might send men and stores
+for the use of my friends in the isle. I taught the mate how to find the
+place, 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 the
+isle, if the chief would give him land to plant. So I told him he should
+go 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, to
+hide from the king of Spain, would like to go, if he could have some
+land there, though he had but a small stock to take with him; so I put
+them all on board the sloop, and saw them safe out of the bay, on their
+way to the isle. With them I sent three milch cows, five calves, a horse
+and 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 last
+time, 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 from
+the Isle, and with two of the crew to stay on land, and leave the rest
+to go on their way. I soon made friends with some men from France, as
+well as from my own land, and two Jews, who had come out to the Cape to
+trade.
+
+As I found that some goods which I had brought with me from home were
+worth a great deal, I made a large sum by the sale of them. When we had
+been at the Cape of Good Hope for nine months, we thought that the best
+thing 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. When
+we 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 to
+port, to and fro, I spent, from first to last, six years in this part of
+the world.
+
+At length we thought we would go and seek new scenes where we could get
+fresh gains. And a strange set of men we at last fell in with, as you
+who read this tale will say when you look at the print in front of this
+page.
+
+When we had put on shore, we made friends with a man who got us a large
+house, 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, it
+seems, 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 be
+held for three or four months. So we sent our ship back to the Cape, as
+we meant to stay in this part of the world for some time, and go from
+place to place to see what sort of a land it was, and then come back to
+the fair at Ching.
+
+We first went to a town which it was well worth our while to see, and
+which must have been, as near as I can guess, quite in the heart of this
+land. 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 much
+struck to hear my friends say such fine things of the wealth and trade
+of these parts of the world, for I saw and knew that the men were a mere
+herd or crowd of mean slaves. What is their trade to ours, or to that of
+France and Spain? What are their ports, with a few junks and barks, to
+our grand fleets? One of our large ships of war would sink all their
+ships, one line of French troops would beat all their horse, and the
+same may be said of their ports, which would not stand for one month
+such 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 a
+large stock of tea, shawls, fans, raw silks, and such like goods, we set
+out for the north. As we knew we should run all kinds of risks on our
+way, we took with us a strong force to act as a guard, and to keep us
+from 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 had
+great wealth, and I was glad to join them, as it was by no means the
+first time that they had been here.
+
+We took five guides with us, and we all put our coin in one purse, to
+buy food on the way, and to pay the men who took charge of us. One of us
+we chose out for our chief, to take the lead in case we should have to
+fight for our lives; and when the time came, we had no small need of
+him. 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, the
+chief trade in this part of the world.
+
+One thing, the guide said he would show me, that was not to be seen in
+all the world else (and this, in good sooth, I could not sneer at, as
+I had done at most of the things I had seen here), and this was a house
+that was built of a kind of ware, such as most plates and cups are made
+of. "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." He
+then 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. The
+sun shone hot on the walls, which were quite white, hard, and smooth as
+glass, with forms on them in blue paint. On the walls of the rooms were
+small square tiles of the best ware, with red, blue, and green paint of
+all shades and hues, in rare forms, done in good taste; and as they use
+the same kind of earth to join the tiles with, you could not see where
+the tiles met. The floors of the rooms were made of the same ware, and
+as strong as those we have at home; and the same may be said of the
+roofs, 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 were
+the ponds for the fish, the walks, the yards, and courts, which were
+all made in the same way. This odd sight kept me from my friends for two
+hours, 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 fort
+to keep the whole land safe,--and a great work it is. It goes in a long
+track for miles and miles, where the rocks are so high and steep that
+no foe could climb them; or, if they did, no wall could stop them. The
+Great Wall is as thick as it is high, and it turns and winds in all
+sorts 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 lean
+horse, which is not fit to do good work. Our chief gave some of us leave
+to 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, and
+you are sure of sport when you start in the chase. They go in flocks of
+a score, or two, and like true sheep, keep close when they fly. In this
+sort of chase it was our hap to meet with some two score of the wild
+hordes, but what sort of prey they had come to hunt I know not. As soon
+as they saw us, one of them blew some loud notes on a kind of horn, with
+a sound that was quite new to me. We all thought this was to call their
+friends round them, and so it was, for in a short time a fresh troop of
+the same size came to join them; and they were all, as far as we could
+judge, a mile off. One of the Scots was with us, and as soon as he heard
+the horn, he told us that we must lose no time, but draw up in line, and
+charge 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, drawn
+up in no line; but as soon as they saw us come at them, they let fly
+their darts, which did not hit us, for though their aim was true, they
+fell short of us. We now came to a halt to fire at them, and then went
+at full speed to fall on them sword in hand, for so the bold Scot that
+led us, told us to do.
+
+As soon as we came up to them, they fled right and left. The sole stand
+made 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 rest
+back to them. The brave Scot rode close up to them, and with his gun
+threw one off his horse, shot the next, and the third ran off, and this
+was the end of our fight. All the bad lreuck we met with, was that the
+sheep that we had in chase got off. We had not a man hurt, but as for
+the foe, five of them were dead, and not a few had wounds, while the
+rest fled at the mere noise of our guns.
+
+Thus we went on our way from town to town, and now and then met some
+of these wild hordes, whom we had to fight and I need not add that each
+time we had the best of the fray. At last we made our way to the chief
+town 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, and
+had bought some more goods; I took ship and set sail for the land of my
+birth, which I had left, this time, for ten years, nine months and three
+days.
+
+And now I must bring this tale of my life to a close, while at the age
+of three score years and twelve, I feel that the day is at hand, when
+I shall go forth on that sea of peace and love, which has no waves or
+shores but those of bliss that knows no end.
\ No newline at end of file